You may remember that I was taken with the two bridges over the Nene at Irthlingborough last summer. The Britain From Above site (which allows bloggers to use its images for free) has a nice shot of both bridges taken in 1946. In the foreground you can see the medieval bridge and further back the impressive concrete viaduct that had opened 10 years before. The tannery which stands beside them has long vanished.
In today's debate on the Syrian airstrikes, Vince raised three questions. Here is his speech in full, complete with interventions. My approach to this question was well captured by some of the independent-minded Labour Back Benchers yesterday, and particularly by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) when she said "If only the Prime Minister had asked it of me, I would have been inclined to support her." The Prime Minister did not ask, and as a result she missed a significant opportunity to build consensus in this place and support in the country. She has clearly received other ...
Tue 17th
21:21
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Welcome to my email digest for news from the Liberal Democrats in London, combining official news stories from the region with those from London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon and the London Lib Dem MPs.
I was having dinner with Lord Bonkers last night. "This Viktor Orban fellow seems a bad egg," he remarked. I agreed, offering a catalogue of the Hungarian prime minister's crimes. Lord Bonkers thought for a moment. "Not a well-behaved Orban then?" he offered. Whereupon he shook with laughter, slapped his thigh and exclaimed "Oh my! Oh my!" for what seemed an age. I have to say I didn't find it that funny.
Embed from Getty Images Yesterday's story about millennials being too squeamish to touch raw meat gave plenty of opportunity to laugh at the folly of the young. These days that's one of my chief occupations. But there is more to it than that. The Telegraph report says: Ruth Mason of the National Farmers' Union said it was "disconcerting that shoppers are so removed from their food" at a time when the meat and farming industry faces pressure from the increased number of consumers adopting vegetarian or vegan diets.Well, we like children to be in touch with nature - to pick ...
I had a bit of a sleepless night last night. The coughing started up again before I could take any more medicine so I had to try and distract myself with Twitter. I assumed that the screenshots of an alleged guide for deported people to help them settle in Jamaica had to be fake. Seriously, what human being could come up with this? The Home Office has – helpfully – provided travel advice for those long-term British residents it's deporting to Jamaica, including "trying to be Jamaican" by "using local accents and dialects." Yes, this is real. https://t.co/iQQBdEyD7u pic.twitter.com/XbriC2L5to — ...
For those of you who use ereaders other than the Kindle, The Basilisk Murders has now dropped out of Kindle Unlimited. I initially intended for it only to be on KU for three months, but accidentally set it to autorenew ... Continue reading →
Second paragraph of third chapter: I did, however, have one major advantage. In an institution as ferociously competitive as Cambridge was — and almost certainly still is — there is considerable merit in starting at the bottom, unburdened by high expectations. A 'NatSci' at Fitz from an obscure north-country grammar school and digs miles from the centre of town was as low as it was possible to get. My new college friends and I felt lucky to have scraped into the university at all, and were proud to ride around in our gowns and entertain awestruck relatives by walking them ...
The May elections are only a few weeks, a couple of dozen leaflet drops and three score candidate tweets away. So LDN #111 takes a look at the Lib Dem prospects, how Brexit may play out in those contests and what we can learn from the candidate numbers.
An application has been submitted to build 33 flats on top of the Whispering Moon pub in Ross Parade, Wallington. Whilst additional housing in a fairly non-controversial location is welcome, the design is quite bold. I would be interested in the views of local people on the design. The application does not include any affordable [...]
I mentioned, in my previous blog, that my boyfriend and I were National Trust members, and we certainly take advantage of the benefits! Sissinghurst Castle Gardens Out of all the places we have visited, one or two have definitely stood out for one reason or another, and this weekend I found one of my new favourite places: Smallhythe Place - the country retreat of the Victorian actress Ellen Terry. For obvious reasons this place appealed to me, even from the description in the National Trust guidebook which stated that the house was filled with memorabilia from Terry's long career as ...
Russia Steps Up Hacking, Spurring Rare U.S.-U.K. Warning on Risk Check your security, folks. There genuinely is a UKIP supporter called Max Gammon just in case you were wondering if nominative determinism wasn't a thing any more Why Theresa May can't blame anyone else for the Windrush scandal Elledge in coruscating form here. Esther McVey says controversial rape clause 'could help victims' talk about their ordeal ... because trying to convince a Job Centre staffer who wants to deny you benefits that you've been raped is going to be so stress-relieving! (TBH I suspect it'll not be great for the ...
I live in Camberwell, Southwark – I'm in a very, very safe Labour ward. It's the kind of ward in which, in 2014, the three Labour candidates were way above any other party (by more than a thousand votes); followed by the three Green candidates as a block; then some independents/very small parties; finally, the Tories and Lib Dem candidates with a hundred or so votes each if they were lucky, trailing far behind. Given my desire is try my best to help Labour possibly lose a seat in the ward (I know – good luck with that), how to ...
Mon, 13:24: RT @AkwugoEmejulu: Your occasional reminder that the Windrush generation arrived in Britain as *citizens*. There can be no 'amnesty' becaus... Mon, 16:05: RT @captain_europe: If this is the case, the S&D & EPP Grand Coalition won't work anymore: together they will still lack majority. With the... Mon, 18:41: Monday reading https://t.co/GW9OVM1236 Tue, 10:45: Welcome to the New World https://t.co/2BQSCVGbxi Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic story of Syrian refugees in America.
Today, Tuesday 17 April, is the last chance for people to register to vote in the local elections on 3 May, if they are not already on the electoral roll. This is particularly important for citizens of EU countries other than the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, as it is unlikely that they will retain [...]
Residents of Bury are being urged to get behind Diabetes Prevention Week, which runs 16 - 22 April 2018. The campaign launched by the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP) is encouraging patients to take steps to reduce their risk of developing diabetes and take up the offer of a FREE NHS Health Check. The following information is provided by the NHS in Bury: In Bury alone, over 13,400 people have diabetes (diagnosed or undiagnosed) and this figure is set to rise to over 16,000 by 2035. The impact and complications of the condition can be devastating - leading ...
You can now download and read or listen to thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks from Bury libraries through Borrowbox. The following information is provided by Bury's library service: Want to know more? It's Borrowbox Week from 24 to 29 April, so drop into any library and ask; alternatively, visit the Mill Gate shopping centre (outside TJ Hughes) on Tuesday 24 April where help will be at hand at our Borrowbox stall from 11m to 3pm. Anyone who borrows an eBook or eAudiobook between Tuesday 24 April and Sunday 20 May will be entered into a free prize draw and one ...
Tue 17th
09:31
When the wind blows, streets are littered with recycling - but Shropshire Council refuses simple sol...
The wind has been blowing hard since yesterday afternoon. Today is recycling day for parts of Ludlow and many other areas. And once again, we are seeing the all too familiar scene of plastics and tins being blown from the recycling boxes and littering the streets. What is Shropshire Council planning to do about this? Absolutely nothing. The plastic boxes provided by Shropshire Council for recycling are open topped. That means that once the wind picks up, and it does that quite a lot around here, plastic bottles and trays and aluminium tins are blown into the streets. We already ...
The one good thing we can say about Radio Four's broadcast of Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of blood' speech at the weekend is that it certainly outed some dodgy views. Chief amongst those was the assertion by the Welsh UKIP leader that Enoch Powell was not a racist. Neil Hamilton, who is himself a disgraced former Tory MP, though for different reasons, told the BBC that the idea Enoch Powell was a "racist villain" is "absolute nonsense": "The idea that Enoch Powell was some kind of uniquely racist villain is absolute nonsense," Mr Hamilton told the Good Morning Wales programme. "Powell ...
There has been a lot of publicity recently about what can and cannot be recycled using our recycling bins, particularly with the campaigns to reduce the amount of plastic waste. Recycle for Greater Manchester have produced this short animation about what can go in our 'mixed recycling' bin, which in Bury is blue.
Engaging in an act of war is always a serious decision for a head of state. Emmanuel Macron surely did not take lightly the decision to involve France in an American led punitive operation to bomb Syria. We have no reason to doubt the sincerity of the French president when he claims to have irrefutable [...] The post Macron's very delicate missile balance appeared first on Radix.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43756531 The BBC has the story on it Scotland web site page – see link above I'm wondering if the BBC may finally be weakening in it pro-Brexit approach to news and current affairs coverage? To date, more or less since the EU Referendum, the BBC has been heavily biased in its reporting towards the pro-Brexit camp in my view. The number of Times Nigel Farage has appeared on Question Time has become a national embarrassment for our supposedly impartial national broadcaster to whom we all have to pay a license fee. But pressure has been building on the BBC ...
Join a partnership day led by City of Trees on Tuesday 24th April at Prestwich Clough. Take part in practical conservation work, learn new skills, and help make a difference to this important green space. On the day they'll be clearing paths, cutting back vegetation, and generally tidying up the area. The day will run 9:30 – 3pm so join us for an hour or stay all day! Light refreshments will be provided. They will be meeting at the footpath leading into the Clough on Ruskin Road (M25 9GL), where parking is available. All tools and equipment will be provided ...
23-29 April 2018 is MS week, which is a chance for us all to do our bit to raise awareness and money to make sure no one has to fight MS alone. 23-29 April 2018 is MS week, which is a chance for us all to do our bit to raise awareness and money to make sure no one has to fight MS alone. MS is a neurological life long condition which affects your brain, spinal chord and central nervous system. As a result MS can create many different symptoms, and is different for every patient. Of the over 100,000 ...
This year I am again going to try to blog about the finalists for the Hugo Awards. I might not cover all of them (I haven't in previous years) and in particular I might not be able to cover the ... Continue reading →
