Another precious film by Edward "Chib" Thorp, the railway-loving undertaker of Leigh on Sea. Click on the image above to view it on the BFI site. Complete with annoyingly intermittent commentary, this one shows some of the last trains on the Colne Valley and Halstead line in 1961 and the lifting of the line the following year. It then goes back to show us the line in 1959, when it was still operated by steam. The Wikipedia page for this line says it remained open for goods traffic until 1965, but that is obviously not true for at least part ...
Embed from Getty Images Paul Sample, a former leader of the old Salisbury District Council, has been selected to fight the Salisbury constituency for the Liberal Democrats in the event of a snap general election. You could call this choice a blast from the past or a rave from the grave, as Valley News explains: He stood against Robert Key in 1992, reducing the Conservative majority to under 9,000. He took 22,573 votes - more than any other Liberal candidate in the history of the constituency. Nearly 2,000 people turned out to help his campaign.Paul is also a former editor ...
Welcome to the latest in my series of tips and advice for Liberal Democrat members, which appear first in the email bulletin run by London Region for party members. What Lib Dems believe, and why Lurking in the slightly obscure corner of chapter 2 of a policy consultation paper published for the spring 2016 conference is the best recent summary of what Liberal Democrats believe and why. Not a list of policies of the sort found in manifestos and on websites aplenty, but an explanation of the underlying beliefs – yet which also sticks to clear English. The ten pages ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: Francis was obviously got up in his best clothes. A mistake: that age is more relaxed when a little scruffy and grubby. At the school he had been animated because he was showing off; here he was nervous, unsure of himself now that the performance was no longer a game. I confess that I knew nothing of this book or of the writer, and had no expectations whatsoever; and I also confess that I really liked it. It's set in a dystopian Australia of the near future (though the story is told with a framing ...
The new gnu is a Caterham 270SV that I picked up from BookaTrack at Donington Park this morning. I can thoroughly recommend them (thanks Greg!) and, a few hours into the joys of Caterham ownership, the product too. You can perhaps see why I was a little concerned that it would get in the way of walking today. Fortunately, there's ... The post 10,000 steps a day – day 4 – the new gnu appeared first on ten pence piece.
Below I have attached an e-mail that I have sent today to senior members of staff of Liverpool City Council about a report leaked to the media about the failure to deal properly with child sexual abuse in the city. ... Continue reading →
Every year at the end of the summer, our village organises a three day Dorpfeest culminating on Sunday with a barbecue for all (at least, all who pay the price of admission). Nor about the giant ants in the retirement home: But I did like the pleasing pottery of Marleen De Vos: And the village's oldest and largest internal public space was taken over by the local craft society to show off their work: Anne's pieces are the two on the left of the lower table by the altar: We were lucky with the weather. It rained heavily in the ...
It's hard to imagine how today's Sunday Times could possibly have got it more wrong. It trailed that it had a "tantalising secret" about Nicola Sturgeon's private life. That turned out to be the fact that, five years ago, she had a miscarriage. What a crass way to headline an intensely painful experience. And to add insult to injury, the paper accompanied the article with a panel featuring childless politicians. All of them were female. As ever, women are judged by different standards. The excellent Women 50/50 campaign group made the point visually: Picture on the left – in today's ...
Saw this in the newspaper display at this Tesco branch yesterday. [IMG: WP_20160903_19_04_45_Pro] I would have thought they should be apologising for selling the Sun not for failing to have any to sell!
[IMG: More new ideas will lead to the Political Compass folding itself into the higher dimensions.] More new ideas will lead to the Political Compass folding itself into the higher dimensions. So, this is a rough outline for an idea I've had about how to understand and interpret some bits of British politics. I'd appreciate any comments on it, just to know if it's worth thinking and working on further, or if it needs to go onto the great pile of big ideas that didn't work. Beyond the more obviously ideological axes we arrange politicians and parties along (left-right, authoritarian-libertarian ...
Public-ignorance literature, The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics (1964), states that most people's political opinions are based not on attention to high-flown political debate, but instead on extremely ill informed judgments about "the nature of the times" (prosperity? peace?) and about the interests of the groups with which they identify. Since even these primitive judgments... More THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AGAINST IGNORANCE
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the 11,300 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Lib Dems must enthusiastically occupy the clear pro EU space – nobody else will (90 comments) by Caron Lindsay Vince Cable writes...What Brexit means (41 comments) by Vince Cable Open Britain divides attention (30 comments) by Joe Otten Please understand what The Alternative is about (34 comments) by Chris Bowers Let's get tough on the causes of euroscepticism (58 comments) by John Bland Jenny Willott writes: Is Citizens' Income the answer to the failures of our social security ...
I suspect the British patients who deal with doctors, nurses and other National Health Service staff from the Commonwealth rarely consider the journeys those people have made. I don't mean just the physical move, though that may be from the other side of the world. I am thinking more about the culture shock. Working in [...]
[IMG: Lib Dems at start of March for Europe] [IMG: EU nails] Thousands of people across the UK Marched for Europe yesterday, with demonstrations in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge plus many more. In London we put on a huge Lib Dem splash, with more than 300 Lib Dems joining us at the start in Marble Arch. An army of volunteers distributed placards, balloons and flyers. There were so many of us, police escorted us down to the main march on Park Lane! President Sal Brinton fronted the march, leading a rally of Lib Dems from a banner at ...
By 1974 Mannfred Mann had metamorphosed into Mannfred Mann's Earth Band - a tribute to the growing influence of environmentalism even then. I remember liking this when it was in the charts, though I didn't know then that it had been written and first recorded by Bruce Springsteen. I'm still not sure what it's about though,
[IMG: Scottish Parliament 3] So, it's term-time again. After a frenetic and dramatic end to the last parliamentary session, everyone has done their best to make sure it looks like nothing is happening over the past 6 weeks. That's all over now, though. The Westminster and Scottish parliaments are back in session this week. Wales has another week off. It's time to get to grips with the major issues around Brexit. That's going to be the only game in town for quite some time. Holyrood There are three major items of business this week. The first is a two day ...
On the one hand: not really news. On the other, at least they've noticed Twitter RT @rtrn94: 2016 has shown the BBC, more than ever, to be the voice of the nation Northern Rail is adding an extra 50p to the cost of your journey - Manchester Evening News RT @LozKaye: Once again. The big issue with public transport is not journey times but cost. #DevoManc What is poverty? | JRF RT @jrf_uk: How is #ukpoverty measured, what causes it & what are the consequences? #solveukpoverty Asteroid (52665) Brianmay: an image - 02 Sept. 2016 RT @DrBrianMay: Asteroid Brianmay ...
There were a lot of promises made by the Leave campaign during the referendum and a great many rebuttals of the case being put to stay in the EU, not least Leave said that the claims Brexit would result in a mass exodus of jobs away from Britain were nonsense. Inevitably, as with their promise of £350m a week extra for the NHS, Leave EU have been found out as fantasists of the highest order. Of course we have not left yet, nor have we started the formal process that will leave to our leaving but the portents are not ...
Sun 4th
10:14
Sometimes we need to put politics aside and offer support (this is one of those occasions)
Sometimes we need to put politics aside... This is one of those occasions. Since the first Police Crime Commissioner elections, I have, over Twitter, had many discussions with Rachel Rogers, who was at that time Labour's Dorset PCC candidate. She has also been a parliamentary candidate and case worker for the South Dorset Labour MP during [...]
There is plenty of interest in Nick Clegg's Guardian interview ahead of his new book. What particularly caught my eye was his confirmation of what I had long suspected: he fundamentally didn't get how winning over voters works: I mistakenly assumed that if I worked hard within government, did my homework and took decisions on their merits, then, one way or another, the truth - that the coalition was acting out of reasonable motives - would become plain to see and political dividends would follow. It is certainly desirable to prioritise getting the substance of governing right. But it is ...
Regular visitors to Maghull's Central Square shops may have noticed that the flower baskets have not been looking their best over the past week or so. [IMG: A wilting, dry barrier basket on Westway] A wilting, dry barrier basket on Westway The problem? Well it seems that Maghull Town Council has encountered some difficulties in completing the regular watering of the displays for reasons that, I think it is fair to say, the Maghull in Bloom volunteers don't fully understand. [IMG: What the barrier baskets should look like - photo from June 2016.] What the barrier baskets should look like ...
Sun 4th
09:00
National Walking Festival: Frampton Cotterell Ram Hill and the Dramway Walk - Wed 7 September
Miners Village Hall, Badminton Road, Coalpit Heath, BS36 2QB Wednesday 7 September, 10:30 to 11:30 Join South Gloucestershire Walking For Health and Stepping Forward to celebrate the rich network of recreational paths. Free, led by trained volunteers. This is one of a series of walks - you can find the leaflets which have been produced about each of the paths here. Long and short walk available - interesting local history walk and talk. Will last approximately one hour. No booking required. Click here for a listing of all the Discover Festival events
Photoshopping in someone who wasn't there has a certain dodgy logic. But photoshopping them in twice...?
Yesterday, I was delighted to attend the Summer Meeting of the Friends of Balgay that took place at the Mills Observatory. Robert Law of the observatory gave a very interesting presentation on the history of the observatory, followed by a tour. The photo (right) is from the presentation and shows Robert at the telescope. I was also delighted yesterday to attend the Pennycook and Sinderins Courts Sheltered Housing Coffee Morning at Pennycook Court - and, despite a little rain, was very well attended with excellent stalls - see photo below :
From Dundee 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 mains repair works. The Order is expected to be in force for 3 weeks from 5 September 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 Park Place between Old Hawkhill and Smalls Lane. Pedestrian access and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible. An alternative route will be available via Smalls Lane, ...
12 MORE ways to make it look like Brexit has happened @jonworth's tongue firmly in cheek. (tags: eu ukpolitics brexit )
