354 "Throw my ball for me. Come on. What are you waiting for?" Other highlights of Thursday – the St Boniface Fair in Fortrose which was unexpectedly dry after it had been tipping down with rain. I took the teenagers ... Continue reading →
Teigh village. Looks harmless, doesn't it? But when I showed you the perfect 18th-century interior of its church I said there there "much else - light and dark - to tell about this little Rutland village". This is the first of three posts telling those stories. As the BBC page for an old edition of Jonathan Freedland's The Long View says: The Folvilles were a Leicestershire gentry family who, throughout the 1320s and 30s, terrorised their local community, committing numerous crimes. In 1310 the father of the family, John de Folville, Lord of Ashby Folville, Leicestershire and of Teigh, Rutland, ...
Yesterday Elspeth and I acted as rent collectors. The Mayor is required to collected a dozen red roses from the charity who run the Flower Show in lieu of rent for Victoria Park. Today I undertook another of the more unexpected duties of the Mayor, namely to pick pictures to hang in the Mayor's parlour in Southport. I understand that the duty used to be discharged annually by the new Mayor but in recent years the practice has lapsed somewhat. In truth the same pictures have hung there for so long I doubt if anyone has looked at them for ...
Post rant correction: Tim Cook is, of course, CEO of Apple who own Siri. Share
Intriguing: Three MPs in South Yorkshire are being investigated by police over alleged electoral expenses fraud. Labour MPs Sir Kevin Barron (Rother Valley), Sarah Champion (Rotherham) and John Healey (Wentworth and Dearne) have all denied the allegations. South Yorkshire Police said it was in the early stages of an inquiry into alleged expenses fraud in Rotherham during the 2015 general election. It is assessing whether the deadline for investigations can be extended. [BBC] One of the local newspapers, The Star, adds: It is claimed that Labour MPs Sir Kevin Barron, Sarah Champion and John Healey failed to declare thousands of ...
Embed from Getty Images To mark the 50th anniversary of the London premiere of Joe Orton's play Loot, a number of events are taking place in Leicester. On Saturday 24 September there is an evening with Kenneth Cranham at the Curve Theatre, who appeared in the original production. The event will also feature Orton's sister Leonie Orton Barnett. On Sunday 25 September sees a free celebration at the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery involving another member of the original cast, Michael Elwyn, and other speakers including the novelist Jake Arnott. And between 24 September and 30 October there will ...
Mon 22nd
18:55
Can the nation somehow unite around the values represented by Money Saving Expert, NSPCC, TK Maxx an...
Embed from Getty Images Our esteemed editor, Caron, returned yesterday from a very well earned holiday and, revitalised by sun-soaked walks on Rosemarkie Beach, underscored the party's need not to "go wobbly on the EU". She concluded: The future prosperity of our country depends on us winning these hearts and minds and we need to get on with it. We need to provide the glue that helps this very divided country to come back together and solve the problems it faces. According to research based on years of mass polling by YouGov, uniting the country could boil down to somehow ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: For Ranjit, the experiment was not so successful. Gamini was away, so he had no one to enjoy it with, and world news remained bad. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this, Clarke's last book and Pohl's second last novel, both aged around 90 when it came out - particularly after bouncing off the recent John Le Carré. But in fact it is comforting home ground for Clarke fans, with perhaps a little hint of Pohl here and there. There are hat-tips to The Fountains of Paradise, Imperial Earth and Childhood's End; there is ...
[IMG: A note about the photo - it shows two Lib Dem activists, Naomi Smith and Paul Pettinger, on the right, after the Brexit result was announced. This photo has been published in media around the world; an iconic image of the shock experienced by Remain campaigners.] A note about the photo — it shows two Lib Dem activists, Naomi Smith and Paul Pettinger, on the right, after the Brexit result was announced. This photo has been published in media around the world; an iconic image of the shock experienced by Remain campaigners. As LibDems, we've had a lot to ...
[IMG: IMG_1210] Inside the Jungle in Calais I was part of a Local Government Association delegation last week to the 'jungle' in Calais. The 'camp' is essentially a shanty town with tents and shacks (including 'restaurants') built from scrap materials. It is set in sand dunes next to an industrial estate and alongside one of the key roads heading towards the Channel Tunnel. Its occupants are mainly male and there are over 800 residents classed as children - including many teenagers. The bulk are Afghan, fleeing Taliban conscription and in places combat zones. There are some Syrians as well as ...
Embed from Getty Images Radio 2's "Sounds of the Seventies" with Johnnie Walker this week features an interview with Richard White, who has written "Come Together: Lennon and McCartney's Road to Reunion". The interview is a must-listen for anyone interested in the Beatles and what happened with the "Fab Four" after the great band broke up. There are some very interesting historical perspectives which don't necessarily fit the narrative in the media at the time. For example: Did Yoko Ono break up the Beatles? – No it was probably Alan Klein. Were McCartney and Lennon at each others' throats for ...
Farnham Residents 556 [57.6%; +27.0%] Conservative 277 [28.7%; +2.8%] Labour & Co-operative 86 [8.9%; -3.1%] UKIP 47 [4.9%; +4.9%] [Lib Dem [0.0%; -18.9%]] [Independent [0.0%; -12.6%]] Majority 279 Turnout 30.93% Farnham Residents hold Percentage change since 2015
Mon 22nd
15:50Caller to C-Span admits racism and is gently advised on how to improve his view of black people
On C-Span's Washington Journal, Demos President, Heather McGhee listens patiently to a caller who admits their racism towards black people. Her calm response is very refreshing and positive. She thanks the caller for his honesty and advises ways in which he can rebalance his view of black people. I've created this clip on C-Span, which shows the exchange: Share
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton today warned that the failure of the UK government to guarantee the status of EU citizens in Scotland could have a chilling effect on Edinburgh as new figures revealed that more than 25% of staff at Edinburgh University are non-UK EU citizens. Freedom of Information requests from the Liberal [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP today said that a full Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) will help ensure that the families of John Yuill and Lamara Bell get all the answers they need over police failures that may have contributed to their deaths. Mr Rennie was speaking as the new Lord Advocate confirmed that [...]
Embed from Getty Images That an absolute neophyte at serious politics like Donald Trump becomes the first American presidential nominee (from either the Democratic or Republican Party) to question Washingtons NATO article 5 obligation of "Collective Defense" shouldn't surprise anybody. But that a sitting Labour party leader fighting to continue in that job, and hoping to win the next general election, does the same is absolutely incredible. And the fact that he did so only a couple of weeks after flip-flopping over EU membership (from a very conditional "Remain" before, to a "get out now" the day after the Referendum) ...
Q: When is a bollard, not a bollard? A: When it does not serve its purpose! To view a map of the location in question please VISIT HERE! A few weeks ago I noticed that the grass area to the side of it had been churned up, and only a few days ago I witnessed [...]
Here's the first instalment of my holiday catch up in my quest to post an image a day from the last year of my 40s. I've been away in a holiday cottage with no wifi for two blissful weeks. 359 ... Continue reading →
The Guardian has the story – see link above Now this issue probably sums up Labour's internal difficulties only too well. Of course Jeremy is a pacifist so we should not be surprised. Trouble is his leadership rival Owen Smith seems to want to negotiate with ISIS! I am no Labour supporter but if I were a Labour Party member who on earth would I vote for? Smith is too right wing, seems too close to NHS privatisation and comes across as one of those Red Tory sort of Labour politicians who has a different answer to the same ...
This week: Marx and Corbyn, Democrats and Tammany Hall, and indecisive movie studios Karl Marx: Greatness and Illusion by Gareth Stedman Jones - review by Oliver Bullough (the Guardian) "Stedman Jones eventually comes to the conclusion that the pioneers of 20th-century socialism would have found Marx's true dreams incomprehensible, since they were formed in a pre-1848 [...]
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37091391 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above Don't you just love it when a climate change denier comes face to face with a common sense and brilliant scientific mind. Now why am I not surprised that Malcolm Roberts is from Australia's anti-immigration One Nation party. I wonder how many UK Parliamentarians are climate change deniers?
Mon 22nd
12:45
Duke of Norfolk reconciles with wife after planning son's wedding having spent five years living in ...
Our Headline of the Day comes from the Daily Telegraph.
Embed from Getty Images I read the report by Shami Chakrabarti into alleged racism in the Labour Party over the weekend. It's a good report and an interesting read for a number of reasons - but I was looking for lessons for our Party. What particularly struck me was that right upfront she explains why she joined the Labour Party as soon as she was appointed to lead the Inquiry. She states that she has always supported and voted for the Labour Party but that her various jobs (Civil Servant and then Director of Liberty) required her to be non-Party ...
I'm not a member of the Conservative Party. Nor have I ever been a member. Nor am I considering becoming a member of the Conservative Party in the near future. Yet I do not consider being called a Tory an insult in any way shape or form. I have many friends and associates who are or have been Tories. Most of them are reasonable people and several of them I even agree with on most issues a great deal of the time. I just don't happen to think the Conservative Party is the vehicle for bettering society that they do, ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton today urged NHS staff to ensure that patient privacy is not put at risk as new figures revealed a large increase in the number of data breaches across Scotland's health service. Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests revealed that patient records were affected [...]
Mon 22nd
09:40
Can the nation somehow unite around the values represented by Money Saving Expert, NSPCC, TK Maxx an...
Embed from Getty Images Our esteemed editor, Caron, returned yesterday from a very well earned holiday and, revitalised by sun-soaked walks on Rosemarkie Beach, underscored the party's need not to "go wobbly on the EU". She concluded: The future prosperity of our country depends on us winning these hearts and minds and we need to get on with it. We need to provide the glue that helps this very divided country to come back together and solve the problems it faces. According to research based on years of mass polling by YouGov, uniting the country could boil down to somehow ...
It was less than a month ago that some Labour MPs were briefing that if Jeremy Corbyn wins the leadership contest in September that they would elect their own leader and launch a legal challenge for the party's name. Alas cold reality, not least through speaking to their own constituency members appears to have modified that stance. According to the Independent the plan now is one of non-cooperation and a work-to-rule. The paper says that Labour MPs might try and use the Co-Operative Party, a political group affiliated with Labour, as a means to oppose Mr Corbyn. One Labour MP ...
Apologies for my absence for the past week or so. This was partly because I've been away, but it was partly also because I've become so frustrated at the level of public debate about my chosen subject (the collapse of Southern Railways) - of which more in a moment. I find it staggering, even under the new government, how close the embrace has to be between government and operator if the market is dominated by semi-monopolies. That is the only explanation I can think of why the new rail minister remains silent, why the Transport Secretary blames GTR's failure to ...
Yesterday's Tay Road Bridge 50th Anniversary Celebrations were fantastic - including the weather! Here's a few photos and also a short video of the Lochgelly High School Pipe Band, who opened the event and are hugely talented and entertaining :
Ludlow unitary councillors are calling for an immediate suspension of the night time crackdown on parked vehicles in Ludlow town centre. Since the 5 July 2016, Shropshire Council's civil enforcement officers have issued more than one hundred penalty charge notices (PCNs) after 6pm. The crackdown has caught offenders blocking access. We welcome that. But it... Continue reading Councillors call for a halt of Ludlow night time parking crackdown pending review →
Brexit X-men: how the prime minister's key negotiators are coping Not all that well. (tags: ukpolitics eu )
