It came on to rain when I was walking down Derngate in Northampton so I took refuge in the gift shop of number 78, which is famous as the only house in England designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. One day I shall go back and visit the house properly. In the mean time, here is a link to the 78 Derngate website as a thank you.
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Bahía de Banderas Banderas Bay, Mexico is an important breeding and birthing ground for the Humpback whale. [IMG: image] Photo:Some rights reserved by jesse.millan [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Monday Back to the roof of St Asquith's. As we look out across the great expanse of the Water, my companion asks if I think we might have a tsunami. "Good grief, woman!" I reply. "This is no time to worry about Japanese food. There could be a tidal wave at any moment!" Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South-West 1906-10. Earlier this week... On the roof of St Asquith'sIntroducing Freddie and Fiona
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our xxxth weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (-, 2014), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. The new Lib Dem Summer campaign is an ...
Short answer, no. There are a few rumours on Twitter at the moment that Dolly mimed during her Glastonbury performance. There are a few things I'd like to point out, because rumours like this are only slightly less annoying than people being all 'OMG, does Gamu really sound like that?'. 1. OMG, but it totes looks like she's miming. And you're watching on the BBC Coverage? Yeah, it does look like she's miming, because there's a glitch in the sight and sound syncing. When I watched it on the live stream, no such glitch appeared, in the edit, they've bungled ...
[IMG: Lib Dems winning here] Here's the full list of selection contests in the coming month available for Lib Dems on the approved parliamentary candidates' list, together with the closing date for applications. They include Portsmouth South, where the incumbent MP, Mike Hancock, is currently suspended from the Lib Dems and is therefore ineligible to be selected for the party; and also the City of Durham, on paper the 27th most winnable seat for the Lib Dems, needing a swing of just over 3%. The following seats have selections in progress and are currently advertising for candidates: Bracknell, 3rd July ...
The Times is said to have once headlined a story: "Fog in Channel - Continent isolated." A similar, doubtless apocryphal, story speaks of a proud mother watching her solider son marching past with his squad and remarking: "They're all our of step but Jim." With similar self-centred blindness, Cameron's defeat, by 26 to 2, in his opposition to the proposal to adopt Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission is hailed as a triumph by Britain's sycophantic right-wing press. Truly a triumph of perception management. Cameron's first, and now little reported, mistake was to take the Tory's ...
Farewell ergonomics, hello dissertation proposal! At least, that's what I started to write last Sunday evening, before realising that I also have Module 4 on The Psychology of Organising and two assignments to complete this summer as well! But there is some good news in my, ahem, inability to organise myself properly. The first module assignment asks us to contrast the usefulness of a couple of different leadership theories and evaluate them as a way of helping a fictitious manufacturing organisation out of crisis of confidence in its management. Working my way through the module units, their associated readings and ...
The Sheffield Star reports: A fugitive criminal from Sheffield has written to The Star - to correct a 'mistake' police made in an appeal for information about his whereabouts. Burglar Darrell Burbeary has been on the run for 11 days after escaping from Moorland Open Prison in Doncaster. South Yorkshire Police said they believed he could be heading for his home in Heeley. But now stickler-for-detail Burbeary, aged 43, has contacted The Star by letter to say: "You wrote a statement about me saying my home roots were Heeley. "You couldn't be further from the truth. "My home roots are ...
[IMG: 7 ver 4 full] Many thanks to the 12,400visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Why changing leader now WILL save the party in 2015 and beyond (363 comments) by Jonathan Pile Lord Storey on Nick Clegg: Not popular, nice guy, principled. What do the headlines report? Toxic (83 comments) by Caron Lindsay Opinion: Tuition Fees not the crime of the century (142 comments) by Paul Walter The Orange Book: 10 years on, 5 thoughts from me on its legacy (35 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: "Orange Bookers" are the boldest thinkers ...
[IMG: lib dem conf voting] Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 830 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. 48% say schools should not allow parents to take their children out of school during term time Do you think schools should or should not allow parents to take their children out of school during term time for the purpose of taking family holidays? 44% – Should allow parents to take children ...
A fortnight ago I published Matter of Facts' first ever guest post from my friend Helen arguing amongst other things for the beauty of a Christian worldview. In this response from a non-religious viewpoint Robin McGhee argues that a world without God is potentially far more beautiful than one with: I find atheism is [...]
Notice from district council Registering to vote is simpler than ever following the launch of a new national online voter registration system. You can now register to vote online in just a few minutes at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. You will be asked to provide a name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number. The online registration system has been tested with real users over many months. It is compatible with all platforms, including smart phones and tablets, providing maximum convenience for people wanting to register online. Mike Lovelady, St Albans City and District Council's Electoral Registration Officer, said: "You need to ...
[IMG: St Just Library] St Just Library Libraries as Community Hubs is an interesting vision for libraries that needs exploring quickly before funding strangles the life from the public library service throughout England. People may be wondering, having stirred the St Just community into action, what am I doing now to support our much loved local library? Well, I am taking every opportunity possible to influence the future for our local library but, as the saying goes, if it stands still it will be falling behind! At the public meeting people became concerned that I talked of not ruling anything ...
[IMG: Libby - Some rghts reserved by David Spender] Yes, you read the headline right. Ladbrokes' The Political Bookie blog this week featured five seats where, based on the betting, they reckon the Lib Dems might confound expectations... 1. Montgomeryshire. Conservative majority 1,184 "Some are expecting a turnaround with a new candidate." Her name is Jane Dodds, selected a year ago. 2. Watford. Conservative majority 1,425 "In Lord Ashcroft's constituency specific polling, they were just 5 points behind the Tories." It is also the top Lib Dem target from the Tories not yet to have selected a candidate. 3. Oxford ...
From the Independent website: Cabinet members have received an "urgent plea" to stop clogging up the statute book with unnecessary new criminal offences. ... Mr Hughes sent every Secretary of State a letter last week calling for prudence over introducing new criminal offences. At the end of this year Mr Hughes will publish figures on the number of new criminal offences that have been introduced in this Parliament, as well as those that have been removed or amended. Mr Hughes said: "I wouldn't be surprised in the first year of using this comprehensive methodology if there is a net increase ...
[IMG: student_ipad_school - 175] Labour's shadow education secretary, Tristram Hunt, this week called on Michael Gove to rule out profit-making schools, arguing "Beyond 2015, whether it admits it or not, the Conservative Party intends to introduce the profit motive into English education". The Tories have sidestepped the issue and instead invited Labour to turn its fire on the Lib Dems: they claim that Nick Clegg's advisers Julian Astle and Richard Reeves were behind-the-scenes cheerleaders for profit-making schools. The mercurial Dominic Cummings, Gove's former special adviser, has made the same allegation. This may very well be Tory mischief-making, we don't know. ...
I first heard this recording on BBC Radio 3's wonderfully eclectic Late Junction one night and was spooked by it. It dates from 1958, when the children of The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts were not trained for parts in EastEnders. As a result, the pagan notes here sound much scarier. I wouldn't put it past these sweet little children to burn us all in a wicker man. On Sinfini Music Jonny Trunk tells how he rediscovered and republished Orff's music for children. He then says: To me this music is very beautiful and also evocative of a fascinating ...
Sun 29th
09:55
Watch and laugh: Clarke and Dawe - The Title of This Item Was Deemed to be Freighted and Has Been Re...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: You can also watch this on YouTube.
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention in the past couple of days... Labour's electorate: The new working class | The Economist If you haven't yet read @JeremyCliffe's "Labour's electorate: The new working class" then you really should http://econ.st/1wWEUSN Magna Carta and British Values | History Today Magna Carta isn't very British and anyway its values are universal http://bit.ly/1q1xZoV < V good from Nigel Saul No one cares what Britain thinks. Hurrah | The Times Depressing post from Matthew Parris, unless you do think our responsibilities to others end at national boundaries http://thetim.es/1jZw9PK An hour with the ...
I think I had my noisiest lunch ever the other day. Sat there in an excellent cafe when it hit me; a wall of sound. No one had told me it was National Screaming Day for pre-school kids. It would not be fair on the proprietors to name the cafe as it was not their fault they had been invaded by 10 to 15 tired and emotional under 5's (and their parents) who seemed hell bent on kicking up a rumpus! The parents/guardians, however, seemed blissfully unaware or at best disinterested in the cacophony of sound from their kids! When ...
Sun 29th
08:30
Steve Webb writes... Lib Dems will write the pensions 'triple lock' guarantee into law
[IMG: webb 01] For decades, successive Labour and Conservative governments allowed the state pension to decline after Margaret Thatcher broke the 'earnings link' in 1980. The nadir of this was in the Labour years, when Gordon Brown increased the state pension by just 75p a week. I was determined that the Liberal Democrats would do something about this appalling situation. In our manifesto in 2010 we campaigned on a 'triple lock' guarantee. This was a commitment that the pension would rise by whichever rating was highest in each year - by earnings, prices or 2.5%. I am proud that we ...
The public footpath on the east side of Riverside Approach is obstructed by overgrown foliage - see right : I have asked the City Council if steps can be taken to have the foliage cut back.
The Evening Standard reports: [IMG: Tower Hamlets logo] Scotland Yard are investigating two new complaints relating to election fraud at Tower Hamlets Council. There are currently 10 investigations being made by officers, including allegations of failing to put a correct imprint on elections literature and making false statements about a candidate. Police said four complaints relate to allegations of false declarations made on nominations papers, two relate to postal voting and two relate to electoral fraud... Three men have been arrested in connection with police enquiries. Good thing the police are taking a rather more robust line than the Electoral ...
The planning application for the Islamic teaching and cultural centre at 40 Foxland Road, Gatley to be able to open 24 hours a day has been withdrawn by the applicants. This means the application is no longer live and will not be coming forward for a decision by either officers or councillors. As local councillors, we've worked to keep residents informed and we've also spoken to the applicants to ensure they understand the concerns being raised with us and with the planners. The applicants may bring forward a new application either for the same thing or something different in the ...
"We are furious that there is to be another cut to Ludlow's bus service. We are just as angry that there has been no public consultation or a public announcement about the cuts." That's the view of Councillors Vivienne Parry and Andy Boddington after Shropshire Council sneaked out a new timetable for the town's 722 [...]
An article from a few days ago in the Independent details the shocking cost of ICT contracts for central government and local councils. They say that private IT companies are being paid almost £5 billion a year by the taxpayer to run Government computer networks: An analysis of contracts across Whitehall shows that the American computer giant Hewlett-Packard alone was paid £140m a month last year by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Ministry of Justice for computer services. Another IT firm, Capgemini, holds contracts worth £1bn a year to supply and maintain computers across central and ...
I welcome the news that UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable has introduced a bill to ban exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts in order to give workers more choice. In some circumstances, Zero-hours contracts can benefit not just employers, but employees too. Students, older people and single parents who value flexibility have the chance to turn down work at inconvenient times and top up their income when they need extra cash. With the ban on exclusivity clauses, employees will have more freedom to boost their income further. I am pleased that the UK Government and in particular a Liberal Democrat Minister ...
Government has announced that couples already in civil partnerships can convert to marriage from the 10 December 2014. Liberal Democrats have been fighting in the coalition to make equal marriage the law and we were delighted to see the first same-sex wedding take place in March. The new situation means that all couples, regardless of gender, will have the choice between a marriage or a civil partnership. As part of the Marriage Act, there has also been a review launched today by the Government into whether or not to allow non-religious belief organisations such as humanists, to perform marriage ceremonies. ...
(This is chapter five of a children's book I'm serialising on here. Chapters one through four can be read here). Holly was very, very careful with her investigation. She didn't know if she'd gone into the past or the future — although she thought it was probably the past, because that was the way she'd [...]
