This building is now occupied by Pizza Express, but when I photographed it in 1984 it was still the Peacock Inn. And back in 1979 I worked there as a barman during the summer vacation. One of the regulars was a proper, red-faced Major who taught me how to make him a pink gin.
A lot of people will be glad to see the end of 2016 and in the political sphere, it was indeed a bad year to be a liberal. I am going to take this opportunity to get a lot off my chest so buckle up dear reader. Where to start? Brexit seems a "good" place. There is a lot of lessons for the political establishment here. For many, dislike of immigration was the main factor. Listening to those who voted to leave however, I do not think that the central message was one of hatred. It was a cry of ...
Next Thursday, 12 January is the last day for supporting or opposing comments on the revised planning application for a superstore and petrol filling station at Rocks Green. The application will be considered by the South Planning Committee on 7 February or 7 March. Both meetings are at 2pm in Shirehall. You can comment at 14/05573/OUT. The supermarket has been turned through 90 degrees and the sales floor area reduced in size by 14% or 17% (the numbers supplied by the developer vary). The overall building is now 9% larger. The service yard has been moved away from Rocks Green ...
A letter in today's Guardian is worth attention: Rafael Behr mentions false memory regarding the old British Rail (Rail chiefs and unions: can passengers trust either, 4 January), a condition he appears to suffer from himself. He writes that BR was synonymous with shabbiness. Really? In 1993, InterCity, the flagship, was rated by passengers at 95% in this regard (The InterCity Story, 1994). Customer satisfaction at service levels was at 98%, and the company made a profit for the six years to 1994, when it was privatised, despite the huge distractions of that process. Which privatised rail company has since ...
The culture around the almost immediate disbelief when a rape allegation is brought forward, when someone claims to have been sexually assaulted or when someone is accused of vastly inappropriate relations all show how, as humans, we immediately seek to defend our narrative on the world, rather than accept that we might be wrong. Cries [...]
[IMG: local-plan-housing-trajectory-1] Please click on the bar graph to enlarge it It is meant to detail the anticipated house building that will go on across the Borough from 2012/13 to 2029/30 as a consequence of the Sefton Local Plan being adopted. Don't worry this particular posting is not another of my rants about the loss of Green Belt and the 2% highest grade of agricultural land in England to building, although that is exactly what is happening here in Sefton Borough sadly. The second chart below details the individual development sites and when they are anticipated to come on stream ...
Switzerland has a reputation for being... not paranoid, exactly, but certainly careful with their own safety. Zurich exemplifies this: not just with its fallout shelters, but with an entire backup water system. Just in case the world ends.
Sat 7th
14:25
And your problem with an innovative way to tell girls they don't have to put up with violence is.......
There are few things in life more irritating than the Daily Fail crowing. It is doing just that this morning after International Development Minister Priti Patel announced that funding for what the Fail called the "Ethiopian equivalent of the Spice Girls" was being cut from our international aid budget. In the same way as they pepper words like "bogus" around when talking about asylum seekers, or make it sound like every second person claiming benefits is doing so fraudulently (when the figure is less than 1%), they are trying to make it sound like all the money that we send ...
Originally posted 7th January 2017 on Liberal Democrat Voice.I am frequently told that, as a "Remoaner" I must "respect" the result of the referendum. It seems to me that I am not being asked to respect it so much as to fetishise it.Actually, I do respect it. I respect it for what it was - an advisory vote won by a wafer thin majority based on a mountain of lies.Then, because I say that, I am criticised (virulently quite often) for being undemocratic and for not respecting the will of the people. And many people who did not vote Leave, ...
I went this morning with my older godson D (as opposed to my younger godson E), his other half S and their new baby L (the youngest of our grandfather's 24 great-grandchildren) to the Adventures in Moominland experience at the Southbank Centre. S is actually Finnish, so was particularly good company for this outing. You can't take pictures inside, but you can take them outside. You have to book in advance for a specific slot for the 50-minute visit; we had unfortunately booked different slots, but they were commendably flexible and found enough space for us all to do it ...
I am frequently told that, as a "Remoaner" I must "respect" the result of the referendum. It seems to me that I am not being asked to respect it so much as to fetishise it. Actually, I do respect it. I respect it for what it was - an advisory vote won by a wafer thin majority based on a mountain of lies. Then, because I say that, I am criticised (virulently quite often) for being undemocratic and for not respecting the will of the people. And many people who did not vote Leave, and do not want to leave, ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38370219 This is probably one of the biggest financial problems facing the UK because at some point our financial systems will recover and interest rates will start to rise. On that basis what will happen to those who are in debt up to their arm pits and have incorrectly assumed that historically minute interest rates are the norm and that they will be in the future. Some people will sadly be ruined. With thanks to story spotter Roy Connell
The country would be in a much better place if David Cameron had listened to the likes of Sir Andrew Cook before plunging the UK into a process that could effectively destroy our economy for the next decade. Sir Andrew Cook is the chair of an engineering firm who has donated more than £1.2m to the Conservative Party. He told The Times the country could "sleepwalk to disaster" if it came out of the single market. According to the BBC he added that at least one of his factories was almost "entirely dependent" on access to it: He told the ...
Embed from Getty Images It feels like 5 minutes since Nick Clegg and I were relative political youngsters in the East Midlands so it seems very strange indeed that all of a sudden he is celebrating his 50th birthday today. When I was growing up, 50 seemed totally ancient. A hundred years ago, 50 was getting to the top range of life expectancy. But now it seems like it's only barely into middle age. People start new careers in their 50s. Sadly, Barack Obama is going to be doing just that in a fortnight at the age of 55. In ...
Focus Team members Paul Hulbert and Claire Young at the Shire Way drop-in session This week's drop-in session at Shire Way was very well attended - 66 residents came along to find out more about the cycle path proposal and to voice support and/or concerns. Please could everyone now let South Glos have their views by email or letter. Full details of the scheme and how to comment are on the South Glos website. The consultation closes on Sunday 15 January. This is the next stage of linking our area to the Ring Road cycle path and the Bristol and ...
Having long campaigned for an upgrade to the Victoria Park playpark, it is good to see the proposals for the impending improvements agreed by the council's Neighbourhood Services Committee - here's a couple of images of the plans that should be completed before the end of March : Last July, I raised with the council residents' requests to make improvements at the playpark in Milnbank Road/Bankmill Road and I am pleased at the positive response to my request. On Monday, the council's Neighbourhood Services Committee will consider the following proposal :Milnbank Play Area - Improve all surfacing within the play ...
Remaining Angry Brexit as we see it now. (tags: ukpolitics eu brexit ) More lies from Boris Johnson Dissected by Miriam González. (tags: eu brexit ukpolitics )
Leaving the comics reviews til tomorrow, because Patreon has been having problems sending email notifications so people might not have seen the request for comics to review. If Patreon's not working yet then I'll leave it til Monday. So for ... Continue reading →
