Ho ho very satirical. As an avid reader of the Shropshire Star, I can tell you where the knights who say "Ni!" came from.
Cable: PM's deal remains a disaster (already covered here) PM's letter a PR exercise Unsafe medical devices have no place in our healthcare system PM's letter a PR exercise Responding to the Prime Minister's open letter calling on the British public to back her deal, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said: The Prime Minister's letter is nothing more than a PR exercise. If Theresa May were serious about seeing whether the public support her deal, then she would offer them a vote on it. It is outrageous that she claims to be campaigning for people to support her deal ...
"More than any other English-language narrative filmmaker, Roeg apprehended Tarkovsky's notion of "sculpting in time" with the same radical freedom as the Russian director himself did. Roeg came into filmmaking as a cinematographer, and two of the directors he worked for, David Lean and Richard Lester, both had as astute a grasp of editing as any filmmaker you can name. During his most creatively fecund time as a director, Roeg made temporal leaps and jumps that were exhilarating provided you could keep up, which was sometimes a challenge." Glenn Kenny tribute to Nicolas Roeg. Robert Reich calls for Facebook to ...
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. From now until Human Rights Day on 10th December. there are 16 days of activism against gender based violence. UN Women suggests 16 ways we an all help, from telling our stories to raising awareness to helping women affected by violence. Over the next 16 feel free to share your experience or tell us what you are doing to help stop gender based violence. Send any posts to voice@libdemvoice.org in the usual way. It was really good to see Vince make a statement in support of this today: ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 536th 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 (18-24 November, 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. How Liberal Democrat peers voted over Anthony ...
The UK's full state retirement pension is currently £164.35 per week. This is not an automatic payment for all. It has to by paid for by what were called "stamps" in my younger days. The stamps were quite pretty - purple or mauve I seem to member. When you changed jobs or got the sack you were told to collect your "cards." The card on which the stamps were stuck was your record of National Insurance Contributions. I presume there are more sophisticated methods of recording them now. Only those with a full record of National Insurance Contributions get the ...
Second paragraph of third chapter of La Prisonnière (NB my translation has no chapters): Nous étions arrivés devant la porte. Je descendis de voiture pour donner au cocher l'adresse de Brichot. Du trottoir je voyais la fenêtre de la chambre d'Albertine, cette fenêtre, autrefois toujours noire, le soir, quand elle n'habitait pas la maison, que la lumière électrique de l'intérieur, segmentée par les pleins des volets, striait de haut en bas de barres d'or parallèles. Ce grimoire magique, autant il était clair pour moi et dessinait devant mon esprit calme des images précises, toutes proches et en possession desquelles j'allais ...
This week, Lembit Opik has hinted that he could make a return to politics – in Estonia this time. He suggested that he might be interested in standing for President of that country. From the BBC: Mr Opik said he had been asked to consider being either a member of the Estonian parliament, or to consider running as president. "One position is just to be a member of parliament, which I would not mind doing," the 53-year-old said. "There are 101 MPs and they do work in coalition, so it is not very partisan. "The other position is president of ...
Ian Kearns joined the Liberal Democrats from Labour in the Summer. He gave a barnstorming speech to the rally at Federal Conference in Brighton. This Autumn, he has spoken at both the Yorkshire and London Regional Conferences. The speech below was the keynote speech at the Yorkshire and the Humber conference three weeks ago and Ian delivered a version of it at a fringe event at the London conference yesterday. The most powerful section of his speech is on what we stand for: I'm here today because this is the party that is ready to fight the politics of division ...
Heading back from a fantastic Kickstart training weekend run by ALDC ahead of the local elections next year. With around 300 attendees, it was the largest ever of these training weekends, and with a great mix of old and new activists.
The Brexit Deal is a disaster and the people should be given the chance to vote on it says Vince Cable. Speaking as EU leaders endorsed it, Vince said: This is a sad day for everyone involved; the deal the EU have endorsed remains a disaster for the British people. What has been agreed is vague at best and is essentially an agreement to have an agreement. There is still no majority in Parliament for it, and "No Brexit" remains the only real alternative. Nobody voted to make themselves poorer and damage the UK's standing in the world. It is ...
Coming back through Oakengates yesterday I was naturally reminded of John Betjeman's poem A Shropshire Lad. In it, the ghost of Captain Mathew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, returns to his old haunts: There wasn't a man in Oakengates That hadn't got hold of the tale, And over the valley in Ironbridge, And round by Coalbrookdale, How Captain Webb the Dawley man, Captain Webb from Dawley, Rose rigid and dead from the old canal That carried the bricks to Lawley, Rigid and dead, rigid and dead, To the Saturday congregation, And paying a call at Dawley ...
In honour of Arnold J Rimmer, BSC, SSC, today for lunch I shall be having piping hot Gazpacho Soup. ETA: ladies and gentlemen and others, I am here to inform you that piping hot Gazpacho Soup is actually really yummy! [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
As I write, the European Union has just agreed the Brexit Deal. I'm a bit sad that it's all happening on what would have been Charles Kennedy's 59th birthday. He'd have had something to say about all of this. Ahead of the meeting, Theresa May wrote to the nation telling us why we should all back her Brexit deal. Unfortunately, her letter is all spin and no substance. She paints a picture of a happy, reconciled nation moving forward after Brexit. She uses this phrase "works for everyone" a few times. She might as well have promised a unicorn on ...
Sat, 12:56: Thread. https://t.co/hbfBcejHvJ Sat, 14:48: Holyhead on Brexit: 'When will people wake the f**k up?' https://t.co/VLUrCTWFRh Vox populi (or perhaps llais y bob... https://t.co/tsSvsYFnUS Sat, 15:19: RT @davidallengreen: The Brexit deal on offer is the direct and necessary consequence of the Brexiteers' demand for a speedy Article 50 not... Sat, 15:36: Thread on Gibraltar. Basically it seems to me like everyone has agreed that what had previously been agreed remains... https://t.co/vZaMKHXbV6 Sat, 16:05: A second referendum is a dangerous distraction to the real action https://t.co/fr92dx1HzT Sorry, folks, but I agree with this. Sat, 16:53: Here to see First Man. ...
One of the joys of Twitter is capacity for satire, parody and irony (if they are not all the same thing). When I holidayed in San Francisco some years ago I was very taken by one Twitter account which played on the fact that the Bay area, and in particular the Golden Gate Bridge is often shrouded in fog. Karl the Fog, provided regular updates on the weather in an amusing first person way that added to the experience provided by the City. I am not so sure that The Irish Border twitter account is so functional, though it clearly ...
I first joined Labour back in the mid Eighties whilst I was still at school. As a working class West Midlander with an interest in politics and left wing beliefs growing up in the Thatcher Years, Labour seemed the obvious choice. For years I was incredibly proud to carry the same membership card that my family had carried for generations; I campaigned, I delivered leaflets, I attended meetings. Then something happened. The party that I had joined and supported for decades seemed to transform overnight into a far-left, doctrinaire personality cult where questioning the leadership in any way was a ...
First a bit of personal history; we had our wedding reception at Aughton Chase in 1982. If memory serves it then closed down in the late 1980s/early 1990s with the building subsequently burning down and becoming derelict. The site was in West Lancs Green Belt and it took many years for it to be released from that for development. In the past 3 years or so houses, very big houses, have slowly been built across the site with big price tags on them. The site, I might add, is all within Aughton and therefore West Lancashire but it abuts the ...
Step one, Peterborough's Labour MP is convicted. Step two, a Parliamentary by-election is called. Step three, Nigel Farage follows up his earlier talk and stands. Step four, Nigel Farage wins the heavily Leave-voting seat. Step five, hello more chaos.
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2018 Bellfield Street (southbound from Blackness Road to Hawkhill) - closed from Monday 26 November for 2 weeks for water connection works.
