Winnie-the-Pooh played no part in my childhood, unlike that of most British children of my vintage. I only became truly aware of E H Shepard's wonderful illustrations when I was at university (well, it was Oxford, albeit 20-odd years after the publication of Brideshead Revisited). I still have not read any of the four Pooh [...]
The day I first saw the remains of the lead mines at Snailbeach was the day that England beat Poland with surprising ease on their way to qualifying for Italia 90. (Gazza, Gary Linker, Nessun Dorma and all that.) Which means I can date that experience precisely. It was on 3 June 1989. A few years after that the white hillocks at Snailbeach were landscaped, but Christina Samson once wrote me a memoir of life in the village back in the 1950s. The site is tidier today, though even in the late 1990s it was possible to enter the blacksmith's ...
This heart-warming story from the West Midlands wins BBC News our Headline of the Day Award. Later. The Shropshire Star reveals that Hammy is currently living at an animal sanctuary near Cleobury Mortimer.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 491st weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the five most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (1-7 October, 2017), together with a hand-picked seven you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. 87.5% good news for the Liberal Democrats ...
Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) Caprice and Rondo, by Dorothy Dunnett Last books finished The Dancers at the End of Time, by Michael Moorcock (not finished) Antarès, Épisode 5, by Leo What Made Now In Northern Ireland, ed. Maurna Crozier 1434: The Year a Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance, by Gavin Menzies (not finished) Antarès, Épisode 6 , by Leo Cimarron, by Edna Ferber Short Trips: Christmas Around the World, by Xanna Eve Chown Next books The Past Through Tomorrow, by Robert A. Heinlein The Last Castle, by Jack ...
Sun 8th
16:27
Lib Link: Nick Clegg - You can stop Brexit by joining the Labour party - or even the Tories
Embed from Getty Images Writing in the Observer, Nick Clegg argues that the pro-Brexit agenda is being pushed by a moneyed elite, at the disadvantage of "the little people" they pretend to support. He goes on to say: ...if you are already a Labour-inclined voter who believes that Brexit is the most important issue facing our country, join the Labour party and relentlessly make your voice heard. Visit your MP once a month. Go to local party meetings. Attend conference and table motions. Write to Jeremy Corbyn. After all, when he was elected as Labour leader his promise was to ...
Please, please, Mr. Trump, think twice before opening your mouth next week. Think again before opening your twitter account and a fourth time before turning away from the teleprompter to extemporaneously voice your thoughts. Carefully consider all the options that Rex Tillerson says he has prepared for you. And think about what General Mattis told Congress about the wisdom of scrapping the Iran nuclear deal. At stake is so much more than the appeasement of your political base and the fulfilment of a shoot-from-the-hip-vote-catching campaign promise. Your decision will have repercussions on relations in the wider Middle East, with North ...
Sparks, I once wrote, were "a beacon of wit and lightness of touch in an ocean of of clumsy glam rock" and " get rediscovered every few years, which is more that you can say for most bands of their era". That remains true 10 years on, so it's high time we heard from them again. There was a good interview with the Mael brothers, who make up Sparks, on Front Row last Wednesday. I listened to it when I was over at my mother's house cooking her a meal. The brothers, who came from California, said how much they ...
Sat, 12:56: The Coming Software Apocalypse https://t.co/3kSj66u7o4 *gulp* Sat, 16:11: Once you've seen this, you can't unsee it. https://t.co/4pvjGxLHav Sat, 18:48: It's Dark in London, ed. Oscar Z�rate https://t.co/CeNrctQtyc
How 'Hobbit Camps' Rebirthed Italian Fascism - Atlas Obscura This is bonkers but fascinating miss_s_b | Via Solarbird, an old-school "have you ever" meme I posted Via Solarbird, an old-school "have you ever" meme to my dreamwidth blog Incredible "Ship Graveyard" Discovered In Black Sea Features 2,500 Years Of Perfectly Preserved Ships With stunning pictures Why LGBT History Month is still too white Also, on top of the excellent points made in this article, it is most often "GGGGGGG (token tiny l) wait aren't there some other letters?" history month. The Last Personal Essay About Race I Will Ever Write ...
[IMG: Bermuda (UK) image number 431 graphic depiction of how slaves were kept below decks] This is the eighth of my posts based on a recent tour of the eastern half of the USA. I visited a number of sites relevant to African American history. To mark Black History Month, I am relating some of the things I saw, in the order I saw them. I visited two sites which reminded me of the unspeakable inhumanity of slavery. The Charles H Wright Museum of African American history is superb. From the very origins of humanity from one common mother, revealed ...
We had a presentation this week at Gateshead Civic Centre about the role out of Universal Credit. Later this month, UC will arrive fully in Gateshead. The presentation looked at how UC has been created from the merger of 6 separate benefits and will be paid monthly in an attempt to reflect the circumstances of those in work who receive their pay and have to budget a month at a time. I have no
The latest quarterly update to my PollBase, my database of British voting intention opinion polls since 1943 is now up. Aside from another three months of data, this update includes: Additional data, including an extra poll, from SurveyMonkey for the 2015-17 Parliament (with thanks to Mark Blumenthal) Enjoy! Get polling news and analysis by email I release a new edition of PollBase once a quarter, both adding in the new national voting intention polls from the last quarter and also improving the older data, such as filling in gaps and making some of the columns clearer. Sign up here for ...
Sun 8th
10:16
Ludlow Town Council says Shropshire Council must not use parking in Ludlow as a "cash cow"
Tomorrow night, Monday 9 October, Ludlow Town Council will meet to discuss its response to Shropshire Council's parking proposals. It is unhappy with what Shropshire Council is proposing. The draft document says: "The unique qualities of Ludlow, its distance from the County Town and the current destination of parking revenues mean that the temptation to treat the town as a 'cash cow' for the Unitary Council must be resisted at all costs." At their last meeting, Ludlow town councillors could not agree on a response to the parking strategy. Hence Monday night's special meeting, which will also discuss grant applications. ...
The quest to build a case for an "exit from Brexit" referendum continues. In his speech to the Bournemouth Conference, Willie Rennie said he would be trying to work with the SNP to build support for the Scottish Liberal Democrats' campaign for an "exit from Brexit" referendum. He wrote to the First Minister and she has agreed that this merits discussion. Willie will now meet the Scottish Government Minister Mike Russell for talks on this issue. He welcomed this invitation: This is a welcome step forward from the Scottish Government and shows that there is support from across the political ...
There will be a public meeting of the Birds Resident Group on 16th October. The local community have been campaigning tirelessly for a year now to try to stop unwanted development of the Tern Inn and car park site. A planning application for this site requesting 26 new flats was turned down by South Gloucestershire Council earlier this year. Although the pub closed in June of this year due to the developer not offering a lease renewal, this is not the end of the matter and residents and councillors have continued to work behind the scenes. This meeting is a ...
Work has now started on remodeling the former youth facility in Maghull Town Hall to turn it into a Police Station and Maghull Town Council seems to think this is worth celebrating. But is it? My letter to the Champion newspaper puts the matter in context:- Dear Sir, Is there really much to celebrate because part of Maghull Town Hall is to become a Police Station soon? In my view what we have lost far outweighs what we are going to gain. The accommodation that the Police are moving into was specifically remodeled into a youth facility from its original ...
The Guardian reports that Theresa May is under pressure to publish secret legal advice that is believed to state that parliament could still stop Brexit before the end of March 2019 if MPs judge that a change of mind is in the national interest. They say that attention has turned to whether the process can be stopped because of concern that exit talks with Brussels are heading for disaster. They add that disquiet has been growing among pro-remain MPs, and within the legal profession and business community, about what is becoming known as the government's "kamikaze" approach. Ministers insist that ...
