It would be fair to suggest that noting that I have been on a day trip to Poole today would not obviously be the prelude to a tale of enjoyment. You wouldn't rank Poole that far up the chart of non-attractions in Dorset, let alone on a regional or national scale. Perhaps that's fair, but not necessarily accurate. Yes, Bournemouth has beaches and seaside fun, Swanage has a certain quirky charm, and Lyme Regis has the romance of the French Lieutenant's Woman, amongst other things. Poole, on the other hand, has ferries to the Channel Islands and France - a ...
I know several of you have been waiting a while for this. I'm just finishing up the edits on the last chapter right now, and I'll be passing it over to Holly for a final proofreading pass tomorrow, which will ... Continue reading →
Taken in 1981 or 1982, this photo shows the former Sutton Park station in Sutton Coldfield. It stood on the line from Water Orton and Castle Bromwich to Walsall. That line closed to passengers in 1965 but is still used by freight trains. Sutton Park station has been the postal depot for British forces overseas by the end of the second world war and remained a Royal Depot after that. Disused Stations tells the story of its later days: Sutton Park station continued to be served by mail trains until about 1987. The Royal Mail depot at Sutton Park continued ...
Vince went from Marr to Pienaar's Politics this morning.. It started seriously enough and he delivered The Message that there is a great opportunity for us as the other parties are divided. The Brexit train is not unstoppable, he said, and there are significant risks to a disorderly Brexit. He says there is a sense that people do want to work together to stop things like leaving Euratom. The key is what happens in the Labour Party. The contradiction between him being the hero of young people while working with the Tories to bring about hard Brexit will be exposed. ...
Here is Vince Cable on Andrew Marr's show this morning. There are two important points about his observation that Brexit may not happen. The first is that it has received media coverage throughout the day - something the Liberal Democrats have struggled for since the rout of 2015. The second is that it shows Vince's particular strength. He has the priceless ability to come over as being above politics while he is being very political.
View from Castle Crag over Derwent Water www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-40547691 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above Canoe on Ulswater The Lake District is wonderful and for Merseysiders it on our doorstep. I have loved canoeing on the lakes and some of the rivers with Keith Page over any years and am delighted that it has been awarded World Heritage status. With thanks to Keith Page for the lead to this posting
Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) The Angel Maker, by Stefan Brijs Last books finished 1688: A Global History, by John E. Wills Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro It's Dark In London, ed. Oscar Zarate Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, ed. Keith R.A. DeCandido Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Glass Prison, by Jacqueline Rayner New Europe, by Michael Palin Next books Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 by David Kynaston Etymologicon, by Mark Forsyth The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, by Erving Goffman
In recent years, the Liberal Democrats have got used to floods of new members during or after election campaigns. The party has also got better at receiving that flood and turning it into something productive and long-lasting. Better, as those with memories of the 2010 genera election campaign and the failure to turn fresh enthusiasm into election victories will recall, but not perfect. So here is a refreshed version of a list of suggestions I've used a few times over the year. Now that the (first) general election campaign of 2017 is over, it's important to keep those new helpers ...
Particularly in the aftermath of an election, you hear lots of Liberal Democrats saying that the party needs to more radical or more distinctive. Or, as this views are often played out on the internet these days, MORE RADICAL!!! The problem is what often comes next: the favourite policy idea of the person making this call. (A policy, which by lucky chance, is the policy they've always thought was a good idea even well before the election result.) Often in the past that policy has been the decriminalisation of cannabis, although other policies across political reform, housing and taxation are ...
Embed from Getty Images This week, it was very welcome to hear the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calling for the UK to remain in the Single Market and Customs Union once it leaves the EU, until a full trade deal is in place. This seems to be simple common sense to me. Anything else would be utter lunacy. Cross border supply chains are now so entrenched that leaving the customs union (without a viable (frictionless border) alternative) would be sheer insanity. Ask anyone who has had to chase boxes through customs (which is like this). One person who, I ...
Almost-leader Vince Cable was on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show this morning. Here are some clips: "I'm beginning to think Brexit may never happen" – Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat tells @MarrShow #marr https://t.co/1N368Y5Xlh pic.twitter.com/R8LpjX201U — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 9, 2017 "I'm happy to take the job if that's what comes along" – @vincecable on being the next leader of the Liberal Democrats #marr pic.twitter.com/qoiT2ADR30 — The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) July 9, 2017 I like the way that he casually pointed out that the last Liberal leader to have a coronation was the mighty Jo Grimond. He ...
The Militant of the 80's which so badly damaged Liverpool has become the Momentum of the 10's As most people know I've been around a long time! I was a Councillor here in the 80's when the Militant Tendency rose ... Continue reading →
The Liberal Democrats' Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake has accused the Government of being "clueless" about Britain's trading relationship with the European Union after Brexit. Mr Brake's comments come after the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said "frictionless trade" would be impossible if Britain leaves the Single Market and the Customs Union. Tom Brake said: "This statement from the EU is another in a long line of examples that expose the Government's fingers-in-ears approach to Brexit. "We have been told once again that the Government's plan for a reckless hard Brexit will damage businesses, thwart exporters and cripple producers in the ...
Embed from Getty Images Theresa v Boris: How May became PM is highly recommended viewing. It's available for the next ten days on BBC iPlayer. Made for BBC2, it is an attractive mix of key player interviews, contemporaneous news footage and dramatised scenes. Theresa May is played very well indeed by Jacqueline King (who I might gratuitously point out is well known to the legions of Lib Dem Doctor Who fans!) and Boris is captured brilliantly by Will Barton, even though his hair and nose make him look more like Michael Fabricant. What comes across, loud and clear (whether it ...
One of the young people at work told me that a special 40th anniversary edition of Jethro Tull's LP Songs from the Wood has been issued. Good news, except that as (along with Kate Bush's The Kick Inside) Songs from the Wood was my favourite record when I was in the sixth form, there must be some mistake. Maybe they mean fourth anniversary? Whatever the truth of that, here is one of the best tracks from the LP.
Sat, 12:22: RT @worldcon75: Seven days to go! Online voting in #TheHugoAwards close at 23:59 Pacific Standard Time on 15 July 2017! https://t.co/ZbsOL... Sat, 13:24: Wonder Woman in Belgium https://t.co/sWpQ6bAMyv Sat, 16:02: RT @worldcon75: Hugo News! @maxgladstone & @choiceofgames contributed 2 interactive adventure games based on The Craft Sequence to #theHugo... Sat, 16:02: RT @worldcon75: Further information about #TheHugoAwards can be found in an email sent out to all voters today. Sat, 16:02: RT @worldcon75: Apologies to @gaileyfrey, wrongly listed as 1st-year Campbell finalist. She is 2nd-year eligible. All votes cast will be co... Sat, 16:03: RT @worldcon75: Hugo voting ...
miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 08-07-2017 I posted The Blood is the Life for 08-07-2017 to my dreamwidth blog Twitter Instagram photo: TFW you get your very own Christopher Lee death scene ♡♡♡♡ Instagram Instagram photo: TFW you get your very own Christopher Lee death scene ♡♡♡♡ [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The natural reaction of any political party that has been comprehensively trounced amongst the 18 to 24 year age group would be to do some research on the reasons and try and address the policy and image problems that led to that outcome. Unfortunately, that is not how the Tory Party thinks. Instead they appear to be taking lessons from the United States where Republicans have done everything possible to prevent hostile voter groups such as poorer members of the black and ethnic minority community from registering to vote in the first place. According to the Independent, Tory MPs are ...
I have to admit, I don't pay as much attention to local politics in Ipswich, our county town, as I might. Whilst I work in the heart of the town, and thus am there five days of each week, I can't say that I have an attachment to it which is anything other than functional. The shopping isn't as good as that of Norwich, or even Bury St Edmunds, and you just sense that it hasn't always been well-served by a County administration that is dominated by people who don't live there. And, in truth, those of the town's politicians ...
Sun 9th
09:16
Do not sign up to a Ruritanian costume drama played out to esoteric rules- a look at my Mayoral year
I have been surprised by the number of people who have asked me to post the contribution I made at the Mayor Making. So here are my notes: Congratulations to the new Mayor and his wife Wendy I would particularly like to thank my wife and three daughters who have been a great support Council staff- esp Mike Hassett. Kevin and Stephen (my immediate predecessors) I know share my view; Mike is conscientious to a fault, 100% reliable, determined to do his best and takes great pride in his work. Amongst all the chaos of the last year, he was ...
Since the election there has been much angst among Liberal Democrats over the party's position on University tuition fees. Martin Lewis is said to be among the most trusted source on personal finance with the general public. He has recently posted a detailed review of tuition fees arguing: The student loan isn't a debt; if we changed its name to the more accurate 'graduate contribution' this myth busting guide would be less needed. What is missing, however, from much of the debate over tuition fees has been the ongoing training needs of the 60%+ of school leavers who are unable ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story on its web site as written from the perspective of Formby's Independent Councillor Maria Bennett – see link above. I lose track of how many times I have blogged about gun crime in Sefton Borough and indeed across Merseyside and yes it does seem to be a worsening problem that is before us on an almost daily basis. I recall only too well how Maghull found itself in the middle of an outbreak of gun crime in 2013 which led to Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner, Jane Kennedy, being brought in to speak ...
Yesterday, I encountered a single strand of green wire, strung across a right of way near Steventon, on the outskirts of Ludlow. I immediately reported this to Shropshire Council, which is responsible for ensuring that landowners maintain rights of way. I also filed a report with West Mercia Police. It is a criminal offence to block a right of way but I was more concerned that this was incredibly dangerous. Below, I give detail of this blockage and how you can report similar obstructions. I was out walking Mel the Collie. We had taken a different route to usual to ...
Yes, another one. Mark of the Rani this time.
