I am usually wary of films with the number "2" in their title, as sequels rarely live up to brilliant originals. But Paddington 2 will not disappoint those who loved its predecessor. Paddington Bear is neither as twee as Disney's Winnie the Pooh nor as gross as Ted (especially in Ted 2). Instead, he is [...]
Once again, I suspect apologies are due to T.H. White, the Revd J.P. Martin and Kenneth Grahame. Saturday I make my way to the woody bank that lies beneath the Ornamental Arch I had erected here on the Bonkers Hall Estate to mark the victory of Wallace Lawler in the Birmingham Ladywood by-election of 1969. After making sure I am not observed, I rap upon a door that is half obscured by foliage and am admitted to the home of the King of the Badgers. You may have read of the beastly cull of these noble and stripy creatures instituted ...
Sat 25th
20:21
Russell Square, Leicester, where Ramsay MacDonald hid from the mob in a public lavatory
Beyond Wheat Street, Wharf Street has been cut in two by Leicester's ring road. Its construction swept away whole streets, with their shops and pubs. Wharf Street North has many Somali residents, with the result that there are still shops there. At its far end it opens out into a triangular space, which (defying geometry) was called Russell Square. It still has its shops, but they have been converted into ordinary houses. Russell Square was a favourite spot for political meetings. In the 1918 general election Ramsay MacDonald had to shelter from the mob in the underground lavatories that once ...
The latest Faction Paradox short story collection, The Book of the Enemy, is now up for pre-order. It has a story in it by me, "The Book of the Enemy", as well as stories by some of my favourite writers ... Continue reading →
The Brexiteers should be jubilant. This is exactly what they campaigned for and they should celebrate every victory. So why don't they respect the result?
Last week's Highway Committee decided that you will all be safer with the new speed limits I described in the last post. I attended the committee to express my concerns, and those of people who I had spoken to, but my arguments fell on deaf ears. Instead they preferred the arguments of council officers who assured them that the new speed limits would result in lower speeds overall. By 8 – 5 they voted to get rid of the 30 mph signs as you approach Consett on the A692 and replace them with 40 mph signs. There will then be ...
Vince Cable, reports the Independent, has avoided being shortlisted for the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award. Although he received many nominations for his political thriller Open Arms, which was written during the year he was out of parliament, the Literary Review said: Cable's thriller Open Arms - which follows a "glamorous housewife-turned-MP" who rises through the Westminster ranks - just wasn't written badly enough, calling the sex "very discreet".
[IMG: Mums, you are your child's foremost story teller not 'Sleeping Beauty'] A mother has called for the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale to be banned from schools for fear that a kissing scene featured could encourage 'inappropriate behaviour'. Sarah Hall from Newcastle is concerned about the message... The post Mums, you are your child's foremost story teller not 'Sleeping Beauty' appeared first on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas.
It Happened One Night won the Oscar for Outstanding Production in 1935. Eleven other films were in contention; I won't bother listing them. Frank Capra also won the Oscar for Best Director, Clark Gable for Best Actor, Claudette Colbert for Best Actress and Robert Riskin for Best Adaptation (now Best Adapted Screenplay), a sweep which has been repeated only twice since (by One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and The Silence of the Lambs). It ranks top of the films of 1934 on IMDB. I cannot recall ever having heard of it before starting this project. It's a screwball romantic ...
For decades, in the post-war era, there was not a budget day when the Liberal Party did not move an amendment to promote employee ownership and industrial democracy. Jo Grimond and Richard Wainwright were always looking for opportunities to make the case for the redistribution of ownership. Not only did they believe that this would lead to a fair distribution of wealth and influence they saw that it would contribute to productivity improvement-but more of that later Donald Wade, (who for younger readers, was the MP for Huddersfield West,) laid out the argument in his pamphlet Our Aim and Purpose ...
Site-specific performance is most often understood as work which takes place outside of a traditional space of performance. But how specific can site be? We tried to come up with some ways of understanding the different terms, which are often used interchangeably In our seminar this week we discussed examples of work that we could consider to be site-specific work. One piece was a company who brought soil from another country into a performance space: through the re-placement of the soil, could the work could be considered to be taking place there, in the same way that embassies are considered ...
Fri, 12:34: RT @jonworth: Oh. Did anyone tell Arlene Foster? #Brexit https://t.co/aXnfRBqODN Fri, 12:42: @ktowens I think this one's for you! https://t.co/czMA8QkfeY Fri, 12:56: RT @marcusleroux: Excruciating David Davis anecdote in @tconnellyRTE's excellent Brexit & Ireland. https://t.co/DmLk9fW05a Fri, 12:57: RT @Donoghue_K: @kevinhorourke @marcusleroux @tconnellyRTE While not quite as cringeworthy, this from pg 298 suggests that UK officials are... Fri, 12:58: On reflection, @mediawhizz I think this is for you rather than me or @ktowens . Can you help? https://t.co/czMA8QkfeY Fri, 16:05: Newton Emerson: Licensing next war is Adams's real legacy https://t.co/4pmZut1iGe Necessary reading. Fri, 18:59: Doctor Who: The American Adventures, ...
A recent study claimed that 41 per cent of transgender prisoners are sex offenders - this is why it's false Excellent fact check here We Asked Men and Women to Wear Sensors at Work. They Act the Same but Are Treated Very Differently "we found that men and women had indistinguishable work patterns in the amount of time they spent online, in concentrated work, and in face-to-face conversation. And in performance evaluations men and women received statistically identical scores. This held true for women at each level of seniority. Yet women weren't advancing and men were." "Gender inequality is due ...
For a man who helped to win a referendum campaign on the back of some of the most outrageous lies about the so-called benefits of Brexit, you would think that Michael Gove might want to show some self-awareness when he criticises others. One can hardly dispute his claim that 'social media "corrupts" and "distorts" political decision-making', after all he and his colleagues tested that theory to destruction back in 2016 when they were arguing for us to leave the EU. Let's face it, he stood next to a bloody big bus which had the lie emblazoned across it that we ...
Around ten million small savers will be hit by a stealth tax worth £500m buried in the small print of the Budget, it emerged yesterday. Previously small savers were only taxed on increases above inflation, but under the new plans the whole of the increase will be taxed. Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented: "This is an indefensible raid on small savers. "With inflation running at 3% a year, many people will see their savings shrink in real terms because of this unfair policy. "At a time when incomes are being squeezed and household debt is approaching pre-crisis levels, the ...
A visit to Meadows Leisure Centre the other day and this sight caught my eye. Lovely autumnal colours as a tree on KGV Park shed it's leaves. Click on the photos to enlarge them The 2nd photo is amongst my Flickr photos at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
Responding to reports that defence minister Tobias Ellwood has threatened to resign if military cuts bring the army below 70,000 soldiers, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Menzies Campbell said: "When will the government listen and learn? Former members of all three armed services, informed commentators, members of both Houses of Parliament and now a defence minister have all voiced their deepening anxieties about possible heavy cuts in the defence budget. "Reducing the army even further, cutting the Royal Marines, and selling surface ships will fracture our defence capability."
I have been a contributor to Liberal Democrat Voice for so long,a reader for longer,that some have asked me why I do not write articles for it. As a contributor to one or two other sites,and someone who also, amongst other things does write professionally,and increasingly has had my head down more than once upon a time,this site has seemed to be a part of my political, rather than creative world.As I am based in an area,Nottingham,and from one,London,where getting elected for this party is no easy or even very feasible thing,politics is for me the world of the amateur ...
Sat 25th
09:04
Robert Peston hits nails squarely on the head as he resurrects the Radical in UK politics
The Guardian has the story on its web site – see link above After generations of UK political leaders who have just managed our political system and economy at the margins we have almost forgotten (well us Liberals haven't of course) how only leaders with Radical views can really change things for the better and the common good. Frankly Peston sounds very much like an old fashioned Liberal Radical in much of this analysis of him, by Decca Aitkenhead, and what he is advocating. Go on, have read of this fascinating piece (linked above) because whether you agree with ...
Staring Jean Simmons and Trevor Howard, The Clouded Yellow is an Alfred Hitchcock style thriller from 1950.
Today is the start of West End Christmas Fortnight! This is the 17th year of West End Christmas events - a whole fortnight of fun for all the family! Events this weekend include : Today - Saturday 25th November : Christmas Fortnight starts with Dundee West Church's Christmas Coffee Morning taking place in the church - 10am to 12 noon - enter from the church's entrance at 132 Perth Road. Today - Saturday 25th November : Vintage Afternoon Tea and Fashion Show at Harris Academy, supporting Roxburghe House and CHAS. 12 noon to 6pm. Tomorrow - Sunday 26th November : ...
