What I have learnt in my travels is that ever you see a building described as an 'eyesore' you should go and photograph it. It will have an interesting story and one day some well-meaning person will pull it down.That is what I wrote after visiting Tur Langton. If you read the this paper on tourism from Oundle Town Council you will discover that the town's old Riverside Inn is another eyesore. In fact, many residents commenting on the document hold that its revival or demolition holds the key to the prosperity of the town. So naturally I photographed it. ...
Dodington Parish Council's annual Summer Playscheme for Ages 5 to 11 starts this week: Dodington Parish Hall, Finch Road Monday 1 August to Friday 5 August Abbotswood Primary School, Kelston Close Monday 8 August to Friday 12 August and Monday 15 August to Friday 19 August Session time 9.30 am to 1.15 pm Maximum of 56 children per session First come, first served!
"Bewildered and infuriated by the BBC's refusal to run hard-left soundbites as headlines, the paranoid left assume Auntie is involved in some sort of right-wing establishment plot." Martin Robbins on the paranoid style of the Corbynistas. Rob Stickland says the Liberal Democrats are on the rise. Anonymous writes: "I'm an NHS ambulance dispatcher. I am overworked and undervalued. I try to do my best for you, but I'm sorry my service often fails when you need it the most." The peer review system is leading to good research going unpublished, argues David Matthews. "Though it is now considered a classic, ...
This week, the Scottish Government was told by the Supreme Court tae think again about the controversial Named Person law. The Court said that it couldn't be implemented as it currently stood following an application from parents and organisations, among the the equally controversial Christian Action Research and Education (CARE). This law makes sure that there is one person with responsibility for bringing information together about a child and co-ordinating necessary interventions. The Court was at pains to point out that the intention of the legislation was benign but there were concerns that some of the information sharing provisions in ...
A Very British Scandal John Preston Penguin Books, 2016 John Preston breathes new life into the familiar story of how Jeremy Thorpe came to be tried for conspiracy to murder at the Old Bailey by making Peter Bessell his hero. Bessell was Liberal MP for Bodmin between 1964 and 1970, as well as being a lay preacher and a dodgy businessman. He was a loyal friend to Thorpe, yet became the chief prosecution witness in the Liberal leader's trial. This was because he had already found what David Holmes, the best man at Thorpe's first wedding and one of his ...
Sun 31st
19:57
Shropshire Council publishes plans to close down rural sports and leisure centres - Ludlow safe
Shropshire Council has begun a consultation into what leisure and sports facilities it is going to fund across the county. Ludlow looks okay. But this strategy is dire for SpArC at Bishop's Castle and for Church Stretton. The aim of a strategy should be improve the quality of life for Shropshire residents through increased participation... Continue reading Shropshire Council publishes plans to close down rural sports and leisure centres - Ludlow safe →
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 465th 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 (24 – 30 July, 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. Another day, another Lib Dem ...
The Scotsman wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Second paragraph of third chapter: There is sound, somewhere; a deep humming, on the threshold of audibility. Closer at hand his ears record the tiny rustlings of the girl's blue robe. She rolls away the metal breakfast tray, sets dishes in the one small sink. The circular port or window high above him admits a beam of intense yellow light. She glances up, reaches to a wall panel. She touches a button and a green-gold filter slides across. It's like an eyelid somehow; the nictitating membrane of a bird or cat. That memory though is still precise. He's sitting in ...
Non-fiction: 9 (YTD 29) Fanny Kemble and the Lovely Land, by Constance Wright The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage, by Cliff Stoll Hamilton: The Revolution, by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter Boy, by Roald Dahl Empire of Mud, by J.D. Dickey Between structure and No-thing: An annotated reader in Social and Cultural Anthropology, ed. Patrick J. Devlieger Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster, by Svetlana Alexievich Tove Jansson: Work and Love, by Tuula Karjalainen Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates Fiction (non-sf): 5 (YTD 19) Diary of a ...
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the 20,800 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Liz Truss as you have never seen her before (21 comments) by Caron Lindsay Some questions for More United (80 comments) by Caron Lindsay Paddy Ashdown responds to questions about More United (73 comments) by Paddy Ashdown By-Election results LIVE: 2 holds and 1 GAIN (15 comments) by Caron Lindsay Paddy Ashdown to endorse new progressive liberal movement (56 comments) by Caron Lindsay Brexit: The invocation of Article 50 can be reversed (28 comments) by Paul Walter Liberal ...
Plastic bag use plummets in England - BBC News RT @timfarron: Well done to @kateparminter for this. This is her achievement. BBC News - Plastic bag use plummets in England Instagram TFW you get home from a long day and daughter has made you buns. Om nom nom. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Bruises was a minor hit in 2008, though its use in an Apple commercial makes it better known than its chart placing (no. 50 in the UK, no. 101 in the US) would suggest. According to a Guardian profile, Chairlift have been trying to live it down ever since: As they gazed out on billboards in oversized sweaters and faded denims, it was easy to dismiss them as just a fashion band with great cheekbones. But their new-found recognition was a misleading calling card for what the band was about.
Sun 31st
10:55
LibLink: Nick Clegg: The honeymoon will be short if Theresa May can't tame the Tory right
In his regular column for the Standard, Nick Clegg predicts that the current harmony in the Conservative Party will be short-lived and they will soon be just as divided as Labour again as the dogma of the Brexiteers gets in the way of what is actually good for the country. The signs of trouble are already there. Stories have emerged that the awkward squad on the Tory backbenches are organising themselves to oppose anything other than a "hard Brexit", whatever that means. And their outliers in the press, such as columnist Melanie Phillips, are already issuing breathless warnings that there ...
Things we've heard before: The Libdem's are finished, heading for extinction... You won't be surprised to hear, but I disagree. Far from it, wounded from the battering taken at the last General Election, maybe, but still here and rebuilding slowly under the #libdemfightback banner. Since the EU referendum Libdems have GAINED 8 council seats and held 2. Apart from independents 'gaining' from independents (3 seats) and conservatives gaining one seat, we are the only party making such a positive headway. We even increased our vote share in an Islington council by-election (Corbyn's back yard). (stats from @britainelects). [IMG: post EU ...
Sun 31st
09:58Are we slapping too many parking fines on vehicles in Ludlow? We need your vote ahead of council mee...
Are we getting too many parking fines in Ludlow? This is your opportunity to comment and vote. We councillors have received a number of complaints about fines slapped on cars parking around the Market Square area in the evening. There have been early morning fines too. Ludlow pub landlord, Adam Tutt, recently had a rage... Continue reading Are we slapping too many parking fines on vehicles in Ludlow? We need your vote ahead of council meeting Wednesday →
Sun 31st
09:11
Merseyside – Where to see (or in some cases not see) its preserved Locomotives and Rolling Sto...
[IMG: v0_large] My previous 2 postings on this subject are available via the links below:- This posting is about three further locos two of which, like posting No. 2, are also in the care of NML (National Museums Liverpool) but which are sadly not on public display. The third is and was the subject of a previous posting of mine. First is Cecil Rakes (see photo above), a condensing steam loco built for the underground Mersey Railway. This is what NML has to say about it:- [IMG: v0_large] Second is a Mersey Docks and Harbour Board steam ...
My time in the US is drawing to a close, and it's been great to get to see the way they campaign first hand. I've not got as many tales from the campaign trail this week because I took the chance to go and do a bit of sightseeing. Sadly, I didn't manage to get into the Daily Show, as I'd hoped to at the end of my last post. Although, I was in the office phonebanking when Hillary became our official nominee for President, and the cheering from the staff and volunteers was something I'll never forget. I think ...
Sun 31st
08:30Crew Clothing has submitted new plans for its Ludlow store, they are not an improvement
The clothing chain Crew Clothing is having a corporate makeover. And, as too often happens with corporate ventures, the proposed design is simply unacceptable in our historic conservation area (16/02226/LBC). The building at 6 King Street probably dates to the 17th century. The frontage is 19th century. It is Grade II listed. The new proposal... Continue reading Crew Clothing has submitted new plans for its Ludlow store, they are not an improvement →
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 1 AUGUST 2016 Scottish Water Clatto East mains renewal - Perth Road (Hawkhill to Nethergate) - closed eastbound for 4 weeks. Polepark Road (at Edward Street) - closed for up to 15 working days for carriageway repairs. Arnhall Gardens - closed on Saturday 6 August for community event. Riverside Drive - closed overnight (8.00pm - 6.00am) from Sunday 7 August for 5 nights for road resurfacing works. Glamis Road (at Glamis Terrace) - temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for gas main repairs. Guthrie Street ...
We have already seen this majority Tory Government undermine or remove many of the progressive reforms brought in by the Liberal Democrats during the coalition government. They have proceeded with the snoopers charter, are pursuing £12 billion of cuts in disabled benefits previously blocked by Nick Clegg, capped the Access to Work fund, are planning to proceed with plans to scrap the Human Rights Act, and are effectively neutralising much of our green agenda. Now the Observer reports that the outgoing Tory pensions minister wants them to drop the triple-lock protection for state pensions so as to save billions of ...
Hurray for Mrs May in deciding to pause Hinkley Point C. Now let's hope that her government will go the whole hog and abandon this misguided project altogether. I have no expertise on the technicalities, but am content to believe those I trust - Caroline Lucas, George Monbiot and many others - who say that it is outdated, uncertain, and outrageously expensive. It also seems to me that to put 7% of our electricity supply into one basket will make it a very tempting target for a terrorist attack. The nuclear lobby make great play of the mantra that we ...
