Like many Mancunians who have spent most of their working lives in London, I was shocked and saddened by the news this morning of the bombing at the Manchester Arena that claimed 22 lives and injured well over a hundred other people, many of them children and adolescents. Nothing can adequately explain, let alone exonerate, [...]
Last night, a beautiful eight-year-old soul was stolen from this earth. A promising student of 18 was murdered before she ever had the chance to truly shine out in the World. Twenty-two lights were snuffed out last night in cowardly and unnecessary violence. More than fifty other innocent people were injured. What had they done to deserve this? Nothing. They had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Remember them Last night, these innocent people had left for a night of music and dancing and joy. They had attended Manchester Arena to see Ariana Grande perform her pop ...
The party is advising candidates tonight that, while national campaigning remains suspended, local campaigning can resume tomorrow. The advice came in an email from Federal Campaigns and Elections Chair James Gurling who said: Further to our advice this morning following the terrorist attack in Manchester, national campaigning will remain suspended tomorrow. Like other parties we have agreed that local campaigning may resume with due sensitivity and at the discretion of local campaign managers. We will continue to review the advice given on national and local campaigning. So, take the lead from your local campaign manager and act accordingly. We will ...
Lord Bonkers occasionally complains of overzealous policing on Boat Race night, but for the most part he is a staunch supporter of the boys in blue. Thursday I meet PC McNally on his beat, as he helps an old lady across the village high street - it not being the apple scrumping season, this is how he spends most of his time at present. (Incidentally, the walls around my orchard are at a sporting height to allow a fair contest between the aforementioned constable and the local urchinry.) Poor McNally is a far from laughing policeman as he tells me ...
It was right that there should have been a pause in the general election today, but it must resume tomorrow. A longer pause - some have even suggested we should wait six days - would hand ISIS a propaganda victory and encourage further outrages at election time. It would also suggest that we do not hold our democratic traditions very dear if our first reaction at a time of national distress is to abandon them. The campaign so far has been dull, but the right to be bored by democratic politics was dearly won and should not be discarded. Later: ...
The Scottish Parliament is still sitting and all Scotland's political leaders made statements of solidarity with Manchester and the victims of the murders at the Ariana Grande concert last night. Here is Willie Rennie's: I want to express my absolute condolences to the people affected, their families and the support services helping them as best they can. This morning was a moment that, when you woke up to the news on the radio, you tried to turn it off. As if, by not hearing it, you could make it not true. We are all horrified that such an attack can ...
This is how I remember Roger Moore best: starring in The Persuaders opposite Tony Curtis. How enticing those Continental locations and their playboy lifestyle seemed on British television back in 1971! Moore and Curtis played it mostly for laughs as they righted wrongs and fought crime, yet the wonderful John Barry theme has an unexpected sadness to it.
Embed from Getty Images The novelist writes about his home city and last night's terrorist outrage for The New York Times: The eruption of indiscriminate violence in a peaceful place is terrorism's purpose and our greatest dread, the horrible intrusion of menace where we had no reason to expect it, no matter how often we tell ourselves that nowhere is safe now. The unnaturalness of terrorism is its essence. It means to strike out of a clear blue sky. It means to shatter those bonds of commonality we have to take for granted or we cannot live. So, this is ...
The Metropolitan Cathdedral in Liverpool where many of us met tonight for a vigil for those who died in Manchester yesterday I have just got home from a Mass which was held in the Catholic Cathedral in honour of those ... Continue reading →
Human, all too human It is usually the details that allow you to grasp the full horror of a tragedy. Earlier today the BBC reported that the first victim of the bombing at the Manchester Arena to be named publically was Georgina Callander, an 18-year-old in "the second year of a health and social care [...]
It's (thankfully) not every day you wake up to the news that someone has bombed your city, killing a bunch of children. (At least not if you live in Manchester — I'm very aware that there are parts of the ... Continue reading →
There's no election diary today, as there's no electioneering going on because of what happened in Manchester. It'll resume at some point in the near future, and I will too. There are lots of words already on what's happened, and there'll be lots more to come, and the only advice I'll give is that if you're asking yourself 'is it too soon to write this?' then yes, it most likely is. If you want to help in this and future emergencies, then if you can register here to give blood.
I was surprised to find, this morning, that the news still has the power to reduce me to tears. The vision of parents struggling through Manchester in search of missing children after the bomb there is particularly gruelling for other parents like me. It hardly needs saying that one's heart goes out to them, because it has become an over-used cliche - but it does. It may be that the immediate legacy of the bomb is to cement Theresa May's general election victory. I don't know. It may be that the next best thing to having someone strong and stable ...
Like many people, I woke up to hear the news of the awful tragedy in Manchester. I was first alerted to the news by notifications on facebook telling me that some of my friends were OK. Which led to me then turning on the TV news and discovering what had happened at 10.35pm yesterday. I took my daughter to school this morning feeling rather fortunate to be able to do this, when other parents were still agonising about where their own children were. It was a terrible shock, and made all the more so when I discovered a friend has ...
[IMG: Roadworks sign] It's really good to see Kent County Council are now consulting on a new Zebra crossing on Sandgate Esplanade. When Sandgate Parish Council were being consulted on the works KCC were putting in place for the Cinque Ports cycleway, I was delighted when the engineer on the project, Russell Boorman, was helpful and enthusiastic at my suggestion to add an Esplanade crossing to their plans. And they have! The design of the crossing and its location (near the foot of Brewers Hill) have been selected to minimise the loss of parking (one side is double yellow lined ...
Instagram photo I went to the hairdresser. Here's the before shot. Instagram Instagram photo: And done - a bit more subtle than usual ;) Advice if you're upset by the news - CBBC Newsround Aimed at kids, but works for adults too miss_s_b | There but for the grace of God... My first thoughts about the Manchester attack this morning. miss_s_b | Also, further to most recent post, and avoiding party politics still. ... and my second thoughts: don't let them win. Show them we will not be cowed. white_hart | (no subject) In which White_Hart shares an apposite CS ...
Had a couple of people asking if Holly and I are OK. We're fine, and as far as I know no-one either of us know was at the arena last night (though it feels creepy enough that we passed through ... Continue reading →
There are no words. The concert audience contained children and young teenagers and yet that did not stop it becoming a target. This was a murder of innocents. There can be no justification for such a monstrous crime. I am shocked, saddened and outraged by this bombing attack. My thoughts and my deepest condolences are with the victims, their families, their friends and their communities. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the emergency services who responded to this tragedy so magnificently. Those behind this attack do not advance their cause through these actions, rather they demean and undermine ...
An email from the Chair of the Federal Campaigns and Elections Committee James Gurling has been sent explaining what the suspension of campaigning in respect for the victims of the Manchester attack means: By now you will all have seen and heard about the terrible events of yesterday. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragic attack in Manchester. We, along with the other political parties have agreed to suspend our campaigns until further notice. That means until further notice, please do not carry out any public campaigning activity – that includes canvassing, campaigning online, leaflet delivery and any ...
Last night 22 people were killed in Manchester Arena in a terrorist attack. The attack was on people attending a concert popular with young girls, and many children were victims. I am in shock , like most of my countrymen. As ever, we have few facts, but the news media must make these go a ... Continue reading What is the meaning of Theresa May's wobble? →
Last night people would have dropped their kids off at Manchester Arena for the Ariana Grande concert. The kids would have been so excited. In the normal course of events, they'd have come out afterwards completely buzzing about the whole thing and would have spent hours reliving it and singing the songs. They will certainly never forget the awful events of last night. It is utterly impossible to comprehend what goes through the mind of someone who targets children and young people in this way. One of my friends wrote on Facebook that we should think about what the terrorists ...
The police have confirmed it as a terrorist attack, although not the stripe of terrorism. But we know what terrorists want, don't we? The clue is in the name. They want us to be afraid. They want us to cower in our homes, afraid to go to gigs or theatres or sports events. They want us to give in to fear and authoritarianism. FUCK THEM. There's already lots of people sharing practical ways you can help in Manchester today - three examples here - but what if you are nowhere near Manchester? And what about the future? One way you ...
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of The Shrubbery, Elaine Kuwahara is opening her beautiful garden on Magdalen Yard Road for three days, with all proceeds to charity, including Friends of Camperdown House and Scotland's Gardens. The opening will be on Friday 26th May by former Lord Provost John Letford and the event will run until Sunday 28th May. Home of famed Dundee artist McIntosh Patrick for many years, the garden and house were the subject of several of his paintings. The Georgian townhouse was designed and built by Dundee architect David Neave in 1817. The garden has been sympathetically restored to ...
Manchester is less than an hour from my home. I have lots of friends there, and I visit there often. The station I most often arrive at is Manchester Victoria. Less than a fortnight ago I took my little girl to an arena concert in a big city. So yeah, this is hitting home hard. BUT. But. The arsehole who blew himself up with an IED full of nuts and bolts at a concert full of little girls was one man. The people who immediately took to the streets with bottles of water and cups of tea? The people who ...
What's this to do with? The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme is a national scheme by the Department for Transport in conjunction with Local Authorities. It came into affect on 1st April 2008. Those residents who are able to apply include residents who have attained the state pension age, as well as eligible disabled people, [...]
Global leaders throw political support behind polio eradication and transition G20 backs ending polio. (tags: polio ) Science fiction's new golden age in China Indeed. (tags: China sf )
