Here are two Class 13 locomotives I photographed at Tinsley in 1980, Wikipedia explains: The British Rail Class 13 was a type of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. The type was designed in 1965 because of the need to provide more powerful shunters for the Tinsley Marshalling Yard. Because of Tinsley's status as a hump yard, it was not possible to use a single locomotive owing to the risk of grounding. So, to achieve the required power, a pair of Class 08 shunters were permanently coupled in 'master and slave' formation, with the slave unit having had its cab removed. ... With ...
"He was a true leader in a period of history when leadership is largely missing." David Boyle pays his tribute to Paddy Ashdown. John Naughton argues that social media poses an existential threat to our idea of democracy. "The corruption of the Republican Party in the Trump era seemed to set in with breathtaking speed. In fact, it took more than a half century to reach the point where faced with a choice between democracy and power, the party chose the latter." George Packer dissects the corruption of the US Republican Party. Can Comic Sans be forgiven because it helps ...
Liberal Democrat members in Middlesbrough, a town where I have got lost in a remarkably large number of multi-story car parks, have chosen Thomas Crawford as their new Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC). Commenting on his selection, Thomas Crawford said: I'm absolutely thrilled to be selected as Middlesbrough's Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate. Having spoken to local people, many are telling me they're tired of Labour's complacency and the Tories' inability to offer meaningful opposition. I'm looking forward to working closely with the Middlesbrough Liberal Democrats to demand better for residents. Ian Jones, chair of the Middlesbrough local party, added: Tom is ...
[IMG: Living in the shadow of Silicon Valley - a short documentary] The post Living in the shadow of Silicon Valley – a short documentary appeared first on FeministMama.
The party has revamped its online magazine Ad Lib and you can read the new version, hot off the digital press, here. It's jam packed full of stuff – a profile of our candidate in the most marginal seat in the country. Wendy Chamberlain is working to take the seat where sitting SNP MP Stephen Gethins and his wife make up his majority. There's an interview with Lucy Salek, our brilliant candidate in the Lewisham by-election and articles from Vince on housing and Tom Brake on Brexit. If you have any feedback about it, LIb Dem Head of Membership Greg ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: Among them was a very dark-skinned Jesuit who had some Indian blood, the face of a satyr, large ears glued to his head, piercing eyes, a loose-lipped mouth that was always watering, thick hair and the smell of an animal. Under his long brown robe the boys had often noticed a bulge which the younger boys could not explain and which older boys laughed at behind his back. This bulge would appear unexpectedly at any hour—while the class read Don Quixote or Rabelais, or sometimes while he merely watched the boys, and one boy in ...
Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review into the persecution of Christians worldwide. We are fortunate in this country to be able to practice our faiths, or have no faith, whichever the case might be. But in many countries of the world this is not the case. Our 2017 General Election manifesto called for the UK to lead on establishing the right to religious freedom around the world: Appoint an ambassador-level champion for freedom of belief to drive British diplomatic efforts in this field, and campaign for the abolition of blasphemy, sedition, apostasy and criminal libel laws worldwide, having already been ...
January The year began with a Headline of the Day about a fare-dodger getting his penis stuck in the barriers at Covent Garden Tube station, Things could only get better after that. They did. I discovered that a forgotten Liberal MP who had died the previous summer, James Davidson, had enjoyed a remarkable life. The Liberal England was quoted without acknowledgement on the Today Programme by a Prominent Political Journalist, who pointed out how little interest most people take in politics. I did not mind, but I was miffed when he unfollowed me on Twitter after I blogged about it. ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: None of his classmates laughed. Or even smiled. Particularly recommended for readers of ten and up (or advanced readers of eight and up), it's a mystery story somewhat in the manner of Lemony Snicket but not as baroque; our protagonists, two misfit schoolkids, find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving an archive of smells and the legacy of two magician brothers. I gave the whole collection of five books to a young relative last year on a friend's recommendation, and she enjoyed them enough that I felt I should give the first one a go ...
Responding to Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick's concern that no deal Brexit would make protecting the public more difficult, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:"The primary responsibility of any government is to keep the public safe. Clearly the Conservative government will be unable to do this if we crash out of the EU."The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Prime Minister to take no deal Brexit off the table and then give the final say on Brexit to the public with a people's vote."
My family had a century of Labour Party membership between us. I left after three decades, coming home, intellectually, emotionally and ideologically, by joining the Liberal Democratic Party. After one year's membership, as a candidate in a marginal ward, and part of the campaign to re-elect our popular Mayor, I am writing this in ancient Rome. A timely reminder that the name, "potholes" dates from when the Anglo Saxons dug up the clay from Roman roads to make cookware and that the history of ideas matters. In particular that England has been divorcing Europe since Henry VIII. In this context, ...
Wed, 12:56: This is pretty glorious. https://t.co/ZaAszhdWIr Wed, 13:37: RT @SherazadeSemsar: 2018: The year in figures and charts https://t.co/kONxfMbeGR Wed, 16:05: The World through the Eyes of the US https://t.co/u9f3y0VtYG The countries that have dominated NYT headlines every... https://t.co/Sa8xYEE93B Wed, 16:53: RT @JohnHewittPoet: St Stephen's Day, the air is warm, Fair, early prelude to the soring, Though finches pick at withered haws And stiff-ne... Wed, 17:11: I was introduced to "sauçissonage" the other day, sadly missing from this otherwise excellent list. @aoifewhite101 https://t.co/9Zot5yU8mD Wed, 18:08: Saga, vol. 8, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan https://t.co/YxtQvRGY4V Thu, 01:22: TBH am ...
[IMG: Do carers get a festive break?] This blog post is a personal anecdote of my Christmas Day which really got me thinking about how on earth personal carers i.e family members cope on a daily basis for a loved one. I did... The post Do carers get a festive break? appeared first on FeministMama.
The UK Government's pledge to move us away from petrol and diesel cars towards electric, was always going to be ambitious. They want almost all cars and vans to be zero emission by 2050 and have set itself a target of a quarter of its car fleet being electric within four years, and 100% by 2030. The problem as far as the general population is concerned is battery life and charging points. I live in a terraced house, as does a large proportion of the population, how am I meant to charge a vehicle over night? We can at least ...
Thu 27th
09:53
Underrated albums and their effect on politics and society, part 3 of 5: "Room to Live" by The Fall
At the end of Part 2, I described The Fall as "kind of obscure", which I can already foresee will annoy several of you. Well, you may have a social circle who know all about Mark E Smith and his miraculous career, but I can guarantee you that the band is not a household name, even in England. They called their best of album "50,000 Fall Fans Can't be Wrong" for a reason. Now that we've got that settled, let's move on. The Fall, for those of you not involved in a social circle where this information is assumed knowledge, ...
Thu 27th
09:00
Liberal Democrat campaigners call for action on New Year's buses to Southmead Hospital
The Leader of South Gloucestershire's Liberal Democrat councillors, Claire Young, has written to local First Bus managing director James Freeman calling on him to review his decision not to lay on any buses to Southmead from Yate or Thornbury on New Year's Day. A decision that could leave hospital staff and those visiting patients high and dry. Claire Young said: "Initially First said that they were not going to run any Yate or Thornbury buses at all on New Year's Day, which would have been a ludicrous situation. Thankfully First relented after we and others wrote to express our concern. ...
Thanks to Christmas, there are no council by-elections this week either on the traditional Thursday on an unconventional different day. So here's a suggestion for something useful and quick you can do instead. You'll have probably noticed how heavily I, like many others, rely on the Britain Elects Twitter account and website when covering by-elections. Run by Ben Walker and Dayle Taylor, with by-election previews by Andrew Teale, Britain Elects provides a fab service. If you've enjoyed my coverage of by-elections, you too have been indirectly dependent on Britain Elects. So why not give them a little thank you this ...
I think the time has come for us to do a lot more with No. 1 of Paddy's Dangerous Ideas. We persist in the medieval practice of taking students to medieval ivy-covered buildings, to receive their education in the medieval manner from minds, too many of which, when it comes to delivering education, are stuck in the middle ages. Yet distance learning was pioneered in Britain at the Open University when communicating with your tutor meant stuffing your academic paper in an envelope, licking it, sticking a stamp on it and putting it in the local post-box. Today the whole ...
Thu 27th
08:06
Sustrans has big cycle route projects on the go but will the Trans Pennine Trail through West Lancs ...
This was the state of the Cheshire Lines Path/Trans Pennine Trail through Great Altcar Civil Parish in the winter of 2017 – it's not got any better. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport has the article on its website, see link below :- Quoite from the article linked above – 'At least 55 new projects will be delivered over the next five years across the UK to kick-start the major overhaul of the National Cycle Network to transform it into paths for everyone. The projects are a result of the first ever review and an independent audit of ...
Thu 27th
07:59
Housing development on Bromfield Road is set to create a polluted neighbourhood of poor doors
The principle of housing development between Bromfield Road and the A49 was approved at a public inquiry and cannot now be challenged. However, the details of the scheme are very much up for debate and negotiation. One of my main concerns about this 213-home development is its treatment of affordable housing. Thirteen of the 28 affordable homes planned are squeezed into triangle between the railway, Bromfield Road and the A49. These homes will be blighted by noise and pollution. "Poor doors", developments where social housing is distinctively different and with reduced access to amenity, have been common in major cities. ...
There are just two meetings on the BTC calendar for January. Thursday 10th January Governance Committee Thursday 17th January * Full Council Meetings are scheduled to start at 6:30 at Arms Evertyne House. * Probably to be preceded by Public Question Time ( to be confirmed )
