Forty jobs are on offer at a new Lidl store in Loughborough, the Leicester Mercury reported earlier this month. But what interests me is this sentence: The new store, which will include an on-site bakery, is taking shape on a brownfield site previously occupied by the former Charnwood Forest Railway building and a petrol station.I photographed those buildings in the spring of last year. The photograph above shows the goods shed that belonged to Loughborough Derby Road station, and the one below shows the petrol station. The station's platforms vanished long ago - the petrol station was built on the ...
Government infrastructure plans lack future proofing Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Jenny Randerson has urged the Government to invest in "rail, low emission buses and electric charging points" as reports indicate the Government is set to announce new investment for roads in the Budget. Jenny Randerson said: While it is welcome news that the Government will finally set aside much needed investment for our roads, their infrastructure plan lacks any future proofing. With climate change an ever greater threat, Liberal Democrats demand better. Ministers should be focusing on a model shift away from car use to public transport. That means investment ...
Exciting news from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury: A Stamford man who claimed to have seen a black panther on Tuesday night returned the following day and took a photograph of a large pawprint. Steve Kelly was so intrigued by the sighting that the following day he returned and managed to capture a photograph of a pawprint left by the creature. ... The father-of-four has since contacted BBC wildlife expert Chris Packham and is trying to get in touch with a university zoologist to find out more.It is two years since the same newspaper reported a sighting of "the elusive ...
Leuven is commemorating the contribution to the city of the Arenberg family, local bigwigs for centuries who are still around despite all their property being confiscated in 1918 because they were too German. A big chunk of that property is the forest which starts less than five minutes' walk from our house, the Meerdaalwoud/Heverleebos, and this weekend saw various events to celebrate the Arenberg heritage. I went yesterday on a historic walk explaining how the Arenbergs had managed the forest over the centuries, led by a chap in partial costume: I confess that I didn't absorb the details of the ...
Well, this looks interesting... The SNP remain the most popular party in Scotland but Nicola Sturgeon could lose her pro-independence majority at Holyrood in 2021. https://t.co/Wu4f3fdBUA — The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) October 27, 2018 I know, I know, it's only a poll, but an almost doubling of support for us should encourage Scottish Lib Dems to get campaigning. The Survation poll for the Daily Record shows what could be on offer for the Scottish Liberal Democrats and should give the party confidence. The findings echo what people are finding on the doorsteps. For a few fraught years, we were getting ...
Yesterday we had an action day in Low Fell, Gateshead. It went ahead despite the snow and the cold wind. Fortunately by the afternoon the snow had gone. Our aim was to carry out a survey of a particular target group. I'm pleased to say we got through the whole group, though admittedly there were lots of people who were out when we called. The response was positive though I did come across
I am a fan of plastic. It has revolutionised modern lives and will continue to do so. I hate plastic. It is destroying our present and future environment. Some councils are stopping collecting it for recycling for fear it is dumped overseas or incinerated. However, most of Shropshire's domestic plastic is recycled. But like plastic itself, the carbon chains are long. We should use less. There has been a huge fuss in recent months over plastic in the oceans and rightly so. That has focused attention on plastic entering the oceans and being dumped in landfill. The hue and cry ...
The clocks have gone back and it's going to be dark by 5pm tonight. I hate Winter and darkness with a passion. I therefore reserve the right to post things that cheer me up. One of those things is Vince's appearance on the Strictly Christmas special back in 2010. If you want to see his graceful and elegant Foxtrot, it's in the BBC post linked to below. There's a serious reason to refer to it, though. This week, Vince suggested that Strictly dancers like Aljaz, Giovanni, Grazziano and Gorka, who come from EU countries, could be affected by Brexit. He ...
The latest edition of Matt Forde's podcast, The Political Party, contains a fascinating, funny and moving interview with journalist Jane Merrick. As the blurb says: Jane was a Time Person of the Year in 2017 and has been at the heart of British political journalism for nearly 20 years. She joins Matt to discuss her career – including the differences between working for the Daily Mail and the Independent on Sunday – and her politics. Jane also talks about her experience of sexual harassment in Westminster, which led to Michael Fallon leaving the Cabinet. Listen to it in full here: ...
This is another of my thoughts set to video while I am stuck at the wheel of my car: could Theresa May be saved by Labour MPs? There is constant talk of her being gone within days. Ever since her shoot-her-own-foot decision to go for an early election, headlines of her being deposed have never been far from the front pages. Yet, a year and a half since then, she is still there. Her ability to
On Friday, I delivered 220 Focuses in Dunston Hill, one of our target wards which Labour are defending in May 2019 (in May this year we won with a majority of around 600). The Focus led on the issue of Labour's plans for 582 executive homes on Whickham Highway. Other stories included the closure of Dunston Hill Hospital and the Dunston health centre. The Focus included the petition we are
Last week Stephanie Beacham led us to The Colour of My Love, so let's stay with her. The Show was the theme song from a 1985 drama series called Connie. The title character was played by Beacham and - very Eighties - it was set in the fashion world. This was the role that brought her to the American attention and led to her going on to star in The Colbys and Dynasty. Connie also did great things for Pam Ferris, who played the villain. She has been on our screens ever since. With its big, booming synthesisers, The Show ...
I was quite surprised by the newspapers on Friday. After Vince Cable along with representatives from Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Greens met Michel Barnier, I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd had more "enemies of the people" nonsense from the more excitable right wing tabloids. They were quiet, but this weekend, Leave EU jumped that particular shark, accusing Vince Cable of High Treason. Layla Moran retorted on Twitter that this was a badge of honour. Leave are saying @LibDems are committing treason. Badge. Of. Honour. There is time. It's called ext to A50. #PeoplesVote (It's a screenshot btw, don't ...
Sat, 12:30: RT @innocent: Don't forget to put your clocks back before bed tonight. Here's how: https://t.co/ZLI8qmjRIf Sat, 12:56: Britain Isn't Just Losing Brexit. Europe Is Winning It. - Foreign Policy https://t.co/rtNdBJLsKx A survey of busine... https://t.co/ZNcVUGneOe Sat, 13:08: Fomes fomentarius. @ Oud-Heverlee https://t.co/B9CFjKlbCi Sat, 15:02: RT @hugorifkind: Disgusted Obama is less inspirational than Lofty Obama but a whole lot more fun. https://t.co/URNZxfNKUf Sat, 16:05: RT @electionlit: I don't think I've seen dogs feature so much in an election campaign ever. ..... Here's a pic of Dev with his dogs ..... a... Sat, 17:07: Gentleman's Agreement (1947); and book by ...
As we await Monday's budget and note the increasing pressure on the UK Government to fix the problems in Universal Credit, it is worth noting the views of Deven Ghelani, a former Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) adviser. He believes that Universal credit has been fatally undermined by the Tories' other brutal welfare cuts, namely £12bn of "salami-sliced cuts" that were introduced by the former Chancellor after the 2015 General Election, once he could shake himself clear of Nick Clegg's veto on such a course of action. The Independent says that this fresh criticism of Conservative welfare cuts comes ...
Yate Men's Shed has applied to the Aviva Community Fund for a storage container and needs your help! If you haven't already voted please have a go and encourage your colleagues, friends and family. Anyone can vote, but you'll need to register with Aviva first. You will then get 10 votes in total, and you can cast all ten of them for YMS if you choose to do so. If YMS win this £1,000 Aviva grant, they plan to use it to erect a materials storage shed on their site. Somewhere to store their wood, metal, fixings and other supplies ...
I learned pretty soon after Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 that Conservative budgets were things to be feared. Tax cuts for the rich paid for by paring public services back to the bone was the order of the day. I've never yet met a Tory budget that I liked. There were some mitigating factors during the coalition years, but we only managed to stop the cruellest of Tory policies. Some of the ones we let through, like the Bedroom Tax, should never have seen the light of day. My expectations of Philip Hammond tomorrow are therefore pretty low. ...
Since the mammoth People's Vote march last weekend, the huge Liberal Democrat presence and the official Labour avoidance of it, there's been a noticeable mini-surge in people joining the Liberal Democrats.
Sun 28th
08:24
Free! – NO smart meters are no more free than Brexit will enable £m's to be ploughed int...
It's while since I have commented on smart meters, which I've be highly sceptical of for a long time now, but this article in the Daily Telegraph nails one aspect of the push to install them which has caught out those planning the programme. Please see the link below:- If ever there was a Government project that went off half-cock this must be high on the list. What with non-compatible smart meters that meant you could not change to some energy suppliers (yes they really were on the market), the possibility of them being hacked and now a story ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018 West Port roundabout - lane closures on roundabout and approaches on Sunday 28 October for CCTV apparatus maintenance. REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 2018 Old Hawkhill - temporary traffic lights for one week for water main connection. Nethergate (at Park Place) - temporary traffic lights on Sunday 4 November for Scottish Water mains repair.
