I visited the Comfrey Project in Bensham, Gateshead, today. An interesting operation that aims to support refugees while working with the local community on local food production. I am hoping to go back to do a talk on self-sufficiency at some point soon. The Project has a cafe and volunteers grow many of the ingredients. I am hoping there is an opportunity to involve them in local food
Another unexpected find in Barrow upon Soar. The Round House was built in 1827, originally as a parish prison. Later it housed the hand-drawn fire-engine and then the village bier. It is now an occasional exhibition hall.
Why confederate monuments are cheap pic.twitter.com/hO7crkG5hO— Alan White (@aljwhite) August 21, 2017This video comes from Mic.
Embed from Getty Images Politics Home reports on an extraordinary decision by the Scottish Conservatives: A row has broken out after two Conservative councillors who were suspended over anti-Catholic and racist tweets were re-instated to the party. Alastair Majury and Robert Davies were disciplined shortly after being elected to Stirling Council in May. Mr Majury tweeted in 2012: "Why is the Catholic Church against birth control? Because they'll run out of children to molest." He also used the term "tarrier" - an offensive term for Catholics - in other posts on his Twitter page. Meanwhile, Mr Davies was suspended after ...
The mixing of the visionary and the pragmatic to such great effect makes the speech one that shows the way for orators of much lesser ability, who may not have the words or style to match JFK but who do face similar challenges with the arguments they wish to present.
At midday today, Big Ben, the giant bell inside the UK Parliament's Queen Elizabeth Tower, tolled the hour for the last time for the next four years, while extensive maintenance work is undertaken. It has been suggested that it could be brought back into service for very special occasions; some Brexiteer Conservative MPs not surprisingly [...]
Following on from my Prospect article, I've been wondering about a perception that we seem to be using and discussing terms like 'centrist' and 'centrism' now, though there's also the chance of it being selective perception on my part, given my PhD topic. So, as evidence that it's not just in my head, here's what Google has to say about it. Canada gives us a slightly different picture, with a generally higher average trend than the US and UK, but still with the current rise. There is an earlier peak there, around the end of 2005, which might be linked ...
There's been a nice sequence of posts in the last few days (Victor Milán, Steve Wright, Kyra of File 770) listing five sf novels that they feel are neglected. I thought I should join in, and running through my LibraryThing catalogue, these are the least popular novels that I have rated with at least four stars, in alphabetical order by author. I cannot claim that they are all highbrow - one is on the list just because it was fun, and the other because I thought it a good novelisation of a TV story. But I commend them all to ...
This is the kind of column that will get me into trouble because it expresses an opinion in stark terms. So let me make it clear - it's expressing how I feel about something. My feeling may not be rational, and I'm very open to discussion about whether what I feel says more about me than about the facts of the matter at issue. But given how emotions win political arguments more than facts, the feeling is worth exploring.In the last two months I have twice been in EU countries in mainland Europe. In June I spent four days in ...
It is with great sadness we announce the death of our beloved father & grandfather. Brian died peacefully at home on his 92nd birthday ^TA — Brian Aldiss (@brianaldiss) August 21, 2017 Damn.
Because I like to take on the big questions of our time – and probably offend everyone in the process with my answers – I've a piece at Prospect magazine attempting to define centrism.
I am frustrated about the bureaucracy I recently encountered as a County Councillor. Oxfordshire Mind, which provides many valuable mental health services throughout the county, has a new initiative to promote mental health awareness throughout Oxfordshire. The question I submitted to the Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health was: Oxfordshire Mind is seeking £308K funding for Mental Health Awareness for children and young people. This investment in Public Health would potentially save the NHS and Social Care millions of pounds a year in Oxfordshire. Will the Cabinet Member meet with Mr Dan Knowles, CEO of Oxfordshire Mind, and ...
Sun, 12:56: Starting Star Wars: How George Lucas came to create a galaxy https://t.co/hJrt1F1gUN Fascinating. Sun, 16:05: Some More Words about the 2017 Hugo Awards https://t.co/CYp40jUZT6 A really good roundup. Sun, 17:34: If anyone is interested, I am nwhyte#8379 on Discord. Sun, 18:30: Excellent thread, in case anyone took the barmy IEA report seriously. #fb https://t.co/JYGEyK7GJH Sun, 19:37: Sunday reading (two weeks) https://t.co/qN5iXzyS0r Sun, 20:28: RT @SannaPudas: The stormtroopers taking over the #Woldcon75 #ThehugoAwards For some reason, they wanted a selfie with @jukkahoo @worldcon... Sun, 20:48: The love affairs of Stan Laurel https://t.co/5KFYebaIuD Rather moving. Sun, 23:54: RT @lowflyingrocks: 2017 ...
My first book wasn't my first book. When I say first book, I don't mean the first book I read although you would assume that's what I meant. No, when I say first book, I mean the first book that changed my life. Otherwise, my first book would be The Hungry Caterpillar, which despite having a meaningful story, didn't drastically change my life, well in any way I am aware of. I read my first book when I was thirteen and it still sits on my shelf with its three comrades. The Book Thief. Now I told this to Shaun ...
The format of education hasn't really changed since Victorian times. Students are still packed into a classroom with a teacher who spends most of their time doing some variation of lecturing to the students, before they then apply whatever they've just heard to some real examples. This system treats everyone equally by treating pretty much everyone the same, using the same techniques and the same curriculum for everyone, regardless of their differences. Liberal Democrats tend to challenge traditional policies, and should challenge the current educational system too. We also tend to look solely to teachers for educational policy but it ...
The closure of the Co-op on Foldgate Lane for more than eight hours yesterday after a burglary shows how desperately we need a second petrol filling station Ludlow. The nearest alternatives are at Craven Arms and Leominster. But a second filling station for our town cannot come at any cost. Plans for a petrol filling station on Bromfield Road, along with a convenience store, have split opinion. I only gave my support for the project after an assurance that the fuel tanks would be above ground to minimise damage from any leakage. But now the Environment Agency has withdrawn its ...
This is the concept for the new China Town development which was a great concept supported by the Lib Dems at the planning stage. It now seems entirely unlikely to materialise with serious consequences for all investment in Liverpool Liverpool's ... Continue reading →
What does respecting 'the will of the people' mean? Those in favour of an extreme Brexit claim that they are respecting the will of the people. They are not. The Brexit referendum in 2016 posed a simple question – should the UK leave the EU? The answer was yes we should – by a small [...] The post The most depressing aspect of Brexit? The incompetence of the Remainers appeared first on Radix.
Liberal economic philosophy has its roots in land reform and economic justice. John Locke said that "God gave the world in common to all mankind...." Thomas Paine stated that "men did not make the earth... It is the value of the improvements only, and not the earth itself, that is individual property." John Stuart Mill wrote: "When the 'sacredness' of property is talked of, it should be remembered that any such sacredness does not belong in the same degree to landed property." Mill also wrote: "The increase in the value of land, arising as it does from the efforts of ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 21 AUGUST 2017 Riverside Esplanade/Riverside Drive (Tay Road Bridge off ramp to 75m along Riverside Drive) - westbound nearside lane closure for 16 weeks to facilitate V&A construction works. SSE Glenagnes Cable Renewal - Lochee Road lane restrictions and closures on Blinshall Street, Fleuchar Street and Scott Street for 2 weeks. A85 Riverside Drive - prohibition of right turn from westbound lane of Riverside Drive into Riverside approach and prohibition of right turn from Riverside Approach in to Riverside Drive for 16 weeks ...
Failure to secure a majority in the House of Commons can often be a valid excuse for not delivering on an election promise, but when there is cross-party support and overwhelming backing for a proposal in the House of Commons, the abandonment of a popular proposal makes no sense whatsoever. That is certainly the case with Theresa May's manifesto pledge to cap energy prices. No sooner had she stepped back over the threshold of Number 10 Downing Street than the idea had been shelved. It is not surprising therefore that she is now facing a significant backlash from rebellious Conservative ...
Turning the rejection of scientific expertise into a pathology mistakenly presents individual ignorance as the bottleneck in political disagreements The elevation of science to a central theme in American politics is an extraordinary development in the co-evolution of science and society. Three months after Donald Trump's inauguration, 40,000 or so people turned out in the rain in Washington, DC for the March for Science, with similar numbers in other cities. Given Trump's all-out attack on the role and size of government—his proposed 2018 budget slashes almost all programs other than national defence—there could just as easily have been a March ...
Polling on how the government is handling Brexit keeps on getting worse for Theresa May and the Conservatives.
