Our guide Holden Webster traces the line west of Cleobury Mortimer - part 1 is here.
[IMG: ishiguro] The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro This is the sixth novel plucked from my #40booksby40 list. And what I'm about to write pains me because Ishiguro is one of my favourite writers... but The Buried Giant is a crashing disappointment. I should say, at the outset, I'm not a fantasy fan-boy. If tales of ogres and she-dragons in Saxon Britain are your bag, then perhaps you will wring more enjoyment from this book than me. Of course, this is Ishiguro: so the novel's form is merely a device for subtly exploring the themes which power all his work: memory, ...
By gad, sir, they've gone too far this time. Yesterday the Guardian reported a speech by Nick Clegg: Melton Mowbray pork pies, stilton cheese and British-made chocolate such as Cadbury's could be under threat from Brexit, the former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has warned. Speaking to a food and drink industry conference on the impact of leaving the European Union, Clegg said it was possible that European rivals would start producing lookalikes to British foodstuffs if they lost the legal protection from imitation offered by EU rules. "Outside the EU they won't enjoy the appellation bestowed on those products ...
Non-fiction: 1 (YTD 33) SPQR, by Mary Beard Fiction (non-sf): 2 (YTD 27) Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann sf (non-Who): 2 (YTD 73) Winter Song, by Colin Harvey Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in honour of Jack Vance, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois Doctor Who, etc: 3 (YTD 36) Short Trips: The Solar System, ed. Gary Russell Companion Piece, by Robert Perry and Mike Tucker The Joy Device, by Justin Richards Comics: 0 (YTD 22) 2,500 pages (YTD 55,600 pages) 2/8 (YTD 59/191) by women (Beard, Susann) 0/8 (YTD 12/191) ...
This is rather helpful news for Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Olney: NEW: Greens won't stand a candidate in Richmond Park – will back Lib Dems' @sarahjolney1 — Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) November 2, 2016 Ukip, of course, is backing Zac Goldsmith whilst the calls by Labour MPs for their party to back the Liberal Democrats didn't win out in their party.
Often the most challenging election campaigns are ones where you and your supporters find the appeal of the opposition's candidate or the force of their arguments so outrageously risible that they fall into anger and derision rather than understanding how to counter their appeal. So it was when Boris Johnson first ran for Mayor of London. Or when the Brexit camp rolled out the £350m for the NHS line in the European referendum. Winning candidate, winning message both met with anything but understanding and effective counter-argument by the other side. To illustrate the point about the £350m message to readers ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above Sadly we seem to hear far too many stories like this. How on earth do our most vulnerable citizens find themselves in 'inadequate' care? It shines a poor light on us all but particularly on the care providers.
The crisis that we are faced with in the UK and Europe is only part of a worldwide migration crisis. We hear from the United Nations that there are 65 million displaced persons in the world, and we know that in Europe alone, as already mentioned, there are 88,000 unaccompanied children. In the years to come, our legacy will not be a good one for our children, because with global warming, economic disasters and conflict, the flow of refugees could well become a torrent. So we have to face years ahead when we will need to tackle problems such as ...
Wed 2nd
15:31
Maghull -Youths on bikes doing incredibly dangerous things – My exchange with Merseyside Polic...
I posted not so long ago (see link below) about my concerns regarding the activities of some local young men who are putting themselves and other road users at great risk during the hours of darkness. The last incident that I witnessed only yesterday evening was the last straw for me so I have had the following exchange with Merseyside Police. I e-mailed Inspector Phil Hatton but as he is presently away work the reply is from Gerda Gates his Sgt. Neighbourhood Dedicated:- Dear Phil, I realise that what I am about to say to you may not seem ...
Cecilia Malmström writes on signing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade agreement at the summit between the EU and Canada: This agreement is an important achievement, for many reasons. First of all, it clearly demonstrates that when Europe comes together, we can shape globalisation according to our values and our standards. We reached an agreement on the EU side after some tumultuous discussions. Sometimes we need to make things a bit complicated first, in order to make them better as a result - it has always been the crises that foster progress in our European Union. There is much skepticism about ...
When the whole gay cake fiasco was occurring I saw a status on Facebook. It was by a gay Christian who claimed that the LGBT community and Christians should have mutual respect for each other. Maybe they should but one side has a lot of making up and apologising and grovelling to do to the other. I am gay and an atheist. When I comment on Christians and Christianity I focus on the institutions and the ideas behind the religion. individual I can have respect for dependant upon how they behave. But with regards to the institutions like the Anglican ...
My 1999 Federal Conference Committee (FCC) manifesto was my favourite even if, on checking the records, I find the photo of the pile of paperwork was not as large as my memory had it.
Our Norwegian sister party, Venstre, has always been creative in their approach to politics. Instead of going into coalition with the ruling Conservatives, they entered into a confidence and supply arrangement. This week, they published their budget proposals and issued a video to support them... Now, far be it from me to suggest that the Liberal Democrats should try something similar, but Terje Breivik, the Deputy Leader of Venstre and their Finance spokesperson, does seem to be enjoying himself. He's handy with a guitar too. I wonder how it compares with the Norwegian Eurovision entry?...
Hello! *Blows away the cobwebs and dusts furiously* I bet you thought that I'd forgotten about you all as I haven't written anything here since May. Well, after my excellent attempts at procrastination earlier on in the year, I finally decided to buckle down and sort my dissertation out. It's been quite a journey, which is why I've been so ... The post (Probably) the end appeared first on ten pence piece.
According to a recent report presented to city councillors, 2,000 new homes have been built in the last 2 years locally, which equates to an average of just over two a day. The question of course is, is it enough? Whilst the population of Peterborough is only expected to increase by 2.8% a year between 2013 and [...]
All councils in England provide a service called vision rehabilitation which offers crucial training and advice to people living with sight loss. Evidence shows that many blind and partially sighted people are failing to receive vital vision rehabilitation support. RNIB's current campaign, See, Plan and Provide, is calling for improved access to vision rehabilitation assessments and support. Vision rehabilitation provides crucial training and advice to people experiencing sight loss. This includes support to help them live in their home safely and negotiate the many obstacles and risks in the external environment. It gives people the skills and confidence to maximise ...
This morning I failed to sign a petition, sent by Email, calling on FIFA to permit the England and Scotland football teams to wear poppies on their shirts when they play each other on Friday 11th November. I also note with some irritation that all presenters on BBC television, interviewees and MPs when televised from parliament, are already sporting poppies and that in recent years we have moved to have not one Remembrance Day but two, one on the 11th November and another on the nearest Sunday. It seems to me that our "remembrance" is taking a wrong turning and, ...
Lydiate Parish Council presently has children's play areas with equipment at Sandy Lane Park, Kenyons Park and Ridgeway Park, it also has outdoor fitness equipment on the site of Lydiate Village Centre. [IMG: This is Ridgeway Park otherwise know as Coronation Park.] This is Ridgeway Park otherwise know as Coronation Park. All this equipment needs to be maintained and the Parish Council approved expenditure of over £800 at its October meeting to address repair and maintenance issues identified in a recent inspection report. [IMG: Lydiate PC grounds maintenance staff at work in Liverpool Road outside St. Gregs Church.] Lydiate PC ...
First Tuesday evening of the month is a regular in my diary - Sunniside History Society meeting in Sunniside Club. Last night it was the pie and pea supper which followed the showing of a video made by the pupils of Washingwell Primary School about the Fugar project. Sadly I was too busy to get along to the school when they filmed the video but the kids did a good job. A few budding tv
[IMG: alde-congress-2016] Yesterday, members of the Party's delegation to next month's ALDE Party Congress in Warsaw, Poland, met to discuss the draft resolutions as submitted from liberal parties across the European Union and beyond. Naturally, there will be much discussion on the future of the European Union post-Brexit, and resolutions on the subject have been submitted not only by the Liberal Democrats, but by our sister parties in Germany, the Czech Republic and Sweden, amongst others. It is noteworthy that Liberalerna (Sweden) call for; a balanced deal for both the EU and the UK... which does not involve the introduction ...
The decision by Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich to 'write-in' the name of fellow Republican John McCain on his Presidential ballot paper, rather than vote for official party candidate Donald Trump, has given prominence to the unusual (to British eyes) American practice of letting voters write-in the name of anyone as a candidate in an elections. A BBC round-up includes this bizarre example of when the American practice comes in rather useful: There are instances when write-ins do serve an important purpose, such as when there is a sudden death or indictment of a candidate. Winger cites a 1998 state ...
Tim will be at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on 3rd November not perhaps praying for victory in the Richmond Park by-election but talking at a Leadership breakfast Visit by Tim Farron MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats to Liverpool Thursday ... Continue reading →
Just prior to Labour Party conference in Liverpool (and the announcement of the leadership election result), I put out a paper on how the centre-left could regenerate itself once the Corbyn project has played itself out. I decided to revisit it now – this article forms the basis of a brief summary. If you want all the details, you can find them here: The basic ideas I put forward are these: That the centre-left must once again become champions of large infrastructure projects as it is the only plausible route to ending large scale austerity in Britain. It must ...
Mussolini famously replaced all historical material in Italian schools with pro-fascist renditions, emphasizing the glory and power of Italy, while simultaneously banning the vast majority of other books that might conflict with this propaganda. His intention was to produce an admittedly highly literate generation who were sympathetic to his policy aims. How then is that different to the proposal by UKIP leadership contender, Suzanne Evans that Ukip activists should sign up to train as teachers so that they can influence what children are taught from an early age? According to the Independent the party's deputy chair, told a gathering of ...
Just a reminder that Blackness Road Post Office will close for its planned modernisation tomorrow, Thursday 3rd November, at 1pm and the upgraded Post Office will re-open on Monday 14th November at 1pm. In the meantime, the nearest Post Office will be the branch on Perth Road. When Blackness Road Post Office re-opens on 14th November, it will not only have a bright, new look but will have longer opening hours (8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm Saturday).
The Liberal Democrat Voice team now appear to be on the Party's press release list – it wasn't like that in my day (mind you, there were dinosaurs then...). It dawns on me that, for campaigners out there, and the generally curious, it might be interesting to see what the Party is telling the world... Commenting on the Govenrment's announcement that there is to be extra investment in cyber security Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary Judith Jolly said: It is crucial that more is done to increase our cyber security in a world where attacks on computer systems are growing ...
Good morning, readers, and welcome. I'm your locum day editor, here to support the LDV team for a little while, especially whilst Caron is otherwise occupied. For those of you who don't know me, I'm a former day editor and Readers' Editor (an experiment to see if a different way of handling reader complaints and queries might work – it didn't really...). But enough about me, what have we got for you today? We'll be covering the elections to the Bureau of the ALDE Party (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe), the pan-European liberal party of which the Liberal ...
Rentaghost: the spooky kids show that is much bleaker than you remember Fond memories! (tags: tv ) Losing Georgieva is bad, promoting Oettinger is worse @TimKingBru sums up the mood in Brussels. (tags: eu ) Why UK Brexit talk baffles Germany A refreshing linguistic perspective (tags: brexit germany eu ) On the referendum #20: the campaign, physics and data science - Vote Leave's 'Voter Intention Collection System' (VICS) now available for all Dominic Cummings on Leave's data (tags: ukpolitics eu brexit )
So, November is NaNoWriMo, though no-one has ever explained exactly what nation the "na" actually stands for. I'm going to play along though — and my Patreons will be able to watch me do it in public. I'm currently nearly ... Continue reading →
