Talking about Joe Orton on last Saturday, Michael Elwyn recounted how he had appeared in the 1960s BBC soap opera The Newcomers. When he threw it up to join a touring theatre company, Auntie was horrified. Two dozen scripts with his character in them had been written. The solution turned out to be to cast Corin Redgrave as his twin brother and carry on as if nothing had happened. When I spoke to Michael Elwyn afterwards, he told me he had given Judy Geeson her first screen kiss in the programme. He also kindly suggested that I was too young ...
Stephen Bush has noticed that last night local by-elections victories were the latest in a growing line for the Liberal Democrats: Polling has always been somewhat unkind to the Liberal Democrats outside of election campaigns, as the party has a low profile, particularly now it has just eight MPs. What appears to be happening at local by-elections and my expectation may be repeated at a general election is that when voters are presented with the option of a Liberal Democrat at the ballot box they find the idea surprisingly appealing. Added to that, the Liberal Democrats' happiest hunting grounds are ...
When I first came to Istanbul nearly 50 years ago (as described in my childhood memoir, Eccles Cakes), it was an enchanting and exotic city of wooden houses, water-sellers and boats across the Bosphorus. Today, it is six times larger and the more they build and widen roads, the more the cars and lorries rush in to [...]
Jim Bishop is one of the great characters of Ludlow. Recently, he moved out of his rambling junk shop alongside the garden of The Queens, Lower Galdeford. The proprietors of the pub, Jane and Tim Vaughan, have now submitted plans to convert the building into holiday lets (16/03798/FUL).[1] The building will be the same... Continue reading The Queens submits plans for four holiday lets →
From the Witney Liberal Democrats website: Hundreds of volunteers are flooding into the constituency this weekend to help with Liz's campaign in the Witney by-election. Tim Farron said: "Taking over such a large building is a real sign of our commitment to West Oxfordshire and to the strength of the campaign we are running here."Liz Leffman said: "I have been so touched by the huge number of people who have been coming from all over the country to help. This brilliant new HQ has really put us on the map in Witney and underlines that we are the only challengers ...
I wrote a story this week that brought into sharp focus just what an awful decision the government's green light for the Hinkley Point C power station is.The story was for the European NGO lobby groupTransport & Environment(my story isn't online yet), for which I've been writing for 25 years. The story was about a new record-low price for energy from renewable sources - Sweden's largest energy company, Vattenfall, has won the contract to build two wind farms in the Danish North Sea with a bid to sell the energy from the farms for €60 per megawatt hour (mWh).What makes ...
It's quite a while since I last danced properly*, a long time since I felt confident enough to call myself 'a dancer', longer still since the last time I attended a ballet class, and more time has passed than I care to admit since I graduated from college. However, even though I'm much older, stiffer and curvier now than I was when I was training, and I certainly don't feel as though I *look* like a dancer, I still get asked on a regular basis: "You're a dancer, aren't you?" Some of this is, certainly, down to working in a ...
We've had a bit of a surge in the on-line campaign Time to get rid of the Mayors car in Peterborough – which is always nice! What's really great is that we're getting a real mix of people who are adding their support to the campaign! People who are in well paid jobs, single parents, [...]
[IMG: 092716-news-tim-kaine-election] Hilary Clinton's running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, has written about the importance of civil rights in America's presidential election. In an essay for Black Entertainment Television he writes: I've learned how being white... means you can go your entire life without ever understanding the challenges African-Americans face every day. It's on all of us to come to grips with these issues. In many ways, that's the deeper question we're facing in this election: who we are, how we treat each other and what kind of nation we want to leave our children. It's a civil rights election. He ...
I have received a Press Release warning that, because of "significant maintenance issues at the Hospital with the water and drainage infrastructure", there will be no new admissions to the hospital's inpatient ward from tomorrow. Patients currently receiving care on the ward may, after consultation with themselves and their families, be relocated to alternative community hospitals and care homes. You can see the full press release below. Clearly the safety of patients must come first, and therefore I welcome the further investigations that are to be undertaken. There must, however, be full transparency throughout this process, with all interested parties ...
Non-fiction: 1 (YTD 32) A History of the World in Twelve Maps, by Jerry Brotton Comics: 3 (YTD 22) Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang Prisoners of Time, by Scott and David Tipton Toch Een Geluk, by Barbara Stok 6,200 pages (YTD 53,100 pages) 6/18 (YTD 57/183) by women (Trollope, Murad, Kirk/Teague, Pollack, Colgan, Stok) 2/18 (YTD 12/183) by (Murad, Chiang) Reread: 1 (Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man), YTD 14 Reading now Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in honour of Jack Vance, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois Winter Song, by ...
[IMG: Alzheimer's Society Guide for Councillors] There are over 685,000 people living with dementia across England,many of whom are not living well and can't access the vital care and support they need. The average cost of a year's dementia care is £32,250 per patient, and it is estimated that dementia costs the English economy £22.1 billion annually. There is no doubt [...]
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece for Lib Dem Voice, which they titled "Changing the Political Culture to be more accepting of Women" - I had submitted it under the less explanatory "Women and Politics" but hey ho, I'm still happy that it got published! Image Source: iknowpolitics.org 'Prime minister Theresa May has called for "dads to talk to girls about current affairs and politics" in a bid to encourage more women to enter Parliament...' READ FULL ARTICLE HERE The side of me that is regularly riddled with anxiety was reluctant to read the comments section, and ...
Embed from Getty Images In the wake of the latest boundary commission proposals, Lord (Paul) Tyler has been writing in the Western Morning News emphasising the need for electoral reform, rather than boundary tinkering: For decades, arch defenders of first-past-the-post voting system have claimed that, despite its obvious defects, at least it prevents 'extremism'. Not so while MPs look to their increasingly extreme constituency memberships for career security. Any election after October 2018, when these new boundaries come into play, would be full of candidates who have had to appeal to the most unrepresentative group of voters, their own party ...
[IMG: may-2016-adel-pharmacy] The Department of Health recently announced a reduction of £170 million to the funding of community pharmacies in England this year and it has not ruled out more cuts to follow. It's believed that potentially 3,000 pharmacies could close (that's a quarter of all pharmacies). At the same time, government officials have suggested that people [...]
There's a public footpath/public right of way just where Lydiate's Bells Lane joins Altcar Lane in Great Altcar Parish. The path crosses the fields of Great Altcar and ends up at Showicks Bridge, which is a footbridge over the River Alt. When you cross the bridge you are back in Sefton Borough (in Lunt Meadows Wetlands & Nature Reserve) as you were in Lydiate but the whole length of the path is actually in Lancashire County such is the odd shape of Sefton Borough. [IMG: The former Upper Gore Farm now a small housing development] The former Upper Gore Farm ...
The UK is at No.17 with Japan being the most indebted. Not an easy website to follow through but interesting facts if you persevere. With thanks to Roy Connell for spotting this story
During the summer, a rumour floated around Westminster that Paul Mason was going to try and become the Labour by-election candidate in Leigh (thus, the next MP for Leigh almost guaranteed) once Andy Burnham steps down (after he becomes the next mayor of Manchester; again, pretty much guaranteed). It hit Guido; Mason denied it. However, since then there have been rumours of discussions about it in Corbyn's inner circle. Everything here is rumour, in other words, mere speculation, yet now the whole thing has taken on a whole other level: that not only will Mason be the next Labour leader, ...
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] Our colleagues at the LGA Liberal Democrat Group have made us aware of this year's Royal Town Planning Institute conference in Manchester on November 19th. RTPI's message: OVERCOMING COMMON CHALLENGES ACROSS THE UK AND IRELAND THROUGH PLANNING This is a MUST ATTEND event for politicians, Councillors and anyone elected to a public body. The conference [...]
Nissan sets 'hard Brexit' compensation condition for new UK investment | Reuters RT @JolyonMaugham: That £350m we're not spending on the NHS? We'll spend it on "compensating" businesses for staying here post Brexit. Twitter RT @laura_hudson: A daily affirmation for everyone else out there who feels like shit sometimes but fortunately is not actual human garbage [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Nick Clegg on The Last Leg 4] I did wonder if I'd slipped down a rabbit hole when I heard this news. But, given his acclaimed appearance of The Last Leg and his LBC experience, it is perhaps understandable that 'Have I got news for you' have invited Nick Clegg to present the first show of the new series on October 7th. Now that he has been separated from his Deputy Prime Ministerial limo for a while, he is perhaps sufficiently non-establishment enough to provide a bit of grist to the HIGNFY mill. It should be worth watching, if ...
[IMG: slaughterhouse] Slaughterhouse 5, or The Children's Crusade – A Duty-dance with Death, Kurt Vonnegut Second up on my my #40booksby40 list. Friends had told me I'd love it — this classic, post-war, anti-war, semi-autobiographical, absurdist novel — that it's a quick, easy read. If I'm honest, though, I struggled with it. I tried to figure out why, because it's not that it's not brilliantly written. The sliced-up narrative of Billy Pilgrim's account of the Allied bombing of Dresden and its impact on his life, is simultaneously disorientating and coherent. And it's not that it's not powerful. The low-key matter-of-fact ...
Embed from Getty Images The latest ceasefire in Syria failed – and was always going to fail - due to a complete lack of will to enforce its provisions. This failure of the international community to respond to the worst humanitarian crisis of a generation is eroding the system of international laws and norms that underpin democratic societies. As previously, the Syrian regime and its international backers used the ceasefire to prepare for a renewed military offensive. Fatally undermining the faith of Syrians in the political process, just as on every previous occasion, was the unwillingness of the outside world ...
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! Momentum can be Labour's unlikely saviour | Comment | The Times & The Sunday Times I'm not convinced, but this is beautiful writing by Philip Collins > "Momentum can be Labour's unlikely saviour" http://bit.ly/2dc79y6 HEPI Is there anything left to say on grammar schools? Maybe just one thing... – HEPI Brilliantly thoughtful by @nickhillman on "the one thing left to say about ...
Today's Western Mail exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of the Welsh Assembly's UKIP group's hounding of Nathan Gill for double-jobbing as an AM and MEP, with the revelation that one of their own is working both as an Assembly Member and a researcher for the party's sole MP. The paper says that Mark Reckless, who represents South Wales East in the Senedd has recorded in his entry in the Assembly's register of members' interests that he also works as a "Part-time director (not a company director) and company secretary, Ukip Parliamentary Resource Unit Limited". The entry goes on to ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water manhole repair works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Kirsty Semple Way (between the access road to A & E and the car park for the Mackenzie Building), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Sunday 2 October 2016 for 1 day. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. This section of road is only available to buses and taxis. Alternative ...
'Silence is not a strategy' think tank warns on Brexit Indeed. (And it would be nice to hear opposition parties point this out too.) (tags: ukpolitics eu brexit ) Maltese Phrases You Just Can't Translate Actually, you can, but they are very funny. (tags: malta )
The Beeb reports that plans - dating from 1945 - for a second rail bridge over the Firth of Forth have been recently uncovered in a Glasgow office. Their provenance remains a mystery and Network Rail is asking for help. But it shouldn't be described as a 'fourth Forth' bridge - given it dates from a time 18 years before the second one opened.
