When cotton spinning ceased at Arkwright's Mill, Cromford, in the middle of the 19th century, the site was given over to a number of other industrial uses. Among them was paint manufacture, a process whose toxic legacy continues to present a challenge to those restoring the buildings. In this aerial photograph from 1947 you can see that the central courtyard is occupied by a clutter of more modern buildings. All these have now been cleared from the site.
Following up the great suggestions for summer reading made by readers, here is a rather niche list: great books to read written by current or former Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians. Niche range, but great books.
Here's what it looks like when a political party explodes. pic.twitter.com/k1kkysboT4— Alan White (@aljwhite) July 16, 2018Moderate Conservatives are called "Wets" for a reason, but here Anna Soubry summons up the passion Remainers have rarely shown. I wish Theresa May had one thousandth of her courage.
There was a surprising site in the recently diminished sidings at Market Harborough this morning: a few London Underground coaches with a class 37 at each end. I presume they were on their way from Derby works to the capital and chose Harborough as a convenient place to sit out the rush hour.
Mon 16th
19:41
Maghull – Time capsule buried at new North station & 'shell shock' research recognition
The following is from a Merseytravel staff briefing:- 'Following on from the official station opening last month, a special event took place at Maghull North on Wednesday which saw local schoolchildren burying a 50-year time capsule. With support from Merseytravel, Sefton Council and Merseyrail, the pupils from St Thomas C of E Primary School in Lydiate have been busy planning the capsule over the last couple of months - items added included LFC/EFC match programmes, an unused mobile phone, popular books and a film which they created. As well as the capsule being buried, a series of storyboards were unveiled ...
I was really glad to be able to watch the World Cup final yesterday in a cafe in Cormatin, Burgundy, with Anne, F and my sister who lives nearby. [IMG: 9C377970-65DD-4D67-A0F1-14D1AA5643C1.jpeg] The clouds were threatening, and we did get sprinkled at one point. [IMG: ED55C9FA-A4EB-4FDF-91F3-AF8FDC0F0328.jpeg] But the atmosphere was fantastic with local fans of all ages watching intently. [IMG: A0DE61E2-53C1-4879-99D7-2B6507FB24DE.jpeg] Sometimes you make the most of what you've got. [IMG: BF2C1FDB-19CD-44BB-B623-499E6C146AFF.jpeg] It was probably the most exciting World Cup final of my lifetime; my family, none of them particularly football fans, came along to humour me and were captivated. And ...
Current The Æneid, by Virgil (translations by John Dryden and Robert Fagles, plus Seamus Heaney's translation of Book VI) Maigret Loses His Temper, by Georges Simenon Last books finished Doctor Who Quiz Book of Dinosaurs, by Michael Holt Anno Mortis, by Rebecca Levene "Slow Sculpture", by Theodore Sturgeon A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters Wit, Wisdom and Timey-Wimey Stuff, by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon The Man Within My Head, by Pico Iyer Under the Pendulum Sun (extract), by Jeannette Ng The Two Jasons, by Dave Stone ...
Liverpool's Council Chamber where Labour's unity will be put to the test at the full Council meeting on Wednesday 18th July Wednesday is council day in Liverpool when a full meeting of the council will meet to consider a range ... Continue reading →
Mon 16th
16:45
Free healthy snacks for Children using County Council Swimming Pools or libraries this summer
During the school holidays free healthy snacks will be available to all children visiting any Durham County council swimming pool, library or community library every day they are open. Snacks on offer include bananas, satsumas, apples, popcorn and raisins etc. The snacks will help to ensure that children have access to something quick and healthy to eat during holidays rather than chocolate and sugary snacks. Details of local swimming pools and libraries can be found at: https://www.durham.gov.uk/leisure
President Trump's erratic and contradictory 'negotiation' behaviour over NATO, EU and the UK sends British officials off in a frenzy of textual analysis. It might be more productive for UK policymaking however, to assess the underlying motives of, and domestic pressures on, Trump. Trump's core aim is to address US government debt, and close off a series of related economic vulnerabilities; potentially catastrophic for general US global negotiating strength. Why? US aggregate debt is likely to exceed 106% of GDP in 2018 according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). A level not seen since WW2. This will be an eye-watering ...
There are very few things which depress me more than the discourse around the idea of a second referendum on leaving the EU. This is not, I should stress, because I have any opposition to the idea of remaining in ... Continue reading →
Brexit is an absolute shambles. Theresa May's new Chequers deal did little to convince her own cabinet, let alone anybody else, and Labour in opposition are offering nothing either. All the while Britain is bitterly divided, and appears to be close to taking a long walk off of a short pier. There is however a ready-made solution that could sort this mess out, and that is for the UK to join the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This arrangement already works well for Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and it could work well for ...
Mon 16th
12:53
How we might end up with a second referendum on Europe - with only two choices, not three
Justine Greening, the former secretary of state for education, is the first big name Tory MP to clearly call for a second referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. She describes the Chequers agreement as a fudge – and, of course, it is – and says that parliament has no way to break the deadlock, so it must go back to the people. Greening suggests a three-way referendum, although she is not the author of this plan as it has been bandied about previously, in which the choices will be between no deal/Mad Max dystopia type thing, Remain, and the ...
The Beeb have announced changes to political programming on TV. I wonder if they will be for the better? Certainly, UK television needs better political reporting. Like our newspapers, even the bits that like to think of themselves as responsible grown-up reporting are frustratingly lazy and present a narrative that has its flaws and its sparkle but is crucially devoid of attention span. On the left, think back to when Clegg became the leader of the Liberals in 2007 and he announced his aim was to double the number of seats the party had. Never mind what became of that ...
Brewdog 'not at all bothered' by Portman ruling over Pink IPA complaint I read this and thought, once more, "If only Brewdog's product was a tenth as good as their marketing department, they'd be challenging Diageo by now". Why has nobody who makes actually drinkable beverages poached their marketing department yet? Answers on a postcard... If you like what you see here (or even if you don't) please consider dropping me a tip: [IMG: Paypal Donate Button] [IMG: Buy Me an uncaffeinated beverage (because I'm allergic to coffee) at ko-fi.com] [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Seven tips. Guaranteed to work. No book purchase required.
Local resident Dr Rebecca Trimnell has been picked to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Gloucester at the next General Election. Rebecca, who lives in the Westgate area of the city, was chosen by Lib Dem party members from a shortlist of two at a selection meeting in the city on Saturday night. She will take on Conservative MP Richard Graham and Labour's Fran Boait at the next General Election, which could happen at anytime between now and 2022. Rebecca, 39, who lives in the shadow of St Oswald's Priory, is a former researcher to the Liberal Democrat county council ...
Whilst reading ESPN the other day I came across a link talking about Phil Hellmuth Jr. winning yet another World Series of Poker bracelet and it started taking me back. You see many years ago I would watch a TV show called Late Night Poker, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It was the first time that Poker had been shown on TV in the UK and it quickly became a late night hit amongst young people. The under the table cameras brought a unique insight into what was going on and it brought in a ...
[IMG: Image result for russia world cup] So, that's the World Cup over and France are champions. In a surprisingly good final, my pre-tournament prediction to win actually did - what was even more impressive is that this year's winners were unquestionably the best team over the last few weeks. I have no intention of undertaking an analysis of the various games or the tournament as a whole, but I would like to make a few observations (inevitably with a slight political perspective). 1. England are a good team. Not a great team by any means, but they exit a ...
Sun, 15:21: Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth exhibition https://t.co/MDs2ivfyG4 Sun, 16:05: A well-informed and unhappy Brexiteer. https://t.co/q5qF2Cjhr7 Sun, 17:00: I have only once previously in my life watched the World Cup final while in the country of one of the finalists - G... https://t.co/vWX3ggK6RW Sun, 17:09: This graphic showing whether a majority of people in each country are supporting France or Croatia may not be compl... https://t.co/HEP8CIFNls Sun, 17:18: And the cafe has erupted!!! Sun, 17:28: Well, this is exciting!!! Sun, 17:30: RT @ianjamesparsley: Already aged well... https://t.co/F6dCtZyjyz Sun, 17:38: Cafe erupts again!!! Sun, 17:48: As far as I can tell, ...
So the NHS is 70 years old, and - perhaps it is because it is currently under threat from serious underfunding - the coverage has been self-congratulatory. There is a lot to be congratulatory about, of course: free at the point of use and the egalitarian ethos. It works. But even when you had articles about changes [...] The post To save the NHS, we have to be intelligently critical appeared first on Radix.
Harold Wilson once said "a week is a long time in politics"... The last few days make that sound like an understatement. Last Sunday I offered something to Liberal Democrat Voice suggesting that it's time to switch the language on Brexit into an explicit attack on "Tory Brexit". The resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson take that a great deal further. I'm writing this now wondering whether there will be another resignation before it is read on Liberal Democrat Voice, and whether we will be in another Tory leadership contest, or hurtling into a General Election. There's been forceful ...
Theresa May is now fighting on two fronts over her Brexit white paper, after former education secretary, Justine Greening joined the Liberal Democrats in calling for a referendum on the final deal. As the Guardian reports, Greening has become the most high profile Conservative to endorse the idea of a referendum, to end what she said would be a likely parliamentary deadlock over Brexit. She warned that Theresa May's Chequers plan did not represent "a workable compromise" that a majority of MPs could get behind: The former education secretary and remain supporter said that May's plan was "a fudge I ...
When I joined the party eight years ago I was surprised at the disdain some held for the Young Liberals (formerly Liberal Youth). Infighting, popularity contests and a distinct lack of coherent long-term objectives are all things which have came to epitomise the Young Liberals, and sadly much of that is true. Our party can be daunting for young members so when I joined the party back in 2010 the thing which kept me involved was the youth wing. The knowledge that, somewhere within the party, there was a person not too dissimilar from me who was able to speak ...
Mon 16th
07:56
Welcome to my day: 16 July 2018 - are the tectonic plates of British politics shifting?
An opinion poll this weekend showed a significant shift from the Conservatives to UKIP, which perhaps shouldn't be a surprise given the reaction to Theresa May's proposals for Brexit. If, and one cannot be too cautious here, it is an early sign that Brexit supporters will desert the Conservatives if she proceeds as outlined, the beneficiaries are likely to be Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Of course, it might also cause Theresa May to revert to a more hardline approach... But, whilst the experts and the commentariat pick through the entrails, we've got a website to run. And we start ...
The government has shaken up the UK research system. But fossil fuels, not low-carbon technologies, still seem to be in the driving seat. A new report by Richard Jones and James Wilsdon invites us to question the biomedical bubble - the slow but steady concentration of research and development (R&D) resources in the hands of biomedical science. A provocative case, it's already generated some discussion. Here, I want to pick up a point that might be easily missed amongst fights over the role of biomedicine: the all-too-small amount of resource being put towards decarbonising energy. Continue reading...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 16 JULY 2018 Logie Street - closed for one week for carriageway resurfacing. Greenmarket/South Marketgait junction - prohibition of all right turns for one week for traffic signal refurbishment works. Forthcoming Roadworks Perth Road (at Arnhall Drive) - temporary traffic lights from Monday 23 July for one week for gas service connection. Riverside Drive (at Riverside Approach) - temporary traffic lights from Monday 30 July for 5 weeks for gas main renewal. Riverside Approach closed southbound and prohibition of right turn from Barnetts Garage ...
