Filmed, I believe, on 13 January 2013.
Tonight I went to see Pride at Komedia in Bath. I'd seen it advertised, and just knew that I'd have to go and see it. It covers the work of LGSM - Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners, a group formed during the height of the 1984 Miners' Strike. It follows the story of how a group of LGBT people ran street collections, jumble sales and benefit gigs to raise money for struggling mining communities in South Wales as the strike wore on and grew more and more bitter. The film was cast incredibly well, the plot dipped and peaked ...
Tue 16th
22:17
Former dinner lady jailed for running £150k skunk cannabis factory at her Leicester home
Headline of the Day sees a home win by the Leicester Mercury.
Before I can start my chemotherapy treatment, I've been booked in for a number of other tests. As well as a battery of blood tests that I was given last week, I've had a bone marrow biopsy today to see if the cancer has spread there and tomorrow I'll be undergoing a PET scan in Nottingham so that the extent of the lymphoma can be understood and staged. Stage I is the earliest, with stage IV being the most advanced. Due to the way that mantle cell lymphoma hides itself from the body's immune system, I've been told to expect ...
My keyboard is misbehaving today - when I try to type i I get ik7, - but I can cut and paste. So hear is some great comment on the referendum debate. First, Ian Jack (one of my favourite journalists) mourns the possible end of Britishness: In the SNP's big-change but no-change version of independence, nobody's identity is at risk. If people want to think of themselves as British as well as Scottish, then they can keep calm and carry on. As Salmond wrote, soothingly, in the same document: "Much of what Scotland will be like the day after independence ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above:- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_319 I think the word 'new' is a little over the top as these EMU's were originally built in 1987-88 and 1990!
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, along with Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour counterpart Ed Miliband, has signed a pledge to devolve more powers to Holyrood in the event of a "No" vote. The pledge, which promises "extensive new powers" for Scotland's Parliament "delivered by the process and to the timetable agreed", has been described by Better Together as "a vision around which Scotland can unite". The leaders also affirm that "the UK exists to ensure opportunity and security for all by sharing our resources equitably" and ensures that the Barnett formula will continue to be used to allocate resources. ...
[IMG: image] On November 1st 2012 I received this email from Jim Messina, Campaign manager, Obama for America: Paul — In about 48 hours, we're making our final budget decisions as a campaign. We'll look at what we have in the bank and match it up with what we think we need to do to win in these last few days. If we can't fully fund our operations at this stage, it could be the difference between winning and losing. Every dollar that comes in is budgeted and put to use right away, down to the last penny. According to ...
I got the train into Bradford to go to work today. I get the train into work a lot. Sometimes it's late, and I gripe. Sometimes it's full, and I gripe about that too, especially if it's a smelly ancient Pacer. Sometimes it's empty, and the seats are nice, and I get a table to myself. Sometimes I get the sexy driver with the long hair and beard*. Sometimes I have chats with @NorthernRailOrg on twitter**. Today is the first time I have ever been on a train that hit a person. Bradford Interchange's platforms are all bay platforms, so ...
Tue 16th
17:01
Lip Service star complains to John Lewis on Twitter she has no bed. You can guess what happened next
-Follow and keep in touch!Ruta Gedmintas is the swoon inducing star of Lip Service, the BBC story of sapphic love in Scotland. She tweeted the John Lewis department store, complaining that her new bed had not arrived. The results were nothing if not predictable. Can't blame a girl (or 2,) for trying!
After a few recent comments I thought I would remind everybody of this:Anonymous commenting is enabled, although anon comments may be screened before publication; please, if you comment anonymously, give yourself a name. It gets very confusing talking to two anons at once.I don't censor comments unless pushed VERY hard. Red lines include racism, misogyny, homophobia, unjoking advocation of violence, and being horrible about or to people I love.If you want to point out cock-ups I have made, please direct them to Pedants' Corner; likewise if you want to ask me something off the topic of the post please go ...
Wings Over Scotland's Wee Blue Book has been distributed to voters from Yes Scotland stalls around the country. It's also available online for people to read. My friend Toby Fenwick, a bit of a geek on the numbers front, has ... Continue reading →
-Follow and keep in touch!Trafalgar Square resembled the Jubilee celebrations yesterday, as people gathered to ask the Scots to stay part of the Union. These people do not have a vote in the referendum on Thursday, but they do have a voice. Armed with Union Jacks and Saltires, they were determined to make it heard. [...]
For those of us who live with cats, this article in the Telegraph strikes a particular chord. They quote an animal behaviourist who suggests that cats suffer from stress because owners expect them to behave like dogs. Dr. John Bradshaw says that people expect cats to be thoroughly domesticated, to enjoy being petted and to be relaxed about sharing their living space. But they fail to understand that lavishing a cat with affection will not necessarily make it feel more content: "Unlike dogs, the cat is still halfway between a domestic and a wild animal, and it's not enjoying 21st ...
Spread campaign to cancel Police & Crime Commissioner elections in 2016. I am calling on the Government to cancel Police & Crime Commissioner elections in 2016. With only my local efforts the petition calling on the Government to reverse the decision that created Police and Crime Commissioners has gained 173 signatures. With your help I can get many more to click the link and sign the petition at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/68799 Visit my Campaign page, on this website, for information on how you can help spread the campaign. The post Spread campaign to cancel Police & Crime Commissioner elections in 2016 appeared ...
I lived in Crystal Palace, on a hill in south London, for more than half my life. Now I don't. As threatened during July, I've moved into a very English small town, nestling in the South Downs, and I have no regrets. But I am slightly flummoxed and I thought I would share this perspective. Maybe one of you might enlighten me. My town is outside the commuter belt, one of the advantages of being impossible to commute from, and it is in some ways a step back into a bygone age. People are patient and polite in the street. ...
You might think so from these photos of his office in the heart of Edinburgh West [IMG: Crockart yes 1] [IMG: Crockart Yes 2] Not for the first time, his staff have had to take down Yes posters which had been glued on to the office windows. Yesterday a cavalcade of Yes cars parked outside the office and played loud music next to Mike's No Thanks street stall. Why do they bother with nonsense like that. This, sadly, is one of the milder incidents of intimidatory behaviour which are becoming commonplace across Scotland. I have lost count of the number ...
More than once yesterday I sat in the UN building in New York and thought of the similarities between what we were discussing on a global basis and the reality of the challenges that we face in a daily basis ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Lynne Featherstone on the doorstep] Want to know how to win election campaigns? You can learn from the very best of international experience with a free 10-week email course from myself and Ed Maxfield. Sign up at www.CampaignMasterclass.com and each week you'll receive one lesson by email, helping you become a top election winning campaigner or candidate yourself. It's a great way to make sure you don't fall foul of mistakes such as Five of the most common mistakes that Lib Dem campaigners make. We've helped, advised and run election campaigns across Europe and even further afield - and ...
[IMG: Mark Pack - FPC manifesto] Over the weekend I ran a guest post from Lib Dem President candidate Linda Jack setting out her ideas for reforming the party. Her set of four problems she wants to address is a promising diagnosis of what needs changing in the way the party is run – especially as they are all issues that have applied under multiple party leaders and so avoid the trap that some in the party fall into of responding to any discussion about party reform with 'it's all about Nick Clegg'. It's also promising to see her starting ...
Tue 16th
11:32
Charles Kennedy launches new Liberal Democrat Poster van tour "Why would we walk away?"
[IMG: Charles Kennedy poster launch] In Glasgow this morning, Charles Kennedy launched a new Liberal Democrat poster campaign reminding people of the good things that the UK has created together. Why would you walk away? is its theme. At the launch, Charles said: People often ask us for the positive reasons to say No Thanks. They want to hear good things about our place in the UK. And so they should. Like millions of Scots I've had the benefit of being part of a bigger UK. And I don't believe that we should walk away from that. Together, our family ...
[IMG: gatley junction lines] One of the toughest problems to solve has been the right turn from Cheadle and Gatley. Long queues build up as often only about three cars get to turn with each change of the lights. We spent a long time investigating right-filters but we can't do that – all the evidence is that even a short right-filter would cause much longer queues in other directions. An issue raised by many residents is that, when you're waiting to turn right at the front of the queue, you can't see the oncoming traffic as your view's blocked by ...
North East Fife Sir Menzies Campbell MP has written in an article for the Scotsman that "The choice is clear. People can either vote to leave the UK, with all the risks and uncertainties that independence offers. Or they can vote for a stronger and safer Scottish Parliament within the UK." You can read more here: Scotsman Article By Sir Menzies Campbell MP
Having promised a while ago to try and explain some concepts from political science, I think it's time to make a start. The first few posts on this are going to be about parties and party competition, partly because that's an area I've been studying recently, and partly because I think it'll be of most interest to a lot of you. One thing we often here in discussions about politics is what type of party system a country has, specifically how many parties. For instance, the USA is generally referred to as a two-party system, Belgium is a multi-party system ...
MoneyWise Haringey is a local project run by the Citizens Advice Bureau, to help people manage their finances. Alongside advice on saving, benefits, and bills, they have arranged a jobs fair on 1st October. To ensure that everyone gets the most out of the experience, MoneyWise are offering free haircuts and CV training on the day, as well as entering all registered attendees in a prize draw. I run an annual apprenticeship event (this year's was at the Civic Centre earlier this month) and so I have seen first-hand how beneficial getting into work is for young people - the ...
I will post details of our visit to the Friends of Williamson's Tunnels tomorrow.
Today there are more affordable products than ever. Not only have freer markets driven down prices on almost every consumer good imaginable they have expanded range. You can get more luxury goods than ever before but you can also get more discount/budget goods. Electronics, clothing, food, beauty products, household items, I could go on... And yet we are experiencing a so-called 'Cost of Living Crisis.' This is a fundamentally dishonest way of framing the debate about cost of living today. There is no 'cost of food crisis,' no 'cost of washing machines crisis,' and no 'cost of clothes' crisis. The ...
There now follow a series of links to things I want for the kitchen: 1, Zombie Bowl (tags: ) 2, Doctor Who TARDIS Kitchen Gift Set (tags: ) 3, Planetary Plates (tags: ) 4, Chef Cutting Board for control freaks - never have your partner cut the wrong size! (tags: ) Tory MP advises clients on tax ... gets caught in 'tax avoidance' scheme OfC this dude voted FOR the bedroom tax to punish "scroungers". (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Tue 16th
09:52Willie Rennie: If it turns out that Alex Salmond has been talking codswallop, there's nothing we can...
Willie Rennie has made a video talking about the great assets of the UK, asking why would we ever walk away from those great things. I'd have lost the tie and sat him down and got a more casual jacket, but he's talking a lot of sense. He also emphasises the irreversibility of independence, even if Alex Salmond is found to have been completely wrong. Enjoy. * Caron Lindsay is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Tue 16th
09:21
Close polls in the Independence Referendum underscore the dangers of public alienation from politics
[IMG: yes-scotland-poster-dont-let-them-tell-us-we-cant] Yesterday I wrote about the Nick Robinson BBC thing, pointing out that I thought it was weird for a bunch of nationalists who will be voting to make their nation an independent one in a few days time to frame a complaint as if they were a bunch of stingy Brits, here to stay. I got a lot of angry comments, which I was obviously expecting. The lamest amongst them were of the "Scotland won't be independent in three days time, it will take two years to separate", a technicality that doesn't get to the heart of the ...
Tue 16th
08:56
What land owners/developers have planned for Sefton's East Parishes – Green Belt building on a...
Posting 1 covered north eastern Lydiate, posting 2 western Maghull & Lydiate, posting 3 eastern Maghull (including Labour's truly massive urban extension to Maghull) and posting 4 Melling and Aintree Village. This posting is about land to the south of Maghull. Let's have a look at a map. Click to enlarge it:- [IMG: The site is behind The Crescent and Fouracres and it is not actually in Maghull but in Sefton Civil Parish. The red line in this case is the boundary between Maghull & Sefton Civil Parishes.] The site is behind The Crescent and Fouracres and it is not ...
Sir Menzies Campbell, whose Commission drew up the Liberal Democrats' proposals for more powers to the Scottish Parliament, has written for the Scotsman saying that he thinks federalism is closer than we could ever have imagined. Who would have thought two years ago that politicians and civic groups across the United Kingdom would have so vocally debated, let alone whisper, the need for a fully federal UK? Whilst Liberal Democrats were first out the blocks with our plans for radical change, others have followed in quick succession. IPPR, STUC, former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Murdo Fraser of the Scottish ...
Spotted in San Francisco: [IMG: Boxed water in San Francisco] Leaving aside the benefits of good quality tap water compared to bottled or boxed water, this idea highlights the tension that can exist between encouraging reuse and recycling. Compare simply the box to a plastic bottle and the box comes out well on environmental grounds. However, when you factor in reuse, the plastic bottle at least offers the possibility of multiple reuse whilst the box is a one-off. If you want people to make multiple uses of packaging before it gets recycled, boxes are a step backwards.
Tuesday: OK, nobody needs a fluffy elephant wading into the debate that Scotland is having over her future. Where do fluffy elephants even come from, anyway? I'm as British as a Tikka Masala! I don't feel English. English is small. British is about being part of something bigger! But this referendum looks like ending in a dead heat and that's going to leave a lot of people unhappy. 50% plus 1 vote for staying is not going to settle the question for a generation; but equally it's no mandate for a brave new nation to cast itself upon fortune's ocean. ...
Our future in our hands: which way is best? If you had asked me four years ago what I thought of the idea of Scottish independence the scorn and incredulity on my face would have been apparent before you had finished the sentence. Of course I was against it. I saw it as parochial, superficial, divisive and really rather peculiar. I also, perhaps unlike most Scots, saw Britishness as an immutable characteristic of my identity. Why would I want to break up my country? What a ridiculous proposition! Moreover, insofar as Scottish independence was articulated, I heard it mostly from ...
So the Scots go to the polls in just a few days. I've been musing on this for a while now trying to work out my thoughts on it all. As a liberal I believe strongly in the principle of self determination. Scottish independence, whilst it will impact the whole of the UK, can ultimately [...]
What my encounter with the late Ian Paisley taught me about political and religious extremism. I didn't know what one was supposed to do while listening to a demagogue but I knew I hadn't expected to be straining to hear him. Ian Paisley's image is of course forever set as the man booming: "NEVER, NEVER, [...]
OK, after too long away from this post series, I'm starting them (and the Time Machine and Cerebus) posts up again, assuming my aching hands allow me to. For those who don't remember, a few months ago I started a series of posts on what Liberalism is, what direction it needs to go in in [...]
Thursday's Scottish referendum looks set to go to the wire and despite the best efforts of the Westminster establishment the last days of scaremongering looks like it has only halted YES's momentum - but has clearly not turned it into any movement for the NO campaign. So its likely effect is to reduce participation and drive turnout down - particularly from those who don't usually participate in the democratic process. The pitch of the NO campaign is basically that it is too risky and uncertain for Scotland to take any decisions other than those Westminster, Whitehall and the City of ...
My husband and I disagree on the subject of the referendum. He, a Canadian of Scottish descent, believes wholeheartedly that Scotland should vote No. I, an Englishwoman with no Scottish connections whatsoever, am undecided but veer towards Yes. The fact is that I can't possibly know how I'd vote if I lived in Scotland, but [...]
