The University of Leicester is holding a public open day on Saturday 21 March to demonstrate the historical and scientific work that went into finding and identifying the remains of Richard III. The university website says: The University of Leicester, which located and excavated the bones, will hold an exclusive event giving people access to the academics and facilities which were instrumental in proving the identity of the king. The free interactive and hands-on workshops and talks will take place on Saturday 21 March, at the University campus and will include The Discovery Journey - which looks at the excavation ...
A few months ago the Islamic Centre held its first open day, inviting local residents to take a look around, speak to the people running the centre, find out more about what it does and enjoy some refreshments. [IMG: islamic foxland] Now they are holding a second open day on Saturday, 21st February 2015 and everyone is welcome to drop in for a few minutes, find out more about the centre, and raise issues or ask questions. The open day starts at 1.30pm and will run till 4.00pm on 21st February and, of course, free refreshments will be served.
Paul Givan last night of BBC's The View and again on the radio during this morning's Stephen Nolan Show said he wanted to extend his conscience clause to allow B&B owners to deny unmarried heterosexual couples as well. The reason of course is because allowing them to share a bed, or room, or even the same establishment (people can move rooms or beds in the night you know) would conflict with deeply held beliefs. However, I've just thought of one issue that he has just created for his own party's leader. When the time comes for Peter Robinson to replaced ...
According to my recent piece of analysis, over 85% of Peterborough City councillors are white, nearly 72% are male and those aged 40 years old or more, equate to over 85%! To put this in perspective around 60% of people in our city are below the age of 40 and females make up OVER 50% of [...]
I am, in some ways, a hopeless optimist - some might suggest that, given my philosophical beliefs, that's a necessity - but Mumbai is enough to cause even the most rose-tinted spectacles to turn as black as the fear-sensitive sunglasses in "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The air pollution is positively hostile, littering is an epidemic, not a problem, government is either incompetent, inept or both, and islands of immense glamour are surrounded by a sea of slums enough to make one wonder how such huge wealth can allow you to glance out of your penthouse window over such dire ...
[IMG: Safer Homes]
[IMG: change how] At a time when many of us activists complain about apathy and the electorate complains about us 'all being the same', we see UKIP winning the Euros, a huge turn out in the Scottish Referendum, the Greeks electing Syriza, the Spanish enthralled by Podemos and Marine Le Pen taking ground in France. For me this is an obvious symptom of a largely elitist political system, itself often controlled by powerful vested interests, leaving ordinary people feeling disempowered and disaffected. For some the answer is to join Russell Brand in his protest non vote, for others it is ...
Southwark council have launched a new funding programme, called the Neighbourhoods Fund which combines the Community Council Fund and the Cleaner Greener Safer Revenue fund into one application process. The Neighbourhoods Fund allows ward councillor to make decisions locally on neighbourhood priorities and provide the means of getting good ideas off the ground. If you have as great idea for making East Dulwich better please do make an application. Please note the fund will close at 12 noon on Monday 16 February 2015 If you need any help or sounding board for your great idea - please get in touch ...
It was a great pleasure to hear Billy J Kramer on the radio on Wednesday evening. He was interviewed by Simon Mayo on Radio 2. He's promoting his autobiographical album called "I won the fight" and is embarking on his first UK tour in 20 years. He's been living in America for a long time. Old Billy sounded very relaxed, natural and humble. Not at all "starry". I loved hearing his recollection about the "Merseybeat" days and his friendship with the Beatles. – How John Lennon suggested he stuck a "J" in his name, for example, and how he was ...
Transport for London (TfL) would like your views on the current situation and on two possible proposals to improve road capacity at the junction of the A23/A232 at Fiveways Croydon. Please visit tfl.gov.uk/fiveways-croydon to see details of the proposals and to have your say. The deadline for comments is 15 March 2015. The two proposals [...]
Fri 6th
17:25
Don't click the play button immediately, please let me explain. I suffer from several invisible or h...
via Facebook
Fri 6th
17:12I put a warning on this: do not play loud. I suffer from a rather debilitating 'illness' that is alm...
via Facebook
There is a letter in today's Belfast Telegraph arguing for human rights for the unborn, in light of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice looking at extending the right to abortion to fatal foetal abnormalities and victims of rape. Here's the thing there already is the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine which includes two very clear articles that address issues: Article 14 - Non-selection of sex The use of techniques of medically assisted procreation shall not be allowed for the purpose of choosing a future child's sex, except where serious hereditary sex-related disease is to be avoided. Article 18 ...
[IMG: Cllr_Joe_Anderson,_Leader,_Liverpool_City_Council.jpeg] The Liverpool Echo has the story but in reality this is good news not bad. Why would any of the surrounding Boroughs want to be bossed about from Liverpool Town Hall? Having said that Sefton Council Labour seems to be backing Joe as it voted not to have a public ballot before any Metropolitan Mayor is imposed on Merseyside/The Liverpool City Region. But, if I am not mistaken, St Helens, Halton, Wirral and Knowsley Councils have all given Joe Anderson's ambitions the elbow. Devolution of powers has always been possible to Merseyside if the Labour Council Leaders ...
Stockport's bin collection service has won praise from recycling trade publication letsrecycle.com – you can red the full article here. [IMG: Stockport council waste manager Adam Forbes at Solutions SK's depot] Stockport council waste manager Adam Forbes at Solutions SK's depot Since the start of the decade, the council has rolled out a series of initiatives to optimise recycling among its residents. Today, it stands as the top-performing urban authority in England - achieving a combined recycling, composting and reuse rate of 61.11% in 2013/14 and saving £2.7 million on disposal costs over the last year. What is the council's ...
[IMG: TAXI SPOT] Tech should disrupt markets, not destroy values: taxis should be seen as a testbed for the future of digital regulation. Tech companies can be categorised in two ways. There are those whose principle objectives are based on finance and market share. While they may be selling technology developed in the 21st Century, their ideological heritage is rooted in the 1980s - more Gordon Gekko than Jimmy Wales. These companies don't take no for an answer, even from politicians. Silicon Valley can be so macho, right? The second group is more big society, than big business. These companies ...
Stockport Council is advising local residents to beware of a person pretending to be a Trading Standards Officer. Trading Standards have received a report of a man posing as a Trading Standards Officer and visiting residents who have previously been victims of doorstep crime. The man attempted to persuade the residents that their case has been investigated and that he could assist in obtaining compensation on their behalf, but to do this he would require an upfront fee. In one instance, he was successful and a resident was duped into making a large payment to the man. Cllr Martin Candler, ...
This is just a personal observation, but have we all gone mad Julian Assange the wikeleaks boss is subject to an extradition warrant from Sweden, resulting from accusations of sex crimes naturally he has done what any normal man would, faced with such accusations. Yes who wouldn't immediately head for the Ecuadorian embassy the outpost of a little known south american country that is so insignificant most of us wouldn't know whether or not it was democratic or like most places in the world bent as a nine Bob note. What has Mr Assange, got to fear from a democratic ...
[IMG: School visit re FGM] Baroness Lindsay Northover, Baroness Jenny Randerson and Lynne Featherstone MP at a school visit to talk about FGM As the only UK party with internationalism at our heart, Lib Dems should be very proud of being part of the first government to spend 0.7% of national income on helping the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, a target set by the international community forty years ago and one that many politicians over the years have disregarded as unobtainable. Irate Tory rightwingers often criticise it as a number plucked out of the air. It's ...
The contest to host the 2022 World Cup has been to say the least controversial with most people assuming that Qatar only won as a result of corruption. In this context, the performance of its team in the Handball World Tournament which it was also hosting is of more than usual interest. Stephen Fatsis argues in Slate [...]
Remember how poor the front of the station looked when it was cluttered with 1960's shops which were totally out of keeping with the historic station itself? A shot I took recently, at night, shows the Station frontage in a much better light now:- [IMG: rsz_lime_street_station] Click on the photo to enlarge it. The photo is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
The cricket over, and a little more shopping done, I went off in search of light refreshment in a typically unfocused sort of way. As I skirted Horniman Circle, I discovered something new in town... Yes, it's a Starbucks. Frightening, when you think about it, that in a city where people sleep on the streets in their tens of thousands, and many others are only barely better off, you can buy an iced Raspberry Truffle Mocha for 294 Rupees - about £3. To put this into context, a twenty minute taxi ride costs about a third of that. And yes, ...
Lib Dems in government have announced new regulations that up to 1 million tenants renting energy inefficient homes can benefit from – warmer homes with cheaper energy bills: From April 2016 residential private landlords can't unreasonably turn down a tenant's request for energy efficiency improvements. This will mean landlords have to accept the request if they can get help through widely available support like Green Deal finance, the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO), or grants from the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. From April 2018 private landlords will not be able to rent out properties which do not meet minimum energy ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg with 2010 manifesto at Glasgow 2014 by Liberal Democrats] The 2010 election was notable for the failure of the three main parties to spell out clearly how they would reduce the budget deficit. No-one wanted to scare the voters away. 2015 is already proving different. Nick Clegg has announced that Liberal Democrats would increase taxes by at least £8 billion and bring in a further £6 billion by tackling tax avoidance. There would still be up to £16 billion cut from expenditure, £12 billion from government departments and £4 billion from welfare. Whilst not exactly a return ...
Download this document
In 2011 a newly elected Labour councillor in Liverpool launched a vicious diatribe about the Coalition Government's Cabinet. She claimed it could not work and understand what ordinary people thought because the majority of them had a private education. I ... Continue reading →
When we submit a motion for debate at Gateshead Council supporting something positive that the Coalition has done, Labour often move an amendment which wrecks the motion and makes claims of the Lib-Dems-eat-your-babies-for-breakfast variety. A couple of times recently, they used "information" they happily acquired from the Taxpayers' Alliance website to back up their claims that the Coalition
It is one of those strange things that, in all the years I have been coming to India, I have never actually seen any live cricket. And so, I've made my way to the Wankhede Stadium, between the commercial hub and the sea, to catch the last session of the first day's play. For the visitors, the match means relatively little, as they qualified easily for the quarter-finals, but for Mumbai, the traditional giants of Indian domestic cricket, it is a must win game, following an erratic season. Losing their opener to the minnows of Jammu & Kashmir, at home, ...
[IMG: Time to talk 2015] Thank you to everyone who wrote on the #timetotalk theme yesterday. We published 14 posts on the subject, with others added to the comments. You gave us some amazing contributions, some of which must have been really difficult to write. Time to Talk was an opportunity to give a human face to mental health, so that some of the taboos and myths could be knocked on the head. It was particularly appropriate this year, given that the Liberal Democrats are giving such a high prominence to mental health in our manifesto and election campaign. So ...
In January I pointed out that nearly half of tactical voters get it wrong, and hence the need to keep on reminding people of tactical voting messages and facts well beyond the point at which activists can recite them backwards, in a foreign language, in their sleep. Here's a different take on why such heavy repetition is required: 66% of pensioners say they have no idea what Liberal Democrat policy on pensions is. Yet this is an area that the party has massively prioritised for public spending, has the minister for and has strong, simple headline policies. Compared to other ...
Yesterday's Guardian article in which a Labour donor has criticised Ed Miliband and Ed Balls for their memory lapses and mansion tax proposals is nothing really new. The paper says that Gulam Noon, who has given nearly £873,000 to the party, £100,000 of that since Miliband became leader, made his fortune from the manufacture of ready meals and is worth an estimated £75m has described the memory lapses the Labour leadership team as very embarrassing. The part I enjoyed most though was the suggestion that Labour's leader and the shadow chancellor should "eat almonds every day [said to improve brain ...
I'm not sure whether anyone is tracking the frequency with which stories about the UK's problems appear in the media, but intuitively you get the sense that it is increasing. Barely a day seems to pass now without something appearing prominently somewhere. Housing is not just on the agenda but moving up the agenda. Quite a lot of this something is someone identifying a problem or an injustice. The arguments here are now becoming relatively well-rehearsed. The increased frequency with which this situation is being articulated and reported is more about turning up the volume, sharpening the focus and broadening ...
Fri 6th
09:50
Clegg's enemies don't seem to understand that they are constantly helping him keep Sheffield Hallam
Another day, another story about how Nick Clegg is going to lose his seat. Yesterday's was courtesy of a Unite funded poll that said Labour were going to win Sheffield Hallam by 10 clear points. Whatever the faults you can talk about in regards to Survation's methodology (this has been brilliantly covered on the UK Polling website already) versus other pollsters, namely Ashcroft who has Clegg winning in the seat (albeit just), there is no doubt that Unite commissioned the poll in order to slap Clegg in the face. Fine, it's their money. But I think they and others who ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention this week... Miliband is just going through the motions | The Times Philip Collins on how Ed Miliband could and should have framed his 'responsible/progressive capitalism' narrative http://thetim.es/16LgiVt The poisoned chalice: who will succeed Alan Rusbridger? – GQ.co.uk Who will The Guardian choose as its David Moyes to follow Alan Rusbridger/Alex Ferguson? http://bit.ly/18RJScD Danny 0, Vince 3? | PoliticsHome.com A good spot from @paulwaugh: Vince may have lost the Shad Chancellor battle to Danny, but he's won the fiscal war http://bit.ly/18Qktjy Five more years for Clegg, as forecast tips Labour ...
There was concern locally when some eagle-eyed people spotted that First Bus were deregistering the 81, 82 and 83 bus services. However, Pat Hockey, the Lib Dem Transport lead member, has investigated and all is well. Pat said, "I spoke to First's Managing Director, James Freeman. In order to make bus services more reliable the timetables have been investigated and some of them found to be totally unrealistic in view of the traffic congestion. This has resulted in changes to timetables. The new timetables have to be registered with the Traffic Commissioners and will start on March 29th. The existing ...
[IMG: warmer homes] Today marks a landmark achievement for Lib Dems in government. Up to 1 million tenants renting energy inefficient leaky homes will be able to benefit from new regulations and so enjoy warmer homes and cheaper energy bills. Clearly this will particularly help the fuel poor: those living in the leakiest privately-rented homes already need to spend an average £1,000 a year more to keep warm compared to the average home. These new regulations will deliver two important changes: From April 2018 private landlords will not be able to rent out properties which do not meet minimum energy ...
Tories' £100,000 a month Facebook bill - BBC News (tags: ) Rotherham would be an ideal place to hold England's first STV local council elections (tags: ) Net neutrality wins: the FCC will propose strong Title II regulation (tags: ) HS2 chief to oversee new rail station(s) plan for Leeds (tags: ) Prison UK: An Insider's View: Books and Pants: the Battle Continues (tags: ) Entries for Plymouth's Sexiest Beard competition coming in thick and fast (tags: ) What you need to know about the London Underline I want a miniature zeppelin now. (tags: ) Horrible Histories Magna Carta special ...
[IMG: Selfie with Modi photo] Quartz reports on the Narendra Modi selfie booths being used ahead of assembly elections in Delhi: "People have a fascination to take photos with Modiji," said 18-year-old Suyash Aggarwal, a volunteer at the BJP headquarters... Aggarwal mans the photo booth at Ashoka Road — among the 2,500 planned by the BJP in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections on Feb. 7 — for eight hours every day. He takes pictures of visitors, termed "Selfie with Modi," which he then delivers to them via email or SMS within 24 hours. But Modi isn't actually himself ...
I have previously highlighted residents' requests for proper lighting on the steps from Scott Street to Pentland Avenue - see below:The steps are well-used and the adjacent street lighting only gives limited coverage. Providing traditional lighting would be very costly given the layout and slope and so the council's Street Lighting Partnership agreed to my request to investigate the viability of solar lighting. I recently asked for an update from the Street Lighting Partnership, who now advise : "I have looked at several option for lighting these steps over the past year or so and I cannot find a suitable ...
The Education Minister has recently announced consultation on a new strategy designed to help raise ambition and attainment for looked after children. Whilst I welcome any strategy designed to improve the lives and outcomes of children who are looked after by local authorities, I am concerned that this consultation will produce yet another Welsh Labour Government document which fails to deliver the promised benefits. A similar paper (Towards a Stable Life and a Brighter Future) was produced in 2007; that strategy was clearly ineffective and I want reassurance from the Minister that a more robust approach will be taken with ...
I'm sure almost all East Dulwich residents are aware that a new cinema is being constructed on Lordship Lane – the East Dulwich Picturehouse Cinema – at number 116A Lordship Lane. It is now proposed to open in March. A key aspect will be how this cinema will operate. Today I was notified that their proposed Cinema Management Plan has been submitted to Southwark Council planners – it is a planning condition that this plan is agreed with Southwark Council officers. I'm really keen that local residents have an opportunity to look at this plan and tell council officer Michael ...
