Cliff Richard's last film as the star was Take Me High, in which he took on Brutalist Birmingham and won. I once posted a scene of him at Gas Street Basin, but that has disappeared from YouTube. Some nonsense about "copyright" no doubt. But here is a Midlands Today report from last year about the making of the film.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 522nd 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 (24-30 June, 2018), 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. A welcome full slate of Liberal Democrat ...
Last month I reported that the 58 bus from Market Harborough to Lutterworth was to be withdrawn. The good news is that the county council has stepped in and will support the service for another year, possibly with a different bus company running it. But it may be best not to get too hopeful. Here is part of the announcement of the move on the county council website: The replacement service will run until June 2019 as all existing subsidised bus services across the county have been extended to the date. This allow for the development and adoption of a ...
Sun 1st
18:48
Power grab: Tory county council leader wants to abolish every district council in Leicestershire
Unused quote from unnamed MP: "No f*cking way this is happening. I'm not having a committee in f*cking Glenfield decide planning applications in my area" The reception for this idea isn't great https://t.co/NsqQ0xw1jQ— Dan Martin (@Danjamesmartin) June 29, 2018The Leicester Mercury reports an extraordinary attempt to grab power by Nick Rushton, the Conservative leader of Leicestershire County Council. He wants to see every district council in the county abolished and their powers passed to the county council. His arguments for this move, at least as reported in the Mercury, are pretty incoherent. Behind it, I suggest, lie modern Conservatism's dislike ...
"John's not being funny, he's just being silly," an exasperated teacher once told the class as the young Otway drank a bottle of ink. There are times when you feel that teacher was on to something, but who can fail to like this? Beware of the Flowers was the B-side of Otway's Really Free, which reached 27 in the UK singles chart in 1977. This live version was recorded at Appletreewick, a remote village in Wharfdale, a couple of years ago. I have left the chat on at the start because it is funny, not silly.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44665560 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44672873 The BBC has two articles on its web site – see links above And above is a link to a BBC page all about William Beveridge the Liberal MP who wrote the report which the 1945 incoming Labour Government implemented. Apart from a few nutters on the fringes of British politics (although I'm beginning to wonder if political nutters are now becoming mainstream!) we are all supporters of the NHS. But what on earth would William Beveridge make of the mess that our present-day politicians are making of it via under-funding and putting it at huge risk ...
Just announced by Jo Swinson on Twitter! We are delighted to welcome Gabriel Peter Kelvin Hames to the world. He arrived, happy and healthy, at 5:53am on Friday, weighing 7lb. Gabriel has two overjoyed parents and one very excited big brother. pic.twitter.com/TsMgxXyObJ — Jo Swinson (@joswinson) July 1, 2018 All the very best to Jo, Duncan, Andrew and Gabriel. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
I had a vasectomy just over ten years ago, at the end of June 2008. The reasoning was fairly simple. When you have two children with severe disabilities, it's difficult not to conclude that something is up genetically. In any case I was 41, and we had three children and did not want any more. So the choice was between continued use of contraception, with the non-zero attendant risks of failure, or medical intervention. And the fact is that a vasectomy is far less invasive than the equivalent procedures for people with wombs and Fallopian tubes, which involve major surgery. ...
When Liberal MP William Beveridge wrote the seminal report on the development of a National Health Service, which Labour then implemented, the health conditions and the type of society were very different from those of today The Prime Minister has ... Continue reading →
Anyone living in the Middle East, or writing about it, as I do, needs to have a good sense of humour. But few are as sharp or as poignant as the London-based Lebanese architect — and occasional stand-up comedian — Karl Sharro (aka Karl reMarks). He is a master of killer one-liners ("After the Arab [...]
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens has admitted, on the Andrew Marr Show, that the NHS is now preparing for a no deal Brexit.Responding to Stevens' interview, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:"Stevens' admission confirms the ever-increasing probability of a no deal Brexit. It is undeniable that leaving the EU without a deal would devastate our health service. "Stevens, an outspoken critic of the Government, was forced to bite his tongue when Andrew Marr pushed him on the consequences of a no deal. That is because Stevens knows it would have blistering implications, from staffing levels to the availability of ...
View Poll: World Cup, Second Round, Day Three You should be able to vote using your Facebook or Twitter account, even if you aren't on Livejournal. Well done to busarewski, trepkos, arwel_p and redfiona99 who all called the winners of both matches yesterday. I drew France and Portugal respectively in our London and Brussels office pools, so at least I still have one team in the running.
David Ford is enjoying the first day of his retirement today. He's been such a wise, sensible voice in Northern Ireland politics for over quarter of a century. He explains to the BBC why he's decided that now is the right time to step down from the Assembly. The Alliance Party website has his full statement: It has been an enormous privilege to represent the people of South Antrim and the wider Alliance Party for the entire life of the Assembly so far. However, I feel now is the right time for me to step down. This will enable my ...
Sat, 12:15: In the post office. "Can I have ten stamps please?" "Do you want the ones with the King or the Smurfs?" No contest. https://t.co/UIBt8kdCG0 Sat, 12:56: What Brexit Means For Peace in Northern Ireland https://t.co/mr64pw2liM Good for Amanda, excellent piece. Sat, 13:01: Finished Cycle with #cyclemeter, on a new route, time 34:03, distance 8,83 km, see https://t.co/oxDP2wT442, average 15,56. Sat, 13:37: World Cup, Second Round, Day Two https://t.co/qyibpOBd1D Sat, 15:24: June Books https://t.co/DWFEOoLxnp Sat, 16:05: David Davis has spent just 4 hours in talks with Michel Barnier this year https://t.co/8taWEwanbc Yup. Sat, 17:07: RT @ftbrussels: David Davis has ...
Yesterday I headed west out of London to take part in the latest Western Counties training day, this one looking ahead to the 2019 local elections, which offer the party a huge opportunity. I took the risk of trusting to my phone to tell me how to get from the station to the school being used via what looked a rather odd route. I'm very glad I did, as it meant I got a walk along a canal, a saunter around a field and a tour of little back paths on the way. Oh, and that moment when I walked ...
Sun 1st
10:25
Connect: 8 things Lib Dem activists should know about the Connect electoral database program
5. Don't share your Lib Dem Connect login. Your Connect login is just for you to use, and what is done with it gets logged and recorded.
One of the stories of the week has been the stunning victory of 28 year old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the primary in New York's 14th district. She unseated an incumbent 10 term senior congressman, Joe Crowley, the fourth ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. He certainly seems to have been very complacent. How did she do it, and what can we as Liberal Democrats learn from this? The New York Times has an analysis of why she won: She flipped the levers of power he was supposed to have — his status as a local party boss and his ...
The following rather reminds me of how many people say they feel about the volume of information online, save that it's from a novel first published in 1935: He would prowl the stacks of the library at night, pulling books out of a thousand shelves and reading them like a madman. The thought of these vast stacks of books would drive him mad: the more he read, the less he seemed to know – the greater the number of books he read, the greater the immense uncountable number of those which he could never read would seem to be. It's ...
The number of Blue Plaques in Blyth is increasing ... Currently I know of several, including the "Warwickshire Regiment" plaque at the beach, plaques at St Cuthbert's church, Newsham Station house, Keel Row, Bath Terrace and others So far Blyth Town Council has failed to publish on their website a complete list , or publish a printed "trail map" of the plaques, so the public can only find them when they trip over them ( not literally of course) I will try to identify as many as possible and publish a list and photos for anyone interested. Finally, the scheme ...
Details of the next meeting of Community Spirit Action Group, the residents' group for the 'north' of the West End Ward, covering areas like Cleghorn, Pentland, Ancrum, Tullideph and Milnbank/Forest Park :
