Woman Singing on a bus around Liverpool 1965 Some Great Footage pic.twitter.com/F8wrOkFA01— TheWayISeeLiverpool (@Lpool_Pics_2013) June 29, 2017Tiffany's Dimensions, the group with the fascinating name, are unanimously acknowledged as being the top group in the North who feature a girl vocalistsaid Merseybeat in 1965. Thanks to TheWayISeeLiverpool on Twitter.
The Beach Boys' latest two-CD rarities release, 1967: Sunshine Tomorrow, covers a period of time that is one of their most ignored, but also one of their most artistically interesting. The conventional wisdom about the Beach Boys is that after ... Continue reading →
Fri 30th
21:50
Connect: 7 things Lib Dem activists should know about the Connect electoral database program
4. Don't share your Lib Dem Connect login. Your Connect login is just for you to use, and what is done with it gets logged and recorded.
Remember Jack Hickey, the Conservative candidate in Leicester West? He was the Spartan turned snowflake who complained that Open Britain were trying to "skew the vote" by campaigning in that constituency on behalf of Labour's Liz Kendall. And the Open Britain site does indeed boast: In this snap General Election, we campaigned for 29 current MPs to be returned to Parliament as a strong voice to stand up to a hard and destructive Brexit.They must wonder if it was worth it. Last night Liz Kendall followed Jeremy Corbyn's ordered and abstained on Chuka Umunna's amendment backing the continuance of Britain's ...
Psychologists talk about confirmation bias - our tendency to notice evidence that confirms our beliefs and to disregard evidence that contradicts them. I fear that the idea of a Liberal Democrat fightback - #libdemfightback as we say on Twitter - is in large part an example of confirmation bias. Take last night's local council by-elections. They saw a really good Liberal Democrat hold in Eastleigh, where we won the Hedge End Grange park ward with 56.5 per cent of the vote (up from 41 per cent last time the seat was fought). But in the other three contests we did ...
It is pretty likely that Vince Cable will be our next leader. There has been some concern about his position on freedom of movement and membership of the single market. The is hardly surprising given that he wrote a New Statesman article headlined "Why it's time to end EU free movement" back in January. There are signs that his line on Brexit has softened since last year, and his record is a million miles better than Labour's. We'll take no lessons from them given that 80% of their MPs voted against membership of the single market last night in Parliament ...
Tim Farron my party leader sent me this e-mail yesterday:- Tonight, in the House of Commons MPs voted on an amendment to the Queen's Speech that would have kept us in the Single Market. All Twelve Liberal Democrat MPs voted in favour. As did 89 MPs from other parties. Unfortunately, Jeremy Corbyn ordered his MPs to abstain – and as a result, the amendment was defeated by 221 votes. I wish I could say I was surprised. But once again, Jeremy Corbyn has shown his true colours. Yet again, he has forced Labour MPs to back a Tory hard Brexit. ...
Non-fiction: 9 (YTD 25) Belgian solutions 1, by David Helbich The Case for Impeachment, by Allan J. Lichtman Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America, by Donald J. Trump The Broken Road, by Patrick Leigh Fermor Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure, by Artemis Cooper Europe In The Sixteenth Century by H. G. Koenigsberger and George L. Mosse Walking the Woods and the Water, by Nick Hunt Sapiens: A Brief History of Humanity, by Yuval Noah Harari In Xanadu, by William Dalrymple [IMG: 0765320487.01._SX175_SY250_SCLZZZZZZZ_[1].jpg] [IMG: 0007550715.01._SX175_SY250_SCLZZZZZZZ_[1].jpg] Doctor Who, etc: 5 (YTD 18) Short Trips: Defining Patterns, ed. Ian Farrington The ...
In her pre-election literature my Labour MP, Mrs Tracy Brabin, who was re-elected, made an explicit promise that she would fight for "full access to the single market, vital for jobs in our community." I quote her words exactly. Yesterday, 29th June, a senior Labour MP, Chuka Umunna, moved an amendment to the Queen's Speech calling for the government to try to obtain exactly that, full access to the single market. Mrs Brabin did not vote for the motion. Some fighter. Well, I suppose she's not the first MP to break an explicit promise, and in any case (I'll get ...
The plans are now on Sefton Council's Planning Web Pages and can be viewed via the link above. Interestingly the application is to Sefton Council by Sefton Council, in other words the Council is seeking to gain planning approval for itself. For those who don't know the plan is to turn the present limited access 'Ashworth' junction on the M58 into a full motorway junction. I had assumed, wrongly it seems, that the application would be made by Highways England (used to be known as the Highways Agency) as they control, maintain and in effect own the M58 Motorway. ...
If we do decide to take part in future Coalitions, one thing that does need to be resolved is how to approach them. Make no bones about it - we were nearly annihilated. Play it like that again, and we could be doomed to oblivion. Yet if we choose never to go into Government again, we're doomed to impotence. Scylla and Charybdis had nothing on this. Last time the voters viewed us as having "got into bed with the Conservatives" rather than partners in something different. The Rose Garden set the image: a love-in rather than a business partnership. One ...
I remember, many years ago, attending party conferences – then seeing reports about them, and wondering whether the journalists were at the same conference I was. And I also remember hearing frequent suggestions that the Liberal Democrats had "no policies" even though the party produced painstakingly detailed policy documents that were debated and, by and large, adopted as policy at those very same conferences. Perhaps people were suggesting the party had no widely known policies, or none that resonated with the public. But whatever the precise meaning, the claim that the Liberal Democrats had "no policies" seemed very strange to ...
An National Audit Office report in to online fraud has revealed that the true overall cost of online fraud is unknown and that the police do not work with accurate figures. In 2016, the Annual Fraud Indicator reported that individuals lost an estimated £10 billion to fraud. Commenting Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Ed Davey said: "This is a damning report by the National Audit Office. This government likes to tell us that crime is falling, but in reality it is just changing and online fraud is a huge problem. The Home Office can't simply turn a blind eye and ...
Wera Hobhouse made her maiden speech yesterday. The text is below: Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech as the new Member for Bath. Let me first of all pay tribute to my predecessor, Ben Howlett. He served his constituency with great diligence and I thank him for the contribution he made to our wonderful city. In particular, Ben Howlett understood the progressive and liberal spirit—with a small l—that makes up the fabric of Bath, and he campaigned with conviction to remain in the EU and on voting reform. As a keen supporter of electoral ...
The 34th British Social Attitudes survey has found 48 per cent of Britons would back the government increasing taxes to bolster spending, the highest support for such measures since 2004. Britons think the government should prioritise spending on health (83 per cent), education (71 per cent) and the police (57 per cent). The key findings of the report are summarised broadly as a country that is becoming: Kinder: after 7 years of government austerity, public opinion shows signs of moving back in favour of wanting more tax and spend and greater redistribution of income. Attitudes towards benefit claimants appeared to ...
A short video of the Gateshead Energy Centre which I shot yesterday.
Thu, 12:56: RT @estwebber: let's all take a minute to appreciate this painting of Gladstone on the bus https://t.co/XnKyoNJDfV Thu, 16:05: Commissioner @MimicaEU: We are analysing aid funding gaps left by the US https://t.co/IqnlK1cu0E Also much discussion of polio eradication. Thu, 17:06: RT @APCOBXLInsider: Talk of the office today: who put a purple pineapple in the kitchen? Is it a message? Is the message 'stop working, go... Thu, 17:18: OK, this is just weird. https://t.co/RallCLyYC6 Thu, 18:48: Dingle of the Husseys, Part 17 and end https://t.co/2IcYMtjErw Thu, 20:48: Britain warned Ireland against 'opportunistic' Brexit attack on City� https://t.co/1pgZwYUwx2 Diddums. Fri, ...
Cable needs to speak up and answer questions before he gets crowned as leader In which Nick says what I think, but much less swearily. miss_s_b | Having a Twitter Break I posted Having a Twitter Break to my dreamwidth blog Nick Clegg: what you will wake up to if we vote to Leave... A reminder of Cassandra Clegg's Eve of Poll article from just before the referendum. In case you weren't depressed enough already. Lord Kennedy has found an amusing thing and taken a photo RT @LordRoyKennedy: Spotted this opposite Downing Street on my way into @UKHouseofLords 21 ways ...
Next month will see the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised sex between males in the UK, though only for consenting men aged 21 or older and in private. It was a landmark achievement, bringing an end to an injustice that has endured since the Labouchere Amendment of 1885 led to many [...]
One of the first acts of the Lib Dems in the Coalition in 2010 was to allow councils to set up energy companies. I'm pleased to say that Gateshead was one of the first councils to take up this new freedom. The Gateshead Energy Centre has been built. It is a combined heat and power plant and will sell electricity and heat to public and private sector buildings in the central Gateshead area. The
Liberal Democrats membership is at a record high with thousands of young members flocking to the party since the EU referendum. This movement of Young Liberals are challenging intergenerational inequality and speaking out about the decisions affecting their future most. In a period of immense political change student societies and local parties must amplify young voices during Freshers 2017. Freshers season falls September-October, with exact dates differing from one institution to another. If you have a Young Liberals society at your local college or university, get in touch to find out what they have planned. You can check out some ...
Giles Fraser has written an article in the Guardian entitled, "Rejoice! Centrism in British politics is dead and big ideas are back", which stomps on the grave of centrism in the UK. In it he tells us: "Ever since the English civil war, the British have feared ideology as a reason that fellow countrymen would brain each other with pikes and cannon. From the late 17th century onwards, we would begin to organise our common life so as to exclude ideological contestation. We don't do God. We don't discuss politics at dinner parties. We are a practical people who want ...
Abbotswood Action Group are organising a street art project in the underpass by the precinct. The project will be led by an organisation called Paintsmiths. The dates for the project are as follows: Workshops at the Youth club: Friday 7th July, Tuesday 11th of July (7pm to 9pm)Workshops at the shops: Monday 24th 11am to 1:30pm and Tuesday 25th (5pm to 7:30pm)Painting In the Underpass during the week of: Monday 24th to Friday 28th JulyMore information about Paintsmiths can be found here: http://www.paintsmiths.org/ Abbotswood Action Group would love to see anyone who is interested at the workshops. It's actually 30 ...
Torture is bad. Well, there is nothing like stating the obvious. Nothing like shouting a truism from the digital rooftop. Except that for 58 percent of Americans it is not a truism. It is not a position which they support. In fact, they support torture. Perhaps because their president claims "it absolutely works." This is despite the opposition of CIA experts and Defence Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis who made it perfectly clear to Donald Trump that he could either have torture or Mad Dog at the Pentagon. But he couldn't have both. So the president backed down. Or has ...
Developer West Ella Holdings is proposing to build two semi-detached houses on a former garden plot on Friars Walk (16/05602/FUL). This site is almost impossible to access for building traffic. The construction management plan published earlier this week proves this to be the case. Should the scheme be approved, residents of Friars Garden will face being disturbed by deliveries to the site from 7.00am to 8.00pm Monday to Saturday. The contractor is also proposing an option to deliver on Sundays, "if the Site Agent considers it necessary." This construction plan cannot be delivered. But that is why it has an ...
The Broken Road, by Patrick Leigh Fermor Second paragraph of third chapter:But the redeeming and beautiful line of the mountains sailed across the northern horizon. I pounded towards it, heading for the notch that marked the pass between the Sredna Gora on the west and the Karadja Dagh on the east. Finally, to hoist myself faster out of the plain, I followed a track that led up the side of the Sredna Gora, and, after finishing most of Nadejda's supplies, slept in an abandoned shepherd's lean-to of branches. It was higher and colder than I thought. I woke up to ...
I have received complaints about the frequency of maintenance of areas at Scott Street and Pentland - see photos below : Scott Street - west end Pentland I have asked the council's Neighbourhood Services to urgently attend to this.
Four council by-elections this week, including a Lib Dem defence in Eastleigh. Not a great surprise that the party held its seat there given it was in a ward the party has always won, but even so the size of the swing from the Conservatives was impressive: Hedge End Grange Park (Eastleigh): LDEM 56.5% (+15.5) CON 26.7% (-10.9) LAB 12.2% (+0.9) GRN 3.5% (+3.5) UKIP 1.2% (-9.0) +/- corrected — Britain Elects (@britainelects) June 29, 2017
With August being a quiet month at Blyth Town Council, I have included the one scheduled meeting alongside those of July. Tuesday 4th July Community Grants Committee Thursday 6th July Planning & Development Committee Thursday 13th July Full Council Thursday 20th July Planning & Development Committee Tuesday 25th July Events Committee Thursday 27th July Environmental Services Committee Thursday 10th August Planning & Development Committee Now that I am no longer a BTC councillor I enjoy having evenings off, but I miss the Community Involvement. However, more of that to come ....
Okay this is my second attempt in a while to blog. As I actually got decent comments from my last one I thought I would tackle something a little more difficult (although my wife informs me my punctuation and spelling are as ever abysmal), terrorism and its many forms. So we have had 3 attacks ... Continue reading Terrorism and its Many Forms!! →
