We're now half way through West End Christmas Fortnight and we've had a great first week! Earlier today both the Friends of Blackness Christmas Fair took place at Blackness Primary School - see photo right - and the Morven Terrace/Ancrum Place Sheltered Housing had their coffee morning. Here's some of the events taking place during the final week of West End Christmas Fortnight : • Sunday 30th November - Introduction to Papermaking - workshop at Dundee Contemporary Arts - from 11am! More information by calling DCA on 909900. • Sunday 30th November - Friends of Riverside Nature Park are organising ...
The Liberal Democrats need more passion and less PowerPoint, says King in Kilburn. "Scientific accolades don't get much bigger. Percy Bridgman, an American physicist active during the first half of the 20th century, has just had one-third of the planet named after him, although it's a chunk of Earth that we will probably never see." The New Scientist explains. Ladybird Books were full of stereotyping, for they were not branded for boys or girls until the last few years, shows Old Ladybird Books (from whom I have borrowed this image). "Once we were in for a vote and crossed paths ...
When I was a small boy I often used to go to the cinema in Monton near Eccles, which had a sixpenny Saturday afternoon matinée. And it was there that for the one and only time in my life I sat through a film twice: 101 Dalmatians. I don't suppose there are many cinemas left [...]
My first day as candidate in Blaydon constituency got off to a flying start - I was dive bombed by one of my hens who thought it would be great fun to fly in my direction from the top of the goat fence early this morning at feeding time. Mud, however, was the real story of the day. Our land is under lots of mud and the livestock churn it up in an attempt to recreate something more akin to the
The Independent wins Headline of the Day.
The item above on the Echo web site – please follow the link – is fascinating especially for someone like me with a keen interest in the life and works of Frank Hornby, Maghull's most famous resident. [IMG: MPP_LEC_261114_Factory_10] There are old photos of many of Liverpool's former and some present factories and a fair few of them are of the Famous Meccano factory in Liverpool's Binns Road. Well worth a look at. Thanks to the Echo for an excellent nostalgia piece.
[IMG: Sal Brinton] SAL BRINTON! Many congratulations to her and well done to all three candidates for competing in an excellent campaign. This post will be updated with fuller details and reaction in due course. Special thanks also to the staff and volunteers who have been counting in Liberal Democrat HQ since early this morning. It's been a bit of a marathon with initial problems in getting the votes verified but they've all done a great job. Results in full: 1st Round Sal BRINTON: 7865 Daisy COOPER: 4530 Liz LYNNE: 4389 Spoilt Ballots: 25 Liz Lynne is eliminated in the ...
When last Tuesday I went to the church in Leeds where we run classes of English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) for immigrants and asylum seekers, there was a bicycle chained to the rail by the South Door. I thought little of it: it certainly didn't impede access. But half an hour later the caretaker interrupted my class to demand if it belonged to anyone and a young Somali chap said it was his (given later events in the week I might have thought "pleaded guilty.") He was asked to move it and did so without any fuss, though ...
Tuesday saw Ros return to the subject of transport, something that she has taken a keen interest in over many years, when she took the opportunity to raise something which is somewhat puzzling, i.e. the lack of regulation of cycle rickshaws... Baroness Scott of Needham Market (LD): Does the Minister share my concerns about the cycle rickshaws or pedicabs that operate in parts of central London? Unlicensed, the drivers are not required to be trained or insured; nor do they undergo CRB checks. Do the Government intend to take up the recommendation of the Law Commission and create local authority ...
Something is not quite right about the Lib Dem message at the moment. That may seem like a statement of the obvious while we remain on single figures in most polls. But it is a bit of a puzzle. Having talked it over with various party colleagues and read a few blogs in a similar [...]
Political parties in Britain are increasingly involved in encouraging their supporters to get on the electoral register, partly because thanks to population mobility having risen over the decades it is increasingly common for canvassers to find people on the doorsteps who are supporters but not (yet) on the register. One key piece of information at the moment is whether or not someone who is on the register has moved over to individual registration or not. If they haven't, they risk dropping off the register in the future when the current transition arrangements get phased out and, more immediately, can't be ...
Sat 29th
10:54
In 2015, if the Lib Dems hold on to as many seats as latest polling suggests, should we thank NO2AV?
[IMG: liberal democrat tory conservative logos] Earlier in the week, Stephen Tall covered the latest Ashcroft poll of Lib Dem held seats, which was encouraging. Over on Political Betting, our old friend Mike Smithson offers this intriguing thought: If the LDs hold on to as many seats as the latest polling suggests then Clegg should thank NO2AV. Mike opines further: In almost all of the seats the yellows look set to retain their vote share will be in the thirties. They've lost a lot of votes since the heady days of May 2010 but the Tories have lost nearly as ...
[IMG: europe_2443632b] David Cameron gave a hotly anticipated speech on immigration yesterday (well, hotly anticipated if you're a politics geek anyhow). Some hoped/feared it would be staunchly anti-EU, and possibly in a worst/best case scenario (depending on your point of view) would set the stage for a Brexit. Thankfully (from my perspective anyhow), it didn't do that. Instead, it was quite reasoned, and probably the only speech Cameron could really have given under the circumstances, now that I look back on it. The centrepiece of the whole thing was Cameron setting out his plans to convince other EU partners to ...
[IMG: Keith, Graham, Pam and Iain] Keith, Graham, Pam and Iain Local campaigner Graham Greenhalgh has been selected to fight for Cheadle and Gatley as the Lib Dem candidate in the 2015 local elections. Cllr Pam King is to stand down in May after 13 years public service for our area. Graham has lived locally on Borrowdale Avenue with his family for 25 years and has been an important part of the Lib Dem team for some time. Cllr Iain Roberts said "In the years that Pam has worked for our area she's made a huge difference. I've long since ...
Cape Cornwall Schools Christmas Appeal is looking for businesses and individuals to donate items to their Christmas raffle so they can raise funds to make up hampers for the older members of our community. The more money they raise, the more of our senior citizens will get a hamper this Christmas. They are looking for some major star prizes to encourage people to buy raffle tickets so if you run a business, this could be of mutual benefit! Your business gets some positive marketing, the school raises more money and more older people in the St Just and Penden areas ...
[IMG: 1024px-Prince_Bernhard_and_Mobutu_Sese_Seko_1973] Zaire was a weird place to say the least. The Belgians, when they ruled the country, called the capital city Leopoldville, after the Belgian king. Domiano Ndege, during his brief reign, called it Africana. He thought that one day he'd rule all of Africa from the place, the deluded narcissist. Mobutu ended that dream real quick like. Whenever a misguided moron manages to get his hands on power, some ruthless bastard will take it from him. See Stalin/Trotsky or Napoleon/Mirabeau for historically relevant examples. Nowadays, the capital of Zaire is called Kinshasa. Mobuto and his thugs don't usually ...
Sat 29th
10:00A longer read for the weekend... David Laws on 'Education: Lessons from this parliament and directio...
[IMG: david laws centre forum] David Laws, Lib Dem minister for schools, delivered a keynote speech at CentreForum this week, 'Education: Lessons from this parliament and directions for the next'. As the title suggests, it was a reflection on the Coalition's policies, and in particular the Lib Dems' achievements. But also a look forward to what he sees as the major educational issues and what Lib Dems should be seeking to do in the next parliament. You can read the full text over at CentreForum's site here. But here's an excerpt in which David looks to the challenges of the ...
Sat 29th
09:55
Watch and laugh: Clarke and Dawe - (Some of these prizes will need to be looked at next year Mark).
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
I was invited to one of the monthly meetings of the Maghull & Lydiate Action Group last Wednesday evening as was a Labour Sefton Councillor. Sadly, Labour had declined to attend I was told. We discussed a whole range of issues associated with Sefton Council's Local Plan, why it is dangerous to even consider building on high grade agricultural land, how the Green Belt can be protected from development etc. etc. This group certainly knows their stuff and I credit them with doing a huge amount of investigation and research. The 30 or more people who form their committee seemed ...
Terry Pratchett rethought as a philosopher in new study (tags: ) LEGO's letter to parents, and how not to tell a fake when you don't see one (tags: ) Enoch Powell would have enjoyed David Cameron's immigration speech (tags: ) UKIP warns of Schrödinger's immigrant who 'lazes around on benefits whilst simultaneously stealing your job' (tags: ) Calderdale A&E to be downgraded to a part-time minor injuries unit So I guess Craig Whittaker wasn't actually LYING when he said it wasn't in the plan to CLOSE it... :/ (tags: ) LGA calls for constitutional convention (tags: ) Farage has fallen ...
A constituent recently wrote to me in the following terms : "I would like to report two potholes which have appeared in Hillcrest Road - this being the part of the road which was not resurfaced 2 years ago. One is actually where the old and new surfaces join. These require to be filled in before the winter weather makes them much worse." I raised this matter with the council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and have been advised as follows : "The Roads Maintenance Partnership inspector for the area has raised an order for these two potholes to be repaired with ...
If you thought it was bad in the UK, then watch this to see how bad it can get:
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. 747 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. On Thursday, the Smith Commission published its recommendations on how to take forward the promise made by all three party leaders to deliver extensive powers for Scotland in the event of a No vote. As my co-editor Caron noted then: "Federalism was never going to come out of this. It couldn't, given that you need the co-operation of ...
Congratulations (again) to Jon Featonby, continuing to lead the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 12, having amassed a Chelsea-esque 729 points. That's enough to put John in the top 0.05% of the 3.5m global players of the league. Not bad. He's put a little space between himself and nearest rivals George Murray (709) and Sam Bowman (700). Just 84 points separates 10th and 1st places, though, so it's far from over. [IMG: LDV FANTASY FOOTBALL_12] There are 157 players in total and you can still join the league by clicking here. * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat ...
[IMG: Budget Cuts sign with clouds and sky background] I've had an unusual and vaguely discomfiting experience. I found myself largely in agreement with a leader in the Economist. I may need a lie down. I can console myself with the thought that what the Economist is saying - that the Conservatives' fiscal plans for the next Parliament are damaging nonsense - would seem to be pretty much the majority, if not the consensus, view. Seeking to legislate to remove the deficit through slashing spending while at the same time delivering a tax cut is not the most impressively coherent ...
So there's an outside possibility that you might have noticed this already but the trailer for the upcoming Star Wars film has arrived: This must be fast becoming some of the most closely analysed 90 seconds of footage ever. Despite this it's hard to tell too much about the final film from it. This is the [...]
Figures released this week show that, in October, 55.5% of emergency responses to Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls arrived at the scene within 8 minutes - down from 58.9% in September 2014 and from 65.2% in October 2013 - well below the target of 65%. In England and Scotland the target for the same priority call is 75%. Some of these figures are absolutely shocking. If you live in Torfaen or Caerphilly, last month you had less than a 44% chance of getting an urgent ambulance within 8 minutes. The fact that the 65% target was met in just 3 ...
The initial plan for this book was that it would be about 50,000 words, and cover roughly fifty songs, and be done by some time in December 2014. My writing pace has been such that were I keeping to that original plan, I would have hit that target. The current draft stands at 43532 words, [...]
Van Dyke Parks was already a major figure in the LA music scene before he started working with Brian Wilson, being involved in one way or another with Tim Buckley, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the Mothers of Invention, but he was unknown outside the music scene — a genius looking for the right vehicle [...]
