Just unearthed this amateur hand-help clip taken at Lord's at the 1969 Gillette Cup Final between @DerbyshireCCC and Yorkshire - it's 7 seconds of Alan Ward in all his glory - I could never tire of watching this! pic.twitter.com/8S3VA9CI1m— David Griffin Photography (@dgriffinpix) March 5, 2020This clip of the Derbyshire and England fast bowler Alan Ward appeared on Twitter today. Ward played only five tests for England between 1969 and 1976, but at the start of his career he looked a great prospect. Martin Chandler wrote about Ward in 2013, but was unable to establish his current whereabouts.
As there are no principal authority council by-elections this week, here's an expanded re-run of my post about why it's worth standing in as many elections as possible, including council by-elections, even if victory looks a very long way off in them. The obvious reason to stand for election is that you want and hope to win. A related common reason is that you want to win and hope that standing this time means you can win on a future occasion. But it also makes sense to stand even if winning isn't on the foreseeable agenda and you are what ...
A lovely paragraph from the Guardian obituary of the historian Paul Addison: His work not only demonstrated how the great forces of history meshed with the agency of individuals but also displayed a wonderfully elegant style and turn of phrase. In The Road to 1945 he characterised wartime Britain as "Colonel Blimp being pursued through a land of Penguin Specials by an abrasive meritocrat, a progressive churchman, and J.B. Priestley". My own favourite line comes in a chapter on Britain's New Towns in Now the War is Over: "If Rome was not built in a day, neither was Hemel Hempstead."The ...
The Liberal Democrats are calling for an end to the 'war on drugs' as a new Home Office study shows it has been a main driver in the rise of homicides in recent years. The Home Office report 'Trends and drivers of homicide', published today, found that drug-related homicides rose by 47% between 2014-15 and 2017-18 (from 217 to 320), and account for most of the overall rise in homicides in recent years. The report states: "it seems likely that drugs have been an important driver of homicide trends in England and Wales, particularly recently. It also seems likely that ...
Responding to reports that the UK Government has warned the EU negotiating team that it will not stick to the European Convention of Human Rights, acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:"The European Convention on Human Rights empowers people to hold governments to account when Ministers trample on individual rights and freedoms. It was largely a British creation and has helped to improve people's lives across Europe."Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings are determined to take power away from the British people and hoard it for themselves. Now they are weakening the UK's Brexit negotiating position by refusing to ...
A quick tribute to my favourite writer as a child on World Book Day. I once wrote of the appeal of Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine series, which began with Mystery at Witchend, for the Guardian: Mystery at Witchend tells how the young members of the Lone Pine Club bring to justice a gang of saboteurs hoping, perhaps optimistically, to cripple the Allied war effort by blowing up a dam in the Shropshire hills. Though he wrote other series and set books in other places, it is the Lone Pine stories and their Shropshire landscapes for which Saville is best remembered. ...
Thu 5th
18:28
I am guilty as charged -Tories continue complaint against me telling you what is happening
I now have a formal complaint against me from Shropshire Council's in house solicitor. This is because I wanted to tell people that the price of an extra £1.3m for Ludlow Assembly Rooms would be a repayment of some or all the money, and a curtailing of the community asset transfer (CAT) from 125 years to three years. I have already told the council solicitor I will take any punishment going. If need be, I will resign as a councillor and stand for re-election. That would be nonsense and a waste of public money. But if it needs to be ...
Moving the weekly notes because of leap year. Current 1493, by Charles C. Mann Babayaga, by Toby Barlow The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley Last books finished J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration for Lúthien: the "gallant" Edith Bratt, by Nancy Bunting and Seamus Hamill-Keays (strictly a scholarly article rather than a book, but it's 195 pages so I am tallying it here.) The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of Scandinavia's Utopia, by Michael Booth The Golden Fleece, by Robert Graves Small Island, by Andrea Levy Deeplight, by Frances Hardinge Die, vol 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans and ...
With Super Tuesday done we're now in a two-horse race between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination with Joe Biden now the frontrunner. Many Liberal Democrats welcome this shift which I think is short-sighted. We need Donald Trump removed from office and a clear-eyed analysis suggests that Sanders has a better shot at this than Biden. Many US moderates believe that Sanders, as a self-described socialist in the land of the rugged individual, cannot win. But the data shows that he can. Sanders can take advantage of increasing numbers of younger voters, as well as votes ...
A new experiment suggests that people are less likely to be fooled by fake news if they take more time over reading it. As the researchers report: We used the two-response paradigm, in which participants are presented with the same news headline twice. First, they are asked to give a very quick, intuitive response under time pressure and working memory load (Bago & De Neys, 2019). After this, they are presented with the task again and asked to give a final response without time pressure or working memory load (thus allowing unrestricted deliberation). This paradigm has been shown to reliably ...
I didn't have to wait too long for an answer to my question on how the House of Lords would function without the work of folk from other countries. They are straight answers from the house authorities, very different from some departmental answers! Employees come from 26 different countries – we can't manage without each other! Nearly 200 of House of Lords employees would not have reached the £25,000 proposed minimum income level for Immigration clearance. Those who read will make up their own minds. The House of Commons will give us its own answer. Question To ask the Senior ...
I promise this article won't be the kind of thing you could read in a right of centre publication that goes something like this: all these liberals being liberal are just so silly. Can't they see that they have to lie down and accept that the voters are right-wing? This, to be clear again, is not what I am about to say. Yet the Left also needs to stop imagining ways to victory that are extremely unlikely to work and in fact, have been proven a few times already not to lead to success. The first classic of this type ...
2020 has enormous potential for us. We need to make the most of that – and now is a great time to build up your local party by activating more of your members. That's why we're releasing the Boost Guide. We've worked with and learnt from some of our most successful local parties and activists. We've taken their best ideas and top tips, and distilled them into a handy guide for you. From the mechanics of how to find your member data, through to running better events and more,it's a definitive manual on how to broaden your engagement and activate ...
Yesterday we had a budget meeting of the Council when our Council tax went up by an inflation busting 3.9% for the 7th year running. The budget meeting is always something of a formal farce. We all know that a ... Continue reading →
Wed, 17:35: Bloomberg spent half a billion dollars, and won three counties in Colorado, six in Utah and six in Texas. https://t.co/bhAjVtagGD Wed, 18:10: A Popular History of Ireland, by Thomas D'Arcy McGee https://t.co/X6O3DFFAtc Wed, 20:48: Cleaning up: the best 20-second songs to wash your hands to https://t.co/FdgoaN8S7Y Useful. "4'33", by John Cage:... https://t.co/Fm8aqfqG0C Thu, 10:45: RT @RozKaveney: I used to be friends with Suzanne Moore. Suzanne Moore states that a group which wants me removed from the women's toilets...
The Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald reports: The Scottish Lib Dems say they have now relaunched the Ayrshire party with residents now volunteering to stand as candidates. The Scottish Lib Dems say membership has trebled in Ayrshire with residents now volunteering stand as candidates and the party 'on the march'. At the constituency event, Scottish Convenor Sheila Ritchie said: "The Liberal Democrats are on a big upwards trajectory in Ayrshire. The local party membership has trebled in the last two years. We have realistic hopes for the Scottish elections next year and to get candidates volunteering for council seats in 2021 ...
In the 1980s and 1990s there was reason to celebrate, as military dictatorships in Latin America came to an end and Communism collapsed in Europe. But in the 21st. Century democratisation has gone into reverse. According to the latest annual report from the Washington-based NGO Freedom House, democracy is under assault in many parts of [...]
I'd never really thought about tumbleweed other than a cliched prop to appear blowing across the street in American movies and TV dramas set out west.
There have been well-attended events to celebrate International Women's Week, with culminates with International Women's Day this Sunday: A welcome to #InternationalWomensWeek at the House of Lords by @LorelyBurt with @SholaMos1 @fawcettsociety @SiobhanBenita @soniatalks Baroness Donaghy @sarahjolney1 the struggle for women's equality will never stop! We are strong together! pic.twitter.com/0eDjuM6te2 — Rabina Khan [IMG: 🔶] (@RabinaKhan) March 2, 2020 * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary published in print or online.
The Guardian reports on a disturbing study by the Centre for Ageing Better and Care & Repair England based on analysis of the English Household Survey, which has found that more than 2 million people aged over 55 live in homes that endanger their health, with older homeowners who cannot afford to maintain their home most at risk. The study found that accidents and illnesses caused by dangerous homes cost the NHS £1.4bn a year. The NHS spends £513m on emergency treatment for people aged over 55 who live in the poorest-quality housing and have suffered incidents linked to non-decent ...
Former BBC and Liverpool Post reporter, political commentator and writer Nick Hancock seen here debating with Southport's very own Cllr.Iain Brodie-Browne a while back. jimhancock.co.uk/hancocks-half-page/ Readers will be far from surprised to hear that I'm no fan of the BBC's news/current affairs output of recent times, indeed at times this great institution has really angered me and sadly it continues to do so. In my view the BBC failed spectacularly during the EU Referendum and Brexit debate process to deal with political lies and fantasies. Just putting someone up who will say the direct opposite of someone peddling nonsense does ...
Miss Millie's today got the green light from South Gloucestershire Licensing Committee to open in Yate until 1.30am 7 nights a week. The Town Council supported the principle, Chris Willmore on behalf of the Town Council told the Licensing Committee - we know residents have been looking forward to this. But there is always a but - residents and the Town Council argued strongly against Miss Millie's proposed 1.30 am closing time. Everywhere else in town is shut by 12 on weekdays - even if they open later at weekends. So this extends the time people will finally disperse and ...
Last week, residents drew to my attention to the fact that part of the boundary fence in Greenbank Place had fallen - see photo : I am grateful to the City Council for responding to my request to have it repaired. This has now taken place.
Responding to reports of the expected imminent collapse of Flybe, Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:"The collapse of Flybe would leave a gaping hole in the UK's transport network. Rail connectivity between UK regions is completely inadequate, leaving people across the country with little choice but to fly. Without Flybe, even that option will be gone for many. The government must find a way to keep key transport links open."In addition, the Conservatives must rapidly scale up investment in sustainable transport if we are to create a viable long term solution to connect communities across the UK."In the ...
The Liberal Democrats are marking International Women's Day by introducing a Bill with cross party support which renews calls on the Government to end the so-called 'Pink Tax'. Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Women and Equalities Christine Jardine, who is introducing the Bill, said it is "unacceptable that in 2020 women and girls continue to pay more than men for basic and essential products". According to a report published in 2012 by Development Economics on behalf of Aviva insurance, women on average pay £200 more annually than men for the same every-day consumer goods and services. Christine Jardine has stressed that ...
Thu 5th
00:01
Lib Dems join Amnesty in calls for independent investigation into Hong Kong police violence
The Liberal Democrats have joined with Amnesty International in calling for an independent investigation into police violence during the Hong Kong protests. Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael, who has introduced a Bill with cross-party support which would require the Government offer Hong Kong citizens the right to live in the UK, said "the UK has a moral and legal duty to stand with protestors in their efforts to secure their rights and freedoms". Mr Carmichael's Bill would re-open the offer of a British National Overseas (BNO) passports for Hong Kong citizens and extend the scheme to provide the ...
