Photo of the stable block at Nevill Holt by Mat Fascione A few days ago the Leicester Mercury reported: A permanent opera house could be built in the heart of a historic country mansion. Multi millionaire entrepreneur David Ross has filed plans to build a 400-seater auditorium in the centre of a 17th century stable yard. It will replace a temporary structure at the medieval Nevill Holt Hall near Market Harborough which is beyond effective repair. Agents and architects for the project say a permanent home is needed if the opera is to be retained. For more than a decade ...
The Shrewsbury Folk Festival will no longer book morris dancers using full-face black make up, the Shropshire Star reported yesterday. Political correctness gone mad? The festival's explanation does reek of of modern bourgeois angst, right down to the meaningless "as such": "The use of full face black make up is an age old tradition, particularly within Border Morris. "The Morris movement has always evolved over time and some sides have take their own decisions to move away from using full face black make up to other forms of colour and disguise. "We have been approached by one group that has ...
"Admittedly, she will be able to rely on unlimited assistance from Labour, but will that be enough?" Bruce Anderson weighs Theresa May's prospects of creating an era of Tory hegemony. Stephen Crossley and Michael Lambert outline the historical precedents for the government's Troubled Families Programme and argue that, by not learning from past mistakes, it is doomed to repeat them. Eighty years ago, in Berlin, Stella Walsh won her second Olympic medal. Decades later, her murder and subsequent autopsy threw the legacy of track's first female superstar into turmoil. Read a fascinating long article by Rob Tannenbaum. The shadowy figure ...
Jeremy Corbyn's leadership campaign has been running a Facebook advert from which I took this screenshot, promoting his support "for climate change".
Second paragraph of third story ("Breeds There a Man...?"): He was saying, "That's right! He came in here and said, 'Put me in jail, because I want to kill myself.'["] I have fallen out of love with Asimov much more than any of the other authors whose work I inhaled as a teenager, mainly because I hate cute robots, for which he may not be single-handedly responsible but for which he clearly bears the lion's share of the blame. However, this collection went some way to reconciling me. The stories I liked least were those I had read last year ...
Borrowdale Close, located just off of Coniston Road, has a road surface that in my opinion needs some attention! During my visits, some of the things I've noticed: The entrance road markings are almost worn away. Potholes in the road, the size of my foot. Weeds making their way through the cracks and adding to [...]
Fri 26th
15:29
Judge: "Did you issue the fine in the water?" - Burkini Ban Suspended By France's High Court
The decision of some French towns (it is not a decision of France's national government) to ban head-to-toe Burkini swimsuits is clearly a mistake. A free society is one in which people can decide for themselves what they want to wear. The justification offered by the Mayor or Nice that after terrorist attacks by people who say they are Muslims, Islamic dresses causes people fear and should be banned is wrong. If every wrong-doing resulted in interference in the basic freedom of entirely innocent people, who happen to share a religion or other characteristic with the wrong-doer, none of us ...
[IMG: Brexiteers beginning to discover the impossibility of their task: creating an urgent need for a sane centre progressive option.] Brexiteers beginning to discover the impossibility of their task: creating an urgent need for a sane centre progressive option. In November I will give a paper on the fallout of the EU referendum at the conference of OPUS (Organisation for Promoting Understanding of Society) entitled "The King is dead, there is now no king". That's a parody of the phase "The King is dead, Long live the King" which caught the sense of a monarchy trying to quell potential instability ...
Embed from Getty Images Nice is still in shock. It's just about a month and a half since the appalling attack which killed 84 people. That sort of carnage happening on your doorstep takes some getting over. People experience a huge range of emotions from anger to fear. What should the authorities be doing to help people through this time? They should be reassuring people. They should be helping the whole community stand together in solidarity. Instead, their headline response has been to pick on innocent women because of their attire on a beach. I have rarely been more annoyed ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above I was at this crossing recently and took these photos of a train passing by at speed:- [IMG: At Crescent Road Level Crossing 1] [IMG: At Crescent Road Level Crossing 2] The Crescent Road level crossing is about half way between Birkdale and Hillside Stations so the trains are always going at some speed when the barriers are down to road traffic. Makes you wonder how this accident came about so the results of the accident investigation will make interesting reading. Thank goodness no one was hurt. The first ...
Nice to see the Aintree & Maghull Champion covering this environmental issue on the Maghull/Lydiate boundary. They certainly gave the story big prominence in this week's edition (24th August) and used some of my photos too. [IMG: Ground and tree clearance Lydiate development site 08 16] Now everyone knows what has gone on and what the Maghull & Lydiate Action Group and I have been doing about it. Let's hope the Forestry Commission's Woodland Group publish the result of their investigations soon.
Not a huge amount. Watch this video from ITV News. Many of us will have found the sight of Farage speaking at a Donald Trump campaign rally pretty distasteful. Let's hope that the American people keep turning away from Trump as they seem to be doing at the moment. My worry is that as the campaign intensifies after next weekend's Labor Day, Trump's campaign will simply go after Hillary in every way that they can. They can't win a clean campaign so they will fight as dirty as possible. Earlier this week, in a speech in Reno Nevada, Hillary Clinton ...
Twitter RT @YorkshireTea: 8 out of 10 ducks prefer a proper brew. International Bat Weekend - Bat Conservation Trust RT @_BCT_: Its nearly International Bat Weekend. Time to celebrate bats #lovebats Twitter RT @zenaidamz: This is still happening... in 2016. #WearWhatYouWant In which Superman endorses Donald Trump I mean it's a bit of a half-hearted endorsement, but still... Gene Simmons and Chachi somewhat less surprising. miss_s_b | Stupid Questions Asked by Journalists That Haven't Done their Research #1: Meat Loaf posted Stupid Questions Asked by Journalists That Haven't Done their Research #1: Meatloaf on #dreamwidth Dear white people of France: ...
Fri 26th
10:32
In a time of little joy for political moderates, UKIP being rubbish acts as comfort food
For those of you who haven't seen Nigel Farage speaking at a Republican rally in America in support of Donald Trump – don't bother, it will only depress you further about the state of the universe. To summarise, Farage tells Americans they can overcome the might of global corporate greed by electing the head of huge corporation that is the candidate in question's namesake as president. No, instead immerse yourself in the goings on of the UKIP leadership contest. I know what you're thinking – I completely forgot that was happening! I would assume this is because UKIP have somehow ...
[IMG: Virgin train] Who should own the railways? Both contenders for the Labour leadership, Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn, believe it should be the public sector. They point to rising ticket prices., widespread industrial action and a lack of seating (or so Corbyn claims.) as evidence that privatisation has failed. The public seem to agree, with 62% now in favour of renationalisation. But is it worth it? It certainly wouldn't be progressive. Households in the highest real income bracket make up 43% of yearly rail journeys, with those in the lowest income bracket making up only 10% of journeys. Nationalisation ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Sponsored: 64% off Code Black Drone with HD Camera Our #1 Best-Selling Drone–Meet the Dark Night of the Sky! The top 10 reasons Brexit isn't working, according to Brexiteers Brilliant, funny & already true: "The top 10 reasons Brexit isn't working, according to Brexiteers" http://bit.ly/2blQ7qe As my sons grew up my superpowers faded away | Comment | The Times & The Sunday Times Poignant from Janice Turner on the sadness of seeing your kids grow up http://bit.ly/2bDJGUS The reason why women ...
There are some who might suggest that a party that cannot even organise its own annual conference are not capable of running the country. Fortunately, there is a professional civil service who are able to ensure that the wheels of government are able to keep running irrespective of who is in power. Alas, that does not appear to be the case with the Labour Party, who seem determined to self-destruct at every level. The Independent reports that the prospect of the Labour Party cancelling its annual conference has become ever more realistic after G4S turned down a last-minute offer to ...
Work on the section of the cycle path between Nibley Lane and the Shire Way railway viaduct (pictured above) was completed earlier this summer. It'll make more sense, of course, when it's joined up at the ends. In recent weeks, it's been confirmed that South Glos has secured £400,000 for further work this financial year. In September the council will be starting a consultation on a pedestrian refuge at the Nibley Lane junction, the path under the viaduct and the Shire Way section. The council is also working towards securing land for the Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane section. While ...
From the City Council : Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating gas main renewal works. The Order is expected to be in force for 8 weeks from 29 August 2016. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Perth Road between Glamis Road and West Park Road. Pedestrian access and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible. An alternative route will be available via Blackness ...
Decline and fall of the British lobbying empire Lots of professional contacts seeking new passports... (tags: eu ) Boucher, Backbone and Blake - the legacy of Blakes 7, by @ehorakova Brilliant piece. (tags: ukpolitics sf ) The top 10 reasons Brexit isn't working, according to Brexiteers The fiendish culpability of reality. (tags: ukpolitics eu ) The alt-right attacks sci-fi: How the Hugo Awards got hijacked by Trumpian-style culture warriors Good summary. (tags: sf hugos )
So I watched the rest of season one. And aside from that one episode (which I posted about yesterday) I didn't have a major problem with it. In fact, I'll go further than that. I liked it. I REALLY liked it. BUT ( spoilers under the cut ) I dunno. Maybe I'm worrying too much. Maybe this is just what the press is being fed, or what they're paying attention to, rather than what's actually going to be the focus of the series. But I have some disquiet. :/ [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
