I'm trying to stockpile a few posts for next week, as I'll be away for Tuesday, Wednesday, and most of Thursday, going to see Mike Love's Beach Boys in That London. (I'll be reviewing them on July 6, the day after I see Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, because I think it'll be interesting to [...]
Some impressions from a very busy Kingsgate Park this afternoon... "Dockside" rocking it! The more energetic were inspired to dance Fun for all ages Pure Dance Crew put on a splendid display
From the Sunday People: A Labour peer's office in the House of Lords has been raided as part of a probe into historic child sex abuse allegations ....Up to eight officers from Leicestershire Police searched Greville Janner's space and are understood to have removed computer equipment. The force refused to confirm whether anything was seized but said the March raid was part of an ongoing enquiry.The report, by Ben Endley, goes on to say: In December, Leicestershire officers searched Lord Janner's home in Barnet, North London. His legal team has confirmed he is helping with inquiries. Two men from Corby, ...
Just a few highlights from the Chipping Sodbury Festival Street Fayre and Carnival. Well done to all involved! Spitfire and Hurricane flypast Dodington Parish Band Bristol Pipe Band Air Cadets looking very smart The Mayor of Sodbury, Cllr Wendy Whittle First prize float - Raysfield Junior School Second prize float - Raysfield Infants School Panache Steel Band
It's been a while since we had a mud wall, so here is a photo of one taken in Saddington this afternoon.
Residents of Fishmore View, Ludlow are telling housing developers they don't want a proposed footbridge they say will ruin their quiet cul de sac. This huge footbridge will be more than 250 metres long (275 yards) and soar 7 metres (23 feet) above the bed of the River Corve. It will link a planned development [...]
Residents have complained to me about graffiti on the footbridge over the rail line between the Riverside Pavilion and Magdalen Green - see below :I have brought this to the attention of the City Council's Rapid Response Team and asked if the graffiti can be removed.
From the TEDxNavesink website: In this talk, Dr. Peter Gray compelling brings attention to the reality that over the past 60 years in the United States there has been a gradual but, overall dramatic decline in children's freedom to play with other children, without adult direction. Over this same period, there has been a gradual but, overall, dramatic increase in anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness, suicide, and narcissism in children and adolescents. Based on his own and others' research, Dr. Gray documents why free play is essential for children's healthy social and emotional development and outlines steps through which we ...
Bob Marley's father was a white Englishman and when I was in Shropshire a couple of weeks ago, the BBC West Midlands television news screened a report about him. It seems that, after being conscipted during the First World War, Norval Marley underwent basic training at Park Hall Army Camp outside Oswestry. He did not prove to be much of a soldier and reported sick with incontinence. You can hear all about that in a BBC Radio Shropshire feature. When I tweeted about the news report, Gillian Darley (who has just been elected president of The Twentieth Century Society) replied ...
Frances Coppola has written an entertaining critique of my Smaug post, which is kind of her. We've tweeted a bit. Go read her post. As is often the case when reasonable people wildly disagree, we are almost certainly addressing different propositions. My basic point was that the MxV = PxY relation doesn't much specify transmission [...]
Once again the Shropshire Star wins Headline of the Day.
[IMG: gatley open gardens]
Sat 21st
16:58
Charles Kennedy: I miss being Rector of Glasgow University more than I miss being leader of the Libe...
Last week, Charles Kennedy spoke in Liverpool as part of the Liverpool John Moore University's Roscoe series of lectures. His subject was the ongoing debate on Scottish independence and his comments were, as you would expect, enlightening, in fact one ... Continue reading →
Sat 21st
16:55
Charles Kennedy: I miss being Rector of Glasgow University more than I missed being Leader of the Li...
[IMG: Charles Kennedy] Last week, Charles Kennedy spoke in Liverpool as part of the Liverpool John Moore University's Roscoe series of lectures. His subject was the ongoing debate on Scottish independence and his comments were, as you would expect, enlightening, in fact one of the most enlightening moments of the debate so far. The bar isn't that high, but Charles' lecture is actually very good. Here are some of the highlights. He started off by referring to his 6 years as Rector of Glasgow University, saying that he misses it more than he missed being leader of the Liberal Democrats. ...
Matt Damon is reportedly returning to play Jason Bourne. Here are 5 reasons he shouldn't. The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum are not just some of the best action films ever made; if you ask me they are some of the best films of any genre ever made. They are smart, [...]
Sat 21st
13:20Book Review: The Cruel Victory: The French Resistance, D-Day and the Battle for the Vercors 1944 by ...
[IMG: paddy book 2] It is not like me to read books about wars and battles, but after being so moved and angered by Paddy Ashdown's excellent portrayal of the inaugural mission of the Special Boat Service, A Brilliant Little Operation, I knew that I had to buy his next book. The Cruel Victory tells the story of the brave Resistance fighters who briefly controlled the Vercors plateau in south-east France in the Summer of 1944. The original plan was for the Vercors to be secured to help an Allied invasion from the south, but for various reasons, the support ...
Sat 21st
12:23
The next fuckin' cold caller is going to get a porcupine shoved right up their chuff - pointy end of...
June 21, 2014 at 12:21PM via Facebook
Sat 21st
12:23The next fuckin' cold caller is going to get a porcupine shoved right up their chuff - pointy end of...
via Facebook
[IMG: forced_marriage] Forcing someone to marry against their will has become a criminal offence. New legislation is designed to help people in England, Wales and UK nationals overseas who are at risk of becoming victims of forced marriage. Forced marriage can lead to physical, psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse, including being held captive, assaulted and raped. In 2013, the Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage to over 1300 people. The new legislation has also given law enforcement agencies powers that will allow them to pursue perpetrators in other countries. The legislation will ...
I have just finished John Campbell's very detailed and highly readable biography of Roy Jenkins. Campbell admits to being a Jenkins fan, but even so appears to give a "warts and all" account. The published extracts in the Daily Mail and reviews in other newspapers made great play of Jenkins's various sexual peccadilloes, but theses are a very minor part of the book: indeed hardly mentioned after the early chapters. Clearly newspaper editors and reviewers were motivated by "what sells papers" rather than balance. However, without claiming any sort of balance, I was particularly struck by the following: 1. (pp126/7). ...
Brexit could cost UK its UN Security Council seat, warns leading Tory | EurActiv (tags: ) I fought the law and the users won: delivering online voter registration (tags: ) Editor's blog: I am sexist • Eurogamer.net My sarcastic feminist self wants to say "well done, have a cookie", but honestly? This really is a sign of progress. (tags: ) TERF: what it means and where it came from | The TransAdvocate (tags: ) Trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare as money runs out: The reality of life under Atos (tags: ) ECB's decision stunts women cricketers' earning potential. (tags: ) ...
[IMG: Benefits-welfare] On Thursday we saw Ed Miliband deliver his big policy speech on welfare, introducing his 'youth tax' in an attempt to be tougher on the Tories than welfare. In the process he proved that Labour, not content with failing to manage the economy properly in their last time in government, have given up on any idea of fairness or social justice for their next time in government. Interestingly, the policy he announced had been reported on twice already by newspapers, the Sun and the Telegraph, over the course of the past year and, on each occasion, was rubbished ...
From Silicon Valley Watcher: The Internet Archive is housed in a wonderful San Francisco building that used to be a Christian Science church. In the pews along both sides of the large, skylight-lit auditorium, there is always a congregation: half-sized ceramic figures representing 100 "archivists" — people that contributed at least three years of service to the non-profit organization. Read more and see photos here.
[IMG: Dog at the window. Photo via http://imgur.com/gallery/L27nuwt - some rights reserved]
[IMG: License Some rights reserved by NCVO] Jackie Ballard was Lib Dem MP for Taunton from 1997 to 2001, winning her seat from the Tories before losing it after a single term – a defeat often attributed to her passionate opposition to blood sports, a controversial stand in the constituency. (Jeremy Browne re-gained Taunton in 2005.) Jackie stood for the party leadership when Paddy Ashdown stood down in 1999, but came fourth out of five candidates. She didn't look back after leaving parliament, and soon began a career in the charity sector, with five-year stints leading first the RSPCA then ...
Residents have recently complained to me about vehicles parking right on the end of several of the roads that join West Park Road causing sight lines difficulties at junctions - so asked if the transportation team at the City Council could look at yellow lining right at the junctions where appropriate. The Head of Transportation has advised:The intention is that in advance of the Harris Academy returning to the Perth Road the parking restrictions around the school will be revisited, along the lines of the wider vicinity previously proposed for parking restrictions but abandoned in light of the impending decant. ...
Why do the Economist think other cities competing for exciting new firms is an example of "politicians causing harm"? The Economist has a largely excellent article inspired by London's Tech Week. It covers the usual bases: London is exciting, diverse, creative, in the right time zone and close to the world of finance. Here are [...]
[IMG: rsz_1merchant_navy_memorial_-_liverpool_waterfront] Another of my occasional postings featuring war memorials in this the 100th anniversary year of the start of World War 1. This memorial recognises the lives lost in the merchant shipping fleets in both World Wars. It's setting in front of one of Liverpool's 3 Graces is fitting. The photo above is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/ My previous posting on this subject is at:-
There needs to be a new strategy from the Welsh government to put the needs of 16-17 year olds in the youth justice system at its core. The strategy is to be introduced after the Welsh government announced that it was not proceeding with a Youth Justice Bill during this Assembly term. Contributors to the Green paper consultation raised concerns that 16 and 17 year olds were being under-supported in the youth justice system with the allocation of provision more dependent on age rather than need. This is especially unfortunate as these young people are about to leave the youth ...
The Telegraph suggests that the UK Government is going to act to force a very simple reform onto mobile phone companies that will reduce the number of blackspots across the country. They say that Ministers are in talks with mobile phone operators about asking them to share mobile phone masts to increase coverage in rural areas. More importantly, Sajid Javid, the Culture, Media and Sport secretary, wants mobile phone firms to introduce national roaming for users in the UK. This change in policy is being driven by changes in the European Union which will bring in free roaming from 2016. ...
