Built to service the Crystal Palace exhibition and opened in 1865, the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway ran between Nunhead and Crystal Palace. It closed in 1954. There is more about Crystal Palace High Level station on London Reconnections.
April I visited Burton Overy and founds its telephone box was now a library. Keeping tabs on the general election campaign, I reported that the contest in Hampstead and Kilburn would go ahead despite death of a former Eurovision entrant. Lord Bonkers remembered the making on Bomb on the Buses: "Who could forget the scene where poor Olive is rescued from the speeding bus? Lines of dialogue such as 'Blimey, Stan, keep your foot down' and 'Don't you dare touch that brake, Butler' were on everyone's lips.Two journalists recalled being in Leicester for the trial at Frank Beck, where allegations ...
Richard Kemp has written to voters in Liverpool saying: [IMG: Richard Kemp - Liverpool Lib Dems] You will know from your own conversations that people are tired of our Mayor. He has made a laughing stock of Liverpool time and time again. The result is that Manchester is leaping ahead of us on all fronts but especially those that relate to the economy and employment. But I am not standing just because I don't like the Mayor. I will be fighting on a range of liberal issues which are the ones on which we rescued this City and gave it ...
Nationalism does nothing but teach you how to hate people that you never met and take pride in accomplishments you had no part in – Doug Stanhope There is a fine ... Continue reading →
Political parties and their structures developed from the transformation of society in the nineteenth century, and as such are based along the structured hierarchies of the factory floor. While the factory was perfected to make a product it stripped away identity, with workers being components in the machines they worked. While such certainties have given both Labour and the Conservatives strength by dominating their position within this system, they are also trapped by the very system that gives them that strength. To use another industrial analogy; while their parties are huge and powerful locomotives, they are confined to the tracks ...
Introducing Doctor Who - Ghost Light... The Doctor takes Ace to her worst nightmare: a Victorian ghost story for Christmas. Lush BBC costume drama is only the start of one of the most bizarre, macabre and intelligently designed pieces of television you'll ever see. At a stage in Doctor Who's life-cycle when the series looked to be facing extinction, it evolves by taking risks and challenging the audience rather than ever playing it safe - though it's got the vicar from Downton Abbey, here he's at a much more satisfying posh dinner party, where everyone's shockingly talking science and religion. ...
Our thoughts go out to all those affected by flooding across the North, and we would like to thank the emergency services and army troops who have worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone is safe. Thankfully our area has not suffered. Stockport has the benefit of being on relatively high ground. In the town itself the river runs quite deep and there's no housing along the banks nearby. We walked along the Mersey to check on the 27th – it's high and fast-flowing but nowhere near bursting the banks. The Environment Agency identifies small areas of flood risk in our ...
I spent a day at the Battle of Ideas in October partly so I could hear Lenore Skenazy speak. Skenazy is an American journalist and campaigner who writes the Free-Range Kids blog. (Having no children of my own I am, of course, an expert on such matters.) She was an entertaining speaker, but I cannot find a video of the session she took part in. So instead here is a brief one where she sets out her ideas.
16, Dovedale Road, Liverpool L18 1DW Richardkemp68@yahoo.co.uk 07885 626913 28th December 2015 Dear Friend, I want you to be among the first to know that the Liberal Democrats have chosen me to be their candidate at the Mayoral Elections in ... Continue reading →
So yesterday I wrote about my favourite blockbuster films of 2015. Today, I'm looking at smaller budget [≤$30 million] fare. Of the two lists this one is going to be more constrained by what I have and haven't seen. There are simply more low budgets films out there. To complicate matters further only a small [...]
Embed from Getty Images Yesterday, for the second time in the space of six months, one of my local Liberal Democrat councillors resigned the party whip. Two different geographical areas. Two entirely different sets of circumstances. But two similarly devastating impacts on the blood, sweat and tears of hard working local activists. The first occasion was in Rochdale this summer. After our previous council leader Andy Kelly lost his Milnrow & Newhey seat by a meagre 15 votes a year earlier local activists worked around the clock to help deliver a stunning victory this May with a 700 plus majority ...
Back in the summer of 1991 I was finishing up my M Phil in Cambridge, and dropped in one day on my supervisor, who at the time was the curator of the Whipple museum of the history of science. He welcomed me into his office, shuffled through some manuscript papers with strange cylindrical diagrams on them, and flourished them at me: "These," he said, "are Charles Babbage's original blueprints for the Difference Engine." He had a tendency to do that. I remember one seminar on Newton where he brought in an authentic 17th-century widget, "just like Newton would have had", ...
A collection of Canadian comics artist Beaton's pieces, mainly from her website, mainly on literature. I love the Brontë sisters piece that opens the collection and have linked to it before; I must admit some of the other material didn't tick my personal boxes, and I also felt that the author isn't always trying very hard with the art - perhaps that's part of the point, but it spoils my enjoyment. Still, there are enough fun moments here to justify it.
Embed from Getty Images I've previously written about the shambolic "Northern Powerhouse" as promoted by the Tories, particularly in relation to the "pause" in the electrification project on the Trans-Pennine Lines. It's a personal subject for me, living between the two lines that run from Leeds to Manchester, filled with trains barely fit for purpose when they were introduced. As someone who lives in Osborne's "Northern Powerhouse", I have a right to know if the Tories were lying to us when they promised unprecedented infrastructure spending. If it was known in the industry that the electrification of the Great Western ...
Frost patterns Spring bulbs Blue skies and pasque flowers Mother's Day and magnolias Spring pond shady corners garden fauna garden flora full summer Autumn butterflies and spiders weeding and deadheading ... and finally a flourish of flower trumpets despite all the rain. Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a peaceful and prosperous 2016.
Embed from Getty Images Yesterday the Independent on Sunday published an interview with Tim Farron under the headline 'Lib Dem leader on why he went against his party over Syrian air strikes'. Tim Farron has argued that the Liberal Democrats are "not a pacifist party", following grassroots criticism of his decision to back Syrian air-strikes - a move opposed by two-thirds of members. The Independent on Sunday can reveal that the Lib Dem leader was rebuked at a meeting of a senior party committee this month for failing to consult properly on the controversial vote. He argued that the decision ...
My top Facebook post for the year was a decent screenshot that I managed to take when playing back the BBC election coverage the following morning: Posted by Nicholas Whyte on Friday, 8 May 2015 It got the most likes (468) and by far the most comments (60). A couple of livejournal posts also got more than 30 comments: my visiting professorship, and my line on the Hugos (since they are friends-locked I can't embed them). The second most likes (381) went to what was also the most widely shared post of my own content, this comment on the Irish ...
I've now hit a spot in the third Beach Boys book which I've known for years was coming, but which I still am not sure how to deal with, so I'd like people's opinions. In the ten-year period after Summer In Paradise, there were quite a few albums released by the Beach Boys or their [...]
Flood defences are a classic example of what economics textbooks call a "public" good or service. These have two characteristics: non-excludability and non-rivalry. Non-excludablity means that, if the good or service were to be provided by the "market" - if for example a group of houses were to get together to subscribe to provide the facility privately, it would not be possible to prevent any non-subscriber from enjoying the benefit. Non-rivalry means that one person's or household's "consuming" the benefit does not prevent anyone else from doing so. Hence "the market" cannot provide the facility: it must be provided collectively ...
Embed from Getty Images Many voices express concern that pro-EU activists should avoid emphasising the dire outcome of Brexit because, as we learnt during the Scottish referendum debate, concentrating on the negative makes for a dismal campaign. Yet how can we not point out that a Brexit, with its consequent uncertain trade agreements especially with the UK's major partner, would be catastrophic? But yes, we must also give a positive message. Proclaiming past EU achievements doesn't seem to play well; too many people take them for granted, believe they would have happened anyway and in any case find them boring. ...
When a political party gets walloped in an election, it clings on in the areas of its bedrock support. That happened in both the 1956 and 1964 US Presidential elections – yet the political geography of America had changed so much between those two elections thanks to the civil rights movements that what was the core bedrock area – the South – for one party in 1956 had become the bedrock for the other by 1964. [IMG: 1956 US Presidential election result] [IMG: 1964 US Presidential election result] Images from the excellent Sabato's Crystal Ball email newsletter.
Northumberland County Council are to recycle real Christmas trees again this year. They can be taken to the Household Waste Recovery Centre at Bebside at any time, or between 29th December and 4th January at Asda Blyth ( I assume the "big" Asda ) or the Ranch Car Park on Links Road. As a closet-traditionalist, I still think decorations should come down on 12th night , so I would have preferred for these sites to be open until after then. However, many people put their trees up long before Christmas Eve, and they probably won't last until 6th January ! ...
I'm not one to complain *chortle* but this morning I had a very concerning incident involving my beloved Gillingham football scarf which I in haste left on the train at Victoria station. (it was the 8.58 from Gillingham to Victoria arriving on platform 8) It didn't take long to realize, in fact I had only walked from Platform 8 to the Swatch kiosk on the concourse. I ran back and the Southeastern barrier guard very kindly let me back through. I ran up and down the train frantically searching for it. This sounds silly, I know, but this scarf holds ...
Embed from Getty Images Ian Hislop remembered Charles Kennedy in The Observer yesterday. He writes: I think Charles would have laughed. David Cameron was one of the last to arrive at his memorial service and walked down the aisle looking for a seat. The only one available was in a pew next to Nick Clegg. "Awkward," said someone sitting next to me as the prime minister greeted his former coalition partner warmly and sat down. Politics is a funny business in both senses of the word - bizarre and comic - and Charles Kennedy always had a keen sense of ...
Since my last roundup on 29 December last yer, I have emitted 4,011 tweets (up from 3,337) and gained 778 followers, taking me to 3,172 from 2,394, including a net gain of 45 on election night (8 May). By far my most successful tweet was a New Yorker cartoon which I got somewhere off the Web and launched on Twitter at the end of March; it got hundreds of retweets then and then got a significant further signal boost when a major Spanish tech blog (@microsiervos) picked it up in August. About your cat, Mr Schrödinger - I have good ...
[IMG: Making waves in Sefton Lane, Maghull.] Making waves in Sefton Lane, Maghull. The Liverpool Echo has the story and forecast on it web site – see link above
Embed from Getty Images Did a kindly relative give you a gift card for Christmas? If you enjoy shopping, then a shop card or voucher provides the double pleasure of receiving a pressie on the day and of later choosing an item that is exactly what you want. But have you also found a forgotten gift card lurking in your pile of papers-to-deal-with-someday, and discovered that it was past its use by date, hence worthless? If you assume these cards are like cash and not time limited, then you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. The actual expiry terms ...
You may not be aware that you can recycle clean plastic bags, wrapping and film at the Sort it Centres. Of course since the introduction of the charge for carrier bags many people are reusing those, but this is one way to cut back on the amount of packaging going into your black bin.
Word reaches me from several sources that Jeremy Corbyn is indeed going to clear the shadow frontbenches of those who have shown disloyalty thus far, most prominent amongst the casualties being Angela Eagle and Hilary Benn – however, Angela's sister, Maria, looks to be in the firing line as well. And it could apparently happen as soon as January 4th, the next proper working day in Westminster. All of this has been in the rumour mill for some time now, but it looks closer to becoming reality than ever before. Whatever else it would be, such a move would be ...
[IMG: Hot chocolate in a mug. CC0 Public Domain] As this is the week most people have a little more spare time, here's a set of longer-reads to enjoy (once again). Slip on some comfy slippers, grab a hot chocolate, sit back and enjoy some of these over the next few days: Tim Farron's brilliant first conference speech as leader was rated by many as the best they'd heard – so watch it here if you've missed out on it so far. It's About Freedom: one of the best attempts to set out what the Lib Dems believe Why Liberal ...
My photographic take on the display of poppies outside Liverpool's St. George's Hall:- [IMG: Poppies 1] [IMG: Poppies 2] [IMG: Poppies 3] The photos above are also amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
The Liverpool Echo has the story on its web site – see link above I missed this story when it was published on 16th December but can't say I am at all surprised by the protests. Knowsley Council is to allow Green Belt land some of which is bang up against the Melling Parish boundary to be built upon so this decision will affect Sefton Borough as well. Trouble is Sefton Council is just as keen to build on Green Belt as Knowsley. What is it with Labour-run councils not being environmentally aware? Neighbouring Liverpool (also Labour run) is ...
I have received several constituents' concerns about the speed of a minority of vehicles and pedestrian safety on Blackness Road between Elm Street and Balgay Road - see right. I raised this with the City Council's Head of Transportation who advises : "I have looked to see what information we have and a recent speed survey undertaken last year between Elm Street and Balgay Road and it indicated that the average speed Blackness Road was about 27mph which indicates that most motorists are driving within the limit. As you may be aware the junction of Blackness Road / Balgay Road ...
Today, here in Entebbe, Uganda, the first round of peace talks aimed at averting mayhem in the central African state of Burundi are scheduled to begin. Given the way that things have deteriorated so rapidly over the past few weeks, especially in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, where dozens of bodies have turned up on the [...]
News that the tolls over the two Severn crossings will be increased again from Friday significantly dampened down Christmas spirit for many businesses. Today's Western Mail reports that the cost of a car crossing the Severn estuary will rise by 10p t0 £6.60. More damagingly for business, small goods vehicles and small buses will see their bill for a single crossing rise from £13.10 to £13.20, whilst heavy goods vehicles and buses will pay 20p more with the cost rising from £19.60 to £19.80. As one campaigner points out, these increases will make the Severn tolls the most expensive toll ...
Tributes paid to Belfast Telegraph Political Editor Liam Clarke following sudden death Sad news of one of Belfast's leading journalists. (tags: northernireland death ) Liam Clarke: The fear of a slow, lingering death blights life now Foreseeing his own end. (tags: northernireland death ) 13 bad habits you should break in 2016 to be more productive Ow! Guilty as charged! (tags: lifehacking ) Sir Terry Pratchett remembered by his daughter, Rhianna Pratchett For once, do read the comments. (tags: sf death )
Charles Kennedy remembered by Ian Hislop - this made me cry Sir Terry Pratchett remembered by his daughter, Rhianna Pratchett Peter Black: Cameron ignored warnings from climate change advisors Muslims around the world respond brilliantly to Isis leader's call to arms Cameron government rejected flood risk warnings from climate advisors Emotional Labor - The MetaFilter Thread Condensed.pdf - my god this is all depressingly familiar [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Over recent months, posters, light boxes and banners simply saying "It's approaching" have been appearing in train stations across South Wales. The posters feature no useful information for the public, but instead just have the word 'Metro' and the Welsh Government's logo on them. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are huge supporters of the South Wales Metro system, but believe money would be better spent on an information campaign that informs and consults with the public. In response to a written question from me, the Labour Transport Minister Edwina Hart stated that: "the total committed expenditure relating to marketing and information ...
