The Butter Market was put up in 1793 by Sir John Danvers to replace Mountsorrel's medieval market cross. Danvers had moved the cross to his estate at nearby Swithland Hall, where it still stands. You can read about the Butter Market's later history on Mountsorrel Archive.
Not all is well on Leicester City Council, as a guest post on this blog about bullying there once showed. Today the Leicester Mercury tells us that three complaints are currently being investigated - all relating to last month's fractious full council meeting - for alleged disrespectful and insulting language.It goes on: Lib Dem councillor Nigel Porter has been reported for making a 'male appendage' comment to a Labour rival called John Thomas.
The Saturday of the Remembrance weekend is the traditional time for three short ceremonies in Bootle. We began by a simple cross near by the War Memorial where a dozen folk gathered quietly to remember. Prayers were led by the Vicar of Christchurch We moved on to the Town Hall to lay two wreaths, one by the Roll of Honour for Council employees and the second standards that local regiments have laid up in the Town Hall These ceremonies do not attract the crowds that come on Sunday but the are important. Ir was good to have the support of ...
Wed 23rd
19:38
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in honour of Jack Vance, eds. George R. R. Martin & Gardner Do...
Second paragraph of third story ("The Copsy Door", by Terry Dowling):Not for the first time that morning, Amberlin wondered if the strange lanky creature had found a new way to slip his holding spell.This is a collection of short stories set in the world of Jack Vance's Dying Earth, which I read and enjoyed back in 2004. It bubbled to the top of my to-read list a few months after it became the subject of polemic between one of the contributors, John C. Wright, and one of the editors, George R.R. Martin. Martin was quoted in a Guardian piece about ...
[IMG: autumn-statement-nhs-blackhole-let-down] Below is a template MyCouncillor story about this week's Autumn statement. The Chancellor's statement was remarkable for ignoring entirely some of Britain's biggest problems – Not least the NHS. Over the past years the Liberal Democrats have been tireless in our fight to get proper funding for our NHS and today should be no different. [...]
For the first time this year, the elections for the main Liberal Democrat committees are being carried out by a ballot of all party members rather than the electorate being restricted only to party conference representatives. (That expansion of the party's democracy was originally proposed in a very flawed way by the Federal Executive – something which I and others than managed to get sorted.) Ballot details are going out to party members this week, and I'm one of the candidates – standing for the Federal Board. Here are some details about the bodies being elected, taken from A glossary ...
It's Doctor Who's fifty-third anniversary today. To celebrate, here are ten reasons to watch an important first for the series - not the very first story, but the first starring Tom Baker! ...And the first I ever saw. Introducing Doctor Who - Robot... A trail of mysterious break-ins and deaths. Only the footprints of a giant robot left behind. What could it be‽ Well, obviously, yes, but that's not the only secret weapon, and there are fascists to fight too. Can the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry and the Brigadier stop them? And how much fun will we have watching? ...
You may have already read about this via the Peterborough Telegraph website, but just in case you haven't, I thought it was worth letting you know..... given you are the tax payers! What's happened then? Basically, Steven Pilsworth, the finance director at Conservative controlled Peterborough City Council has had his salary increased to £97,869, a [...]
[IMG: cow-mini-market in Goa by Paul Walter] Paul Walter is now back at home. As is often the case, this postcard arrived after the sender returned to Blighty! We've had an enrapturing holiday in Goa, India. The welcome from the Goan people was wonderful. The beauty of the place was breathtaking. By coincidence, we arrived just a couple days after a major monetary change by the government. To wrong-foot terrorists and criminals, there has been a monumentally huge exercise called "demonetisation", going on across this, the second most populous nation in the world. All the old 500 and 1000 rupee ...
It was a pleasure to show another U3A group around Bootle Town Hall. These groups bring with them not just enquiring minds but also lots of local knowledge.
Southport Morrisons was one of the employers who turned up to my reception for World Mental Health day, so I was pleased to make a return visit when they asked me to come to the opening of their refurbished store
I attended two concerts over the weekend of Remembrance Sunday. On Sunday evening I was at St Faith's Crosby to hear the Crosby Symphony Orchestra and on Saturday evening I was in Holy Trinity Southport to hear a concert that included Faure's Requiem. Below is a report from the churches newssheet written by Bob Ball who was one of the soloists on the evening. It was a brilliant and up to the high standard that Southport people have learnt to expect from Holy Trinity. Last Saturday, 12th November, we had a really splendid evening at the biennial Trinity Concert. Many ...
Tim Farron makes yet another visit to Richmond Park, this time to talk about the disastrous effects of a hard Brexit ahead of the Autumn Statement, it's worth taking a look at what Liberal Democrats make of the expected announcements so far. Unsurprisingly, the rhetoric of helping the poorest doesn't really stack up with the reality. Let's take the reduction of the Universal Credit taper rate to 63%<b>.</b>For the vast majority of people getting Universal Credit, a 2p in the pound reduction in the taper rate will not offset the cuts to UC brought in by the Conservatives last year. ...
Do you know where Lydiate's lost pub was situated or when it closed? This is the present day site:- [IMG: the-anchor-pub-was-here] It's between Jackson's Bridge and Billy's Bridge alongside the Leeds Liverpool Canal. And here's another view looking in the direction of Jackson's Bridge which carries Pygons Hill Lane over the canal:- [IMG: wheres-the-anchor-pub-gone] In fact the Anchor Inn or Arms, which was probably built in the 1860's, disappeared a long time ago being closed, I understand, by the Magistrates Court in the early part of the last century. Robert Alty was described as Boatman and Beer House proprietor in ...
The motives and backgrounds of leave-voters are by now sufficiently understood to conclude that many of them cannot afford to and would not have voted for becoming substantially and permanently poorer. Some may, but had it been widely understood that Brexit comes at a high economic price for everybody, the result would have been a different one. Apparently, most leavers dismissed the economic arguments of remain, and instead of asking for better arguments from leave bought the "scaremongering"-claim (admittedly, leave was much better at creating slogans). And this continues: leave already claims victory on the economy after 6 months in ...
My view of the EU referendum has always been that it was a bad idea and so it proved to be as older voters in particular tried to use it to recreate their rose-tinted spectacled view of the 1950's. It was also a matter that could not be sensibly addressed in one take it or leave it question. If 20 questions on the subject had been asked it still would not have explored all the issues that needed to be exposed and debated. [IMG: 13511053_1614311592194015_4578317925991669418_n] Of course it was actually always about trying to save the Tory Party from ...
[IMG: olly grender] Lib Dem peer Olly Grender has welcomed the Government's reported plans to ban lettings fees for private tenants. This move didn't come out of thin air but as a result of tireless campaigning by the Liberal Democrats and others. Olly and Tom Brake have been pushing this in both houses of Parliament and have taken part in demonstrations. Liberal Democrat council groups up and down the country have also been campaigning on this issue. Olly said: Our relentless campaigning to get tenants' letting fees banned has finally paid off and the Government has recognised this is the ...
Donald Trump was interviewed by a team of reporters from the New York Times yesterday. It was interesting for numerous reasons: one, the rocky relationship that had developed between Trump and the newspaper; two, the fact that they decided to print the interview absolutely verbatim, with no editorial content (which means we get a lot of stream of consciousness Trump, with sentences such as, "I was just telling Arthur that I went around and did speeches in the pretty much 11 different places, that were, the massive crowds we were getting."); three, the widely reported fact that Trump seemed to ...
'Liberal values are always worth fighting for.' That statement is self-evident to Liberal Democrats, who believe they know what they mean by the term, and are committed to that fight. Is it not evident in Tim Farron's leadership of us towards a Britain 'open, tolerant and united'? Do we not recognise the liberal values in our Preamble, as it begins, ' We seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community ...'? Yes, we know what we mean. But those words, 'Liberal values are always worth fighting for', were actually spoken, according to The Times on Monday, by ...
Tonight sees the start of the West End Christmas Fortnight, which will be launched with the Christmas Lights Switch On for the West End and a spectacular fireworks extravaganza. This year's West End Christmas Concert takes place at Dundee West Church (enter by main church entrance at 132 Perth Road) at 6.15pm. There will be musical contributions from all local primary and secondary schools. The Concert will be hosted by Gordon Sharp. "The Notables" will perform as well as local school pupils. It will be a great concert and everyone is very welcome to attend. Mains of Fintry Pipe Band ...
[IMG: Liz Leffman] ...the excellent Liz Leffman, who performed so brilliantly well as our candidate in the Witney by-election, coming much closer than anyone expected in one of the safest Tory seats in the country. I have worked with her on the Federal Finance and Administration Committee for five years now and I have the highest regard for her. She is one of those people who is always there with a calm and sensible solution when everyone else is scratching their heads. The English Party has some major issues of governance to resolve in the immediate future and the fact ...
Courtesy of the kind folk at Merton Liberal Democrats, where I went to talk last night about the need for a strong liberal voice in British politics and how the Liberal Democrats can rebuild.
How Your Brain Decides Without You Duck? Or rabbit? (tags: psychology ) Pat McCrory is trying to steal the North Carolina governorship. Nothing like democracy, eh? (tags: uspolitics )
There are many examples of politicians overreaching themselves on the campaign trail, making promises that prove to be impossible to keep, or miscalculating the deliver-ability of a particular policy, but I think it is safe to say that as in so many other matters, Donald Trump has broken the mould on that one too. Will the great wall of Mexico ever be built along the shores of the Rio Grande? Can he really set up a register of Muslims, the fastest growing religion in the United States? And what about Obamacare? Has he already signalled a retreat on that promise ...
