Let me set the scene: For about a week I have suffered on and off serious pain in the middle of my upper abdomen and the in the same position on my back. At first, I assumed it was just severe sickness as I felt nausea. Then I thought it might be an injury from the fact that I have been running again for the first time in a long time. However, how would I feel pain in the exact same pain in the front and the back in the exact spot from a running injury? So when it hit ...
Click on the still above to go to the British Film Institute site and let Eric Hall be your guide. York looks fine here and I am pleased to see the sign of Pickering's bookshop in The Shambles, which was still there when I was a student. But then my student days the city are nearer to the year this film was shot than they are to the present day. How old we have all grown!
The Brighton Belle was famous for its kippers. Laurence Olivier would take a leisurely breakfast back to his home in Ashurst in Sussex on the train after a West End triumph, reading the theatre reviews. The train began life in June 1934 and most of the brown and cream Pullman carriages - the only electric Pullman carriages in the world - survived the war, holed up in the Crystal Palace High Level Station, now a housing estate. The Brighton Belle only took an hour to go the 51 miles from Victoria to Brighton, and it left every day at noon, ...
Conservative seat. Cause: death. (No LD candidate)
Labour seat. Cause: resignation. LD candidate: Pippa Hepworth.
Labour seat. Cause: death. LD candidate: Peter Andras.
Conservative seat. Cause: death. (No LD candidate)
Conservative seat. Cause: death. (No LD candidate)
Thu 8th
21:30
Councillor Tracey Huffer calls for STP health plan to give greater recognition to rural needs
Councillor Tracey Huffer is calling for a greater recognition of the needs of rural areas in the new health plan (STP) for Shropshire. She is concerned that rural areas will be marginalised as the county's health chiefs struggle to reduce the £12.3 million deficit at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and the... Continue reading Councillor Tracey Huffer calls for STP health plan to give greater recognition to rural needs →
Sometimes I feel like I just want to get a big, soft cushion with Obama's face on it to hide behind every time the news comes on after 20th January next year. The US electorate has put a Twitter troll in charge. You would think that the person in the most powerful job in the world would have better things to do than take to social media to respond to every tiny criticism of him. The other day, for example, he said this of his call with Taiwan's leader: Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military ...
Researchers from universities in Glasgow and Liverpool have reconstructed the face of Scotland's warrior king Robert the Bruce, says BBC News. Lord Bonkers tells me that researchers from the University of Rutland at Belvoir have done the same for his spider. It was found in a store room at the Rutland National Museum, Oakham, earlier this year.
A pot plant yesterday Jacob Rees-Mogg was eloquent in the House yesterday afternoon: Those who are appealing now to parliamentary scrutiny are in fact rejecting an Act passed through this House, and worse, they are rejecting our employers - our bosses, our liege lords - the British people, who decided this matter for us.But was he right? This new Rees-Mogg Doctrine is a rejection of the central tenet of representative democracy - that, in the words of Edmund Burke: "Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices ...
Below is the text of a report/update e-mail sent to Lydiate Parish Council recently by Lydiate's lead volunteer litter picker Nick Pope. Subject: Litter picking 28/11/16 – Lydiate. Sorry to not have given feedback sooner.....in truth the above date was not particularly effective, particularly as we faced a new challenge – it was an icy day and it's hard to pick litter frozen off the ground!! That said, Southport Road and Lambshear Lane had been done the previous week. We did manage Liverpool Road, Moss Lane, Sandy Lane and I am told, Virginia Avenue. The Parish Council [Lydiate] have given ...
(This will *attempt* to be non-spoilery, but there's probably no such thing as a spoiler-free review of a film like this, so beware). Before I start, a confession — I have not read "The Story of Your Life" by Ted ... Continue reading →
What's the background? So basically, residents who live along Manor Drive, and the roads leading off from it, have been asking us when they can expect to have a bus service? At present, residents have to make their way across the Paston Parkway, to get the Number 2, either from Gunthorpe Ridings or on Coniston [...]
I'm just back from a meeting of Gateshead Council's advisory committee looking at commissioning and procurement. The video is of my contribution in which I talked about how a local currency could keep more wealth in Gateshead and avoid it seeping out to centres of power and finance. I used my knowledge of history and my experience of self-sufficiency to illustrate how a local currency could
The NWDA was abolished by the Coalition Government some 5 years ago. It was a quango giving out Government cash towards worthy infrastructure/economy developing causes across the north west of England. Like most quangos it was not much loved and few will have mourned or even noticed its demise. So what brings it to mind now? Well walking along the busy A59 in Aughton, literally on the Sefton/West Lancashire boundary I found this lying in the grass verge:- [IMG: img_9281] It's glass plaque on a stone plinth saying that a project was supported by the NWDA. So what was the ...
I've just read a really interesting article that a friend posted on Facebook, and it's made me think about a recent experience of my own. What is Dance? The OED definition of 'Dance' Obviously I love theatre, and I love dance, and I attend performances whenever I can afford to or find the time to. I recently went with a friend to watch a very well received and reviewed performance by a major company at an important theatre in London. We left at the interval. The contemporary performance was set to well known Classical music, featuring a full orchestra and ...
[IMG: Election Timetables for 2017] The Electoral Commission have published the timetable for the local elections in England in 2017. Downloads Election timetable for local government elections in England and Wales Election timetable for a local government elections in England and Wales and mayoral elections Election timetable for local government elections in Scotland
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has begun to undertake consultation on its Publication Local Plan. The consultation period began on Tuesday 6th December 2016 and will finish at 5pm on Tuesday 31stJanuary 2017. The Local Plan includes a vision for how the Borough should be in 2032 and sets out a strategy for growth, identifying appropriate areas and sites for development, as well as the necessary infrastructure to support this growth. The Local Plan will also be used to make decisions on future planning applications and, once adopted, will replace the Council's existing planning framework set out in the Local ...
Britain could slash environmental and safety standards 'a very long way' after Brexit, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg says | The Independent RT @jossgarman: Britain could slash environmental and safety standards 'a very long way' after Brexit, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg says The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry by BBC on iTunes (Also available on not-Apple) Instagram Spike's horrified expression as I tell him @matgb probably doesn't want him to fart in his face Instagram Roxy giving me the "huh. Boys. Amirite, mummy?" face. Chris Grayling scrapped TfL Overground expansion because he didn't want Labour to control it, leaked letter ...
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has launched its budget consultation exercise, following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday 6 December. As part of setting its financial plans for the next three to five years, the council would like to gather the views of the borough's residents on various capital investment proposals, plus their thoughts on council tax levels, adult social care precept and changes to its council tax support discount scheme. Residents can get involved by downloading the questionnaire or by completing it online on the council's consultation webpage.The council will also be hosting four face to face consultation events in ...
Thanks to the kind permission of fellow Federal Policy Committee (FPC) member Jeremy Hargreaves, I've added to the Liberal Democrat Newswire his highly accessible and thorough guide to how the Liberal Democrats make policy.
Responding to a report which found hundreds of police officers have been accused of abusing their position to sexually exploit people, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary and former senior police chief Brian Paddick said: It is totally unacceptable that anyone in a position of power should abuse their position. When those people are police officers exploiting people when they are at their most vulnerable, particularly women who are the victims of domestic violence and sexual offences, it is despicable. For Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to describe sexual exploitation as the most serious form of police corruption in England and ...
A train pulls into Northwood Halt.
Appeals to save the growing list of threatened species are becoming quite common. According to this list, these include the Amur Leopard, the Javan Rhino, the Sumatran Tiger, the Indian Elephant and the Snow Leopard. The appearance of the giraffe on that list though is a shock. The Independent says that giraffes are being pushed towards a "silent" extinction due to illegal hunting and habitat loss. They add that numbers of the world's tallest animal have plummeted 40 per cent in the past 30 years. A growing human population, increased farming and civil unrest have also contributed to a decline ...
On behalf of residents, I recently raised with Dundee City Council the state of parts of the roadway of Blackness Road, which are very worn - see one example - right : The council's Roads Maintenance Partnership has now responded as follows : "An inspection has been carried out and although there are areas of wear at various places on Blackness Road including those highlighted in the photos you attached, there is nothing actionable at these locations. Blackness Road from Glenagnes Road to Glamis Road is provisionally included in the 2018-2019 Carriageway Surfacing Programme. In the meantime any actionable defects ...
Angela Merkel has this week called for a ban of the full-face veil (burqa) "wherever legally possible". While many of us in the UK may be uncomfortable with the cultural assumptions behind the wearing of the burqa, it's important for us to remember that, as liberals, we should enshrine wherever possible the right to decide how you live your life and practice your faith, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. A ban of the burqa is an illiberal assault on religious and cultural freedoms. Unfortunately, there is another side to this issue – there is great concern, both ...
