Congratulations to my colleague Peter Craig, Lib Dem councillor for Whickham North, whose work in the local community is to be recognised with the award of the British Empire Medal. Peter has been the key organiser who got Friends of Chase Park, Lighting Up Whickham and Planting Up Whickham off the ground. He is also one of the main organisers of the Whickham Remembrance Parade and Service, now
I sympathise with Laura Pidcock on a personal level. She was Labour MP for Durham North West, normally a safe Labour seat but was issued her P45 on general election day by her constituents. She spent just two and a half years in Parliament and has now been left wondering, "What went wrong?" If her claims in the Journal just before Christmas are anything to go by, she is going to struggle to
Another hero of mine who has always been there is gone. Neil Innes died at his home in France yesterday. As the New York Times says: Mr. Innes, a multi-instrumentalist, was a particular type of songwriter: one who excelled at satirical songs and parodies of other people's music but who could also write a pretty good straight song. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. In the early 1960s he was one of the first members of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, also known as simply the Bonzo Dog Band. He wrote its biggest hit, "I'm the Urban ...
It is hard being a Lib Dem now in the wake of the recent General Election. The disappointment is oppressive. So many in the party were close to success, and yet it was snatched away and it is probably at least four years before the next opportunity will arise. I notice two sorts of displacement ... Continue reading Hard lessons for the Liberal Democrats
Not to be confused with the other cafe in Hackney's Victoria Park, the Pavilion Cafe has views that remind me of the Serpentine Bar and Kitchen over in central London.
July 2004 began and ended with travels for me - beginning with an epic journey by train to Paris, then flying to Berlin, and then Belgrade, then driving from Belgrade to Pristina and Skopje before flying home again via Budapest, a total of six countries in ten days. It was particularly significant because one of my co-speakers at the conference I attended while in Kosovo was to become my next boss two and a half years later; of course neither of us knew that at the time. I also got to London for a day, and was appointed to the ...
Sun, 12:56: Alan Bennett's 2019 Diary https://t.co/5Xa1TFwS0Q Glorious as ever. Sun, 14:48: Obituary: Fleet Street veteran Paul Eccleston, 1951-2019 https://t.co/AdQAXiJnns Christopher Eccleston's uncle, who... https://t.co/dDDilHyjJv Sun, 16:05: RT @andrewteale: I much enjoyed this review of The Sound of Music, which goes into a bit of detail about the film's unseen character: the C... Sun, 20:48: RT @RomancingNope: To recap #IStandWithCourtney: 1) Sue Grimshaw liked a bunch of real racist shit on Twitter. Some romance authors notice... Mon, 09:47: Another must-read thread from @pmdfoster. https://t.co/SUj4Q1kRJT Mon, 10:45: Awww!!! https://t.co/V1Zx3Mb7qA
Since this site started in 2009, I've been keeping an eye on which is the most popular blog post with readers. It's a little trip down memory lane, showing how my own interests and my audience has evolved over time. Here's the latest round-up: 2019: General election voting intention polls – my running tally of the latest voting intention polls which Google took a shine to and so scooped up huge volumes of search traffic in the run-up to the general election. (I had tried a similar idea before but this time around, a combination of luck and increased experience ...
Those of us who might have thought the pollution of our oceans with minute pieces of plastic is such a remote problem that it has nothing to do with us, may be shocked to read this story in the Guardian. The paper reports that microplastic pollution is raining down on city dwellers, with research revealing that London has the highest levels yet recorded. They add that only four cities have been assessed to date but all had microplastic pollution in the air. Scientists believe every city will be contaminated, as sources of microplastic such as clothing and packaging are found ...
Mon 30th
10:29
Redevelopment of Budgens set to go ahead after detailed plans submitted for retail units and apartme...
Just before Christmas, plans were published for redevelopment of the former Budgens supermarket, which was previously a Co-op and Somerfield before that. It is currently derelict and the host of the Ludlow Art Mural Project. The redevelopment will have two retail units with nineteen apartments above. The design is a mixture of traditional and modern. The building has been designed by Ludlow architect Trevor Hewitt for Morris Property (19/05380/FUL). It has two retails units. In a change from earlier draft plans, the entrance to Unit 2 is from Galdeford rather than the facing Portcullis GP Practice. Otherwise the plans are ...
I wrote, a fortnight or so ago, about giving up The Times, in part because of its recruitment of Quentin Letts, but in truth because it has become a source of anger rather than disagreement. The unremittingly negative coverage of transgender issues, the continuing employment of Rod Liddle, the increasingly desperate attempts to smear Jeremy Corbyn (and, for that matter, anyone who isn't a Conservative Party politician), all added up to a conclusion that giving them £10 per week to annoy me was a pretty poor use of the funds. So, how am I getting on? Well, it's early days ...
On Sunday the Liverpool Echo had yet another of its articles warning about the Council's financial problems which was both timely and accurate but although stating the problems gives no hint as to what the solutions to those problems might ... Continue reading →
♻️🎄If you have a real Christmas tree, please remember to recycle it! ♻️🎄 The City Council has published some helpful advice about recycling your Christmas tree. You can read this here.
If the test of a good drama is that you find yourself thinking about it days later then Responsible Child passes that text. It is quite the saddest drama I can remember seeing - like a version of Oliver Twist with no Mr Brownlow. And I really think that Billy Barratt's depiction of Ray is the best performance by a child actor I have ever seen. In an interview the director of Responsible Child, Nick Holt, said he wants to highlight Britain's low age of criminal responsibility and start a discussion: : I think it's interesting that very few people ...
