Some precious footage even if there is no sound. The village of Pantywaun disappeared when Taylor Woodrow extended its opencast site a few years later.
If I had to name my favourite comedian it would be Alexei Sayle. Not only - as this, his second volume of memoirs, goes a long way to prove - did he invent politically engaged alternative comedy, he can do whimsy and the absurd too. Sayle is also a proper writer - not only memoirs but fiction. Every Oxbridge comedian has one novel in him before he gets the call from American television, but Sayle is a master of the unfashionable form of short stories. Douglas Adams called Sayle's story 'The Last Woman to Die in the War' a masterpiece. ...
Monday evening, and time for Martin, my agent, and I to get some photos taken for the final leaflet. Some typical pictures of the candidate at well-known landmarks in the villages, including one that we didn't use in the end, of me pointing at a big hole in the road (for those who don't know these things, there is a standing joke amongst Liberal Democrats that a leaflet isn't properly Liberal Democrat without a picture of the candidate pointing at something). A poster board. Not one of mine, but very nice all the same... We were in Barking, taking a ...
Tue 31st
20:12
Affordable housebuilding in Shropshire is set to shudder to a halt - and there is not much we can do...
In the last few weeks, the courts and parliament have delivered crippling blows to affordable housing. These setbacks come on the back of a continued reduction in government funding for affordable housing. On 11 May, the appeal court backed a government edict that frees small developments from any obligation to provide or contribute to affordable... Continue reading Affordable housebuilding in Shropshire is set to shudder to a halt - and there is not much we can do about it →
"Like most wars, this one will end inconclusively with a narrow margin on a low turnout and the losers promising to keep fighting once they have regrouped and rearmed." Vince Cable takes a humorous look at referendum campaign. Martin Hancox on the insanity of the badger cull. A proposed new law would make it harder to criticise the ruling regime on Jersey. Voice for Children has the details. "Reiner ends his memory with an envious observation: 'The word fuck is a perfectly good word now.' 'I never minded Richard Pryor saying it,' says Van Dyke, 'but so many comedians use ...
I never thought I'd say that customer service is better at the U.S. border than the UK border. Until now. I've recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica, which required connecting flights through Miami. I can't say that I was looking forward to experiencing U.S. immigration based on past experiences, but this time I was pleasantly surprised. If you ... The post Customer service at the US and UK borders appeared first on ten pence piece.
Non-fiction: 3 (YTD 17) How Loud Can You Burp?, by Glenn Murphy A History of Anthropology, by Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Finn Sievert Nielsen Not the Chilcot Report, by Peter Oborne [IMG: How Loud Can You Burp?] [IMG: History of Anthropology] [IMG: Chilcot] Fiction (non-sf): 5 (YTD 9) Lila, by Marilynne Robinson The Quarry, by Iain Banks Walking on Glass, aby Iain Banks Cyprus Avenue, by David Ireland (theatre script) Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones [IMG: Lila] [IMG: Quarry] [IMG: Walking on Glass] [IMG: Cyprus Avenue] [IMG: Mister Pip] SF (non-Who): 7 (YTD 37) Banewreaker, by Jacqueline Carey George's Cosmic ...
I've already noted that, in the heat of a campaign, when everyone is trying to do a whole bunch of things at once, there is room for error. Using an out leaflet which, whilst it has a nice picture of you on it, doesn't actually say who you are, is the sort of thing that can go wrong, which is why proof-reading is so important. It was that moment when one of my work colleagues noted the typo in our leaflet when your heart sinks slightly, and you wonder who else noticed. Apparently, if they did, they've been kind enough ...
For some months now the focus of my PhD thesis has looked at the secession movements in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland. I'm especially interested in how each of the Canadian, Spanish and British constitutional orders have gone about responding to desires both for a referendum on secession or independence, and what role the courts have in clarifying the parameters of and enforcing duties owed between the relevant parties in delivering referendums and in responding to their results. I don't want to get too deep into the nuances of what I've been writing about, though that is for another time. I ...
For a couple of years now I've done Pod Together, where someone writes a fic and someone else turns it into audio, and the resulting thing is put up for all to see. Here are my previous ones; as you can see, I tend to record other people's writing. Anyway, having glanced through this year's sign-ups, we seem to have a glut of recorders and fewer writers this year, so I thought I'd publicise the sign-ups to see if anyone else might want to join in, especially as a writer? You can sign up on tumblr, dreamwidth or livejournal. I'm ...
For the first time ever, Liberal International has held its Executive Committee in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, at the invitation of the Republican Party of Georgia. Regional and global security were at the top of the agenda, with a strong presentation by Georgia's Defence Minister, Tinatin 'Tina' Khidasheli on the challenges facing former Soviet republics now finding themselves on the periphery of an expansionist Russia. To drive the point home, we participants were all bussed out of the city to the 'occupation line', which marks the current limit of Russian encroachment into Georgian territory just south of South Ossetia (which ...
Embed from Getty Images President Lukashenko of Belarus has enjoyed twenty-two years in power, achieved through a specific method of counting of votes, and has often been referred to as the last dictator in Europe. Following his annual state-of-the-union address 2015, President Lukashenko has said that Jews in Belarus should be taken "under control". All this occurred in the presence of foreign ambassadors, including the Ambassador of Britain, but excluding the US ambassador, because the Belarusian dictator expelled the US ambassador from the country many years ago. The reaction of the Conservative government on this Belarusian leader's statement was not ...
Saturday morning found me in Barking, looking to meet more voters, when I knocked on a door. The door opened and I was told that they had received their postal ballot. This was not necessarily a welcome surprise, because the plan was to deliver letters to all postal voters the next day - we had been told by Mid Suffolk District Council's Electoral Services team that they would be going out the next day. It would be fair to say that this candidate wasn't impressed. There was nothing to be done but to accelerate the schedule somewhat, so I arranged ...
Liberal Democrats have repeated their calls for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be shredded following the release of documents by the SNP Government today. The documents show that no due diligence on the companies involved was carried out in advance, specific projects were discussed and attempts were made on multiple occasions to remove reference [...]
Embed from Getty Images We're fighting hard to stay in the EU in this campaign, and we've got a good fighting chance of winning it. But it's important to remember that this has been the campaign that never should have happened. What we're fighting against isn't just the lacklustre waffling of a Tory-led Vote Leave campaign that's largely been hijacked by a fluffy-headed careerist Etonian. That would have been no problem. The real enemy is a drip-feed of decades of anti-EU propaganda and domestic politicians deflecting blame to Brussels - which is in turn made possible by the catastrophic scale ...
In a little over three weeks time, British voters will go to the polls with the possibility of the country leaving the European Union. Although we've become used to the referendum and all that has come with it, we should pause for a moment to reflect on how amazing it is that the plebiscite is happening at all. It's almost like if we had a really left-wing government and they held a referendum on whether or not to abolish money. But we are where we are. Then let us reflect on other things that could very well happen over the ...
And so another week at Bonkers Hall comes to a close. There is more about the Wise Woman of Wing on this blog. Tuesday The telephone is brought to me; who should be at the other end of the line than one of those amusing young people at Liberator magazine? I am respectfully asked if I would care to include my predictions for May's various elections in this diary. "By all means, I reply. "When is the copy deadline? The week after polling day, I trust: that makes it so much easier to get one's predictions right." Not a bit ...
So, the latest salvo from the Leave camp is an assertion that the EU is stopping us from cutting VAT on domestic fuel. There is one man amongst the ranks of the Brexiters who knows all about VAT on domestic fuel. That's right. Step forward former Chancellor Norman Lamont. It was he who decided to put VAT on domestic fuel at the rate of 8% from April 1 1994. The EU didn't force him to do this. He was doing it to cut public spending, something Tories have a bit of an obsession with. Not only that, but he would ...
If you live in Lydiate you should have had a leaflet from the Parish Council in the past week or so all about the proposed Neighbourhood Plan for the Civil Parish of Lydiate. It was not a bad leaflet actually apart from one rather surprising word in it. That word was 'scale' and the context in which the words was used is this:- 'Influencing the scale and design of new [housing] developments' Now, what can't a Neighbourhood Plan do? It can't be at odds with the Borough's (in our case Sefton Borough) Local Plan. That means, as far as housing ...
Commenting as WWF Scotland and other campaigners urged the Scottish Government to deliver a new Warm Homes Act, Scottish Liberal Democrat energy spokesman Liam McArthur MSP said: "Fuel poverty remains a huge challenge in Scotland. In 2016 it seems absurd that anyone should be forced to choose between heating their homes or buying food for [...]
I may be the candidate in a by-election, but I still have other commitments, and one of those is to accompany Ros to events. A Friday in North Walsham might not be everybody's idea of a 'day off', but I enjoy travelling with Ros when she does school visits as part if the Lord Speaker's "Peers in Schools" program. And so, we set off mid-morning for the lengthy drive up the A140, across the A47 southern by-pass and across country past the eastern fringes of Norwich before joining the road to North Walsham, where Ros was scheduled to speak to ...
Instagram Spike watches the cats over the road Domestic violence and sexual abuse tend not to harm Hollywood careers RT @tara_mulholland: "Amber's making it up to get money/attention/bring Johnny down!" Er, famous men are rarely harmed by DV allegations: Yorkshire Silent Film Festival 2016, a Film and Theatre in Holme Valley, Holmfirth, United Kingdom on Crowdfunder RT @YorkshireSilent: We've some great @HydeParkPH and @hbpicturehouse goodies for backers of #YSFF16 - please help us make a festival! The shame of the police who refuse to investigate Tory election expenses | Vox Political RT @CenLD: Welsh police (Dyfed Powys) allegedly refuse to ...
Embed from Getty Images It's the chance of a lifetime! Roll up, in your millions! Come and buy our beautiful Brexit Pig - in a poke! When Brexit wins, June 24th will be a Golden Dawn*! Our Prime Minister, Whoever that might be, will soon show Angela Merkel who's boss! What's that you say? We're going to let Cameron stay on? But that will be disastrous, he'll drag his feet, it'll all go pear-shaped! Surely we need to tell the nation that it'll be Our Man? What's that you say? That there'd be chaos, Boris slugging it out with Gove, ...
If you want to have your say at the EU Referendum, you must be registered to vote.The final deadline is 7 June 2016. You can register to vote online anytime at http://ift.tt/1yqOK3c. Anyone who was already registered to vote (or recently registered) before the 18 April deadline for the elections taking place across the UK on 5 May will also be registered to vote at the EU Referendum and will be able to cast their vote. You do not need to re-register. If your circumstances change, for example you move home between now and the EU Referendum registration deadline on ...
Local groups across Bury are being urged to apply to Tesco's Bags of Help funding pot, which is the money made up of the 5p people pay for disposable bags at Tesco. Three Community Groups in Bury have already shared £30,000 (details here). [IMG: Screenshot 2016-05-31 09.27.01] The deadline for applying for the second round is this Friday, 3 June 2016. More details and apply here.
Not immediately in our area, but hopefully of interest to some residents is the Eden Gardens Allotment Summer Open Day – this Sunday 5 June 12.00 noon to 4.00pm. There will be sales of seasonal veg, free-range eggs, garden plants and hanging baskets, advice, stalls and information and farm animals from Pinhole Community Farm. Eden Garndens Allotment are located just off Derwent Avenue in Whitefield, just over the motorway. [IMG: Open Day 2016 Leaflet]
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is promoting and celebrating volunteering for the service during National Volunteers' Week 2016 – 1-12 June 2016. Existing GMFRS volunteers and staff members will be at the events to talk to those who are interested in joining the team of volunteers and about upcoming volunteer roles with the Service. Since the Service's volunteering programme launched in 2008, more than 200,000 hours have been donated by volunteers, carrying out various roles in the community. GMFRS say: "Our volunteering scheme has gone from strength to strength since beginning in 2008. We have hundreds ofextremely dedicated ...
Those who thought that once the referendum debate is over, the Conservative Party will come back together as a united political force may well have underestimated how deep the divide is between the two sides of the Brexit debate and how bitter the rivalries are. As the Telegraph reports there is already manoeuvring within the Tory Party not just to succeed Cameron, but to oust him. It does not help the Prime Minister either when Labour MPs on the Brexit campaign start to use his possible departure as a positive in persuading people to vote to leave. Who do they ...
The Leave campaign summed up in just 4 words - it can't answer a basic question about the future under Brexit.
Matthew Jarron As part of WestFest 2016 this week, Matthew Jarron, Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee, will be leading a guided walking tour of public art in the West End on Thursday 2nd June at 2.30pm. Everyone is welcome and there is no need to book - meet outside the Dalhousie Building. To find out more about this and other WestFest events click here.
[IMG: inequality street 4] Six years ago my ideas about inequality in society were given a jolt by the publication of a book with the intriguing title 'The Spirit Level: Why equality is better for everyone', by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. The authors – both academics – drew on research from many sources to show that societies in which there are huge variations in income are bad for everyone, rich or poor, and that more equal societies benefit all their members. We might expect inequality to have an impact on factors such as life expectancy and educational performance, but ...
Canvassing can be a bit grim sometimes, especially if you appear to be knocking on a lot of doors without actually meeting too many people. It is, if you like, one of the curses of modern life. We commute further than we used to. Couples both have jobs, and commitments. Their friends and families are further afield than once they might have been. And it isn't just a problem for urban campaigners, it impacts on those of us in villages too. However, if you're lucky enough to have a group of people who are willing to come out with you, ...
