The BSFA Long List is out. Here are the 46 Best Novel nominees, ranked by the product of their number of owners on Goodreads and LibraryThing. Goodreads LibraryThing owners av rating owners av rating The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood 367,235 4.23 1,433 4.14 The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E Harrow 107,406 4.16 416 4.21 Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir 57,334 4.27 378 4.29 The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie 41,565 3.99 518 4.03 Children of Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky 24,419 4.11 172 3.94 The Old Drift, by Namwali Serpell 21,329 3.76 169 3.68 The Future of ...

Earlier today, I wrote about proposals for four detached homes in the grounds of Linney House. The development is on the banks of the Corve. But the flood risk assessment is based on the Teme which is 600 metres (660 yards) downstream of the site and around two metres lower. The flood risk assessment states the minimum ground level of the development will be 2.19m above modelled flood level of the Teme. That is not relevant. In October, the Corve was at a height of 3.7m. That potentially threatens one of the planned homes with flooding. A new flood risk ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

It was always going to happen. The Tories that dominate Shropshire Council can't take a word of criticism. Now, Councillors Steven Charmley, Peter Nutting and Lezley Picton have lodged a formal complaint against me for having "published information which had been obtained from a report to Cabinet that was exempt from publication". This shows just how far Shropshire Council fails to understand that an open and challenging democracy is fundamental to way our country works. But in Shropshire, criticise the leadership and you are threatened with retraining, suspension or worse. The council leadership want to silence me. They want me ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

What should Lib Dems make of the 'radical' constitutional, political, judicial and administrative reforms apparently pre-planned by the Johnson government and key adviser Dominic Cummings? I shall try and shed some light. Statements from Downing St have included scathing criticisms of the UK civil service. The substance of these, as far as can be gleaned, include major changes to recruitment, departmental 'tenure' of civil servants, capital spending and the ability of ministers (not the public) to hold civil servants responsible for screw-ups, wastefulness or incompetence. They criticise the alleged 'blame avoidance merry-go-round ' practice of keeping civil servants in post ...

Posted by Paul Reynolds on Liberal Democrat Voice

I suppose that it is very easy to get into the mindset that politics is everything in life. But it turns out that there is life outside of Westminster. I read the other day that former Labour Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, is training to become a gym instructor. That started me thinking about what had happened to our vast number of MPs from before the election in 2015. Stephen Gilbert, former MP for St Austell and Newquay, for example. Whatever happened to him after he posted a "Gone Surfing" post-it note on his Twitter account in 2015? Well, it turns ...

Posted by Paul Walter on Liberal Democrat Voice
Tue 7th
11:00

My tweets

Mon, 12:56: Watch A-ha's "Take On Me" Video Newly Remastered in 4K .... and Learn About the Band's Struggle to Make the Classic... https://t.co/5ld9XL9wnM Mon, 15:17: RT @IFAD: #Peppers are believed to be one of the first plants to have been domesticated, and chili pepper seeds from over 6,000 years ago h... Mon, 16:05: A tremendously useful list of eligible stories for the 1945 Retro Hugos. https://t.co/8tWLauW1pL Mon, 17:11: How to Explore the Solar System in Google Maps via Hyperspace https://t.co/C3ltKW7v0k Hooray! Mon, 18:13: August 2004 books https://t.co/frZANR0Nnt Tue, 08:36: RT @CoraBuhlert: Introducing the 1945 Retro Hugo Spreadsheet and Retro ...

This is quite something. Handkerchieves at the ready. Thank you to @JohnPugh2017 who retweeted this. Annual trip to the most beautiful burial ground on earth to play a lament for Charles Kennedy at Clunes in the Highlands pic.twitter.com/0dpdBKVVnr — ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) January 3, 2020 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. He is one of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.

Posted by Paul Walter on Liberal Democrat Voice

Ormskirk's Station where Merseyrail and Norther trains meet. As the painful (for passengers) demise of Northern Rail has all but been announced by Government is it not time to take the opportunity to take one of the UK's most poorly operated lines out of the Northern Franchise and hand it to a rail operator which regularly tops the league table for reliability and performance – Merseyrail. Let's look at the advantages of doing that:- * Gaining reliable trains on a line which has suffered so much from unreliable trains in recent years * Being able to travel from Liverpool to ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Details of roadworks for the month below – no major roadworks scheduled for Prestwich, but some nearby that may well affect residents. For the full list see the GM Roadworks site here – Middleton Road (Blackley), just south of Victoria Avenue, lane closures 7-8 January 2020 (United Utilities). – Higher Lane (Whitefield), near Pinfold Lane. Lane closure 13-17 January 2020 (Transport for Greater Manchester) – Bury New Road (Whitefield), near Whitefield Multi-Direction signals 7-9 January 2020 (BT) – Agecroft Road (Salford), near Langley Road, multi-way signals 17-18 January 2020, United Utilities and Virgin Media

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

This article in the Guardian from a few days ago about the rise in fly-tipping in England perfectly illustrates the dilemma being faced by local councils around the UK. Of course, it is not just England that is experiencing a surge in illegal dumping since 2012, though the article concentrates on that one nation. It is happening in other parts of the UK as well, including Wales. A large part of my caseload as a local councillor is reporting illegal fly-tipping, often material just left in the middle of the street as well as on hidden-away waste land and lanes. ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
YouGov

A partnership between Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), The Big Life Group and Early Break have been successful in becoming the provider of substance misuse services in Bury. The partnership already runs services in Bolton, Salford and Trafford. A partnership between Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), The Big Life Group and Early Break have been successful in becoming the provider of substance misuse services in Bury. The partnership already runs services in Bolton, Salford and Trafford. Early Break has been established in Bury for 25 years separate to the Achieve partnership and is now ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

Important changes are coming into effect at all Household Waste Recycling Centres (tips) in Greater Manchester from February. In summary: • Trade waste is not permitted at any of the sites, they are for household waste only for residents living in any of the nine boroughs of Greater Manchester (excluding Wigan). • From February 2020, visitors to the HWRCs will be monitored by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) across all 20 sites – cars will be restricted to 52 visits a year. Key messages for Traders HWRCs are for the use of Greater Manchester residents only (excluding Wigan)As a trader ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

Just to remind residents about the upcoming deadline for Parklife Community Grants, and also information about the Greater Manchester Walking Grants: Applications are open for the 2019/20 Parklife Community Fund. Parklife provides a Community Fund which is in cooperation with Manchester, Bury and Rochdale councils, which is now open to applicants. This fund is designed for the benefit of local community groups and priority is given to groups and projects that utilise parks and open spaces, although all are encouraged to apply with any ideas or requests to help improve the area they share. This year, the fund has made ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

The council rightly tells us that it is short of money. When you and I are short of money we stop spending if we can; we watch every penny like a hawk; and make every penny count for the most ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

This Thursday - 9th January at 5.30pm - and again on Saturday 11th January at 12 noon - you can get a free tour of the Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio! The studio has a huge range of state-of-the-art equipment for both traditional printing and creating digital artworks. DCA Print Studio houses everything from a Victorian relief press to 3D printers and a laser cutter. Come along and be shown around. These tours are the perfect precursor to doing a course or becoming a registered user - or are for anyone who has always wondered what goes on in the ...

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. The attempt to build houses in the grounds of Linney House has become something of a saga. Initially plans were submitted for four detached suburban homes on this sensitive site back in 2012. That was reduced to three houses under pressure from council planners. That scheme gained permission in 2014 from a council under pressure from the government to approve housing. Three dwellings weren't enough for the developer. In came a scheme for eight houses of a modern design in 2019. The design was good but the application ran into ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington