The station building has gone, the viaduct behind it has gone and the whole area around it is being redeveloped. But back in 1980 (or thereabouts) Nottingham London Road High Level, an old Great Northern station on the line up to Nottingham Victoria, was still standing. Then the Nottingham Antique Centre, it later became the Grand Central Diner, Sam Fay's Bar and Hooters before it was demolished around 1996. There is far more about Nottingham London Road High Level, and many more photographs, on Disused Stations.
Published on Youtube today, this is rather good. Join the Liberal Democrats here.
Still writing in those lazy days between Christmas and New Year's Day, Lord Bonkers salutes a Liberal hero. Thursday It is high time that I paid tribute to 'Dutch' Mulholland, our MP for Leeds North West, and his estimable campaign in favour of the British pub. The Bonkers' Arms is owned by the splendid firm of Smithson & Greaves, brewers of the gold-medal winning Northern Bitter, but not every hostelry is so fortunate. The Home for Well-Behaved Orphans is currently packed with the children of publicans whose parents have been forced to sell them because the companies that own our ...
The new Liberator has arrived, containing articles on child mental health, Lord Allderdice's review of barriers to participation in the Liberal Democrats, democracy in Georgia and much else besides. But it is the gossip section, Radical Bulletin, that I turn to first.* This time, among other things, it has the inside story of the party's being fined by the Electoral Commission, of ructions in the Scottish Lib Dems over the possibility of a second referendum and of the resignation of another peer appointed by Nick Clegg. If you want to know what is going on in the party, you should ...
Wed 25th
21:13
Can you spot the musical reference to a former Conservative MP in the Lib Dem party political broadc...
Here's the new party political broadcast (PPB) from the Liberal Democrats featuring, ahem, a certain book by the bed, a reminder of a slogan briefly toyed with, an homage...
Unsworth residents who live in and around Unsworth Pole may wish to be informed that the Unsworth Smile Clinic located at 57 Parr Lane have submitted yet another planning application. The last application I blogged about here in November 2016 has been withdrawn by the applicant and re-submitted under a new application number 61048. This means if you submitted comments (either for or against) to the previous application during November and December, you will need to do so again before the 14th February. Important changes to the design have been made to the proposed third floor extension (the materials now ...
The letter we have received from the Lancashire Police Commissioner Cost of Liverpool Direct Limited and One Connect Lancashire Ltd enquiry reaching £2,000,000 The Police Commissioner for Lancashire Mr Clive Grunshaw has revealed that 22 staff are still working on ... Continue reading →
I was invited to a family panto at The Atkinson. All Souls pantomimes are a Southport institution. All institutions need to adapt to survive and All Souls did that gloriously with their Sleeping Beauty show this year. There was an exciting and innovative use of high quality video, not just in the opening sequence but, throughout the show that added to the production. All Souls have a loyal and growing audience-over 3,500 people have already booked for this year. We even had a post-modern feminist twist at the end. The principal boy (who is a bit of a wimp) and ...
Here is the new Liberal Democrat party political broadcast being broadcast this evening It illustrates that feeling many people have every time they listen to a news bulletin these days. Tim Farron invites people who are worried about what's going on in the world to do something about it by joining us. I can't help thinking that it would have been good to have had some of our growing band of Newbies saying why they had joined and what they had been able to do. One of them has even been elected as an MP I wonder if people will ...
The Liberal Democrats new party political broadcast airs tonight on BBC 1 and ITV1. The broadcast is inspired by the classic Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day and features a couple waking up to a radio news bulletin on the morning after the European referendum. As the days pass the morning routine stays the same but [...]
Tim Gordon told us last week about a new slate of internal party elections. Some posts are open to all party members. The deadline is next Monday at noon. Have a look and stand if anything takes your fancy. You will need to get two members of the old Federal Executive or new Federal Board to nominate you. Details of how to contact them are included below. You may have noticed during the elections to Party committees late last year that there would be a second round of elections to some of our more specialised party committees, not least the ...
What's this to do with then? Each year, the Peterborough Liberal Democrats undertake an on-line resident survey, enabling local people to give a quick and simple response on a range of community topics! As youth facilities are often something that residents on the doorstep regularly raise with us, we asked the question "Do you think [...]
Following the success of last year's Tall Ships' Regatta at Blyth, a consortium of local organisations have arranged the Blyth Maritime Festival on the weekend of 3rd and 4th June It is not intended to be a replacement for the Tall Ships Regatta, but it hopes to grow of the success of the event. The consortium includes Blyth Tall Ship, Port of Blyth and the Blyth Development Trust. Blyth Town Council is not directly involved, but we will help where possible. BTC funding has been requested, and a decision on this will be made at the February meeting of the ...
We know that Tim Farron is passionate about tackling homelessness. It's the issue that famously brought him into politics as a teenager. In November last year, he took part in a sleep out with Centrepoint. Here is his bleary-eyed wake-up video: Today, figures revealed a 16% rise in the number of people sleeping on the streets. It's absolutely heartbreaking to think that there are over 4,000 people with nowhere else to go. These people need help – right now.. Tim said: Soaring homelessness is an utter disgrace in twenty first century Britain. Britain is one of the richest places on ...
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] The latest Lib Dem Party Political Broadcast will air tonight at 6.55pm on BBC1 or 6.25pm on ITV 1. If you are watching please feel free to comment on social media with the hashtag #Groundhog Day. You can also share this link on Facebook or Twitter to spread the word about joining the party. But please don't [...]
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] York Liberal Democrats still have rooms available in members' houses for conference goers. Why not avoid expensive hotels and meet someone friendly and like-minded? And make a modest contribution to our local campaign funds to help us take control of City of York Council in 2019! To find out more, email Aileen via: aileen@yorklibdems.org.uk.
[IMG: Winning Here] We know that incumbency and name recognition help win elections. Liberal Democrats are particularly strong on this, with many councillors able to draw on years of leaflets and community campaigning. This presents an extra challenge for new candidates trying to establish themselves and get elected. How do you go about building name recognition and your [...]
[IMG: Instagram picture 5] In December 1995, volume 1, issue 1 of Grassroots Campaigner, our members' magazine (the precursor to today's Local Campaigner) was launched. Take a look.
I would like to think that however you voted in the EU Referendum you will agree that our government should follow the law and not try to circumvent it and Parliament. If we agree on that then the ruling of the Supreme Court that Mrs May has to let Parliament have a say over Brexit should be very welcome indeed. [IMG: 13511053_1614311592194015_4578317925991669418_n] She had set her face, for reasons only she knows, against our democratic processes and it has taken the Supreme Court to hold her to account as our major opposition party is all but standing with her! If ...
Nick Clegg's latest Standard column starts off by setting out a number of current problems. One is very different from the others: There's a lot to worry about these days: hard Brexit, Trump's protectionism, Diego Costa's future at Chelsea, Putin's manoeuvres, conflict in the South China Sea, Boris Johnson's next gaffe, climate change. It's another that he focuses on, though. What happens to people as their jobs are replaced by machines. He uses the self-driving truck as an example: According to one recent report, truck driving and related jobs employ more people than any other job in 29 out of ...
HSBC, one of the top ten global banks, has been closing branches for some time. Yesterday, it announced that 62 more high street banks would close, including its branch in the Bullring, Ludlow. Customers will need to go to another town to use the bank or use the Post Office after Friday 19 May. This closure is a blow to our town. This is the latest setback after Budgens announced it would close shortly. There is every expectation that One Stop will leave Tower Street when the building is redeveloped. The post office will be essential for people who want ...
Because of essential maintenance work at Yate Leisure Centre, both swimming pools will be closed from the end of March until the Autumn. Public swimming WILL still be available using a temporary swimming pool. The pool and plant equipment requires essential maintenance work for it to remain in operation. The pool pipework and plant will be replaced with new environmentally friendly equipment. We contacted Circadian Trust for more details about the temporary pool, and they've told us: "It will be 18m in length X 10m in width X 1m deep. The frame will be constructed mainly of wood, then lined ...
[IMG: Instagram picture 4 - pt2] In February 2014, Nick Clegg came to visit ALDC in Manchester, meet the team and chat about politics over a brew and a biscuit.
Wed 25th
10:43
I hate to keep harping on about this, but what is Labour's position on Article 50 exactly?
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry had this to say about Labour's approach to Article 50 being triggered by parliament: "Article 50, if it is going to be triggered, we will not get in the way of it, but we will try and amend the legislation in order to ensure that they keep coming back, that we keep an eye on them. And, if necessary, there will be hand-to-hand combat on this." How can you "not get in the way" of something while simultaneously engaging in "hand-to-hand combat" on the same issue? I genuinely do not understand what Labour's approach is ...
It's gone midnight and I'm sitting here in the Wheatsheaf Hotel, on Snow Hill in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent and I have been worrying about a number of things. 1. How do I get more hours in the day so I can deliver leaflets for longer? 2. How do we build the winning formula to get all our supporters out on the day on what will be a very cold day... 3. What will entice the hundreds and thousands of Liberal Democrats and, critically, newbies to come and help here in this great and glorious city? 4. And most of all how ...
[IMG: Instagram picture 3] ALC Campaign Booklet Number 12: Theory & Practice of Community Politics by Bernard Greaves & Gordon Lishman. This booklet was printed in August 1980. View the booklet online.
We should be kind to America's First Victim — Melania Trump "Patriarchy is not a game any woman can win, and Melania is playing it on nightmare mode, in the version where you have to sleep with the end-level boss" Laurie is good at polemic, rather than rational argument, but there's a lot in this that pushes my buttons. In which Karl Popper is entirely right the one thing the tolerant should not tolerate is intolerance Why IDS is wrong about everything point by point forensic detail How to punch Nazis A user's guide Dictionary definition of "Gove" so, SO ...
Wed 25th
09:38
Brexit moves to Parliamentary stage, as Labour continue to squabble amongst themselves
Yesterdays' Supreme Court judgement confirmed what every right-thinking person had known for some time, the referendum was advisory and it is up to Parliament, not Ministers to decide how best to interpret it. As a result we are now expecting a White Paper and a Bill to be presented to MPs, followed by a proper scrutiny process and votes on amendments. But how will the main UK parties approach that task? Tim Farron and the Liberal Democrats are very clear. As the Guardian reports he will seek to move amendments that force a referendum on the final terms of any ...
[IMG: A postal vote campaign is not optional. It is an essential component of a winning campaign] ALDC is organising a national fortnight of action to help you build the number of Liberal Democrat supporters who are signed up as postal voters. Experience has shown that postal voters are significantly more likely to vote than 'regular' voters - particularly in local elections - and it is important to make it easy for [...]
Like most Lib Dems, I think that Brexit will be a total disaster. I think that it will vandalise our economy, damage our universities, and give us less influence on the global stage. However, the response of many Lib Dems and other Remainers to the referendum result has left me a little disheartened. And I'm not talking about this "referendum on the terms of the deal" – which I'm a bit on the fence about, but I do see some reasoning for. I'm talking about the nonsense claims bouncing around our echo chamber, which exist purely to make us feel ...
I am pleased to report a number of proposed improvements in the Riverside area to the road surface and parking situation as follows : + Parking improvement : On Monday evening, the council's City Development Committee agreed to a waiting restrictions at the parking area near the Bridgeview Station Restaurant. This will restrict parking to 2 hours meaning the car park will be used for people using the playing fields and visiting the restaurant and stop all-day parking. I have long campaigned for this at the request of the football pitch users and residents who are patrons of the restaurant. ...
Sensible news from Scotland: Extra payments to returning officers for overseeing elections should be scrapped, according to Holyrood's local government committee. MSPs have held an inquiry into the system, which sees highly-paid council chief executives receive extra pay for running elections and referendums... MSPs also heard that some officials can claim two payments for Scottish Parliament elections, as they can be returning officers for both constituency and regional list votes. The role of Returning Officer is certainly an important one. It is also, however, one that goes automatically with certain local authority jobs. This is not a case of people ...
Apple Inc: A Pre-Mortem How Apple is failing its users. (tags: computers Apple )
Patreon backers can find a free comics review post on my Patreon site. I'll be doing another of these in a couple of days. Backers, please let me know what you'd be interested in me reviewing.
