Market Harborough Urban District Council disappeared in 1974 when Harborough District Council was formed. So I wouldn't recommend using this letterbox, which I photographed this afternoon. The town has lacked its own democratic body since 1974, when Market Harborough Rural District, Billesdon Rural District and Lutterworth Rural District also disappeared. Market Harborough was a victim of the Conservatives' belief that larger authorities would be more efficient and cheaper to run. Now some Tories want to abolish Harborough District Council and run everything from County Hall in distant Glenfield. Obsession with size and centralisation is best left to the Labour Party. ...
Malta, not a big place, right? Thus, not likely to have anything big, is it? Well, it seems that we were both wrong, for just as Invercargill, New Zealand is the location of the largest pyramid in the Southern Hemisphere, Malta possesses, it is claimed, the third-largest unsupported dome in the world, at Mosta. We visited it as part of a tour to Mdina, the so-called Silent City, and it is a rather impressive sight, with splendid acoustics. It is also a minor basilica, following what can only be described as a miracle. If you look very closely at the ...
Classic Rock magazine asked Rod Argent (of The Zombies and, er, Argent) to choose the 10 records that changed his life. After choosing Elvis and the Beatles, he said: Spencer Davis Group - Georgia On My Mind "I can't overestimate the effect that Stevie Winwood's amazing voice had, and his wonderful soulful piano and organ playing. He came out of nowhere and blew people away. I remember Paul Jones [Mannfred Mann singer] saying, 'I've been in a blues band for four years, and suddenly this 17-year-old-kid comes out and he sounds like Ray Charles, and he plays like him!' What ...
It's good to see Layla Moran getting a substantial quote in the Daily Mirror story about a proposed Donald Trump visit to Britain early this year. And she is sound on the subject: Demonstrators in July flew a Trump "baby blimp" over Parliament Square - and Lib Dem frontbencher Layla Moran said it was time to "call the Trump blimp guy and tell him to take the covers off". She added: "Trump was not welcome in 2018 and he remains unwelcome in 2019. "While we all agree America is our friend, we must also remember most Americans did not vote ...
Since two daft buggers have sent me donations since this morning, here are two predictions for 2019: - Theresa May will still be PM at the end of 2019. There will be a lot of sabre-rattling and furious speculation, seemingly every five seconds, but she'll cling on with a combination of masterful can-kicking and the inability of the opposition to actually oppose even in the face of the brexit deadline. - There won't be another referendum. Whatever happens on the 29th of March (and I have my views) they won't get legislation for another referendum through in time, even if ...
You're a real idiot, you know that? I can't believe how gullible you are. And the sort of people you go around believe? Don't make me laugh. Any three year old knows more than you. Moron. That's the only word for people like you. Now, please listen to me. I'm going to put you right and save you from your stupidity. But first, a question: how well have I done so far at warming you up to agree with what I'm going to say? And that's the point, and my suggested New Year's resolution for Remain campaigners. To win we ...
As my predictions for last year just scraped the bare minimum you might expect for a pass by calling the easy things correctly, it's time for me to issue a whole new series of hostages to fortune. I'm tempted to predict a giant asteroid will doom us all, but we'll all just be disappointed if I'm wrong, and there'll be no one left for me to gloat at if I get it right.Britain: There will be an extension to Article 50 meaning the UK does not exit the EU at the end of March. This will come about through a ...
Bushfire Dreaming (2003) by Ronnie Tjampitjimpa Every nation is riven by historical tensions that are overlooked by their boosters, and yet come to define them. In Britain, the island's relationship with the rest of Europe, an especially visible problem now, is just the latest iteration in an unresolvable conflict that has been playing since before ... Continue reading Extraction to sustainability: Australia is at a crossroads
When I was doing Parkrun this morning, I had a realisation that I could no longer say I started running last year, as it's now almost two years since I went along to my first Parkrun (Colchester Castle #200, 14/01/2017). But rather than tell that story again (it's here if you want it) I wanted to focus on what I've got coming up and why I'm doing it. As I may have mentioned a few times here and on social media, I'm running the London Marathon in April both for the challenge of doing it and to raise money for ...
I went to look at my last year's prediction post, and completely unexpectedly I was almost completely dead on, especially about the political stuff. Of the 12 predictions I made, only one was wrong. You can start paying me for my wisdom and insight any time you like, world... Things I learned last year that I really should have known before: - Sometimes a thing is just not meant to be, no matter how much you want it or how hard you work at it. - Conversely, sometimes you can find something joyous, beautiful, and completely unexpected with very little ...
The Lib Dem Focus Team in Low Fell have just published their latest eFocus. Key issues covered include: Some Low Fell residents to get extra bin Lighting column improvements Concerns over drug debris Last chance to have your say on Council's planned budget Happy New Year from the Focus Team Can you help the Focus Team? You can view eFocus on this link.
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Mon, 12:56: 35 years ago, Isaac Asimov was asked by the Star to predict the world of 2019. Here is what he wrote... https://t.co/HfrJF4gePA Mon, 13:08: Monday and December reading wrap-up https://t.co/sZxUsB1biu Mon, 14:07: RT @effjayem: @nwbrux Geoffrey Trease noted that if he'd realised how long one of his books would stay in print and how many years of ten y... Mon, 14:08: RT @Dublin2019: It wouldn't be Worldcon without @TheHugoAwards. If you want to eligible to nominate work for the 2019 awards, you need to b... Mon, 15:43: My books of 2018, and a poll https://t.co/G3hFTyS9Qm Mon, 15:52: My ...
2018 was a good and bad in parts. The bad bits were the paralysis of the political system by the Brexit chaos. On the plus side, personally it was a challenging but constructive year for our self-sufficiency project. Anyway, we saw in the new year on the Tyne Bridge, watching the fireworks. I captured the whole display on the above video.
The acronym FBPE, often used as the hashtag #FBPE, now pops up frequently on social media, especially Twitter. It stands for 'follow back, Pro-European Union' and is the label used by a campaign to cultivate a strong pro-European voice online. The basic idea is simple: use it to highlight your support for the pro-European / anti-Brexit cause and others of like minds can more easily find you and join the pro-European community. It's like a pro-EU version of the old* 'follow back Friday' #FF trend on Twitter – an easy way to highlight who else may be of interest to ...
Those of us who believe that President Trump would like to see the UK crash out of the European Union without a deal, so that he and his government can exploit our isolation and weakness in the world of trade to impose an unacceptable deal on us, which will lower food standards and compromise our public services, may feel our view has been validated by the recent intervention of the US Ambassador. As the Independent reports, Woody Johnson, the US ambassador told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the kind of comprehensive trade deal with Britain sought by Donald Trump ...
Crossens Saturday, 12th January, St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens, from 11am to 12 noon. Churchtown Thursday, 24th January, BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt cafe, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, from 10:30am to 11:30am. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in.
Tue 1st
06:54
Pundits predict a "toxic death" for our town centres in 2019. Is that the future for Ludlow?
It's a New Year. More than any point in the calendar it is a time for reflection and predictions of what lies ahead. Retail matters hugely in Ludlow, not just for our daily shop but to bring in the visitors that give our town centre its buzz. Around the country, town centres are losing their buzz as trade is dragged out of town by vast retail parks or hoovered up by the growing retail power of the internet. Ministers and councils have spent decades overseeing the decline of town centres. They are now panicking and desperate to find ways of ...
Happy New Year, everyone! Enjoy the Sydney fireworks which I'm posting because my friend Tom is out there at the moment and he sent me a photo of himself a while ago with the bridge in the background. Eat, drink and have general fun in whichever way you like today because tomorrow (or Wednesday in Scotland since we have a much-needed extra bank holiday) we get on with stopping this Brexit nonsense. Let's hope that we can still say that we are citizens of the European Union at the end of this year. I have started the New Year in ...
