A brief video about a brief and long-forgotten line. I traced its course myself when I was living in West London around 30 years ago. For more on the line, see the Disused Stations pages for Hammesmith & Chiswick.
Following on the news that traffic calming measures are going to be provided on Henthorn Road, comes more good news that the Woone Lane one-way system is about to be implemented, in the early spring. Cllr Allan Knox reports: "Alongside the information about Henthorn Road, came the news that the scheme for Woone Lane would be implemented at the same time. "This is great news for local residents, who have long argued for a one-way system on Woone Lane between Eshton Terrace and the Brown Cow, and will lead to a lot less congestion and road rage." Allan added: "The ...
The most important thing about being a Liberal Democrat today is that it is not a spectator sport. Liberalism is under threat from the politics of blame, fear and isolationism. Everyone who believes in freedom, social justice and the need to look after our planet needs to roll up their sleeves and live those values [...]
(Before we get started I'd like to point out that I've not censored myself in terms of my language in this post like I normally would.) I don't think I've ever been more angry than I am just now on such a topic. We talk constantly about "How do we get more women interested in [...]
[IMG: Lib Dem website front page] Want to read the latest news stories from the Liberal Democrat federal website but want the stories to come to you rather than have to remember to go and check the website regularly for new content? As a bonus, you also get the main Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrat news wrapped in too. Just sign up here and pick the option "Official Lib Dem news stories from party's website (including Scotland and Wales)". Email* Name First Last What would you like to receive?* Liberal Democrat Newswire: monthly newsletter Official Lib Dem news stories from ...
It's basically impossible to make a living from music unless you're a megastar A Cognitive Difference Between Women and Men Gives Men an Edge in Spatial Understanding How will you feel about your tattoos when you're 80 tho? Hopefully like this Why Won't Hipsters Integrate? The Suicide Squad trailer, recreated in the DC Animated Universe Tim Farron urges people to celebrate LGBT history month How not to persuade congresswoman that swatting doesn't need to be a felony Why must a Bradford museum lose its treasures to London? - Northern Powerhouse my arse A promisingly rich seam of Dawkins pisstaking here ...
Bath is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but could possibly receive a second nomination. In 2008 UNESCO indicated that spa towns could be inscribed on the World Heritage list, to show the influence of spas on European culture, and asked for the best examples of European spas to be put forward. Bath having already achieved one listing is a key player in helping the nomination which features 16 spa towns from seven countries. Bath & North East Somerset Council has been supporting the bid by producing evidence of the city's world-wide significance as a spa town. We started the ...
Tue 2nd
16:48
LibLink: Tim Farron: Now the draft plan is on the table, the referendum campaign begins in earnest
Tim Farron has been writing about the announcement of the draft EU settlement over at the Huffington Post. Well, actually, it's more about the substantive issues of the referendum. His article is exactly the sort of positive voice the campaign needs, giving five reasons for us to remain in the EU: 1. Prosperity: Remaining in works for Britain. Britain is already stronger and better off trading and working with Europe. We are part of the world's largest single market, allowing British businesses to grow and prosper. 2. Peace: After decades of brutal conflict, European nations came together in cooperation. To ...
In October 2015 I wrote an article for Lib Dem Voice entitled 'We Need More Blue Collar Liberals'. Since then I have been attempting to keep the issues raised by the article 'live', turning statements by leading figures in our party regarding encouraging people from lower socio economic groups to become more involved in the Liberal Democrats into concrete actions. These efforts haven't met with any success so far. With the notable exception of EMLD, the dialogue has not resulted in anything concrete and a cynic might say that the party hierachy appears more than happy with the comfort zone ...
So we've established in the last post roughly what we mean by music, and we've also established that from now on I'm going to narrow down my meanings quite a bit, but that it's worth bearing the broader definition in ... Continue reading →
Who would have thought it? The old boy turns out to be a bit of a hawk on Syria One up the snoot for Isis In my view defence questions resemble a closely fought by-election: if someone is out to get you then you give them one up the snoot at the earliest opportunity. Thus I was happy to support the idea of lobbing the occasional bomb at ISIS (the Boat Race has deteriorated since my day). Let us remember that they attacked people going to a footer match, out for dinner at a restaurant and listening to the Eagles ...
[IMG: Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 11.10.23] Monday 1 February It's a polling day of a different kind. Rather than 15 hours of voting, everything is crammed into just 2 hours. Across the state, individual caucuses will be held in an astonishing 1,681 locations. There is one caucus for every precinct (polling district) with each one requiring a chair to oversee proceedings and a speaker for each of the candidates. It requires a phenomenal level of planning and organisation by both the Democrat and Republican state parties. I get out during the day and visit the Iowa Historical Museum with its ...
Minnsy complains, correctly in my view, about the recently released list of books that every child should read before they leave school. Dickens and Austen are great once you're already into reading, but that dense Victorian prose is not going to suck in a reluctant reader - and it's for that reason I'll be leaving all the Brontes, Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley and po' ol' Poe off my list, with the deepest regret. My picks are somewhat different from Minnsy's though: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett - the first proper Pratchett, very accessible, hilariously funny, and will suck you in ...
I realise two things. One, reviewing a TV show that came out in 2002 definitely puts me a decade and a half out of the loop. Two, give reverence for this show is on a monumental level for many sci-fi fans, I'm about to make some enemies here. I finally watched the first episode of "Firefly" a few days ago, the pilot episode I'm assuming it was, called "Serenity" (which is slightly confusing in that there was a 2005 movie made with this title and the same characters and concept). First off: are all "Firefly" episodes this ass-bustingly long? This ...
The recent acquittal of the former Executive Head of the Lincoln Priory Chain of Academies and his Director of Finance appears to have caused a few raised eyebrows in many areas. It is not my intention to pass my own personal judgement on the rights and wrongs of the case. What concerns me more is the fact that the Department of Education considered there to be sufficient grounds to ask the local police to conduct an enquiry which eventually led to a court case that is set to cost the taxpayer a considerable amount of money. This is not the ...
Liberal Democrat councillor Robert Donald, Chair of the City Neighbourhoods Committee, spoke strongly in favour of the District Council funding the replacement of the much used Clarence Park entrance during the recent Council budget debate. He commented after the Council had voted to accept the CNC's recommendation to do this priority work: I was very [...]
It was such an obvious solution that I am astounded that UKIP had not thought of it before. Instead of arguing in public as to who should stand for them at the Assembly elections why not let the membership decide? According to the BBC that is now what they have agreed to do. However, they have reached this decision after two damaging rows within their National Executive, who failed to agree a centrally-imposed list because of opposing personal interests. According to UKIP Wales leader Nathan Gill, the decision to give party members the final say is "a great victory". That ...
No-one can say that this Government has not fully embraced David Cameron's mantra to 'cut the green crap.' Since getting to power they have, one by one, removed, restricted and reduced the green initiatives put in place under the Liberal Democrats' watch. Today, in the House of Lords, we will stand against the latest cuts. The Government plan to cut the Feed-in-Tariff scheme early will result in nearly 20,000 losing their jobs and half of the solar sector disappearing more or less overnight. The Government snuck this past the Commons, and now, given a chance in the Lords, we will ...
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across the country] Tackling child obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, sexually transmitted infections and drug and alcohol misuse are just some of the vital public health services councils are unable to plan for, as they wait for government to tell them how much funding they will get, town hall leaders are warning. The Local Government Association, which represents more [...]
A few years back there was a set of public elections coming up. The Liberal Democrats had to put up a large number of candidates for all the vacancies, but everyone knew only a small handful of the posts up for election were winnable. Mindful of the party's past record on gender (mis)representation, the party decided to take half of the most winnable seats and say our candidates for those specific seats must be women. Members still got to vote for the candidates, but for those nominated seats they had to pick their preferred candidates from lists containing only women. ...
Picture Charles III, risen to the throne after a lifetime of waiting, ready to be consulted and give his advice on affairs of state, finding his views ignored and being unwilling in good conscience to give royal assent to a bill to regulate the press. Yes, credulity is stretched somewhat – a Labour Prime Minister – from Wales at least, not Scotland. An oily Tory opposition leader shamelessly encouraging and denouncing the king (who would have guessed that?). But it is hard to resist suspending disbelief for the cause of having such fun with our beloved royals. In a semi-Shakespearean ...
The famous Lawnmower Museum which gets post addressed to Stockport A rare thing happened last week, the town spoke with one voice. The packed town hall meeting agreed that in developing the town there were a number of key challenges: Rail links to the North and EastMaintaining the line to Manchester Piccadilly and AirportImproving roads to the North and EastPromoting the town's name and a commensurate dropping of the failed and hated 'Seftonisation' approachmake the most of the legacy : Lord St., The Pier, Botanic Gardens etcthe town is a place people want to live and commute from as with ...
It's by turns annoying and amusing: the way people on the left complain that orthodox economics has gone off the rails, and that we need fresh thinking to inform government policies. Apart from coming up with a lot of age-old tropes that economic models do not mimic real behaviour, or take account of information asymmetries, the main item of evidence is the persistance of austerity policies in the developed world. But the main critics of austerity turn out to be.... orthodox economists. People like Joe Stiglitz, Paul Krugman and Martin Wolf. And newspapers struggle to find economists to make the ...
... Anyone got space for a little one Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th of this month? I'll bring my own toothpaste... The nearer to Westminster the better, FYI. Got a lib demmy thing to go to. (may be a while answering comments as work is concentratey this morning, but don't worry, I will get there) ETA: now have offer, thanks folks :) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the 'Finish the Tower' project exhibition at Logie and St John's (Cross) Church, the results of a competition involving Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design architecture students to find an imaginative solution to the church's unfinished church tower. The ideas proposed and the standard of work produced is excellent - really imaginative and interesting. The exhibition is open all week (details here). Here's a couple of photos to give a flavour of the superb work undertaken by the DJCAD students :
Last summer and autumn, on behalf of local residents, I again raised the problem of bad odours emanating from the composting operation at the Riverside Civic Amenity site and impacting on households to the immediate north of Riverside Avenue, mainly around the western end of Perth Road and adjacent streets. At the time, the Environment Director agreed that the council's corporate Health and Safety team review the existing arrangements and working practices. Yesterday, I undertook a site visit to the composting operation to see what steps are being taken to tackle the smell issue - the Corporate Health and Safety ...
I have welcomed news that Dundee City Council has engaged expert consultants to look in-depth at the air quality problems at two locations - Lochee Road and Seagate - and recommend possible steps that could further improve the air quality in these areas. The City Council's Head of Community Safety and Protection has advised me that the council has commissioned two consultants- SAIS & Bureau Veritas - to undertake scenario testing of possible traffic management solutions and other mitigation options covering the Lochee Road. The council is awaiting the outcome the assessments of the Lochee Road expert work and expects ...
Photographed on Saturday, along with Big Brother.
I'm writing this on a train using my phone. So apologises for spelling and grammar errors. But: 1. All credit to Bernie – who once seemed like a fringe candidate – for pushing Clinton into a near as dammit draw. Nonetheless, I stand by my view yesterday that anything less than a crushing victory in [...]
This is the other half of the second Uncertain Truth programme, which sees Popper in conversation with John Eccles. Watch part 1. Watch part 2, Watch part 3.
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above [IMG: images] Anyone who has even just dabbled in model railways, this includes me of course, will have heard of Liverpool's Hatton's model railway shop. But now after decades in Smithdown Road it has moved much larger premises to Widnes.
[IMG: merseyrail__1250235264_southport] The New York Times has the story – see link above Have a look at the Connecticut, USA version of Southport. And you thought there could be only one Southport! With thanks to the New York Times and Roy Connell for the lead to this posting.
[IMG: HiE_FB.jpg] Recently, I've seen polls giving the vote to leave the EU the edge. This terrifies me - because I believe we're much better off working with our neighbours, rather than in isolation. I believe that borderless issues like climate change, terrorism and the refugee crisis can only be tackled together. I want to remain in the EU so we can continue to benefit from our membership, and work from the inside to make changes.
Peter Thatchell[s comment piece in the Guardian has suddenly started to appear in DUP politicians time lines. When this starts to happen you know that something is seriously wrong with what he has said. It is not so much the fact that he has changed his opinion on the Ashers case. Nor that his comments on that case are based on a lack of knowledge the various laws that the judge made judgement on and indeed gloss over the depths of the evidence that were cited in the judicial review. No what the DUP are picking up on is the ...
