Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know the weakness I have for photographs of building and street scenes from the mid 20th century. So the work of Phyllis Nicklin was bound to appeal to me. She was the staff tutor in Geography in the University of Birmingham's former Department of Extra Mural Studies in the 1950s and 1960s. She died in post in 1969, leaving behind thousands of slides she had taken for her classes. The video above, made for a recent exhibition in Birmingham, celebrates her work.
Earlier this week Newsnight reported on a mystery - you can see the report below. On 11 December a man travelled from Ealing Broadway to Euston and then caught the train to Manchester. He then made his way to Saddleworth Moor, where his body was found the next day. He has still not been identified, which is mysterious enough. But, as Newsnight reported, Greater Manchester Police have added to the mystery. Perhaps fuelled by watching too many reruns of Lewis on ITV3, they have suggested that the man's death may be connected with an air crash that took place near ...
As members of the Liberal Democrats, we often hear the claim that we already live in a liberal country. Liberalism is mainstream, we're told, across our communities and our political parties. In fact, the argument goes, we live in one of the most liberal societies in the world. After all, every major party supported gay [...]
If you do creative work then you know that managing your time effectively can be a real challenge. However there are some simple tips that I describe in this short lesson on 'time management for creatives'. You see creatives think about time in a very different way than managers or CEO's. In this episode of The Creative Life I look at strategies such as batching and blocking which enable you to focus on your creative work. Listen to the Audio Watch the Video Please leave a comment below and tell me what you think. Sponsors Lynda.com Audible.com Transcript: Coming soon... ...
Ed Miliband has an article on inequality in the London Review of Books. "If you criticise the party of government, you become a pariah - all of a sudden, you're faced with a deluge of SNP warriors to defend yourself against. What is becoming of democracy in Scotland if this is the situation that we have been left in?" Jordan Daly on life in post-referendum Scotland. David Brindle talks to Brian Rix, who was 92 this week, about his two careers: farceur and activist for people with learning disabilities. Labour peer Lord Berkeley warns against a pause in Network Rail's ...
The line-up of the policy working group which is to look at the Lib Dem policy on Trident and related issues is now confirmed. I really don't envy Neil Stockley's task trying to steer the group towards a cohesive conclusion which both reflects the long tradition of unilateralism in some parts of the party along with the majority of the party's consistent preference for multilateralism. So very best of luck to Neil and the team. Working Group Membership Chair: Neil Stockley Alistair Carmichael MP Baroness Judith Jolly Baroness Julie Smith David Bangert George Cunningham Toby Fenwick David Grace Josephine Hayes ...
I've been listening to this one a lot this week. The orchestration on this recording is particularly powerful – the drums, the horns and the strings are very effective. And, of course, there is the fantastic voice of Ms Knight. It sold over a million copies. The lyrics by Jim Weatherly (who also wrote that other Gladys Knight and the Pips classic, "Midnight train to Georgia") are wonderful because, I suspect, most people have someone special they can dedicate this to and mean ever word. She won't read this, so I won't embarrass her, but I mean every word of ...
Fri 29th
17:58
Does a perceived distrust of politicians justify redistributing an image meme that was discredited 1...
[IMG: Meme debates] The image meme above went the rounds of social media in November 2014. It was roundly and conclusively fisked by Isabel Hardman on the Spectator Coffee House blog. I noticed that the meme was getting re-distributed a week ago. I pointed out to the people sharing this meme that it had been thoroughly discredited well over a year ago. Interestingly, several replied saying that "most people" think that's how parliament behaves so it's not a problem distributing it. My indignation hit about twelve on the Richter scale. In fact, I can do no better than repeat the ...
[IMG: this boy] While this is a very late review, hopefully it will persuade anyone left in the political community, who has not read Alan Johnson's "This Boy", to read it. I tend to read at a snail's pace and also have a habit of (accidentally) reading volumes of memoirs back to front chronologically. I read both Alan Clark's and Chris Mullin's volumes backwards. I read and reviewed Alan Johnson's later work "Please Mister Postman" last summer. Just before Christmas I was kindly loaned "This Boy". The book is a remarkably detailed, harrowing account of a one-parent (and then no-parent) ...
The Mayor of Liverpool's fundraising website I had an e-mail recently from our Party treasurer who told me that since I was chosen as the Lib Dem candidate for the Mayoralty at the start of January we have received just ... Continue reading →
Current Watership Down, by Richard Adams (a chapter a week) No Official Umbrella, by Glyn Jones Ancillary Mercy, by Ann Leckie Europe at Midnight, by Dave Hutchinson Last books finished Touch, by Claire North Streetlethal, by Steven Barnes Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro House of Shattered Wings, by Aliette de Bodard Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott Last week's audios Hamilton!!! Next books On The Way To Diplomacy, by Costas Constantinou Tik-Tok by John Sladek Books acquired in last week Europe at Midnight, by Dave Hutchinson Faith in Politics, by ...
The offices of Blyth Town Council will be closed on Friday 19th February for staff training. I an emergency contact Northumberland County Council or your local councillor
[IMG: Kirkby In Ashfield East Station] This is Kirkby in Ashfield East Station. It was a couple of hundred yards from my Grandad's Urban Road terraced house in the Nottinghamshire (former) mining town where I was born and lived until the age of 6. He took me to watch the trains at this very spot in the early 1960's. Sadly there is no longer a railway or station here but just along the road, probably less than half a mile away, Kirkby has a new station (see photo below) on the Robin Hood Line. [IMG: IMG_2575 r] Click on the ...
From Foreign Policy: Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Democracy, Freedom House, International relations, politics
On the Belfast Telegraph website, Tim Farron talks about why he feels we should offer sanctuary to the "desperate" children struggling alone through Winter in refugee camps. He also slammed David Cameron's "bunch of migrants" comments which have had a great deal of coverage this week. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Just one principal council by-election took place yesterday. Labour comfortably held one of their two seats in Parkfield & Oxbridge ward in Stockton-on-Tees (UA). The Labour candidate won with 52.5% of the vote, whilst Liberal Democrat candidate Drew Durning came fourth with 5.7%, a 0.2% vote share increase from last May. A Town Council by-election [...]
The first London Mayor debate took place last night and Caroline Pidgeon came in for praise from commentator Martin Hoscik: Pidgeon was the panel's feistiest performer, pointedly contrasting her own 8 year term on the London Assembly with her rivals' lack of City Hall knowledge and experience. And she provided the evening's only real flashpoint when she denounced UKIP candidate Peter Whittle's support for leaving the EU as an "insane" threat to the capital's economy. But, perhaps aware of her own bruiser-like tendencies, Pidgeon ensured that her opening statement was peppered with references to her own experiences as a part-time ...
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across the country] At least 80,000 social rented homes could be lost by 2020 unless councils are given greater powers to build new homes, new analysis from the Local Government Association reveals today. The LGA estimates this drop in affordable council rented housing would shift spending from bricks to benefits by driving up the housing benefit bill [...]
It is little wonder that David Cameron wants to mute the House of Lords, they are proving very troublesome to him. The latest defeat for him is over the government's attempt to cut the amount people get on the ESA disability benefit. According to the Independent, peers have voted 283 votes to 198 - a majority of 85 for the opposition, which mainly comprised of Labour, Liberal Democrat, and crossbench peers - to reject a sharp planned cut to disability benefits. Ministers had wanted to cut £30 from the £102.15 rate of Employment and Support Allowance given to people deemed ...
What was the issue which caused the House of Lords to defeat the Government so spectacularly on Wednesday? It was George Osborne's latest attempt to save on the Welfare Bill by cutting sick benefits. At the moment, if you aren't well enough to work, having had the Work Capability Assessment, you are either put into the support group or the work-related activity group. In the support group you don't have to look for work, but if you are in the work related activity group, you are expected to be able to get back into some kind of work eventually. Under ...
Behold the Bank of England offices from the 1960s, the 1990s and the present decade. The advent of paperless offices and wireless computing has led to offices, er..., rather more clutter with messy cables and loose papers. [IMG: Bank of England 1960s] [IMG: Bank of England 1990s] [IMG: Bank of England 2010s] More from the Bank of England archive here. The 1960s are definitely my favourite. Which set of offices is your favourite?
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above The monthly cost of renting a house locally has been rising much faster than inflation and this Echo story gives a Merseyside-wide picture of the present costs of renting just a two bedroom house. Here are some highlights:- Southport £649 Formby £730 Crosby £566 – £655 Maghull £585 Bootle – £388 – £456 Cheaper to buy a house these day?
There's not enough Julian in these parts these days, sadly. In May just under 700 votes kept him from continuing as MP for Cambridge and one of the Commons' few scientific experts. Today, though, he's written for the Guardian's Science column, saying that if you are pro-science, you really need to vote to remain in the EU. Cambridge is massively pro-EU, for many reasons, but he highlights one in particular The answer I think lies in another special feature of Cambridge: its world leadership in science and technology. We see this in the huge number of Nobel Prizes amassed here, ...
Why on earth is Bristol City Council being so stubborn about revealing how it's spent over £8mllion on Bristol's year as European Green Capital? Questions from elected councillors and other campaigners have all been rebuffed. The council is trying to hide behind Bristol 2015 Limited, the company it set up to manage the year's events. [...]
Local Liberal Democrats have expressed shock and regret at the failure of the local Tory administration to support hard-working local families. Lib Dem Leader Chris White roundly condemned those in the Conservative group who sought to belittle the threat or who urged colleagues to take no action until the Bill had become law. He said: [...]
I was searching through some old files and came across this extract taken from 'Greening the Concrete Jungle' a Policy Brief produced by the Woodland Trust that I thought deserved a wider audience. The importance of trees in urban spaces The beauty of towns and cities arises from a mix of good architecture and design, and [...]
I was interest to read about the British Government's Troubled Families Programme (TFP) in last week's Economist. Now I don't find the Economist particularly reliable on British social policy – their coverage of education has shaken my faith in the paper, with its uncritical adoption of rightwing wonkery. So I thought I had better get an alternative view. That proved a bit more difficult than I imagined, since the programme attracts little public attention. I did come across one piece in the Guardian, though, from last November. This turned out not to have a great deal to say. Nevertheless, I ...
I was out and about yesterday and ended up being marooned in Glasgow and not getting home till late so I missed Shirley's final speech in the House of Lords. She has been a giant of common sense and wisdom and one of my political heroes from the moment I first realised politics was a thing. This is a speech that you have to watch as well as read for all sorts of reasons, the interaction with David Steel being one, so thank goodness the BBC have provided an embeddable version. She talks about the great institutions of the BBC, ...
[IMG: Union Jacks. CC0 Public Domain] Covering the London regional launch of the Liberal Democrat European referendum campaign, I reported: Appointed to coordinate the Liberal Democrat referendum campaign, Iain talked to the hall in front of both a Union Jack and an EU flag, an appropriate backdrop to his points about how being pro-European and patriotic fit together and complement each other. Ostentatious use of the Union Jack was a part of the original New Labour reinvention of that party. For them it was part of trying to answer Conservative and media attacks over Labour's attitude towards defence, security and ...
[IMG: rhodes oriel] 'Cecil Rhodes statue to be kept by Oxford University college', the BBC notes. Here's my hot take... 1. I'm glad I'm not working in the alumni office at Oriel College – having been an Oxford fundraiser for 13 years, I can only begin to imagine the correspondence they've been dealing with since this storm erupted. Oriel says its decision to rescind its earlier decision and to let Rhodes statue stand has had nothing to do with the response of its old members. Yeah, right! I've no idea if the £100m threatened cost in lost donations and legacies ...
So after a week of dark clouds emerging from the Number 10 press office regarding Cameron's ability to get the renegotiation deal he wants fully signed off at the summit to be held on February 18 and 19th, in order to facilitate a June referendum, suddenly this morning we got some good news on that front. Or as the horse's mouth put it, "The mood music has changed". Although we are still getting the usual song and dance about nothing being final until the Luxembourgian man signs, the sudden positive tone would be highly unlikely if Cameron wasn't genuinely very ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Neil Kinnock: Jeremy Corbyn may have to resign or face a leadership challenge if Labour fails to improve Not sure I can think of a braver, more effective, opposition leader in last 50 yrs than Neil Kinnock http://bit.ly/1QDJt0l The New Tory Left launches – and challenges future leadership candidates | Conservative Home Matter more than the Lab Party for the next few years > "New Tory Left launches" | ConHome http://bit.ly/20su71s Why it's becoming easier every day to imagine Donald Trump ...
When you start a fight, you should choose to fight the side who is damaging you or the cause the most. You should also make sure you have the right backing and tools at hand to win the fight. Luciana Berger has decided to both ignore the current Government's reneging on spending for mental Health, whilst also choosing to attack Norman Lamb who has done more to put mental health on the political radar than anyone, whilst she has...well...what, exactly? The point-scoring attempt this week to blame Norman for the continuing crisis in mental health services finally broke the straw ...
Unfortunately, another commitment elsewhere means I can't attend Martin Hunt's funeral and memorial today, but as his family have requested donations to St Helena Hospice in lieu of flowers, I wanted to mention something I'll be doing in memory of him in a couple of months. [IMG: Pier-to-pier-website-banner] St Helena Hospice are staging a Pier To Pier walk on the Essex coast in April, on a route between Clacton and Walton piers. I'm intending to do the full fourteen mile there and back walk (not sure which one I'll be starting and finishing at) so this is fair warning that ...
Me pictured against some of the graffiti Following complaints from residents about graffiti on the wall at the back of the lock-ups in Glenagnes Street near to the Elm Street junction (see right), I brought this to the attention of the City Council's Rapid Response Team. The team has responded and will tackle this although it may require a disclaimer signed by owners as the wall is privately owned.
The most useful Facebook web address, of course, is www.Facebook.com. I'm going to hazard a guess that you might be aware of it. However, the chances also are that you are not aware of events.fb.com. This takes you to a very simple step-by-step guide to what Facebook events are and how to create one. For novices for creating Facebook events, it's a great introduction to what is an extremely powerful tool for political campaigners, when done well. Those three caveating words are there because creating a Facebook event for an action day, not populating it with any attractive content and ...
As Cambridge launches its own grassroots campaign to keep Britain in the EU, its former MP, Julian Huppert, explains why science and innovation are crucial to the pro-European cause. Today sees the launch of Cambridge for Europe, a grassroots organisation to promote the benefits of EU membership in and around Cambridge. I don't think we'll have too hard a task: the good people of Cambridge are strongly in favour of continued membership of the EU. About a year ago, I debated this against a UKIP MEP and the result was clear. 300 or so for in, and 6 for out. ...
If not 'ever closer union', what next for Europe? @AndrewDuffEU looks at future options. (tags: eu ukpolitics ) The Horror Dawned Slowly Challenger, as reported at the time. (tags: space ) How Trump Bungled the Deal of a Lifetime - Bloomberg View Facts. (tags: uspolitics newyork ) Hugo Nominations open Great picture and Q&A. (tags: sf hugos )
All the bad news stories David Cameron might be trying to distract us from with his 'bunch of migrants' comment He Called Her a Slut. He Got Fired - interesting article. David Cameron has become the master of trickle-down hate Five places for your holidays in flood-hit northern England - I've been to four of 'em [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The new look ambulance response time figures show a wide variation in ambulance response times across Wales. Eight minute responses for the most urgent calls ranged from 75.9% in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg to just 60.3% in Powys. Despite the new targets being considered easier to meet, two health board areas (Hywel Dda and Powys) failed to reach the response target of 65%. December's figures also included, for the first time, amber call (Serious but not immediately life-threatening) response times which showed that across Wales 14.4% of these calls took longer than 30 minutes to reach the patient. The differences between ...
