I had been to Minsterley church before, but was not happy with the photographs I had come away with. This summer I tried again, but I am not sure I did any better. The light was good, but there was something religious going on, most likely a funeral, which cramped my style. What I had not appreciated before was that there are other interesting buildings at this end of the village. I found an old maltings that is now used as a veterinary surgery, a toll house and the half-timbered Minsterley Hall. There are also some barns waiting to be ...
BBC Scotland tonight held an online debate to end a week of special features on Generation Y. The theme was to discuss why millennials were likely to be poorer than their parents. Subjects such as education, employment, housing and life after Brexit were covered. I was particularly moved by Charlotte's experience in the workplace – being made to work a trial shift with no training and no pay. It's all too common in retail and hospitality these days and should be outlawed. Our Christine Jardine MP was on the panel. The audience overwhelmingly agreed with a point she made – ...
Welcome to the latest in my series of tips and advice for Liberal Democrat members, which first appeared in the email bulletin run by London Region for party members. Liberal Democrat conferences come with quite a lot of paperwork, which makes the conference app for federal conferences a very handy way of helping to keep on top of all the information. The Liberal Democrat conference app has just been updated for the forthcoming federal conference in Bournemouth (16-19 September). It's available for both Apple and Android. Pdfs of the key conference paperwork are also available. When you go to install ...
[IMG: David Hume] "When so-called free marketeers try to defend bosses' pay, they do the cause of free markets a huge dis-service by encouraging people to equate free markets with what is in effect a rigged system whereby bosses enrich themselves with no obvious benefit to the rest of us." Chris Dillow is right. Richard Bartholomew dissects The Times reporting of its spurious 'Christian child in Muslim foster care' story. Jesse Norman on the friendship between Adam Smith and David Hume. "Just before lunch, a fifty kilogram bomb struck the roof of the school. Sixteen children were killed instantly, two ...
Like all cricket fans, I was shocked when a crossbow bolt was fired on to the field at The Oval yesterday. But Lord Bonkers writes exclusively for Liberal England: I recall a tense finish many summers ago in a match between my own XI and the Elves of Rockingham Forest. Clodagh Rodgers straightened one, hit the High King of the Elves on the back leg and bellowed an appeal. The umpire, Judge Christmas Humphreys if I recall correctly, put up his finger, whereupon an elven arrow was shot clean through his hat. He called the batsman back. I did not ...
Next Monday, 4th September sees the tour of Britain pass through Blyth and then return to finish the stage at Blyth Market Square. There will be many road closures for the afternoon and as the Keel Row Car Park will be closed town centre parking will be at a premium. Details of the route and the road closures are here:- http://www.blythtowncouncil.org.uk/ or here :- https://www.nlandtob.com/finish Personally I believe that this event will increase the profile of the town and will bring visitors into Blyth and hopefully mean money comes into the businesses. As a "businessman" I will be opening my ...
I run an email list dedicated just to the stories I cover about election law, how our elections are administered and those election expenses stories. Just sign up below if you'd like the convenience of getting notifications about such election law stories straight into your inbox. There'll be no more than one email a day and it'll average out at a much lower frequency than that. (Note: if you're already signed up for a daily email alert with all my new blog posts, then there's no need to sign up for these alerts too as the stories will also be ...
Our first update from the LDV Fantasy Football League. Congratulations to Jon Featonby, our Manager of the Month for August. His Obi One Kenobi Nil scored an impressive 200 points, just edging out former MP Adrian Sanders' Riviera Magpies (197) and Jamie Lawson's Gegen Style (189). Here's the first full league table: There are 200+ players in total and you can still join the league by clicking here and using this code: 926270-223363. * Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.
I always listen to the actor Adrian Dunbar. Partly because he shaped my favourite film (Hear My Song) and partly because he is exactly my age. He was on the radio yesterday, talking about his project to speak Homer's Odyssey on five beaches in Donegal. The idea is part of a programme called Art Without [...] The post How to make borders a bit fuzzier appeared first on Radix.
I ran out of melatonin last night — I thought I had another bottle, and I didn't. This is unfortunate, because you can't buy melatonin over the counter in the UK, or even get it prescribed, unlike in pretty much ... Continue reading →
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LibLink Layla Moran: Public school exam cheating row shows just how unlevel the playing field is
Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran has been writing for Times Red Box about the exam cheating scandal and why it matters. These are not victimless crimes. I feel especially sorry for those students whose grades were nullified. They were only doing what their teacher said and their future has now been compromised. The teachers involved should feel ashamed. There is also a wider societal impact. More people than expected gaining high grades can ultimately lead to grade inflation and then a re-banding of passes, making it harder for other pupils to gain a good result. But there is ...
Thu, 12:56: Home Office apologises for ordering man born in Britain to leave UK https://t.co/fGuY4qm7yi Shameful, yet again. Thu, 16:05: RT @RobDotHutton: Basically, the Home Office is best able to resolve cases once they've been explained to it by a national newspaper. https... Thu, 16:49: RT @JolyonMaugham: What? Their focus is on doing what's right for the EU? Not on cosseting the dignity of jingoists? Well, I never. https:/... Thu, 16:50: RT @GuitarMoog: This was the most startling part of the press conference, & is indeed a very bad place to be at this stage. UKGov appears t... Thu, 18:46: ...
miss_s_b | Inspired by Nanila and Sfred I posted Inspired by Nanila and Sfred to my dreamwidth blog [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
One of the best things about Lib Dem Conference is the Leader's question and answer session. Members attending will be able to question Vince on anything they like. That will not have quite the same novelty value given that he's just done about 14 of these around the country over the last month or so, but, still, it's a good opportunity for the leader to have a bit of interaction with party members. There is a catch, though. You have to submit your questions in advance – by this coming Monday (4th September) at 1pm. If it's picked, you will ...
James woke up and his heart was already pounding nervously in his chest. Fuck. He rolled out of his bed at home and went for a shower. It was a Saturday and he texted Nathan, preparing for a quick getaway. He showered and dressed. He slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where his parents were sat eating breakfast. He filled a bowl up with Rice Crispies and poured sugar over the top before sitting down. They dallied with small chat, James all the while fighting with the nerves that were clawing at him. 'I've got something to ...
The Clerk to Lydiate Parish Council, and her new Assistant recently came up with a plan to run a couple of Summer Camps at Lydiate Village Centre for local youngsters during the 6 weeks school holidays. Together they set to and made it happen and it's proved to be a hit with parents and children alike. Yesterday I went along to see the outcome of the children's activities in song, dance and art yesterday and together with a lot of parents and grandparents we were entertained by the youngsters for about 30 minutes. They sang songs that they had written ...
The Trip — a 48 Hour Film: Winner of Best Film Washington, DC from Tracy Mathews on Vimeo. Most impressed by my colleagues in Washington DC, who won last month's 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP), a competition in which groups must create a short film from scratch in a single weekend, with this short (6 minutes plus credits) film about time travel made from scratch over a weekend. It's a very nicely done piece, set in the very near future, about a widower who travels back in time to see his wife again. Best of luck to the team as ...
The UK Secretary for International Trade is the sort of Fox who, if let loose in the chicken shed, would try to blame the chickens for the subsequent carnage. That is certainly the impression given by his latest whinging intervention in the European exit talks. The Guardian says that Liam Fox, has ratcheted up the government's war of words with the EU over Brexit by saying Britain will not be "blackmailed" into paying an excessive exit settlement to speed up a deal. However, he may not have noticed how weak his negotiating position is. I would advise him not to ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of BT cabling works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Glenagnes Street (between Ashbank Road and Birchwood Place), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 4 September 2017 for 3 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes are available via Ashbank Road / Blackness Road / Glenagnes Road. For further information contact 433082. Executive Director of City DevelopmentDundee City ...
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has said that Theresa May's apparent determination to lead the Conservative Party into the next election is a decision that is unlikely to be hers to make. Vince Cable said: "Within hours of Theresa May saying she will fight the next general election, Conservatives have been lining up to say that she won't. Far from strengthening her leadership position, she has weakened it. She pledged to lead the Conservatives into the next election, but she also pledged not to call a general election. "With half her cabinet and even Jacob Rees-Mogg on manoeuvres, this might ...
Two council by-elections this week. The first on an out-of-the-ordinary Tuesday, though also with a not-out-of-the-ordinary absence of a Liberal Democrat candidate: Mulgrave (Scarborough): CON: 46.5% (+14.1) LAB: 35.2% (+20.8) IND: 13.9% (-6.2) YORK: 4.4% (+4.4) No UKIP (-16.7) and Grn (-8.6) as prev. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) August 29, 2017
Blyth Town Council has the following meetings on the calendar for September:- Thursday 7th Staff Committee CANCELLED Tuesday 12th Finance Committee Thursday 14th Planning & Development Committee Thursday 21st Full Council, preceded by Public Question Time Tuesday 26th Events Committee Thursday 28th Planning & Development Committee All meetings are scheduled to start at 6:30 pm, at Arms Evertyne House. As ever please check with BTC if you intend to attend any of the meetings
Theresa May's hopes of a rapid trade deal with Japan have been dashed, after she was forced to admit in a joint statement (pdf here) with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe that the "immediate priority" will be finalising the trade deal between Japan and the EU. The statement adds that the UK and Japan will seek to establish a new economic partnership after Brexit. However, in the joint press conference Mr Abe stopped short of committing to a rapid new trade deal after Brexit, saying only that the two leaders would discuss the issue. Instead, the Japanese Prime Minister stressed ...
