Rothley has a station on a steam railway, a street once found to be the most expensive in the East Midlands and a hotel that used to belong to the Knights Templar where Mike Gatting lost the England captaincy by entertaining a barmaid in his room. But today I wanted to see the Saxon cross in its churchyard. Here is its billing on the Rothley Parish Council page: The cross stands on a small, grassy mound close to the path. Geological experts believe the shaft stones are made from highly quartzose, millstone grit of a kind found in Derbyshire east ...
... and while I am very happy with it in general, especially the lovely 6 card, immediately upon flicking through the cards I thought of lots that should have been in there but weren't. I also noticed there was a fair bit of room for extra cards in the box. These, after some brainstorming with [IMG: [personal profile] ] magister and [IMG: [personal profile] ] hollymath, handily add up to six packs of Fluxx Blanxx... ( Card ideas under the cut ) I await with interest your criticisms, comments, and other suggestions :) I also await the 6 packs of ...
Valparaíso is the port town, and its neighbour, Viña del Mar, is the beach resort. The two are connected by Metro Valparaíso, which runs a very efficient service, seven days a week, at frequencies of as little as every six minutes. Fares are about 50p to travel from one town centre to the other, and it seemed like the easiest way to get some time by the seaside. And indeed it turned out to be as simple as it looked, despite my total lack of functional Spanish. I managed to buy us a Bip card, the local equivalent of an ...
The PET/CT scan results came back on 14th February. The comparison with November was startling. It means I'll be having my first cycle of six chemotherapy sessions on March 1st. Before then I'll be going back for a talk with one of the specialist nurses to go through the process once more. I'm also due to go back in to ... The post March 1st: chemotherapy cycle one appeared first on ten pence piece.
I have long been a fan of Nick Park's stop motion animated films. I can't count the times I've watched the Wallace and Gromit movies — made all the more special because my late, inimitable friend Peter Sallis voiced the character of Wallace — and I laugh each time. Shaun the Sheep, longer and more [...]
I've been having problems getting posts up here the last couple of weeks. Between getting The Glam Rock Murders published, reformatting my ebooks, working on the second edition of Monkee Music, and being ill (I've been ill more days than ... Continue reading →
More comedy genius from Tripp and Tyler and so very true about the corner chair and fridge. I apologise to all those baffled by the fridges whose plugs are hidden behind almost impossible to move wooden furniture that I may have forgotten to plug back in before leaving.
I have recently started using some new "gadgets". Normally such items are very new. But in these cases they are gadgets which my grandads would have recognised. Shaving foam and gel is a bit of a pain because it blocks up one's multi-blade razor. I used to spend ages flushing hot water through my razor ... Continue reading Modern use of gadgets which grandad would recognise #2
I have recently started using some new "gadgets". Normally such items are very new. But in these cases they are gadgets which my grandads would have recognised. About six years ago I stopped wearing a wristwatch because I was fed up of the slight discomofort of doing so. In any case, I decided I could ... Continue reading Modern use of gadgets which grandad would recognise #1
Rebecca won the Academy Award for Outstanding Production of 1940, the last time the award had that name; I caught the end of The Great Dictator on TV once, but otherwise have not seen any of the other nominees. Rebecca got another ten nominations, but won only one, for Best Black and White Cinematography. Doing my homework for nominating and voting in the 1941 Retro Hugos, I watched Pinocchio, The Thief of Bagdad, The Invisible Man Returns and bits of Fantasia. (Worth noting that Pinocchio and Fantasia won the two Retro Hugos.) Both IMDB systems have Rebecca third on their ...
This road has been closed to traffic due to subsidence. A detailed survey is under way but it doesn't look like it will be an easy job. They might have to reconstruct the road from the foundation up, and maybe put in ground anchors or retaining walls. The road is still open for walkers.
Lord Menzies Campbell gave the Lib Dem reaction to Theresa May's speech on post-Brexit security: Everything Theresa May said in this speech illustrated that being in the EU is the best way of securing our security objectives. This was an opportunity for her to show some pragmatism. She could have shown willingness to compromise on the European Court of Justice so as to break the logjam on the European Arrest Warrant and to make sure we have access to Europol's information. The problem she has is that to decide is to divide - Conservative Brexiteers inside and outside her Cabinet ...
The BSFA Award final ballot is now out! The 48 novels on the long-list have been winnowed down to four, two of which were in the top ten in the previous table and two of which were in the lower half. (To be precise, they ranked 3rd, 9th, 27th and 35th out of 48; last year's shortlist similarly ranked 9th, 23rd, 26th, 28th and 29th out of 34.) Which maybe demonstrates the limited predictive value of this analysis... I have actually read one of them, Exit West. Goodreads LibraryThing owners av rating owners av rating Mohsin Hamid - Exit West ...
Last week, Ed Davey introduced a Bill which, if it passes, would ensure that terminally ill people who are homeless are given the housing and end of life care to ensure that they die with as much dignity and comfort as possible. Ed's bill only applies to England. I thought I would have a look at what happens in Scotland. I'd thought that things would be much better north of the border, but they aren't. A Marie Curie Scotland briefing to the Scottish Parliament's Local Government Committee's inquiry into homelessness makes me very worried: It is clear that that providing ...
Fri, 12:56: What freedom of movement means to business https://t.co/q2z4sedB0u By American Express. #client Fri, 16:05: BSFA 2017 Awards https://t.co/ODS0THd4fk Final ballot now out! Fri, 17:32: RT @joshuabeatty: Super happy that the @TheHugoAwards from @worldcon75 are now up on YouTube for all to enjoy. Am very proud to have helped... Fri, 18:59: The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield https://t.co/1lxbv4A1lw Fri, 20:48: Fascinating Photos of Dublin in 1973 https://t.co/j19UMyHk4p This was in my lifetime. Fri, 21:15: RT @TeamEveMyles: People of Cardiff my car got broken into last night and they stole all my Children's DVD's! If you see someone trying to... ...
Labour's failure as an opposition on the biggest issue to face the UK since World War 2 will come under scrutiny this weekend as the party gathers in Leeds for their National Policy Forum in which Jeremy Corbyn will address Shadow Cabinet ministers and union officials in a private meeting. As the Independent reports, Labour has received more than 17,000 emails within five days calling on the party to consult its half a million strong membership on Brexit policy. They say that the email campaign, which has been coordinated by Labour MPs, the pro-EU group Open Britain and the Labour ...
I am, still, methodically recording my 10,000 steps each day, and I needed another walk to make sure that I got there on our second day in Valparaíso. And what better way than to take a properly long trolleybus ride? So, I walked down the hill, boarded the ascensor, and made my way to the trolleybus stop near to the Armada de Chile headquarters - a wonderful building in the French style that was apparently popular when it was built. And, as luck would have it, one of the elderly Pullman built American trolleybuses rolled up almost immediately. I handed ...
[IMG: Kudos to the Lib Dems for tackling the issue of race head-on] It was obvious to me as a long standing member that there was something wrong with race representation within the party. Quite often it was a painful experience. Whether the reason was outright racism or... The post Kudos to the Lib Dems for tackling the issue of race head-on appeared first on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas.
If you applied for lasting powers of attorney (LPA) or enduring powers of attorney (EPA) between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017, you can claim a refund of part of your fee. More information is available on the Government website.
When Sal Brinton and I did the Hungry for Democracy fast last week, we did it to raise awareness of why we need a different voting system for Westminster so that we can get the Parliament we ask for. Also in our minds was the fact that proportional voting systems give much more potential for a more diverse Parliament. An article on the Electoral Reform Society's blog this week shows how our First Past the Post system is a barrier to gender equality. Basically, the safest seats are mostly held by men. When each constituency has just one seat, only ...
Sat 17th
08:31
We are bringing Bromfield Parish Council back to life - if you live in Bromfield you could help
The parish council, which has up to nine members is moribund. No one stood for election in May 2017. Accounts had not been prepared for three years in breach of statutory obligations. We will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday 14 March to discuss the future of the parish council. In the meanwhile, we have set a precept for the next financial year and are paying the council's outstanding bills. If you live in Bromfield parish, please come to the meeting if you can. It will be at 6.30pm in the Boardroom at the Clive. Unitary councillors met in ...
As residents know, I have on many occasions expressed concern over the deteriorating state of an empty prominent office block in Luna Place in the Technology Park that sits beside the Riverside Avenue Ambassador Route, a key entry road into Dundee, with many thousands of vehicles passing every day. The office block has lain empty for some time and it is understood the owner lives in Ireland. Late last year, with planning authority, new fencing was erected round the site which I felt was a positive sign, but thereafter there had been poor workmanship including trenches around the site and ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-43033055 The BBC has this so sad and frustrating story on its web site – see link above Stories like this make my blood boil; you just can't understand how the shop assistant in Halfords came to do such a terrible thing. I feel for Halfords in some ways because this is a huge embarrassment for the company and you can't in any way think that they would have wanted their assistant to act in the way they did. I spent many years working with people who had a disability at the Maghull Homes/Parkhaven Trust in the 1980's and early ...
The Guardian has the article on its web site – see link above I just know the mention of Polly Toynbee will set my old chum Phil off. Yes I know Phil, she can often be all heart and little head so to speak. Seriously, this article has a very clear point. To me Brexit pushes a united Ireland closer and that can only be a good thing – a good thing from Brexit? Well maybe, just maybe if civil war does not break out in that island first of course. Funny how the muddled thinking of the rich ...
