We have seen Oswestry station and Llanclys. Part 3, after more train-driving action, takes us on to Llanymynech. Look for some nice shots of a derelict stretch of the Mongomery Canal too. Reader's voice: You spoil us.
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate: Imogen Shepherd-DuBey.
Media reports suggest Prue Leith will take Mary Berry's place when The Great British Bake Off transfers to Channel 4. I therefore decided to create a Twitter poll... Who would win in a fight?— Jonathan Calder (@lordbonkers) February 16, 2017
Embed from Getty Images The massive North Mark Wallace has written an enlightening article for Conservative Home about the strengths and weaknesses of the party's campaign in the Copeland by-election. But I was most struck by this passage: Most recent, viable Tory by-election efforts have been in the South and Midlands, within easy striking distance of most Conservative MPs' constituencies. Cumbria is rather further away - and, as one MP puts it, some have been surprised to learn that "the North is massive" - which has deterred some from attending.It reminds us that, while Britain is divided by social class, ...
Not done a linkblog for a while, have I? But I'm trying to make sure there'll be *something* up here every day, now, and I'm uninspired, so you get links. (I was going to do a review of Cerebus in ... Continue reading →
Embed from Getty ImagesI want to be explicit. Yes, the British people voted to leave Europe. And I agree the will of the people should prevail. I accept right now there is no widespread appetite to re-think. But the people voted without knowledge of the true terms of Brexit. As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their mind. Our mission is to persuade them to do so. What was unfortunately only dim in our sight before the referendum is now in plain sight. The road we're going down is not simply Hard Brexit. It is Brexit ...
Let's move to Bishop's Castle, says the Guardian today: Hang out at... What a choice. The Castle Hotel, with log fires, beams, leather chairs and a lovely garden? The Three Tuns? The cheery Six Bells? Or coffee, cake and classical music at Yarborough House?I'm slavering already, though I don't suppose I will move there. Deep Shropshire does not seem a sensible place to retire to, though the genteel Church Stretton gets more than its share. These days my family situation makes it hard for me even to visit there, though I have hopes of getting away this summer. Trouble is, ...
In the world of politics "one more heave" has all the images of failure. It conjures up the notion that if you keep trying you succeed eventually thus creating the cycle of failure, by always trying again. So in that sense, I have changed my own personal politics over time to ensure that every election is specific and that I get something out of it regardless of the result. Indeed, when I mentor candidates I often tell them "that you learn much more when you lose than if you win". This has the added advantage for me as a Liberal ...
There's only a limited supply of sand: and to make things worse, it keeps getting washed into the sea. At Cape May, New Jersey, the US Army Corps of Engineers have just finished rebuilding a beach: here's why.
Two days on and Paul Nuttall's website is still "undergoing scheduled maintenance". Yeah. Right. If you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, do not despair. Thanks to the wonders of the Wayback Machine you can still enjoy every word. If it ever comes back on line, you can be sure textual scholars will be comparing the two versions to see exactly what has been deleted.
West Tyrone includes the towns of Strabane and Omagh. In 2016, the Nationalist parties won four seats with 53% of the vote and transfers from Nationalist-leaning independents, and Unionists won the other two with 33.5%. 2016 result DUP 8,534 (22.0%, -1.1%) 1 seat UUP 4,441 (11.4%, +1.0%) 1 seat Conservative 44 (0.1%) CISTA 547 (1.4%) Alliance 494 (1.3%, -0.9%) Green 458 (1.2%) Animal Welfare 224 (0.6%) Sinn Féin 16,304 (42.0%, -7.9%) 3 seats SDLP 4,287 (11.0%, +2.5%) 1 seat Independents 3,476 (9.0%) 2017 candidates @Thomas Buchanan (DUP) Alicia Clarke (UUP) Charlie Chittick (TUV) Roger Lomas (Cons) Stephen Donnelly (Alliance) Ciaran ...
Fri 17th
17:20
#AE17 East Londonderry: Very difficult to call, in the end I think SDLP worst-placed to hang on
East Londonderry includes the towns of Coleraine and Limavady. In 2016, Unionists won four seats with 63.6% of the vote, and Nationalists won the other two with 31.3%. 2016 result DUP 12,674 (36.8%, -0.1%) 3 seats Independents 3,331 (9.7%, +1.2%) 1 seat UUP 2,856 (8.3%, -0.1%) PUP 1,356 (3.9%) TUV 1,191 (3.5%, -1.0%) UKIP 274 (0.8%) Conservative 266 (0.8%) Alliance 1,257 (3.7%, -1.8%) Green 434 (1.3%) SF 7,495 (21.8%, +0.7%) 1 seat SDLP 3,265 (9.5%, -5.4%) 1 seat 2017 candidates @Maurice Bradley (DUP) @Adrian McQuillan (DUP) @George Robinson (DUP) William McCandless (UUP) Jordan Armstrong (TUV) Russell Watton (PUP) David Harding ...
On 10 April 2016 the cost of a bulky waste collection increased from £15 for up to 3 items, with up to 2 additional items for £5 each, to £30 for up to 5 items - that is the minimum charge has doubled from £15 to £30. Given the number of residents that have been [...]
I have been trying to post articles twice a week. In the last few weeks that has slowed down. This week I have struggled to post anything at all. On reflection I think it's time to pause for a while, and reduce postings to a trickle. Why? Partly it is plain depression – though I ... Continue reading Why I'm pausing for reflection →
Just to let residents know about a new planning application in Unsworth. Please just let me know if you have any queries. Outline application for the construction of 8 no. dwellings – Car Park To The North Of 129 Croft Lane, Bury, BL9 8QH Ref. No: 61135 | Received date: Mon 13 Feb 2017 | [...]
On the sheltered naked tip / of the southern winter islands we were collared by the fate which shared a timeworn laugh with us / as it welcomed foreign guests to a pre-paid concrete paradise necklaced by saharan dunes / on their shifting constant march: a grainy smudge,win gleaming light of aged rouge and lipstick, on [...]
Well I never thought I would say that about Tony Blair who to many of us is in the same naughty corner as Nick Clegg for lack of credibility. BUT both of them are right about Brexit whatever I may feel about Blair's Iraq War and Clegg's Tuition Fees U-turn – and I feel a great deal about those issues. Brexit is utter madness and it will more than likely destroy our economy, standards of living and many other things. That's fine to Brexiters but it is not fine by me. They can opt for poverty, low living standards etc. ...
The Environment Agency is looking into the risk of river flooding in Yate and Chipping Sodbury and what options there might be to reduce this. Their study is at a very early stage. They are holding a public exhibition in the Charter Suite at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall on Wednesday 1st March from 2.30 to 7.30 pm. The area involved runs from St Johns Way through the centre of Sodbury, The Elms, The Ridge, then right past the Riverside complex, and out along Greenways Road and Cranleigh Court through to Stover Road. So anyone living in those areas might want ...
I had not heard of Hans Rosling before I saw his 2013 programme Don't Worry: The Truth about Population which the BBC re-aired after Rosling's death this month at the age of 68. It was really impressive: a great communicator and a first-class mind has left us. My condolences to Rosling's family and colleagues. What Rosling has to say though about population growth is vital for all of us to understand if we care about humanity's future. The planet will be fine: over geological time it has seen many mass extinctions. After a few million years there is always a ...
`What we should do`, says my drinking partner, `is set up garrisons on the border. Then just shoot the buggers when they come in.` I make squeaking noises about international law, but he will not be stopped. `Pfff! I once believed in all that flim-flam. But times change`. He slams his beer glass down, flushing. `These days I am pretty much a fascist!` My best mate forms a part of a new social demographic - the Trendy Neo-Rightie (T.N.R). Back in the day, how we laughed at the `Right ons`. Those he or shes who stuck Save the Whale stickers ...
If the poor misguided English are a nation of dog lovers then we are left looking to the continent for a bit of feline commonsense. And they do not disappoint. Today is National Cat Day in Italy. They also have a Black Cat Day on 17th November. Cats both indoor and outdoor have been protected in Italy since 1991, when a new law made it illegal to harm or kill street cats. Local public health authorities are responsible for neutering and spaying them, and animal rights associations can be awarded management of outdoor cat colonies, whose members have the right ...
Fri 17th
12:10
Hard Brexit gets just 35% public support – Have you heard the sound of chickens coming home to...
The Guardian covers the ICM survey result on its web site – see link above I wonder how the 35% who support a hard Brexit (leaving the EU at any cost) break down into party political allegiances? Assuming that virtually all UKIP'ers would support a hard Brexit (just as virtually all Lib Dem supporters would oppose a hard Brexit, or any Brexit at for that matter) and also many Tories then maybe this makes dear Jeremy's position look even more bizarre, should that be possible! The Brexit at any cost folk probably don't mind our economy being screwed but ...
I've just become aware that NHS hospitals have to pay business rates. A current revaluation of property values means that the worst affected, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, will find its rates bill more than double to £6.9m a year. Private hospitals also pay business rates, but most of them are registered charities, so they get an 80% reduction. Apparently local authority schools also pay business rates. But Academies, would you believe, are also regard as charities and so they too get an 80% reduction. It's worth noting that some Academies pay their heads fancy salaries well over £100 000 ...
Mind the Gap. Three very familiar monosyllabic words for anyone who has travelled on the London Underground. The taped announcement is a warning to beware of the potentially dangerous space between the railway carriages and the platform. But it has a political meaning too. Any political novice will also tell you to mind the gap. Look for the space that isn't being filled by the other parties and plug it—fast. Well, at the moment there is a yawning chasm as the traditional parties race to head off threats from the right and left, leaving a vacuum in the centre—the traditional ...
I'm not going to lie. I'm not Tony Blair's biggest fan. In fact, there may have been a time when I rather naively described him as worse than Thatcher in some ways. You expect Tories to let down the poor and protect the rich. You don't expect that from a Labour Prime Minister. And then there was Iraq. Blair, though, has long been lapped in the governmental race to the bottom by the Brexiteer zealots intent on driving our country off a cliff. Today, he has given a pretty forceful speech saying that we must all rise up against Brexit. ...
Labour 1466 [60.8%; +3.4%] UKIP 643 [26.7%; +4.2%] Conservative 249 [10.3%; -5.4%] Green 52 [2.2%; -2.3%] Majority 823 Labour hold Percentage change from 2016
I was intrigued by Chris Bowers' recent post A slogan you might not expect from the Lib Dems and by the comments on it. It revolves around the question of whether a national identity is or can be compatible with liberalism. Some clearly think not, but the comments thread reveals some blockages in debate that we need to clear up before an answer to the question can properly be made. The first is that in many instances of the debate people speak past one another instead of to one another. What some people see as a statement of legitimacy, others ...
When the 2008 financial crisis hit the Canarian town of Arinaga many people were finding it hard to make ends meet and the restaurants were largely deserted. But then someone had a brilliant idea: to persuade most of the restaurants to offer one tapas and a small glass of beer or wine for €2 every [...]
Tweet of the week Labour absolutely do not condone these test messages saying "vote Labour or go to hell" OfC, if failing to vote Labour means going to hell, well... "Don't need reason Don't need rhyme Ain't nothin' that I'd rather do Goin' down Party time My friends are gonna be there too" ;) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
What's going to be so exhausting about the Trump presidency will be the sheer pace of it. My wife asked me yesterday late afternoon if I'd seen the Trump press conference madness. I thought she meant the crazy Netanyahu one, where Trump may or may not have shut the book on twenty years of diplomacy regarding the Middle East peace process. I was referencing something that had happened almost 24 hours previous – what was I thinking? The most important things to take away from the Trump press conference yesterday – what goes beyond the usual Trump administration insanity, I ...
Tim Farron has described new research linking tens of thousands of deaths to a lack of proper social care as a "national scandal" and has called for action, including a potential tax rise. The new research paper by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Oxford concluded that "the evidence points to a major failure of the health system, possibly exacerbated by failings in social care" Tim said: It is a national scandal that in one of the richest countries in the world, vulnerable older people are missing out on the services they need and may ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water repair works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Shaftesbury Road (from Seymour Street to approx. 35 metres in a westerly direction), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Tuesday 21 February 2017 for three working days. No pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Diversion routes for vehicles and pedestrians are available via Seymour Street / Speed Street / Hyndford Street. ...
There has not been such an intense, no-holds barred, dirty by-election since Birmingham Hodge Hill. It is an indication of how high the stakes are both, for a beseiged Labour Party and for a struggling UKIP, desperately trying to become relevant once more. The UKIP leader and candidate Paul Nuttall has been at the sharp end of the attacks as his personal and political flaws are pulled apart by his opponents and the media. But Labour have not escaped scrutiny either. The Labour candidate has been criticised for his historic twitter positions and for his support for the remain campaign. ...
What is vaccine-derived polio? The last stumbling block. (tags: health polio ) Shetland Islands toy with idea of post-Brexit independence #TakingBackControl!!! (tags: Scotland brexit ukpolitics eu ) Cutting down the Lords @chrishanretty: it should be drastically reduced in size. I'd ask, why have it at all? (tags: houseoflords ukpolitics ) How to Helsinki: Concerning Finns Advice for @worldcon75 attendees. (tags: Sf finland ) Archive footage of Marcel Proust? On the right, coming downstairs in a grey suit. (tags: films literature history proust ) The 2017 Hugo Awards: Why Hugo? @nussbaumabigail reflects. (tags: hugos sf )
I'm going to try something new here. I'm going to take a leaf from @alexandraerin's book, sort of. Erin pointed out recently that Twitter threads get shared much more widely than blog posts, because each tweet acts as a pull ... Continue reading →
