Not all is well at Bradgate Park. This 850-acre chunk of Charnwood Forest is one of the wonders of Leicestershire. In 1928 it was given to the people of the county in perpetuity. It is run by the The Bradgate Park Trust, but on Wednesday a story appeared in the Leicester Mercury announcing that Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester's elected mayor, and Nick Rushton, leader of the county council, had taken control of the park. The basis on which they had done so was not made clear by the Mercury, and now it has printed a second article in which the ...
As Muslims celebrate Eid, Jo Swinson says that as Leader she will continue to make sure our party defends Britain's Liberal values against Islamophobia and discrimination in all its forms. On the party's website, she wrote: For those who have taken part in Hajj, this is a season of new beginnings and Muslims across the globe will be taking time out to reflect on the significance of their faith in their own individual lives. Sadly, we are witnessing a horrifying rise in Islamophobia which is often accompanied by exclusionary, right-wing nationalism. Islamophobic tropes are becoming commonplace and attacks on Muslims ...
Sun 11th
18:42
Yet another Norway Maple to be felled in Ludlow - this time it's Shropshire Council to blame for unn...
Shropshire Council is seeking permission to fell a Norway Maple in Castle Street car park. The council plans to reduce it to ground level because there is a split between a major branch and the main trunk. Although this split has been there for a good while, I can understand why the council is concerned that it poses a safety risk to users of the car park. But this does not mean the entire tree should be felled. The tree is suffering from poor management but it is healthy. It needs arboricultural care, not razing to the ground Despite Shropshire ...
Sun 11th
17:30
Event: Out with the old: what do people want from a new politics? (Saturday 31st August 2019, 12:50 ...
Join us in the politics tent at this year's Big Tent Ideas Festival. Across the globe, the ripples of the financial crisis have spawned a series of new and in some cases very successful insurgent political movements. Traditional parties everywhere have struggled to respond. Radical centre think tank, Radix, together with leading politicians and activists ask: What are the common features of successful insurgent movements? Can they equally promote centrist and extreme positions? Could a new party or alliance breakthough in the UK or can the existing parties successfully reinvent themselves? And is this trend essential malevolent, neutral or benign? ...
I was reading an article today about how bi people suffer worse mental health than gay or straight people. And even in an article about how straight-passing-privilege is a myth and about how many bi people have internalised biphobia from society in general (and often their loved ones) not recognising their sexuality because of their relationship status... Even there they talked about heterosexual and homosexual relationships. That's plain bi-erasure, right there. I don't have any hetereosexual relationships, nor do I have homosexual ones. All of my relationships are bisexual relationships because I am in them and I am bi. If ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: Nevertheless, to judge from the abstract in the Calendar, six months later he was still on the job, coaxing along one of Mary's correspondents in London. It emerged from the letter itself that Williams was not doing quite what one had supposed. It had no address, but had evidently not been written to Mary: nobody, in August 1583, was likely to write to her about the peace and quiet of her present state and kingdom. The 'sovereign lady' addressed was Elizabeth, and the person to whom the queen had written the letter it mentioned was ...
As the band's website says: Blowzabella is a genuinely unique band that makes an inimitable, driving, drone-based wall-of-sound - played with a fabulous sense of melody, rhythmic expertise and sheer feeling.I recall listening to them on John Shaw's Here Be Dragons programme on Leicester Sound back in the late 1980s. It was part of my duties as a councillor: I was on an Independent Broadcasting Authority committee for Leicestershire that kept an eye on the local radio franchise.
Sun 11th
11:36
A Remain Alliance and opportunities for the Lib Dems.....detail may not be quite there but Lib Dems ...
On Friday night the Spectator's Coffee House blog carried a piece by Nick Cohen about a Remain Alliance. It had details of all sorts of seats being divved up between us, Plaid and the Greens. My first thoughts on reading that was that it was at best speculation. I mean, why on earth would anyone leak plans for a Remain Alliance to the heart of the Brexit-supporting media, I can't imagine. Anyone can sit down with a bit of paper and the 2017 election results and work out where it might make sense to stand one Remain candidate. It's not ...
On Friday I paid a visit to Watergate Park to check out how the lake was coping with the recent heavy rain. I filmed this video on the day. The lake is fed by a number of streams all of which are carrying unusually heavy flows of water. I'm pleased to report that the lake was coping well. It highlights the need for the recreation of ponds and lakes to store rainwater upstream in many areas of
Crawcrook fair was held on 3rd August. This is the short video I filmed on the day.
Sat, 12:56: RT @AodhBC: The banks in England are now expected to close from 1 to 11 November (inclusive), as part of government efforts to stabilise th... Sat, 14:48: The truth about Dominic Cummings https://t.co/2M8BnZPDWy Interesting analysis, misses 2 crucial points. 1) EU don'... https://t.co/kNRC8tBMV6 Sat, 15:03: RT @PatrickFreyne1: I really enjoyed interviewing George RR Martin about sci fi and fantasy fandom and Dublin Worldcon https://t.co/PTM7c4I... Sat, 15:09: Jeffrey Epstein kills himself in prison, report says https://t.co/KAXmQTheq4 Sat, 16:00: Ben-Hur: movie (1959) and book (1880) https://t.co/AcHq60NpEB Sat, 16:05: RT @petertimmins3: Hey #Brexiters, just think of the UK had adopted the ...
If you've walked, cycled or driven along lanes such as Pygons Hill Lane in Lydiate or Acres Lane in Great Altcar you may have, like me, noticed these slogans and wondered what they mean. They are not all the same but this one is in Pygons Hill Lane:- Is this one of those situations where most folk out there know exactly what this means and I'm just in the dark? And here's another one in Longdale Lane, Lunt:- When asked Sefton Council Highways Dept. had no idea.
Yesterday I dismissed one media report on Liberal Democrat preparations for the next general election as being mostly a mix of speculation and error, but there is another one in the weekend's media that is rather more accurate. The Observer reports: The Liberal Democrats are drawing up an aggressive new election strategy targeting more Conservative seats, including that of foreign secretary Dominic Raab amid alarm among senior Tories about the threat posed by Jo Swinson's party. Research by the Lib Dems conducted over the summer has convinced officials to rip up the party's existing plans and adopt a more ambitious ...
From Dundee Voluntary Action : The Boccia Festival is taking place tomorrow - Monday - between 10.30am and 1.30pm at DISC. If you have never played Boccia before, come along and have a go! Suitable for beginners. Boccia can be played standing up or sitting down and ramps can be provided if you have a limited strength or range of movement. Remember, we have OPEN Funded Boccia equipment available for loan to over 55s, so this would be a good opportunity to learn how to use it. We are also keen to start a new Boccia League for interested people. ...
