I enjoyed Premium Bond, Matthew Sweet and Mark Gatiss's canter through the James Bond films the other evening. One thing they did not mention was that George Lazenby, who made one appearance as Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, had previously starred in a commercial for Fry's Turkish Delight.
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
This blog's hero Jonathan Meades reviews a selection of Dennis Potter's non-fiction in the Literary Review. He questions Potter's reputation as our preeminent television dramatist: Potter was certainly very prolific, but as a dramatist he was thematically straitened and tirelessly self-plagiaristic. Chapel (and the nonconformist, anti-Marxist socialism that derived from it), chippiness, the Forest of Dean, debilitating illness, the problem of prayer, virgins or whores: these are perpetually recurrent motifs. And surely one serial in which characters mime to pop songs would have been enough.but praises the book strongly: Every page of this book is constellated with sentences and phrases ...
There was a tremendous episode of The Film Programme about Brief Encounter on Radio 4 yesterday. Listen to it on the BBC iPlayer: To mark the 70th anniversary of Brief Encounter, Francine Stock asks why it still makes grown men and women weep despite the restrained passions, clipped accents and various parodies. She enlists the help of fans Moira Buffini, Matthew Sweet, Thomas Dixon, Neil Brand and Antonia Quirke.The discussion raised the question of whether we can be sure that Trevor Howard has not picked up women at Milford Junction before, I am afraid we cannot.
People have been contacting me to express their annoyance that street lights are currently turning off between 10.30pm and 11pm. That's an hour earlier than the 12pm shutdown set out in Shropshire Council's policies. This morning I have received a detailed explanation from Jason Hughes, the council's street lighting champion. It turns out its all [...]
Introducing his attack on Jeremy Corbyn the Sunday Times described Martin Amis, improbably, as "a leading figure on the British left for three decades". Though he was a central part of the New Statesman in its last glory years, he has never shown strong signs of being on the left beyond his support for CND in the 1980s. When I think of Amis's novels I remember his skewering of the showbiz left in his 1995 novel The Information: Are you a Labour supporter, the interviewer asks Gwyn. 'Obviously.' 'Of course.' 'Of course.' Of course, thought Richard, yeah of course. Gwyn ...
Different Class by Pulp was released twenty years ago today, on October 30, 1995. I first heard some of the music on it a few months earlier. Summer 1995 was in many respects the point at which I developed my own taste in music, rather than having only a subset of my parents'. I was [...]
It would be remiss of me in starting this article not to first pay tribute to Michael Meacher. He was a brilliant and hard working MP who served in parliament for an incredible 45 years and still had a sharp mind, particularly on economics. I last saw him when I was attending the Labour Conference... More Why The Party Needs To Take Oldham West & Royton Seriously
no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well your neighbors running faster than you breath bloody in their throats the boy you went to school with who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory is holding a gun bigger than his body you only leave home when home won't let you stay. no one leaves home unless home chases you fire under feet hot blood in your belly it's not something you ever thought of doing until the blade burnt ...
Fri 30th
16:30
Swinson and Farron speak out against online abuse after threats sent to Labour MP Jess Phillips
The internet can be a torrid place, as we all know. If you're a woman, especially one who dares express an opinion that doesn't sit well with a very small minority of men, you are likely to get a particularly brutal form of abuse, usually coupled with threats of sexual violence. When Labour MP Jess Phillips reacted with incredulity to Tory Phillip Davies' request for a debate on International Men's Day, she was subjected to some awful abuse. You know it's bad when one of the milder things written was an observation that seeing her spirit die would be a ...
This is my second weekly diary over at LibDemVoice today... Good Lords above We live in a topsy turvy world. Following their defeat on tax credits, the Conservatives, who kaiboshed reform in the last parliament, are now urgently reviewing the powers of the House of Lords. Meanwhile Labour, which chose to abstain on a Lib Dem motion stopping the cuts, is promising to support the Tories if they now stop them. Ah, but aren't the Lib Dems at least as hypocritical? runs the argument of the unthinking right. The party wants to abolish the Lords yet our peers are "on ...
LD Bryan Fieldhouse 396 LD Janet Williams 322 Green Party 169 Conervative 161 Green Party 120 Turnout 15.6% Two Lib Dems holds
YemenQuestion11.18 amAsked by Lord AveburyTo ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on restoring peace in that country.The Earl of Courtown (Con): My Lords, the United Kingdom Government are in regular contact with the Saudi authorities, including through our embassy in Riyadh and our Yemen office based in Jeddah. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week and underlined the importance that the United Kingdom attaches to finding a political solution to the current crisis as soon as possible. He also reinforced the necessity of ...
[IMG: 6 months to go] It's important to make financial appeals to members and supporters all year round, just as we should campaign all year round. Next week marks 6 months until the next polling day so is an ideal opportunity to ask for those much needed extra funds to fight your next campaign. This financial appeal letter is specifically [...]
With Tim's Liberal Democrats being such a reduced force since the election, one might have expected such reductions – and proportional reductions in media coverage – to have affected his ability to make himself known in the one steady, solid indicator of such measures – the monthly Ipsos MORI leadership poll. Ipsos MORI's coverage of the question "Is X doing a good job of leader of Y" stretches right back to the second year of David Steel and thus covers the first months of Tim's immediate predecessors – Paddy, Charles, Ming and Nick. In his first month, with 22% of ...
Editor's Note: The party is currently running an essay competition for members of the Liberal Democrats, to submit 1000 words on the theme "What it means to be a Liberal Democrat today." The deadline for contributions is 2nd November. If you would like us to publish your submission, send it to voice@libdemvoice.org.uk. It starts with you. It starts with you and your family. It starts with you and your family and your friends. It starts with you and your family and your friends and your community. It starts with you and your family and your friends and your community and ...
Cllr Keith Holloway at Cheadle's Inscape House School Keith, Iain and Graham had a great time lending a hand at Cheadle's Inscape House School, speaking to them about their school council elections. You can read the full story on the Together Trust website.
[IMG: From relative obscurity to Number 10 in three years.] From relative obscurity to Number 10 in three years. Since David Cameron's announcement that he wouldn't seek a third term as Prime Minister, a lot of ink and electrons have been used to analyse everything any senior Tory politician does in the light of their upcoming leadership battle. This was particularly evident at the recent conference when journalists were lining up to proclaim the next leadership battle would be between George Osborne, Boris Johnson and Theresa May. The history of Tory leaders, especially since they began to be elected rather ...
Fri 30th
12:21
OPSTA – Ormskirk, Preston & Southport Travellers' Association - the lobbying continues ...
The tender specification for the new Northern franchise did not hold out any promise of improvements for OPSTA's services, so the group has been lobbying the shortlisted bidders in the hope of securing additional benefits - they've taken an evidence-based approach, backing up their demands with travel-census figures and passenger-survey reports. Some further dialogue with bidders may take place, but OPSTA thinks there's probably more to be achieved if they switch their attention back to Rail North, transport authorities and the Dept. for Transport. Recently, representatives from Transport for Greater Manchester welcomed OPSTA's survey and census work, stating that it ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34668957 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above. Sadly, this UN warning is very much in the category of tell us something we did not know. Although our Tory Government seems to think that their present targets are OK, will be met and so that's all right then! We are killing our world and severely limiting the options of our children to be able to survive global warming. That's nothing to be proud about or to bury our heads in the sand about either unless you support the Government's view that is.
At Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference, I committed a cardinal liberal offence. I voted against a pro-federalism motion, moved by Robert Brown and Lord Purvis. I opposed in sorrow and anger at the Party's stasis on the constitutional question. I was also annoyed that attempts some of us made to secure a more robust debate at Conference on federalism, were rebuffed by Conference Committee. We were made to feel that the party bureaucracy did not want a real clash of ideas for Conference to resolve democratically. The motion didn't take practical steps towards advancing federalism any further than the Party already ...
The latest delay on this report is scandalous. What is he hiding and who is he protecting? When the war was launched everyone except the Labour Government and party (most of it) and Tory MPs new that it was a scam and nothing more than an excuse for the Labour Government to go to war. I think their track record was one new war every two and a half years!!!! Charles Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats at the time led the principled position while Labour and Conservatives were baying for war. The weapons did not exist – it was all ...
Six principal council by-elections were contested yesterday, with one gain and one loss for the Liberal Democrats. The party made an impressive gain from the Conservatives on Wealden district council last night. David White polled 69.9% of the vote to clinch victory with a 653 majority. The party also recorded a 32.7% swing from the Tories. David becomes [...]
Fri 30th
11:25Mixed local election results for Liberal Democrats - joy in Wealden, disappointment in Brentwood
We'll have ALDC's report later, but I just wanted to highlight a couple of things about the local election results. Losing a seat where the Liberal Democrats have had a strong local councillor is always a disappointment. I remember back in 2012 the joy when we won the Shenfield ward in a by-election. The seat was retained by Cllr Liz Cohen in 2014. Sadly, it was lost in last night's by-election as Britain Elects tells us: Shenfield (Brentwood) result: CON: 57.4% (+19.0) LDEM: 32.5% (-11.2) UKIP: 5.7% (-8.1) LAB: 3.3% (-0.7) GRN: 1.1% (+1.1) — Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 29, 2015 Commiserations to the team ...
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This video was made at Autumn Conference in Bournemouth. In it, activists, some of whom are also parliamentarians, talk about why they think Britain should stay in the EU. How many can you recognise? It was great to see so many young people taking part in this. The Liberal Democrats will be making a positive case for staying in the EU. While critical of many of its structures, the net benefits, we'll argue, are clear. If you want to get involved with a campaign that will be a joy to work on, with messages that you can feel confident in ...
This year's summer holiday children's reading challenge was again a success this year. Across Southwark we had 5,321 participants compared to 5,217 last year. Dulwich Library had the highest number of participants with 1,048 (5% up on last year) and Grove Vale Library also did well with 170 participants (13% up on last year). Library staff visit schools before the summer begins to tell the children about the summer holiday reading challenge and also do promotion in shopping centres, and other community venues to maximise participation. The challenge is created by the Reading Agency who co-ordinate the scheme nationally and ...
[IMG: libby on the wall3] Editor's Note: The party is currently running an essay competition for members of the Liberal Democrats, to submit 1000 words on the theme "What it means to be a Liberal Democrat today." The deadline for contributions is 2nd November. If you would like us to publish your submission, send it to voice@libdemvoice.org.uk. I did the most terrible thing, which I regretted. I left the Liberal Democrats a few years ago during one of the controversies triggered by Baroness Jenny Tonge. In the coverage of the Middle Eastern situation, what was left out was the Israeli ...
[IMG: David White of Wealden becomes the 23rd new Lib Dem Cllr elected since the general election] Two results of interest last night, including the 13th Liberal Democrat Gain in local by-elections since May 8th. Wealden, Hellingly Well done to David White and the Wealden team, who gained Hellingly ward in a by-election triggered by a Conservative resignation. David becomes the 23rd new Liberal Democrat councillor to take a seat on a [...]
Visitors to Penny Lane from Jinan (China) and Kumamoto (Japan) I strongly suspect that I would have become a Lib Dem councillor wherever I had chosen to live. Whether I would have stuck it for 32 years (and counting) ... Continue reading →
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Smear Tactics The experts at Popbitch examine the "smear tactics" of Ashcroft's/Oakeshott's Call Me Dave http://bit.ly/1MkOggn Comment: The attack on Germaine Greer shows identity politics has become a cult V good from @boodleoops on identity politics: "what Greer stands accused of is, essentially, thoughtcrime" http://bit.ly/1ReOdH4 Farron Criticised For Helping Refugees In Suit Here's Sky News basing its headlines on YouTube user comments > "Farron Criticised For Helping Refugees In Suit" http://bit.ly/1O7lGW6 How much more does your MP earn than your local ...
The Leader of the House of Commons, Chris Grayling spectacularly misses the point once more in today's Independent when he accuses journalists of "misusing" Freedom of Information laws to "generate" stories. Apparently, Mr. Grayling believes that it is improper to use the Act as a "research tool" but believes that it is most appropriately used by "those who want to understand why and how government is taking decisions". Personally, I am not sure what the difference is. The paper says that during the business question in the Commons, Mr Grayling said: "The truth is the Freedom of Information Act is ...
Last night: Liberal Democrat GAIN Hellingly (Wealden) from Conservative. pic.twitter.com/JTsnE1hKk6 — Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 30, 2015
In The Telegraph today it is reported that the government are going to try to legislate to collect internet Metadata again. This cropped up I think two years ago and there were a number of meetings in the Commons about it. I pointed out the technical problems. The basic technical problem is that encryption is designed to prevent what is called a "man in the middle" attack. Encryption
[IMG: Rosina Credit Rugfoot Photography] Just as tensions began to rise in Israel and the West Bank, I undertook a cycle and study tour of Palestine organised by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). We covered around 200km in five days in 40oC heat - at the time if it felt like the cycling version of the Sahara's 'marathon des sables'. I've read a lot about the situation in Palestine over the years but nothing could really prepare me for what I saw and experienced in that single week. Over five days, the sponsored ride took us from Nablus in the ...
Tomorrow - Saturday 31st October at 2pm - sees the Friends of Balgay Autumn Meeting and AGM take place in the Mills Observatory. The guest speaker is Ken Reid, Red Squirrel Officer for Tayside. All welcome!
The sin of pride: We can't afford a smug Chancellor – George Osborne's policies are too short-term to protect the British economy when the next crash comes. The 1992 Olympic Bid – In a move that made a lot more sense then than it appears to in hindsight, Birmingham bid for the 1992 Olympics. The Brumpic blog has a lot more about the bid. Dan Hannan and Owen Jones are both wrong on Portugal – Someone who actually understands Portuguese politics explains why there hasn't been a coup there, and how partisan commentators are misrepresenting the normal political process to ...
Fri 30th
08:00
If you want to know what life would be like in a post-EU Britain, don't look to Norway - instead jus...
In the wake of Cameron's speech denouncing the "Norwegian model" as an alternative for Britain to EU membership, the Outers have all piled in to denounce the idea themselves. Odd, as they used to be quite taken with the notion of emulating that particular Scandinavian country's way of trading with the world (as many a Bruges Group pamphlet will attest to), but stepping that aside for a moment, I agree with them that Norway is no model for what a post-Brexit UK would do or look like. A much better gaze into that possible future is to look at the ...
Fri 30th
07:52
Matthew Hancock calls upon the Civil Service to show some empathy. Does he understand the concept of...
Matthew Hancock MP I am not a huge fan of Matthew Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk. He gives every impression of being lucky that George Osborne is his sponsor. It is probably a sign of his closeness to George that he has become a Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, and it was in that capacity that he gave a speech to the Institute for Government on Monday, as part of a series entitled "Where next for Public Sector Markets?" (one might argue that the first problem is in the title). In his speech, he set out ...
Good Lords above We live in a topsy turvy world. Following their defeat on tax credits, the Conservatives, who kaiboshed reform in the last parliament, are now urgently reviewing the powers of the House of Lords. Meanwhile Labour, which chose to abstain on a Lib Dem motion stopping the cuts, is promising to support the Tories if they now stop them. Ah, but aren't the Lib Dems at least as hypocritical? runs the argument of the unthinking right. The party wants to abolish the Lords yet our peers are "on the warpath". Let's leave to one side, for just a ...
This made me cry If Germaine Greer's views were radical, this transgender woman wouldn't have been sent to a men's prison Specific Detriment, Self-Determination and the Ministry of Justice Why are drugs illegal? You asked Google - here's the answer | David Nutt is so awesome 'The Ministry of Justice needs be dragged into the 21st century' The Quiet Racism of Instagram Filters Why Horror is Good For You (and Even Better for Your Kids) Police use terror powers to seize BBC Newsnight journalist's laptop Female Scientists Had The Best Reply When Asked How They'd Cope Without Men In Space ...
Our First Minister Carwyn Jones was touring North Wales recently selling some NHS success stories. The problem that Labour face is that – no matter how significant and how numerous the success stories created by dedicated and hard-working staff – there is a drip feed of bad news. Responsibility for that drip feed of bad news must rest with Labour ministers who have been running the Welsh NHS ever since devolution was implemented in 1999. Over the summer naïve indications were made by a Labour minister suggesting that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board would only be in special measures ...
