Who knew Monty Python and the Holy Grail was the role model for Theresa May's government?
As every schoolboy used to know, Yeovil has two stations: Pen Mill and Junction. But there used to be a third: Yeovil Town. It was in the centre of the town, on a site not occupied by a supermarket. This short clip shows trains at Pen Mill, Yeovil Town and on the line that ran between them. There's much more of this sort of thing at Unseen Steam.
Embed from Getty ImagesOne sometimes gets the impression that the mere words "Socialism" and "Communism" draw towards them with magnetic force every fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, "Nature Cure" quack, pacifist, and feminist in England.So wrote George Orwell in The Road to Wigan Pier. You wouldn't include "feminist" in a list like that today, but otherwise it still seems fair comment. So I was amused to learn from this morning's From Our Home Correspondent that Richard Blair, Orwell's adopted son, lived with relatives at a Tolstoyan commune in Gloucestershire after Orwell's death. Richard Blair has written about those days ...
Brexit is a distraction and an impediment to the real challenges facing this country. The British people have voted for change. Let's offer change that really makes a difference to those who feel left behind.
A good standard answer to 'how far ahead should we be planning?' is 'further ahead than we are'. But good as it is as a default answer, it is not always right.
Sun 25th
18:25
Lib Dem leadership election rules: setting the rules to maximise the benefit to the party
The Federal Board (FB) met on Saturday to agree the election timetable for electing someone to succeed Tim Farron as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Full details will be going out to party members during the week, so rather than duplicate that information I wanted to pull out a few of the pieces of thinking behind the decisions which have been made. All the more so as there is a very widespread range of views amongst party members as to how long the ideal leadership election contest would be. Whatever the FB decided, they'd be a chunk of members who ...
Second frame of third page of De Mexicaan met Twee Hoofden: The Mexican: "You cannot leave me to my fate. This head is driving me crazy. It keeps pulling faces and wakes me in the middle of the night by grinding its teeth." Professor Bell: "Ask a dentist to pull them out." Second frame of third page of De Poppen van Jerusalem: Eliphas the Ghost: "Do you think it is wise to flee from reality?" Professor Bell: "Yes." At a book fair a couple of years ago, I spotted these going for less than a euro, and snapped them up, ...
In the tiny house in Torquay in which he resided, the Great Beast 666, To Mega Therion, Frater Perdurabo, or, as he was known to most of the population, Aleister Crowley, was making breakfast - a single boiled egg, toast, ... Continue reading →
Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Liberal Democrat campaigners and campaign teams through our Campaigner Awards. And nominations are now open. The five categories: Best By-election Campaign - We're looking for local parties that have fought effective and strong by-election campaigns. We want to see your literature examples and hear about your strategy for winning the seat. Best Online Campaign - We're looking for local parties that have run successful online campaigns or developed a winning digital strategy. You may have used social media, emails, your website or another digital platform to achieve your campaigning aims, to ...
Here is Tim Farron's message for Eid: I would like to wish all those celebrating a happy and peaceful Eid. For those celebrating, Eid will enable many Muslims to reflect on their own personal strength, particularly following the long fasts these summer days bring. When travelling the country, I am fortunate enough to witness many examples of this strength first hand. Whether it's in hospitals where thousands of Muslim doctors and nurses continue to provide excellent healthcare despite the increasing pressure our NHS is under. Or in the countless towns and cities where businesses run by Muslims are driving our ...
We had a friend staying with us last weekend so we went out for lunch at the Ravensworth Arms at Lamesley. So this post is to wind up the sneering "socialists" of the Blaydon Labour Party on 2 counts. They attack me for eating in "high end" restaurants (I don't think I've ever eaten in such a place) and they spit venom at me because I keep goats (apparently this is a reason they claim for not
The key issue for me in the leadership debate is our strategy for the next election. My take is based on feedback from electors. On the whole, our manifesto is sound (although I can't help adding a quick pitch for the addition of the term time attendance policy for tourism constituencies & to exemplify our trust in people over government/commitment to family life). There are just two huge, key exceptions. Ditch the referendum on the deal. Nothing in recent history, from the AV referendum to Brexit to the Scottish Independence Reernedum, gives cause to trust referenda. The electorate had already ...
We shouldn't assume that our failure to break through in the General Election means that people don't agree with our policy on a referendum on the Brexit deal. Polling is consistently showing that a majority of people are coming round to that position. For that reason, it would be unwise for us to ditch it. A Survation poll carried out less than two weeks ago found that 53% of those who expressed a preference favoured a further referendum. A poll of Scots for STV similarly showed that 61% of those polled said they wanted to see a referendum on the ...
I see the state visit by Donald Trump is in question. It is likely that 2 stumbling blocks are in the way of Trump's unwelcome sojourn. Firstly, he doesn't want to cross the pond until the Brits have grown to like him. Million-strong demonstrations against him appear not to his liking. If he is waiting for the prospect of people here conducting a mass uturn and deciding he's a good guy after all,
No party or political movement has a monopoly on patriotism. Any mainstream political party will want to do their best for their country even if the people has differing views on precisely what constitutes the "best". Indeed, I have no problem with any political party using national flags in their promotional material. But shame on those politicians who want to beat the drum of patriotism to
Sat, 12:56: RT @ULTRAGOTHA: Dear Hugo Voters - Have you voted? Vote, vote, vote!! Sat, 14:02: RT @davidallengreen: At this rate of progress, May will agree for UK to join the Euro by week four. https://t.co/JfnKyrH3Jf Sat, 16:05: Obama's secret struggle to retaliate against Putin's election interference https://t.co/0mIFEjSb3H Comprehensive, damning. Sat, 17:37: RT @MSmithsonPB: This totally hits the nail on the head about the PM May https://t.co/lpjHVapBDg Sat, 18:24: Dingle of the Husseys, Part 13 https://t.co/BWqiynkHEB Sat, 19:26: The village barbecue. @ Oud-Heverlee https://t.co/XYbnvBhm2a Sun, 07:58: 2017 Locus Awards Winners - congrats to all! https://t.co/qtFN8HmxFS Sun, 10:45: Uranus Is Even ...
miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 24-06-2017 I posted The Blood is the Life for 24-06-2017 to my dreamwidth blog [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Sun 25th
10:55
Liberal Democrats should show leadership, and help shape where the Progressive Alliance goes now
Our national politics is in total turmoil. The Tories are 'between the devil and the DUP'. Labour is utterly unfathomable on Brexit. The Lib Dems are pretty Captainless, as far as the media and the country at large are concerned. And internally, within the party, there is turmoil too. Some successes were had on 8th June but there were huge disappointments. Good MPs were lost. Many of us are still recovering from bruising contests, even where we had little chance of making a breakthrough. I expect most Liberal Democrat candidates standing in key Tory-Labour marginals would attest to a level ...
Wikipedia elucidates: Despite critical acclaim and a cult fanbase, the Boo Radleys were still largely unknown to the general public by the time the Britpop phenomenon broke into the mainstream in 1995. This changed when the band released the upbeat single "Wake Up Boo!" in the spring of that year. It made the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 9. The single remained on the chart for two months, by far the band's longest run for any of its singles ... [Martin] Carr describes writing the song watching The Big Breakfast after a night on acid.The ...
Planning Applications Reference:17/02588/EFUL Erection of 173 residential units, open space, allotments, green infrastructure, landscaping and associated works including provision of vehicular access from Combe Hay Lane. This is an indicative plan, below, from the web site showing the phasing of the site. There are over a hundred files on the web site detailing the planning. There is
Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) 1688: A Global History, by John E. Wills Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro Last books finished In Xanadu, by William Dalrymple Marzi: A memoir, by Marzena Sowa HWJN by Ibraheem Abbas A Woman of the Iron People, by Eleanor Arnason Next books New Europe, by Michael Palin The Angel Maker, by Stefan Brijs Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, ed. Keith R.A. DeCandido
Sal Brinton, who sits on the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group has said that the Government should declare a civil emergency over fire safety in tower blocks and compensate those who had been evacuated. During the flooding damage in 2015, the Government extended a Council Tax discount to help those who had been badly affected. Sal said that those evacuated should have their Council Tax suspended: This is a civil emergency. The government must guarantee funding for local councils to do everything necessary to keep people safe and compensate those who have had their lives disrupted. Camden ...
Work on the Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane (Westerleigh) section of the Yate Spur cycle path has now been scheduled to start on 3 July 2017. It's expected to last for four months. This is the stretch that starts from the T junction south of Westerleigh, where they recently put in a crossing near the cottages. It will run up inside the farmer's field to what was previously Cornerways Day Nursery, the old school building. One more small length in the bigger project!
At the headquarters of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, there is a big wooden door that goes nowhere and everywhere.
Over the next few years, the Tories planned benefits cuts could mean "nearly 3 million working households with children on tax credits would be an average of £2,500 a year worse off, with larger families losing more". Jeremy Corbyn's team had promised to reverse child tax credit cuts, but in their 2017 manifesto, they did nothing of the sort as the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows: Corbyn's manifesto planned to increase taxes by £46bn per year and to borrow an extra £350bn. With so much extra funding, there was enough to honour their promises on welfare, so voters could be ...
Over the last week, we have worked hard with the organisers of the Ludlow 10km run to ensure that this race runs with the minimum disruption to residents and other events. We have agreed the race will start slightly later, allowing some town centre road closures to be delayed. The roads will reopen as soon as the last runners have passed on their second lap All roads are expected to be open within two hours of the start. It is likely to be more difficult to find a parking space after 6pm on 8 July. So please come to town ...
