Falling in Love.... it is the most important thing in all our human experiences. It defines everything we do in our lives, whether we realise it or not. Over the Christmas break, I watched a film called Collateral Beauty. It discusses the three abstractions that define our lives: Death, Time and Love. For many years (and continuing) I was fascinated by death and time. I rarely acknowledged love. It was only later that I realised I had been focused on love the entire time, because whilst death is the end and time is the journey, love is the purpose. Love ...
After I posted the film of T.H. White's The Goshawk, Maxim Peter Griffin sent me the link to this second film featuring Duncan Carse. Carse was a remarkable man, as the opening of his Telegraph obituary (he died in 2004) shows: Duncan Carse, who died on May 2 aged 90, made his mark both as a polar explorer and as a professional radio broadcaster and actor - in the latter role he played Dick Barton, Special Agent, in the radio series which, in its heyday, attracted 15 million listeners. But Carse would have wished to be remembered principally for his ...
I've spent the weekend updating the Northern Ireland Elections Website with the details of last year's Assembly election. I had thought I might have a bit longer to work on it, but circumstances have changed and the update is needed now - or indeed ten days ago, to be honest, but other issues have kept me from it. The coming election is going to see at least 18 of the members of Northern Ireland's Assembly lose their jobs, because each of the 18 constituencies will elect five rather than six MLAs, for a total of 90 rather than 108. We ...
My father left us when I was 11 and I never saw him again. One of the few things he left me was the collection of paperbacks he had bought to while away long business journeys. A couple of them had a political theme. There was The Day the Queen Flew to Scotland for the Grouse Shooting by Arthur Wise. This told the story of a civil war between the North and South of England and may yet become relevant. A few years ago I was a member of Leicester Writers Club alongside the former Labour MEP Mel Read.* She ...
What were you doing when Donald J Trump became the 45th President of the United States? I was walking my dog. I couldn't bring myself to watch it live. I just don't know enough swear words. Tim Farron wasn't watching it either. Apparently there's something on telly, but I found something better to do instead... pic.twitter.com/5wdN7YJxv7 — Tim Farron (@timfarron) January 20, 2017 He made a video, though. And it was pretty uplifting. .@TimFarron: Trump's #inauguration today should serve as a chilling reminder keep fighting for an open, tolerant and united Britain. pic.twitter.com/LvNJG3tiO7 — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) January 20, 2017 ...
I'm not much of a film buff. I am occasionally persuaded to go to the cinema by my better half and even though I tend to gripe somewhat a lot beforehand, I usually enjoy the experience. However, I can only remember one time where I've visited a cinema alone – which was to see The Damned United. I even own ... The post Star Wars, Aliens, Zombies. Cinema firsts. appeared first on ten pence piece.
Gateshead Council have put forward saving proposals for the library service. There are a number of options that have been put out to consultation and all but one of them proposes the closure of Whickham Library. Other than the Central Library, Whickham is the busiest branch and as an area library, it supports school services and other libraries as well. The proposals to close it do not stack up
Sun 22nd
20:43
ICYMI: Nick Clegg's Andrew Marr interview: Post Brexit trade deals and the cannibalisation of Labour
Nick Clegg was on the Andrew Marr show today talking about the opportunity that exists for the House of Commons to amend any Article 50 legislation that comes before it, the potential for post-Brexit trade deals (nothing comes close to being as good as what we have at the moment) and the state of the Labour Party. It's failure to be a decent opposition on the biggest issue to face this country for some time will cost it, says Nick. It'll be "cannibalised" by UKIP in the north and the Liberal Democrats in the south. Watch the whole thing courtesy ...
Well, this is awkward. Turns out Farage wasn't always Trump's best mate. pic.twitter.com/2gQrMMEzGz— Backbench (@Backbench_UK) January 22, 2017 Thanks to Backbench for this.
Another chance to combine politics and self-sufficiency presented itself on Saturday morning. Lighting Up Whickham, the group of volunteers set up to raise funds for the Whickham Christmas tree, were holding a coffee morning in Whickham Library. I brought my eggs and jam along to sell to help raise funds.
While sane people are spending Friday evenings at home, obsessive campaigners like me are at the local Lib Dem office in Consett carrying a huge tonnage of new equipment up a flight of 22 stairs. The new kit we were installing was a new folding machine. Frankly it looked like something from Heath Robinson. This folding machine works like an industrial strength hair dryer. It took 4 of us to get
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Remember: LibDemVoice is our place to talk. So if you've got something you want to say, please join in the debate or start one yourself by writing for us. When things come together: Stoke-on-Trent and my emotions (36 comments) by Ed Fordham Lib Dems announce regional spokespeople on Brexit (19 comments) by Caron Lindsay Brexit mandate: Theresa May should be aware of an expiry date (34 comments) by Frank Hindle Why Theresa May's speech is good news (69 comments) ...
I was invited to speak at the Gateshead Rotary Lunch at the Ravensworth Arms near Lamesley on Thursday, about self-sufficiency. The invite came via a constituent who had read in one of our recent Focuses about how I live the good life. I've done a number of talks on this issue before so I was happy to take up the invite and tell the assembled Rotarians about growing my own food, keeping goats
The new issue of Liberator is winging its way to subscribers - why not join them? - which means that it is time to spend another week with Lord Bonkers. We join him in late December... Monday What a wonderful Christmas we had at Bonkers Hall! There was the usual glittering guest list, for the first time featuring the delightful Sarah Olney, the new MP for Richmond Park. (I gather she has a strong following amongst the deer.) There were also a number of former Liberal Democrat MPs who were defeated at the last general election and, to be honest, ...
Having lived in the City of Stoke-on-Trent it was always something of a guilty confession that I was no fan of football. With two major clubs in the City: Stoke and Port Vale, it was crucial to know when the match days were. Indeed when we are campaigning for votes a throwaway joke was that on match days we would be "down in the terraces of the Victoria Ground". On hearing this folks assumed I was a Stoke City fan and that I would be there cheering them on. In fact on a match day, especially for Stoke, it was ...
The FWMPs Weekend is an exciting residential training weekend specifically designed for women who might be interested in standing for Westminster. It is run by the Campaign for Gender Balance (CGB) which is now a part of Liberal Democrat Women. Jo Swinson, Tessa Munt and Jenny Willott all started their successful quests for a seat in Parliament at a FWMPs Weekend, and so could you! Participants will receive expert training from top trainers and Party representatives on the skills and knowledge needed to stand for parliament, personalised advice and guidance on their political career, and the chance to network with ...
The Budgens store in central Ludlow is to close less than a year after it opened in place of the Co-op. Last week, I launched an online poll. It asked the simple question: "Which retailer would you like to replace Budgens?" Nearly a thousand people voted. Around 50 people wrote comments on the poll page and many more aired their views on Facebook. Several people emailed me or stopped me in the street. Thank you for a great response. I am surprised by the outcome of this poll. But I am not surprised that many people are saying they want ...
Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) The Other Islam, by Stephen Schwartz The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore Last books finished Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire See How Much I Love You, by Luis Leante Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet, by Douglas Adams and James Goss Penric and the Shaman, by Lois McMaster Bujold Rip Tide, by Louise Cooper Penric's Mission, by Lois McMaster Bujold The Colour Of Magic, by Terry Pratchett Monstress Volume 1: Awakening, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda The Dead Men Diaries, ...
The man who made us all howl with laughter in The Thick of It as Minister Peter Mannion, Roger Allam, has been cast as a real life politician. He will play Roy Jenkins in a forthcoming play about the decision by the Gang of Four Jenkins, Bill Rodgers, Shirley Williams and David Owen, to leave Labour and form the SDP. They issued the Limehouse Declaration in January 1981. From London Theatre : The new play is written by Steve Waters, directed by Polly Findlay, and tells a story from our political history that speaks to our political present and imagines ...
Here's Nick Clegg, echoing a point Paddy Ashdown has long made and which post-referendum now looks to have another chance of coming true: . @nick_clegg -the dividing line between are you open or closed; in favour of embracing Europe or not is new dividing line in politics #marr pic.twitter.com/7sXyMfZtze — Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) January 22, 2017 As I talked about last night at the Saffron Walden Liberal Democrats annual dinner, part of making that a reality is for the Liberal Democrats to be comfortable with the idea of being at one end of this new, emerging political spectrum ...
The Guardian has the story on its web site – see link above Seems that Labour still has a significant Blairite following despite Corbyn's socialist agenda. But what is this all about as it looks to me like mass privatisation and by a Labour-run council too! Quote from the article – 'Lives torn apart and assets lost: this is what a Labour privatisation would mean'
Readers of this blog site will know how I and others supported the ambitions of local youth when they created Maghull's unique Youth Coffee Bar within Maghull Town Hall some 20+ years ago. You will also know how distressed I am about Maghull Town Council closing down the facility in 2016. [IMG: Inside the Youth Coffee Bar after a refurb' a few years ago] Inside the Youth Coffee Bar after a refurb' a few years ago But having read in the Aintree & Maghull Champion a quote about youth facilities in Maghull I did not know whether to laugh or ...
Issue 382 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers. This issue's free sample online content is from Nick Harvey on winning back support in the south west from voters who may have backed Brexit, and from Lester Holloway on whether the Alderdice review of diversity will tackle issues facing Liberal Democrats from ethnic groups Elsewhere the new issue has: MENTAL HEALTH – WHY IS IT LAST IN LINE FOR RESOURCES? by Claire Tyler, who has secured new legislation to improve child mental health TROUBLE IN J-TOWN by Rebecca Tinsley, who has seen terrorism, religious polarisation, and eye-watering corruption in ...
"I've always been famous as far as I can remember," Petula Clark told the Daily Mail a few years ago. And it was not an exaggeration. She made her radio debut at the age of nine and entertained the troops during the Second World War. Her latest album, From Now On, came out in October of last year. It features this version of While You See a Chance, the song (written with Will Jennings) that relaunched Steve Winwood for the MTV generation Petula Clark, like everyone who performs Winwood's songs from that era today, offers a more downbeat version. They ...
What's this to do with? Each year the Peterborough Liberal Democrats undertake an on-line Resident Survey, asking local people their thoughts and opinions on a range of community topics! One such question we asked was "Are you happy with the way the council keeps your street clean by removing dog dirt, litter, etc?" What were [...]
The Liberal Democrats have chosen local doctor Dr. Zulfiqar Ali as their candidate in the forthcoming Stoke Central By-Election on February 23rd. Dr. Ali was also the party's candidate in the 2015 general election, polling 1,296 votes to finish in fifth place, losing his deposit. However there is a history of the Lib Dems polling ... Continue reading Dr. Zulfiqar Ali To Fight Stoke Central
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP today called on the Scottish Government and Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to deliver a culture shift in prisons after new research revealed a dramatic fall in the number of SQA qualifications achieved by offenders A freedom of information request by the Scottish Liberal Democrats showed that the ... Continue reading McArthur: Culture Shift Needed in Scottish Prisons
Welcome to the latest in my series of tips and advice for Liberal Democrat members, which appear first in the email bulletin run by London Region for party members. Although their main job is reaching journalists, the Liberal Democrat Press Office's Twitter account is also a great source of information – and entertainment – for Liberal Democrat members too. You can find them at @libdempress – and you can read their tweets even if you don't have a Twitter account yourself. Just go to https://twitter.com/LibDemPress/with_replies and you can read all the messages on the web. As the Huffington Post put ...
At some point in his Presidency Donald Trump and his staff will have to stop treating the office of POTUS as an ego-stoking excercise and start governing. We are used to Donald Trump inflating the facts so as to big-himself-up, but surely his new Press Secretary has put himself in a difficult situation from the start by lying to the media from the White House rostrum at his first attempt. The Mirror says the first White House briefing for Trump's press secretary descended into farce as he angrily claimed the president's inauguration had 'the largest audience ever', despite photographic evidence ...
Sun 22nd
09:40William Wallace writes...What should the Liberal Democrats be saying to the "left behind?"
What should the Liberal Democrats be saying to the 'Left Behind'? We've claimed a strong position as the voice of the 48%; but there are many among the 52% who are not illiberal at heart, and others who voted 'Sod off!' in the Referendum to London as much as to Brussels in their disillusion with politics and the distant elite. People who live on partly-sold off Council estates, or in places built to house workers in factories that closed 30 to 40 years ago, where local services have been steadily cut back and jobs are hard to get to, low ...
A couple of Labour councillors criticised us Lib Dems for not supporting a demonstration yesterday in favour of the NHS. It's a pity that they weren't listening in the so-called debate we had on the issue on Wednesday in the ... Continue reading →
The first thing I read this morning was the Twitter feed of the BBC's James Cook who spent yesterday following Donald Trump around as he gave a speech at the CIA. We've all watched enough West Wing to know how the White House's relationship with the media works. The Press Secretary briefs the press every day and takes questions. It looks like things are changing: The new era. White House spokesman Sean Spicer rants at the press for several minutes and then walks out without taking any questions. — James Cook (@BBCJamesCook) January 21, 2017 This came after Donald Trump ...
I had a meeting with residents of the Morven Terrace and Ancrum Place sheltered housing just before Christmas at which residents asked when the external stairwells would be repainted as part of external cyclical maintenance (ECM) works. Tenants also asked about possible insulation improvements. The council's Housing Investment Manager has since updated me as follows :We are planning to commence ECM works at Ancrum / Morven at the tail end of the 17/18 Financial year and I would confirm this will include a repaint to the stairwells and landings. Unfortunately this development is of a traditional build so is not ...
'American Carnage': The Trump Era Begins Great analysis of the speech - only piece about it that I could bear to read. (tags: uspolitics )
