Having recently finished a childhood memoir, which I hope will see the light of day later this Spring, the inevitable question I now face is: what next? The big difference betwen writers and would-be writers is that whereas the latter can't start, the former can't stop. Of course, writing blog posts, tweets and Facebook entries [...]
A look at the former Great Western main line from Wolverhampton Low Level to Birmingham Snow Hill. This film was shot in 1984, when the line lay derelict.
Here are the five posts on this blog that recorded the most hits between January and March 2016: Five (more) steps to fixing the housing crisis (5th Jan) Why is Owen Jones so annoying? (4th July 2013) Boris Wars (26th March) On the way out or in hibernation? The plight of evidence-based policy (18th March) On economic pluralism (15th Feb) This quarter hasn't worked out quite as anticipated, blogging-wise. There have been very few new posts. What with one thing and another blogging has taken a bit of a backseat. It was only in the second half of March that ...
Please come and join members of Lilliput Conservation Group this Tuesday (4 April) from 10.00 am until 12.00. Litter pickers and bags will be provided - everyone welcome. Meet at the Kingfisher Road gate - please wear suitable footwear.
Sometimes your head goes wrong. That's been the case for me over the last month or two. This bout of depression has been the worst for some years. But is also normal for me. It's the way my brain is wired and sometimes the energies in my mind pitch over the abyss into total despair.... Continue reading No newsletter this week as I recover from a bout of depression →
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 453rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (27 March – 2 April, 2016), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Why #libdemfightback has to ...
There are few people who understand how the world works better than our Paddy. He really gets how global power structures are changing and how vital it is that countries with liberal values work together, so it's no surprise that he really wants us to vote to stay in the EU for our own and for international good. I'm not quite sure why he's chosen a Sunday afternoon in the Easter holidays to wade into the fray afresh with a cheeky tweet, but you can't really argue with him on this. Britain's friends for BRIN: Obama & all leaders of ...
Watch the latest video from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign: Vote Leave pretend they want to leave Europe to help the NHS, but they've spent their careers campaigning for the NHS to be cut. If you'd like to know more about the wider topic, see my other European referendum posts, and in particular Nick Clegg's demolition of the anti-EU case.
The final scene at the Caldies Comp "Les Mis" performance On Thursday night Erica and I had an absolutely marvellous night at Calderstones Comprehensive. We have always been impressed with the school since our youngest daughter went there in the ... Continue reading →
There is certainly a head of steam building up for HGVs to be banned from Ludford Bridge. Ludford parish council wants an HGV ban. And 91% of the 200 people who voted in my online poll support a ban on HGVs.[1] I am naturally inclined to support a ban to protect this Grade I listed... Continue reading Should HGVs be banned from Ludford Bridge - you say 'yes' but will a ban work? →
Sun 3rd
16:55
Clarke and Dawe - Taxation Reform (Make sure there are batteries in your remote control device)
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
Second paragraph of third chapter: Contemporary accounts speak of the squalid conditions in which the human and humanoid miners lived and worked; of the perpetual grey clouds that blocked out the light of the sun. Eurogen Butler's activities were unregulated: their only objective was profit through round-the-clock mineral extraction. In 2147, when a pit shaft at the third site on the southern continent collapsed, killing between a hundred and two hundred and fifty miners (reports vary), the entire area was made safe with polyslene. The dead were left where they fell; work carried on unhindered around the site of the ...
The five main Scottish Party leaders participated in a hustings organised by Stonewall Scotland, the Scottish Transgender Alliance, the Equality Network and LGBTI Youth Scotland. Those four organisations do ground-breaking work to support LGBTI people. Their role in providing positive and practical help can't be under-estimated and they are helping to change the culture of the country. If you are a young person struggling to come to terms with your sexuality or gender identity today, you can see that five party leaders, including the woman who runs the Scottish Government talk about how important it is that in school, at ...
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the 10,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Exciting new venue for Spring Conference (28 comments) by The Voice LibLink: Nick Clegg: The five big fat lies being perpetuated by Brexit's Project Fib (25 comments) by Newshound Lib Dems and the Middle East: Are we prepared to address the obvious (40 comments) by Jonathan Coulter Some questions for the next Head of Campaigns (26 comments) by Paul Holmes John Pugh MP writes...Our vision for education (19 comments) by John Pugh MP The #libdemfightback: things to look ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie today backed the position of the Lord Advocate after he said it was inconceivable there would not be a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the tragic crash on the M9. In a letter to Mr Rennie, Frank Mulholland QC said that while the case will be reported to the [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie today called for a revolution in the way that mental ill health is treated in Scotland as he set out plans to embed mental health professionals in A&E units and Police Scotland. Liberal Democrat plans would introduce full time, 24/7 mental health cover in 30 A&E departments across Scotland [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume today said that Scotland's NHS is facing a real and present crisis in primary care as NHS Tayside Chief Executive Lesley McLay demanded an immediate response from Ministers to pressures on GP services. A new report from NHS Tayside stated: "Tayside, along with the rest of Scotland, is [...]
A couple of years ago Lord Bonkers reminisced about an incident from the 1920s: One bright April morning the 11:15 for Northampton Castle left Nottingham London Road Lower Level as usual, but it never reached its destination. It was seen to call at Melton Mowbray North, and there were unconfirmed reports of it reaching Clipston and Oxendon, but one thing is sure: it never arrived in Northampton. Extensive searches were undertaken and reports of sightings from as far afield as Bodmin Road and Leeming Bar were followed up, but not a trace of the train or its passengers was ever ...
Embed from Getty Images The chairman of the Conservative 1922 backbench committee and Tory councillors are reported to be angry with the government's plan to force 17,000 schools in England to become academies by 2020. Melinda Tilley, cabinet member for education in Oxfordshire said: I suppose I'm going to have to suck it up but I think they've gone bonkers. We made a really determined effort to keep all the academies in our family of schools in Oxfordshire. We had them come in and talk to us about what we could do to help. I'm still blinking into the light ...
Another great sketch from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
Like many academic books it is ridiculously expensive, it is advertised on Amazon for £58 . I recall a meeting of the Liberal Party Standing Committee in 1979 which was drawing up the Election Manifesto. We reached the item on the agenda marked economic policy. There was a silence until Richard Moore spoke: 'I joined the Liberal Party in spite of not because of its economic policy 'he told us. Many people hold the opinion that our party gives economic policy a lower priority than say the environment, reform of government, foreign policy, Europe, individual rights or the state of ...
"This is Shane MacGowan before the shambling drunk routine took over completely," says Tom Conoboy. In the comments below there is a debate about whether the song is about whisky, as Conoboy argues, or about romantic love as its surface suggests. The truth, surely, is that it is both at once. Poems and songs can do that. It's why people write them rather than essays.
Theo Scott is proposing the 'Tuition Fees' policy motion at Liberal Youth Winter Conference in Edinburgh. It might appear odd at first to see a Scottish student proposing that Liberal Youth adopts support for university tuition fees across the UK. If I had my way I'd end up with a lot more coming out of [...]
Instagram Are you SURE you don't have treats, mummy? #dogs #dogsofinstagram #lurcher #sheltie #rescuedog... It's no surprise that people with autism have a low life expectancy. Our needs as adults are being ignored | Voices | The Independent RT @pennyb: Adults with autism live short lives without support. This must change New Autism Speaks Masterpost (Updated 6/20/14) - The Caffeinated Autistic If anyone is wondering why #actuallyautistic people get upset about Autism Speaks, do read this post Instagram Mail's arrived. Parcel from @doggtreats_com excited much interest among certain members of the household Where Are All The Autistic Women And Girls ...
Tim Farron is undoubtedly in a more secure position as leader of the Liberal Democrats than Cameron or Corbyn are as leaders of their parties. Cameron If Britain vote to leave Europe on 23 June, the public think Cameron should resign as Prime Minister by a margin of 48:41. I agree with that. By analogy, no self-respecting Chief Executive could remain in post if his shareholders rejected his advice on such a big issue. Whichever way the referendum goes, it takes 50 Tory MPs to trigger a leadership ballot. 150 have come out against the PM's position of the EU. ...
We were canvassing in Dunston Hill and Whickham East ward yesterday. A good response on the doorsteps. I guess the 59% definite Lib Dem response rate is more a reflection of our decision to canvass one of our strongest areas in the ward. It was a targeted canvass, calling on people for whom we don't have a previous canvass response. I found no one intending to vote Labour. We were also asking
We're very lucky that our local Saturday market on North Cross Road is proving so successful. As a local councillor I applied and obtained funding for electric points along the pavement for market stalls. No more noisy minim electric generators. We've also ensured the road was renewed. We also sought the junction with Lordship Lane being upgraded and closed Saturdays. Getting marked pitches took several years but avoids stallholders setting up at crazy early hours disturbing everyone. What we need to do now is end the farce that the market operates on Fridays as well and release the parking restrictions ...
Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul Since 1980, the growth of Korean Christianity has been driven by Catholics rather than Protestants. Why? The growth of Korean Christianity is one of those facts that is used to give succour to members of declining western church. Like many churches in Asia its expansion has been explosive. In 1900 1% of [...]
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams has slated the Conservative Government at Westminster and the Labour Government in Wales for its failures over the steel industry. She says it's time to put British industry first. She said that the Conservative Government had allowed the UK steel industry to "shrivel on its watch", in response to the announcement that councils must now consider UK providers when when carrying out procurement for steel. She also blasted the Labour Government for doing nothing to ensure Welsh steel was used on infrastructure projects. Once again the UK Government is shutting the stable door after ...
The actions of a Cardiff UKIP candidate in accusing migrants of being responsible for a rubbish problem in the city has come back to bite his party after one of its own activists dumped dozens of party leaflets at a woodland beauty spot. Wales-on-line report that a local resident wrote to UKIP Wales leader Nathan Gill after coming across leaflets strewn in woods by the Heritage Park housing estate at St Mellons in the east of the city. He told Mr Gill he found it ironic that the leaflets had been dumped by someone from UKIP as Gareth Bennett, the ...
Readers will recall that in closing down the innovative and unique Youth Coffee Bar in Maghull Town Hall Maghull Labour said it was to change the offer to local youth and that they were introducing tennis coaching as an alternative. [IMG: Maghull TH Youth Coffee Bar before Labour shut it] Maghull TH Youth Coffee Bar before Labour shut it Well hard on the heels of that momentous (some would say ridiculous) decision neighbouring Lydiate Labour (who run Lydiate Parish Council) are trumpeting that they have refurbished the tennis courts (rebuilt the fencing) at Sandy Lane Park, a project that the ...
Sun 3rd
09:08
Sefton – Too many children living in poverty and it gets worse across Merseyside's Boroughs
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above The Echo says the stats are shocking but I fear they are actually quite predictable in many ways. The recession, cuts in welfare, a low wage economy on Merseyside, unemployment etc, all come together to create a crisis for many children and indeed their families. The big question is what can be done about it? Many politicians have tried and indeed some have all but promised to eradicate child poverty but it is still with us and presently it is getting worse. I am sure that many socialists would ...
[IMG: Austerity and Political Choice in Britain - Clarke Kellner Stewart Twyman and Whiteley] Austerity and Political Choice in Britain comes with an all-star cast of authors – Harold D. Clarke, Peter Kellner, Marianne C. Stewart, Joe Twyman and Paul Whiteley – and, if you are familiar with their prior work, an expected thesis: that it is valence politics which dominates Britain at the moment. Or, as the authors put it, "voters choose political parties in elections on the basis of their demonstrated or expected ability to deliver the policies that large majorities of people want". Competency at delivering goals ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 4 APRIL 2016 Fleuchar Street (Eassons Angle to Blyth Street), Blinshall Street (Lochee Road to Douglas Street) and Scott Street (City Road to Glenagnes Road) - closed for 20 weeks from Monday 4 April for SSE cable renewal works. You can read the weekly road report for the whole of the city here.
In today's Sunday Herald, Willie Rennie talks to political editor Tom Gordon about the Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign. He sets out the key Liberal Democrat themes: I want to get Scotland back up there, with an ambitious programme for investing in education with a penny on income tax. Protecting our civil liberties, getting our police force to be the best again so that it's got the confidence of the public but also police officers themselves. On the environment, making sure we have a very strong programme on fracking and not cutting Air Passenger Duty [as the SNP would]. And on ...
(Please note that bookings must be made by 6th April)
The Conservative Government's announcement that councils must now consider UK providers when when carrying out procurement for steel is too little too late. They are allowing the UK steel industry to "shrivel on their watch". The Labour Government has done nothing to ensure Welsh steel was used on infrastructure projects. It's no good asking councils to use UK steel now after letting the industry shrivel on their watch. Of course councils and the UK Government should always be considering UK steel, but this is just a basic requirement to support our industry. It's time this Tory Government put British industry ...
Da Qin Why does 大秦 mean the Roman Empire? (tags: languages China ) Tatarstan's Efforts to Help Gagauz De-Russify Outrage Some in Moscow Interesting! (tags: languages moldova russia ) Classical Sculptures Dressed As Hipsters Great! (tags: art photos )
