The artist Clive McCartney is inspired by the power of the sun. Light and movement are all, as witnessed in so many of his canvasses in the exhibition currently running at the Catto Gallery in Hampstead. His visions of Grand Central Staion in New York, busy with faceless travellers, as well as his exteriors of [...]
Current Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo Aurora, by Kim Stanley Robinson The Ancient Languages of Europe, by Roger D. Woodard Last books finished Girls in Love, by Jacqueline Wilson The End of All Things, by John Scalzi (did not finish) The Shadow in the Glass, by Justin Richards and Stephen Cole It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken, by Seth The Redbreast, by Jo Nesbø The Wild Reel, by Paul Brandon (did not finish) The Sleep of Reason, by Martin Day Tempest by Christopher Bulis Next books Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Unlimited Dream Company, by J. G. ...
Nick Clegg has broken his radio silence with an article in the Evening Standard attacking George Osborne's changes to the tax credit system. He is certainly trying hard: Osborne is nothing if not wily — he will have calculated, correctly, that this dramatic impact on the fortunes of working people can best be camouflaged in the technical undergrowth of a system most of his political and media audience don't care to understand. But next time you hear the claim that the Government is standing up for working people, just remember — it's A-grade, 24-carat baloney.Meanwhile the the i repeats an ...
Thu 10th
19:52
What do you think should happen to the Forest Hill Library ? Public consultation coming soon.
In the present refugee crisis we see the importance of having a local community hub in our local library, which is being used as a collection point for donations. Just when plans are afoot to improve Dartmouth Road, the future of this valuable centre is by no means certain. The council are proposing to make [...]
Vince Cable and TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady write for The Guardian: The Conservative government plans legislation later this year that will heavily circumscribe workers' already limited freedom to take industrial action... Several major changes are envisaged, all of which were considered by the coalition and rejected on their merits by Lib Dem ministers (who had absolutely no self-interest in defending trade unions that sometimes seemed as angry with them as the Conservatives, if not more). But the Lib Dems simply regarded the proposals as ideologically driven, unnecessary and bad policy... The Conservative proposals are ideological rather than practical and ...
As we finally stagger towards the announcement of the result, the four candidates for Labour leader have been making their final speeches. Here's what they said: Liz Kendall: "People have asked me if I'd change anything about my leadership campaign, and I can only think of one thing I'd have done differently. Back in May, I should have decided to spend the next few months catching up on a few box sets and let Tristram Hunt destroy his career instead." Andy Burnham: "Throughout this campaign, I have been listening to you, and giving you what you wanted, no matter how ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: 'I was sorry to leave the pre-fab,' he continued stoically, 'but since Mags went, well... didn't need so much space. Got a bedsit, now. You know.' At the height of the Arthur C. Clarke shortlisting, I rather dropped out of the habit of blogging my reading of the older Doctor Who novels here; I don't have Thoughts about very many of them, but I may revisit one or two in days to come. Anyway, new term, time to start again perhaps with this story uniting the Sixth Doctor and the Brigadier in investigating the true ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21200389 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-34206728 The BBC has the story – see link above No good will come from the unionist parties in Northern Ireland playing this dangerous brinkmanship game. Let's be honest there must still be folks on both sides of this great religious and nationalist divide who have sadly not renounced violence to achieve/defend their aims. The politicians in Stormont have to rise above such challenges in their communities otherwise they will sow the seeds for the troubles to restart and that is in no ones interest. But is there another reason for this latest leadership crisis? Here is a recent ...
UPDATED DETAILS SNP seat. Cause: Resignation (elected as MP). LD Candidate Jane Davidson.
This time it is one from South Africa: We have decided to switch off comments on articles as a default from Friday and to implement a different approach to how we handle user contributions and engagement with our content on our platform. Our decision to change our comments policy follows months of internal debate and discussion which has seen us consider all options practically available to us on how to wrangle the thousands of comments which are made on 24.com each day. The end result of these debates is that we have decided that we wish to be known for ...
So it looks like Jeremy Corbyn may be elected Leader of the Opposition and if that happens, Labour have no one to blame but themselves. As we've witnessed the farcical antics of Her Majesty's opposition let's consider how they have reached this point. There's a line that runs directly from the Blair years to 2015. The Blair years (despite the welcome policies of National Minimum Wage, LGBT equality and various other things) were really about kicking difficult and much needed economic and welfare reforms into the long grass hoping it would be `alright on the night`. Their handmaiden was an ...
Would Charles Kennedy have backed Airstrikes in Syria today? We will never know but If we are serious about defeating ISIS and creating safe conditions for Syrian refugees, then it is time for evidence based policy and some clear thinking. Despite 6,700 US & Coalition airstrikes with $4 billion spent ISIS continues to destabilise the Middle East. Pressure will be maximum this week on Parliament after decisions by France and Australia to join Airstrikes in Syria. Yet clear analysis by military and political strategists shows that Airpower will not defeat ISIS, just as Aerial Carpet bombing failed in the Vietnam ...
Populism always sounds good, but in the long-run it usually hurts those it is supposed to help. In the UK, interest rates used regularly to be cut to stimulate an artificial boom before an election. This was good for the ruling political party, but the country paid a heavy price later. In the nineties, the Liberal Democrats championed the idea of making the Bank of England independent, and, in 1997, Labour implemented the policy. As a result, inflation has been controlled, and business and international investors have more confidence in the UK. It's no panacea. It didn't stop serious mistakes ...
This year is the 8th year of Zero Waste Week – more information available at this LINK This year my food waste is really zero – in our household * all pealings into compost * we only cooked what was needed * any surplus food was turned into new meals * did not use cuts of meat that were on the bone and reduced our meat consumption for the week anyway.
A new landmark is set to be officially unveiled in the centre of Keynsham. This is great news and it was one of the final deliverables from the large town centre regeneration project built under my leadership over the last 4 years. It is a late part as the committee that was tasked with commissioning an art piece for the scheme originally selected something that was out of tune with the residents. I had to cancel it and start again with a brief that it must be based on a clock motive. The second time the Keynsham Art Advisory group ...
The Curry restaurant industry is concerned about its long term future and viability due to skill shortage issues. Good link here for more information LINK
Thu 10th
13:52
LibLink: Nick Clegg: George Osborne's Living Wage is a trick and workers have been betrayed
Very, very strong words from Nick Clegg this lunchtime in an article on the Standard. He talks about how the Liberal Democrats' carefully constructed initiatives to help people into work and eliminate the poverty trap have been swept away by George Osborne. He starts by outlining why he thinks work is so important: Work is not just an economic necessity. It brings identity and self-reliance. It is a spur to ingenuity and a catalyst for growth. Work demands the learning of new skills. It sustains communities and nourishes families. Without work, society crumbles. He goes on to say what the ...
A3039 Manvers Street, City Centre, Bath, Bath And North East Somerset 14 September — 25 September Road closure Delays likely due to Streetworks Revised Dates – Night-Time Closure For Resurfacing Works at Manvers Street & Pierrepont Street Responsibility: Bath and North East Somerset Council EToN status: Advanced planning ________________________________________ A3039 Pierrepont Street, City Centre, Bath, Bath And North East Somerset 14 September — 25 September Road closure Delays likely due to Streetworks Revised Dates – Night-Time Closure For Resurfacing Works at Manvers Street & Pierrepont Street Responsibility: Bath and North East Somerset Council EToN status: Advanced planning ________________________________________ A362 Frome ...
Details about the draft Local Flood risk Management Strategy and consultation process... Bath & North East Somerset Council's draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy is now available for review: Flood Consultation Link Details about the draft Local Flood risk Management Strategy and consultation process. Bath & North East Somerset Council's draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy is now available for review: Earlier this year we were in touch to let you know that we were preparing our Local Flood Risk Management Strategy. A draft version of the Strategy is now available for review by organisations and members of the ...
That the UK Government is considering replacing the BBC licence fee has been confirmed by this report in the Guardian in which the they say that culture secretary John Whittingdale has offered support to replace it with a household levy collected in a similar way to the council tax. However, he has told MPs that no decision had been made ahead of legislation expected next year. The BBC itself has backed the household levy system, outlined in the government's green paper on the future of the BBC, as one way of modernising the current system: The culture secretary said such ...
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
I've mentioned before that election junkies looking for their next fix should be looking to Canada, who'll be electing a new government on October 19th. It's a country where elections often deliver unexpected outcomes, with really big poll movements often happening during the campaign and this year's campaign seems likely to keep up that trend. There are three parties that the polls can barely separate, each also rising and falling in different parts of the company so first past the post voting looks like it could deliver some very confusing and unpredictable results when the votes are cast. Remember that ...
Half cut, yes but I mean hedges not drunken half cut. Remember my postings about the hedges around two of Maghull's parks of a couple of weeks ago? If not see the links below:- But when I checked on the hedges on 9th September it was obvious that only one side of the hedge at KGV Park (on the A59 – Northway) had actually been cut! The park side is still well overgrown as is the top of the hedge. [IMG: KGV Park - They only cut the pavement side, not the top or the Park side.] KGV ...
Tourism is a major part of our economy, and one of the few industries which truly covers the whole of the UK. There isn't a single Parliamentary seat which doesn't benefit from tourism and it's a sector with great potential for growth. As Liberal Democrats I believe we should use the levers at our disposal to stimulate the economy and create opportunities for people to get on in life, no matter where they live. That is why, as a group of local parties from across the UK, we have brought this motion to conference. By reducing VAT to 5% for ...
The newsletter of our local branch of the trade union Unison claims that during the last parliament (2010 to 2015) no fewer than 62 members of the House of Lords claimed £360 000 in expenses but never once voted. These included the Bishop of London, (Richard Chatres), the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Well, to be fair, voting is not all that parliamentarians do - maybe it's even their least important function. Thy could all have used their undoubted wisdom and experience to contribute to debates, or spent many hours in committees, scrutinising government legislation or providing ...
[IMG: Cheadle & Gatley JFC Fun Day] Cheadle & Gatley JFC Fun Day
Yesterday Tim Farron spoke twice in the Commons. We covered his tribute to the Queen, but I want to look at his speech in the SNP's Opposition Day debate on the humanitarian crisis on our doorstep. Actually, the speech itself was very good and said all it needed to say. I've been pretty lucky this week. I've managed to switch on the tv twice and, by chance, catch two Liberal Democrat MPs speaking, Alistair in the emergency debate on Tuesday and Tim yesterday. Tim spoke about his experience in Calais, about how the Government's response to the crisis has damaged ...
UPDATED DETAILS Labour seat. Cause: Death. No LD Candidate.
Labour seat. Cause:Resignation LD Candidate- Shani Smith To help please contact Michael Mullaney (0756 289910; michaeltmullaney@yahoo.co.uk)
UPDATED DETAILS SNP seat (Cause:Resignation- Now MP) and Green seat (Cause:Resignation). Lib Dem Candidate- Mo Hussain.
Conservative seat. Cause:Death. LD Candidate- Trevor Poile. To help please contact Trevor Poile (trevorpoile@cix.co.uk) or Ben Chapelard (benchapelard@hotmail.co.uk)
Conservative seat. Cause:Death. LD Candidate- Rosaline Janko. To help please contact Fant Lib Dems (07877 897247; FantLibDems@gmail.com)
Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD Candidate.
Thu 10th
09:42Norman Lamb: 'It is ridiculous that we still put people in prison for personal drugs use'
Norman Lamb spoke last night in Newbury at a panel discussion on drugs misuse and our current drug laws. Norman said that he has thought through the "drugs danger" and whether it should receive a criminal response or a health response. He said he has concluded that there should be a health response. He alluded to John Stuart Mill's 'self-regarding acts', where the state shouldn't interfere and 'other-regarding acts' where some state intervention may be justified. He said that it is wrong to criminalise those suffering mental ill health who resort to drugs because of their condition. It is "ridiculous", ...
A couple of days ago someone I had a great deal of affection for passed away. It was not terribly unexpected - she was past 90 years old - but it was quite sudden. She had a stroke. The funeral has been set for a week tomorrow, at 2.30pm, in Devon. A week tomorrow, at 2.30pm, my schedule says I am zooming through the midlands because I'm due to be on a train from the civilised north to the wilds of Bournemouth for Lib Dem conference. The ticket was booked ages ago, on a two together railcard, to maximise savings, ...
Isn't it peculiar that, the more the government machine talks about 'evidence-based' policy, and the more the political parties follow suit, the more technocratic they become. Find out more in my original attempt to intervene in the debate about evidence-based policy (if there is one) in my book The Tyranny of Numbers. There is now a great deal of evidence about the impact of trees on the lives of people living in cities, mainly from Dutch research (no coincidence there since the Netherlands is probably the most densely populated nation in Europe). This is especially so for people with mental ...
[IMG: Hidalgo] I have just finished reading César Hidalgo's Why Information Grows – the Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economics. This is a flawed work. But the author is on to something – and something rather important. Mr Hidalgo's key insight is that it helps to understand economics as part of the advance of order, or information, against the tide of ever increasing entropy – the advance of disorder that is the central insight of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. I don't disagree with the disappointed reviews I have read of this book in The Economist or on Amazon. ...
Thu 10th
08:55
Corbyn may win, but will a majority of Labour members, registered and affiliated supporters vote for...
I wonder how many people in Labour will start wheeling out the sort of 'but he didn't really win a majority' arguments which are often deployed by Labour against the Tories. After all, even if Corbyn wins a stonking 60% of first preferences on a very healthy 75% turnout, that would still be less than half of the Labour leadership electorate (45%) voting for him. 'He may be our leader, but he's not got majority support', coming soon to social media feeds and anonymous quotes near you...
Another gender/sex/deception case is back in the news – this time, in Chester. So far, this case is not as directly relevant to trans people as previous cases, so it will likely not be followed as closely as others. However, what follows is a brief summary of what has been reported so far. The usual approach of finding the first and most comprehensive news sources that have published the case has been used. This typically gives the most complete source and unbiased of information, which in this instance is the Chester Chronicle, who first published the story Monday night with ...
A number of constituents in Logie have contacted me expressing their concerns about the replacement street lighting in parts of the local area. I raised the concerns with the City Council's Street Lighting Partnership Manager, who advises : "I can confirm that we are currently in the process of replacing some of the lighting columns in the Logie area as part of our agreed capital replacement programme. The existing concrete columns in that area are now in the region of 50 years old and are beyond their expected service life and despite appearing to be robust from the outside are ...
So along with being ill and trying (and largely failing) to finish up California Dreaming (though that will be done Real Soon Now — it really is just a matter of pulling stuff together, and it's a matter of days, not weeks, of work) the big thing that kept me away from this blog last [...]
Despite having the biggest turn out of voters in 18 years,in the 2015 general election, I was shocked to find many people hadn't voted. In my opinion if you don't vote, you shouldn't moan about the current government if you don't like them. As it was stated that in the 2010 general election 15.9 million [...]
Throughout the Labour leadership contest, one thing has struck me more than any other. It is perhaps the key factor in Corbyn's rise to become the heir apparent, in fact. It's that Corbyn's ideas have been presented over and over again by pretty much every campaign and centre-left voice of any description as mostly being ideally the right ones were the world a less right-wing place and all of that, but they just aren't politically pragmatic enough. Not that Corbyn is wrong – good heavens, no – he's just naive. You can see it in the articles of commentators like ...
This photograph below shows part of Dundee's Perth Road, known as Invercauld Place, here leading eastwards towards the city centre. No. 153 was Sarah Campbell, a fruiterer, and No. 151 John Farquharson & Sons, 'plumber, gasfitter, tinsmith & brassfounder'. George Christe, a grocer, had a shop at No. 149, and another fruiterer was at No. 145, John (later Mrs John) Peebles. No. 143 was the grocer, David (later Mrs David) Sewart and, beyond Pennycook Lane, which led northwards to Hawkhill, was a butcher shop, which was probably what is listed in the Dundee Directory as John Birse, flesher, at No. ...
Chris White, Liberal Democrat county group spokesperson on Health, said in reaction to today's Care Quality Commission inspection report into the West Herts Hospitals Trust (dealing with the Watford, St Albans and Hemel hospitals): 'We had suspected for a while that the report would be bad but this is even worse than was feared – [...]
OECD - Cross border data flows Does your business use data from other countries? Tell the OECD! (tags: internet economics ) To Map a Mockingbird Where's where in Mayfield? (tags: maps ) State of the European Union: Five Key Takeaways @TernanKenny looks at Juncker's speech. (tags: eu )
24 Problems Literally Only The Queen Would Truly Understand - also the URL for this is ace The best story about the Queen you will read today I did this YouGov survey. Maybe I'm not such an odd Lib Dem as I thought. "It's a bittersweet irony that we've had to chuck out the last Lib Dem in government." LOL The art of cruelty: why the Conservative attack on disabled people harms us all [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
John Dodd had a meeting with Mr Parle, NatWest Bank Area Director to hand over the petition and to discuss the closure of the Churchtown branch.
