As a regular visitor to Bishop's Castle I have from time to time come across the story that there used to be an elephant stabled at the town's Castle Hotel. I have never quite believed it, but thanks to Flicks in the Sticks' Bigger Picture Archive Project, you can see the creature in the clip above. The Shropshire Star quotes Elizabeth-Anne Williams from the Project: "An interview recorded with George Evans in 2011 and archived at Bishops Castle Heritage Resource Centre reveals that when the Second World War broke out, a travelling circus had been performing in Bishops Castle with ...
Peter Black says: "The opposition party leaders need to calm down. A snap General Election is not necessary and they are being rather silly to call for one." And he's right. "No serious person believes that Jeremy Corbyn can win a General Election; yet the old men at the top of British trade union movement continue to back a useless leader because he plays a nostalgic tune that they and a dwindling number of their comrades recognise." James Bloodworth argues that Labour is becoming a historical re-enactment society. Rewild our trashed hills, demands Mark Avery. Kate Connolly on the English ...
In happier, boringer days I once wrote: 'election results are usually a lot more dull than the speculation which precedes them'. With that kind of prophetic insight, it's little wonder I ended up running naked down Whitehall. The Lib Dem collapse, the SNP surge, Jeremy Corbyn's triumph, Brexit: I predicted none of it because I assumed business as usual would, well, continue as usual. So I hesitate even to try and imagine what might now happen to Labour, with Corbyn confirmed in his incumbent place on the leadership ballot. It seems likely he will win again. If he does that ...
UPDATED DETAILS. Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Mark Hood. To help, pleast contact Tessa Munt (07714 599669, tessa.in.touch@gmail.com) or Venetia Caine (venetia.caine@musiewild.plus.com)
The Land of Oak and Iron is a landscape and history project based on the Derwent Valley. It had a launch event on Sunday at Blaydon Community Centre and Shibdon Pond. I paid it a brief visit. Looked like a good event and lots of people attended. The project will be building a visitor centre at Winlaton Mill, plans for which were revealed last month. They still need to be finalised but work
Second frame of third chapter: I had been quite a fan of the earlier volumes in this series, but my interest dropped off around 2012, when I bought this but never go around to reading it. Anyway, it' the usual dense narrative, interspersed with parentheses which in general I found more interesting - there's a very disturbing child-abuse one illustrated by Bryan Talbot, there's a great First World War one illustrated by Gary Erskine; but the main plot has our unfortunate hero increasingly involved with the sinister Pullman and the mysterious Leviathan to a point where I found I didn;t ...
So, Britain has narrowly voted to leave the EU, and with a new Prime Minister in place the triggering of Brexit seems likely in the near future. The question now, regardless of how any of us voted, is how we move forward through the uncertain times ahead in a way that best protects our strengths and [...]
Like many internationalist liberals, I have found the last couple of weeks desperately depressing. The tone of the debate has been divisive, and the outcome even more so. It's hard to escape the conclusion that many more of my fellow citizens than I imagined held the views that shaped the outcome. Then we hear of an increase in the abuse of immigrants (and many who are actually not immigrants, simply people with an accent or differing ethnicity), and we mourn for the tolerant, vibrant place that Britain should be. Last weekend I escaped into the festival like atmosphere of the ...
In the late 1980s I worked in Iraq, developing personnel and timetable software systems for Baghdad University. The second day I was there, I was called in by the head of the university's IT department to meet a uniformed major in the Iraqi army. He had a computer system which was not working properly. I was asked if I would like to go with him to sort it out. I readily agreed. We drove for an hour through areas of very poor housing. People looked sad and children were running around with no shoes. We arrived at Tajji Camp. A ...
The UK's research relationship with the EU works well - Theresa May should use it to help to lubricate Brexit negotiations rather than add to its challenges The science community is dismayed by the outcome of the referendum. But Theresa May, our new prime minister, has made her position clear: "Brexit means Brexit and we are going to make a success of it." Much now depends on how the PM uses the recently-created Brexit Unit in the Cabinet Office. If the science community wants a good deal in the UK's new relationship with the EU, it needs a strong voice ...
A grand day out at Crosby Lions Carnival. I was very impressed with the support that the Lions received from so many local people and organisations. It must be a very big undertaking but everything seemed to be running smoothly and the weather held for them. One of the issues that inevitably cause problems for organisers is how do you manage the traffic so as not to inconvenience local residents unnecessarily. As you can see from the notice below the Lions had all that under control. I had the pleasure of being accompanied by the President of Crosby Lions and ...
How this place is run should be a decision of the people of Liverpool Liverpool's Liberal Democrats will be moving a motion at the next meeting of the Liverpool City Council on July 20th. The motion would be moved by ... Continue reading →
[IMG: talking website] In the lead up to May's local elections in Old Moat, Manchester, the team set its sight on sending a street letter to every street in the ward in just 8 months. The ward has been a Labour stranglehold for decades and our objective was to put it onto a development path, building reputation, capacity, [...]
Tue 12th
12:49
Politicians talking about a snap election on change of Prime Minister should take a leaf out of Miss...
Creating an artificial intelligence to mimic modern politicians would be rather a challenge. Even if you got it right.
Tue 12th
12:38
The Iraq Fiasco: British & Dutch Social Liberals apply their commitment to Rule of International...
Ever since Cobden & Bright, British Liberals have been keen supporters of using peaceful means like Arbitration and International Law for the settlements of disputes. When Gladstone brought forward the Ottoman repression of the Bulgarians, criticized the imperialism of Disraeli's Afghan and Zulu Wars, and launched "6 right principles", he brought Human Rights and equality of nations into international politics. Many Liberals supported the League of Nations Union and its predecessors. Dutch Liberalism, especially the Social-Liberal, cosmopolitan kind, has always cherished the International Law tradition of Grotius. Professor Van Vollenhoven in 1910 advocated a World Court reinforcing its verdict by ...
Three very striking word clouds from the 'gold standard' British Election Study which asked people who were voted Remain, Leave and undecided an open-ended question about what mattered most to them when deciding how to vote
[IMG: Coat of Arms of Ormskirk's 1779 Town Hall] Coat of Arms of Ormskirk's 1779 Town Hall If you look up (always an interesting thing to do in any town or city centre) on Ormskirk's Church Street near to its junction with Burscough Street one of the frontages at a high level looks quite ornate. It's like this as it used to be Ormskirk's Town Hall. Here are a couple more photo's of it:- [IMG: The 1779 Ormskirk Town Hall] The 1779 Ormskirk Town Hall [IMG: The ornate rain water hopper confirms the 1779 date.] The ornate rain water hopper ...
Tue 12th
12:21
Maghull – The Great Mogul Pub – Was it really named after a steam loco wheel arrangement...
Maghull's Great Mogul Pub stands proudly next to Maghull Railway Station so at face value you could, particularly if you are a railway enthusiast, understand the question in the title for this posting. [IMG: The Great Mogul r] For the rest of you the wheel arrangements of steam locomotives are given names such as Mogul, Pacific, Mikado etc. A Mogul is a 2 – 6 – 0 arrangement i.e. 2 front pony-truck wheels, 6 driving wheels and nil trailing wheels. It is particularly a wheel arrangement that was popular in America hence, I assume, the depiction of a clearly American ...
The combined force of values, temperament and intentions are equal to the numerical superiority of any army — Ancient Chinese saying.
As Theresa May assumes the office of Prime Minister it is worth taking stock as to where we are politically. Labour is in complete disarray. MPs are being beseiged by angry activists for seeking to depose Jeremy Corbyn and there are dark mutterings about deselections. They are about to enter a divisive and acrimonious leadership election. The Labour Party National Executive faces the choice of excluding Jeremy Corbyn from a leadership ballot and facing protracted legal action, or allowing him to contest the election despite not having the requisite number of nominations and watching him win, widening the rift between ...
So congratulations are in order to Theresa May on becoming Prime Minister. Embed from Getty Images May has usually been described as dull, diligent and effective, but I expect now that she has the top job a little more of her personality will be stamped on the government. She is famous for calling out the Conservatives for allowing themselves to be seen as the 'nasty party' and was considered a moderniser, but has not always risen above the nasty herself – the "Go home" billboards for example. David Laws, in his book Coalition, opens a chapter on May thus: To ...
Take back control of our deep-seated problems | Comment | The Times & The Sunday Times RT @stephentall: "You voted Leave. Now it is time to take control." Brilliant from @edconwaysky: Relatively Interesting 25 GIFs that explain how things work the braces one is pretty ewwww Theresa May accused Gordon Brown of 'running scared' when he refused to hold general election in 2007 Calderdale Council and SUEZ gear up for delivery of Calderdale's new waste and recycling services | News Centre - Official news site of Calderdale Council RT @Calderdale: From 1 Aug your collection day for waste & recycling ...
Tue 12th
10:25'Low intensity blandness' - the Lib Dem by-election problem: Liberal Democrat Newswire #82
Almost completely lost in all the other political news was the Liberal Democrat result in the Tooting Parliamentary by-election held on 16 June. Perhaps thankfully so given that even though the party lost its deposit in May 2015, in the by-election the Lib Dem vote share fell yet further: down 1.4% to 2.6%.
Embed from Getty Images Migrations, big and small, have causes, so let's start by looking at them. War or military conflict, with and without "boots on the ground" is an all too frequent cause. The huddled masses trying to escape from the war torn and terrorised Middle East provide a pressing example. "Real Estate" or land-grab forced migration is another category, of which the evictions of Native Americans by US governments provide examples. Not all examples are historic. Politically purposed, forced migration was used in the Scottish Highland Clearances of the 1740s. The UK government forced Scots to emigrate to ...
[IMG: Europe] More than 16,000 people have joined the Liberal Democrats since the referendum. With more than 75,000 members, our membership is higher now than it has been in over a decade. Huge numbers of Remain voters are joining because they share our values and our belief that Britain does best at the heart of Europe. There [...]
When I try and think of what the lasting image of the EU referendum might be, I will hazard a prediction (very dangerous these days – I was convinced Andrea Leadsom was going to be prime minister of the country only yesterday morning) that it could well be the slapped arse faces of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove as they stood on the Vote Leave platform in light of their shared "victory". They both silently scream "oh my God, what the hell have we just done?" as loudly as possible. I recalled this yesterday as the latest "holy shit" political ...
Politics isn't just fluid, it's runny. A couple of weeks ago, I almost took the time and trouble to write a 'Boris v Theresa' piece – just as well I didn't, as it also would've ended up spiked by Michael Gove's knife. I think what I thought then, though to be honest it's hard to keep track, is that, for completeness' sake, it should be Boris on the "you break it, you own it" principle; but, for the nation's sake, it had to be Theresa, the only plausible candidate you'd actually trust not to entirely flunk negotiations and accidentally give ...
There's a West End Community Clean Up on Saturday 23rd July at 10am - all welcome! Join the local community in a clean up to help tackle litter and graffiti in the West End. Meet at the Verdant Works car park on the corner of Blinshall Street and Miln Street. The plan is to have the Verdant Works as a starting point and then radiate out and work in the area around it.
As far as I am aware, there is only one meeting planned for August. This is :- Thursday 11th August, 6:30 pm Planning and Development Committee With the Tall Ships Regatta coming at the end of August, and with the need to appoint a Town Clerk I wouldn't be surprised if meetings are arranged outside the agreed schedule. In fact, I would expect it.
The Daily Express journalist Sefton Delmer arrived at Broadcasting House on the warm summer evening of 19 July 1940, to find the building camouflaged to avoid it being visible to German bombers during the Blitz. He was in some excitement, having prepared the bones of his first broadcast in German - but also aware that Hitler was giving a speech in the Reichstag that evening that he would have to reply to. At 6pm, the BBC European Service staff gathered around the wireless to listen to it. "It almost causes me pain," said Hitler from the platform, "to think that ...
Precedent and learning Martian You can do it! (tags: psychology Life ) More than 300 dead in South Sudan fighting Very sad. Unhappy fifth birthday. #fb (tags: southsudan ) Why I renounced my US citizenship (Hint: it's not because I'm avoiding taxes!) Though tax is an issue! #fb (tags: uspolitics ) Čay v tea The words for "tea" in European languages. (tags: languages ) Which country has the best banknote? Step forward, New Zealand! (tags: newzealand art ) Game of Thrones unfolds in Brussels over Juncker's iron throne Quotes me. (tags: eu )
It's only just over a week ago that a letter in the Guardian reminded us that whereas Harold Wilson had claimed that " A week is a long time in politics," but nowadays "24 hours is quite enough." So my previous post, less than 24 hours ago, claiming that the Tories are good at burying a disaster and moving on, has been proved true far more quickly than anyone expected. Andrea Leadsom has withdrawn from the leadership race and Theresa May is to inherit the premiership. In due course we shall learn whether Mrs Leadsom made the decision of her ...
So Theresa May has won the leadership contest with support from just a tiny tiny minority of the British public - specifically those who are Conservative MP's. Like all good believers in democracy I should by all rights be outraged that she will now become our new Prime Minister on such a flimsy election process (if you can even call surviving just a few rounds of political 'it's a knockout' an
I was out on Sunday morning in Whickham with my Planting Up Whickham hat on. There is a large flower bed next to the side entrance to Chase Park on Rectory Lane. It was full of thistles so I was delegated with the job of removing them. I spent about an hour pulling them out. The job is not yet finished. About a quarter is still left to do. The thistles have been disposed of sustainably. I fed
