Curt Boettcher was feeling stifled by Gary Usher. Usher was still necessary to Boettcher's musical plans, as his position at Columbia Records gave Boettcher the ability to do whatever he wanted musically, but even Boettcher's closest friends described him as a control freak, and he wanted to have a project that was his own, not [...]
Never let it be said that we are closed to new influences here in Creeting St Peter. Nor are we unwilling to provide a platform for music that post-dates the Reformation. After I wrote about what a lovely place Alesund was, I noted that I had been favourited by an indie band from that fine town. Now, I will admit, I may not be the best person to judge their ability or talent, but I do know people with a wide range of musical tastes, and thought that you might like their stuff. So, here, with 'Ticking' are Acting Quiet, ...
Earlier this evening, I attended the June West End Community Council meeting at which there was an excellent presentation by Jay Grant and his colleague Sandy Boyd about the work of the council's Environment Department and, in particular, the proposals for schools and community use of the former bowling green at Victoria Park. There was also a good discussion of a number of local issues. The Community Council has a summer recess and its next meeting is on Tuesday 8th September.
At this point on its journey to the sea, the Teme changed its character and appearance. The Lone Piners had many times seen it splashing over the weir at Ludlow and sparkling in the sunshine as it ran under the battlements of that ancient town. Nearer to its source, and before it reached the gorge, it meandered through pleasant water meadows, and even when there was very little water in its shallow bed it ran fast. But here it changed. Now it was sullen and deep in the limestone gorge where it had been cutting through the soft rock for ...
A long agenda at Cheadle Area Committee – here's what we discussed and decided. All Hallows Church youth group applied for £500 funding for equipment, which was awarded. Targeted Youth Engagement Services, a Community Interest Company, applied for funding towards the £12,800 cost of a project to make a film with young women in Adswood and Brinnington to help them gain employment skills and make better decisions towards their health, safety and emotional wellbeing. We thought it was a good project, but outside the scope of our ward funding so we're helping them find more suitable funding sources. Application 58201 ...
The Liberal Democrat blogosphere has been strangely quiet about Tim Farron's appearance on Sunday Politics. Taking into account that it is harder to be interviewed down the line and that Andrew Neil seems to enjoy needling Tim, it was still a poor performance. In particular, Tim must have known he would be challenged during the leadership contest on his record on equal marriage. He really should have worked out a reply that did not lead to his having to apologise to Peter Tatchell. If Tim has changed his mind on the question then he should say so. There is no ...
The former Leicetershire and England cricketer has been released from prison halfway through a 13-year sentence for drug smuggling, I find that when he was sentenced I described 13 years as "steep". In this interview with the Professional Cricketers' Association he says: "I became afraid of what the future held, and at that point the thinking went awry, I made choices. They were the wrong choices and I say sorry for them."He is right. The traditional cricketer's benefit may be less lucrative than smuggling cocaine, but it is less likely see you end up behind bars too. I am aware ...
Three years after it was founded, Shropshire Council's private company ip&e is finally making itself public. It has a new website. This looks cute as a sales pitch. It falls short on explaining what the company is up to. It doesn't say what it might deliver for the people of Shropshire rather than its hoped [...]
Local Lib Dem (and fellow-Northerner) Nick Perry has given formal backing to Tim Farron's campaign to become the next Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Farron was re-elected at the recent general election for a third straight term as MP for the Cumbria constituency of Westmorland & Lonsdale. He has already received significant endorsements from the [...]
Tue 9th
19:38
Leadership contest: Who are parliamentarians past and present and key party figures backing?
As the leadership contest gets under way in earnest, we thought it was time to have a look at how key party figures are lining up behind each of the candidates. This is bound to change as time goes on, so we will update it from time to time. Tim Farron MPs Greg Mulholland John Pugh Mark Williams Former MPs Jo Swinson Duncan Hames Simon Hughes Sir Alan Beith John Leech David Howarth Sarah Teather Martin Horwood Paul Keetch Brian Cotter MSPs Willie Rennie AMs Kirsty Williams Peter Black London Assembly Members Stephen Knight MEP Catherine Bearder Peers Brian Paddick ...
Alistair Carmichael has taken the first step to defending the election petition filed against him by filing a formal "answer" with the court. The answers make clear that he is opposing the petition, and that there has been no breach of section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. He argues that he did not make a false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of a candidate, before or during an election, for the purpose of affecting the return of any candidate at the election and that therefore the petition is "irrelevant" and ...
Cllr Keith Holloway is pressing for changes to the road lining on the Gatley side of the Kingsway junction to reduce one of the bottlenecks. "As you drive from Gatley towards the junction and get to Torkington Road, there's a bottleneck," Keith explained. "The road splits into three eastbound lanes but there's only really room for two and half. The result is that vehicles wanting to go straight ahead often block the left-filter lane leading to longer queues." The changes will see the hatching in the centre of the road reduced, allowing three cars on the three lanes at the ...
Tue 9th
16:31Williams, Farron and Lamb condemn Welsh Government's plan to ban on e-cigarettes in public places
The Welsh government has put forward plans to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces. The BBC reports: People will be banned from using e-cigarettes in enclosed places such as restaurants, pubs and at work in Wales, under a new public health law. The plan, likely to come into force in 2017 and the first in the UK, has already divided opinion among health and medical groups, including some anti-smoking campaigners. But ministers say it is a "balance of risk" and will stop children smoking. This does not seem to be in any way evidence based. Liberals really ...
Lib Dem Chief Executive Tim Gordon, in his capacity as Acting Returning Officer for the Leadership Election, has sent out the following email to members today: As you will have seen Nick Clegg resigned as Party Leader after the General Election and nominations closed last Wednesday for the election of his successor. Two candidates have been duly nominated, Norman Lamb and Tim Farron. Below are the top lines and links in the first of three emails from the candidates that I am distributing on their behalf. I do this in my role as the Acting Returning Officer for this election. ...
I am sure that I have written this before, but there used to be a time when Welsh Ministers stood up in front of the Assembly and proudly boasted of making policy on the basis of evidence. Alas, the publication of the Public Health Bill today marks a significant departure from that approach. The Welsh Government want to introduce the same restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes in public as apply to cigarettes. Consequently, people will be banned from using e-cigarettes in enclosed places such as restaurants, pubs and at work in Wales. When the smoking ban was introduced there ...
[IMG: Fear] First, a recap for newcomers about the views of Conservative MP David Tredinnick: One of my regular favourite Conservative MPs, David Tredinnick, is back in the news: "A Tory MP has claimed NHS over-crowding could be solved by doctors using astrology to treat patients. "David Tredinnick said consulting the stars would "take huge pressure off doctors" and predicts astrology will "have a role to play in healthcare."... Bizarrely, Tredinnick, 65, who is chairman of the All-Party Group for Integrated Healthcare, went on to say people who opposed astrology were "racist"." Pretty remarkably you might think. Especially when added ...
You might wonder why I am thinking of Europe when I am sitting in an office in Brazil having been in the Middle East on 10 days ago! The answer is that every time I travel abroad I am increasingly ... Continue reading →
Tue 9th
13:31
To the Arctic Circle and beyond: Day 8 - in which we examine the acme of cycling-related technology
It was a bit early in the morning when the MS Trollfjord arrived at Trondheim - 6 a.m., to be precise. But we did want to take a look around so, after a early breakfast, we were off in the sunshine, out of the quay, across the new station being constructed and into the city. Trondheim (and that's a point of controversy in itself) is, rather unexpectedly, a place of pilgrimage. Whilst Catholics travelled to Santiago de Compostela in the west, and to Jerusalem in the east and, of course, to Rome, there was a fourth point of pilgrimage in ...
[IMG: bagshselfie] It's been an incredible four weeks for me and the team here in Tower Hamlets. When I got selected for this campaign during the General Election, like many of you I expected to be fighting in the shadow of a hung parliament and coalition negotiations. That all changed at 10.01pm on May 7th when the exit poll came through. To say it was devastating would be an understatement. We lost amazing colleagues who had worked hard for our values in Government, and a number of my friends missed out in our strategic seats. And then the #libdemfightback happened, ...
Tue 9th
11:56Tim Farron MP and Lord Wallace of Saltaire write...UK under threat from David Cameron and Tory Euros...
Let's not kid ourselves. What David Cameron is supposed to be asking for as he travels round other European capitals is for a package of reforms to make the European Union more open and efficient. But what many in his government and party want is a fundamental renegotiation: leading either to the position of Norway, of association with the free trade area but exit from the EU, or that of Switzerland, an international finance centre with a fractious but dependent relationship with the EU. The Eurosceptics who want the Prime Minister's negotiations to fail are driven by myths of English ...
This is the sort of thing you find when refiling old copies of Campaigns & Elections: [IMG: A gem from the 1998 mid-terms in the US]
[IMG: Road Sign] Resurfacing works on the A41 will see the bypass closed at night, starting tonight (Tuesday) and running until June 18. Phase 1 will last three nights, from the A41 westbound at the Hemel Hempstead slip road up to and including the Stoney Lane/Upper Bourne End Lane roundabout. Phase 2 will see work carried out between the A41 westbound from the Bourne End slip road and the A4251 roundabout. The A41 will be closed overnight from Friday, June 12 and the A4251 will be closed overnight on Monday, June 15. Phase 3 involves the A41 on/off slip roads ...
Ah Richmond Park. The seat that everyone has their eyes on for a potential by-election in the near future. There are two reasons for this, firstly Zac Goldsmith's long-standing viewpoint on what he'd do if the government decided that Heathrow should have a third runway and latterly his potential bid to become Mayor of London. Well the second of the two possibilities is now out of the bag as Zac announced that he intends to run for Mayor of London, as long as his constituents give him the a ok. He has written to all the constituents of Richmond Park ...
Tue 9th
10:54Opinion: We won't get a fair society unless progressive politicians challenge Thatcherism
For nearly four decades progressive politicians have been losing the war of words - and of votes - over the economy. Those on the right have successfully persuaded voters time and again that a less equal, less fair society is better for nearly everyone, and those who lose out probably deserve to. The evidence suggests that the right wing politicians are wrong - that the economics followed by governments of all colours since the 1980s locks a large proportion of society into poverty. Most of those poorer people are, in the jargon beloved of party leaders everywhere, "hard working". Last ...
The Welsh Labour Government's proposed ban on using e-cigarettes in enclosed public places is 'completely unjustifiable'. The evidence for this decision is wafer thin. Banning things just for the sake of it isn't a position any Government should take. The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe all decisions should be evidence based, which is why we are opposed to this ban. There is very little evidence to date that e-cigs emit anything more harmful than water vapour. Therefore any ban on e-cigs is completely unjustifiable. We often hear how people are using e-cigarettes to help them give up smoking. There is a ...
I visited Bill Quay Community Farm on Sunday. They were hosting a goat show. I have 3 goats myself but I went to the show to chat to other goat owners, not to show any of my livestock. I also took the opportunity to have a look at the piglets born that morning. Their arrival had been announced to the world by Twitter that morning. Bill Quay Farm is no longer run by Gateshead Council. A trust
This is a defferred election from 7th May. New ward following boundary changes. All three seats to be contested. No LD candidates.
Tue 9th
09:54The LDV debate: Is the Human Rights Act undemocratic and illiberal? - Part two - this time it's Thai...
[IMG: summer extravaganza] The legendary Newbury & West Berkshire Liberal Democrat Summer Extravangaza, in idyllic surroundings, reaches its climax last Saturday with the drawing of the 200 club winners by local spokesperson Judith Bunting. But, beneath the genteel veneer, a member of the LDV team was disquietly seething with indignation over an assault on the credentials of the European Convention on Human Rights We published an article by David Cooper on May 20th under by the title The Human Rights Act - undemocratic and illiberal. There was an excellent debate in the comments thread underneath the article. After being approached ...
What a strange contradictory idea free trade has become. What began as an extension of the campaign against slavery, a critique of monopoly - an expression of the Liberal right of the small to challenge the strong - has ended up as something very different. As I may have said before. What began as a challenging Liberal concept has, in its autumn years, become a dull, hackneyed apologia for monopoly. A justification of it. It is sad, but Liberals have only themselves to blame. They forgot that the monopoly of power was an important threat to liberty in business, as ...
[IMG: person-731492_640] Cllr Iain Roberts has spoken out against Tory cuts of £23 million to the Cycle City Ambition Grant. In places like Gatley and Cheadle, where there's little space for more roads or wider roads, how do we reduce traffic jams and parking problems? There are a few good options, but by far the cheapest and most cost-effective is to get more people cycling. School run jams and parking issues? Get more school kids cycling. Not enough parking at Gatley station? Get more commuters cycling. It certainly won't solve everything, but it will make a big different. How do ...
I wanted to let you know about a serious fire that has happened in our area overnight. Crews were callout at 1.15 this morning to attend a fire at the former 'Blackley Box Factory' building which is between Henry Street and Kenyon Lane in Prestwich. Most of the building appears to have been destroyed by the fire, but thankfully does not appear to have seriously affected nearby residential properties, through obviously this will have been very distressing for people. Fire crews also checked the nearby electricity sub-station which all appears to be unaffected. Bury Councils Building Control Team will be ...
[IMG: John Pugh MP for Southport] The link above to Southport Lib Dems web site gives details of John Pugh's position on a Metro Mayor for Merseyside. He does not pull any punches and he is right.
I have today launched my June 2015 Update to West End Community Council. Subjects covered include: Magdalen Green Noticeboard finally returns! Christmas Fortnight 2015 20mph zones in residential areas - latest news The Community Council meets tonight at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm - all residents welcome. You can download my Update here.
The owners of the Eagle House Hotel in Launceston have lodged a planning application to convert the premises into private accommodation. This application appears to be the same as the previous application which was rejected by the council on the basis of the loss of amenity to the town. I would hope that this one sees the same result. Launceston is a growing economy and the demand for bed spaces, both for business and for leisure, is only going to grow. So the loss of hotel beds would be a loss for our town. There would also be nine people ...
[IMG: Hello! Is that the Liberal Democrats down there?] Hello! Is that the Liberal Democrats down there? Just six days after the 2010 general election, and on the day of the famous Rose Garden press conference at which Cameron and Clegg launched the coalition government, both ComRes and ICM started hitting the phones, commencing the fieldwork for the first two national voting intention polls of the last Parliament. By the time the Parliament was over, there had been a jaw dropping 2,050 - more than the previous four Parliaments put together. For all the problems with the polls when it ...
Following the discovery of sixty-eight migrants attempting to evade immigration controls at Harwich, a statement was read to the Lords yesterday. Ros wanted to urge the Government to do what it could to prevent tragic deaths... Baroness Scott of Needham Market (LD): My Lords, first, I wish to declare an interest as a member of the board of the Harwich Haven Authority. Does the noble Lord agree that the early finding of such people is not just a matter of politics but of humanitarian decency, because the impact on those who are not found in such conditions is catastrophic? Can ...
Tue 9th
08:46
With either Sol Campbell or Zac Goldsmith running, Labour may find it harder to retake London than t...
As I and others have noted in the past month, Labour are in a bit of a pickle at present. Stephen Bush at the New Statesman gave a fascinating breakdown of the psephological mountain Labour have to climb in order to win the next general election. And that's before you take into account the new boundaries. Add to this the impeding sense of the party being on the verge of selecting another unelectable leader and it looks even worse. But hey, there's always London. A Labour stronghold, many see Boris Johnson's two terms as mayor as a combination of BoJo's ...
Most of us are still coming to terms with the general election, but democracy waits for no disappointed politician. Straight away in London we must get candidates in place for the May 2016 elections to the Greater London Authority. Adverts have just been published for selection to London Mayor and London Assembly list (11 members) and constituencies (14 members). The timetable is tight to get a mayoral candidate and list members in the field by early September, as the other parties are doing, with the constituencies running in parallel. We're well placed for the fightback, with nearly 3000 new members ...
The new Seabraes Bridge I have queried with the City Engineer when the new bridge at Seabraes will be open to the public. It is a little behind schedule (originally planned for a 'soft opening' in late May with an official opening in June). The City Engineer updated me late yesterday as follows : "Just to confirm that the Official Opening will not take place on 16 June 2015 as the Transport Minister cannot make that date. Instead the Official Opening will be arranged for August/September after the schools have returned from the summer holidays. Now, the bridge is currently ...
The City Council recently crowned a number of trees in Blackness Avenue that were requiring trimming and a small number were removed where the tree had either died off or the roots were causing a significant deal of damage to the footpath. A number of residents have sought assurances that any removed trees will be replaced. I took this up with the council's Assistant Forestry Officer who advises : "I can assure you and your constituents that replacement street tree planting at Blackness Avenue will be carried out with in the next tree planting season. The season will likely be ...
Tue 9th
08:04
Aintree Station – The transformation from Victorian splendor to modern concrete and steel
Aintree Station does not look much these days; it could be anywhere. Only the horse in the modern brickwork (see first photo) is a nod to what was once a grand station of great importance. [IMG: Horse - Aintree Station r] Now an old black and white shot of the station in its hey day, which I purchased not so long ago:- [IMG: Aintree Station then - Undated] Click on this photo to enlarge it On to some more shots of the station as it is now. Be prepared to be disappointed:- [IMG: Aintree Station now 1 r] [IMG: Aintree ...
A point about male privilege Stop blaming drunk rape victims and start teaching people about consent When is it demotion to go from coaching a club side to a national side? When club = men & national = women, apparently Thankfully @shademunro himself is much more positive [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
