With international sales of 5m copies in 1964, the year of its release, the hit single My Boy Lollipop, sung by Millie, who has died aged 72, "opened the door for Jamaican music to the world," said the producer Chris Blackwell. So begins Chris Salewicz's Guardian obituary of Millie Small. She may have been a one-hit wonder, but he argues that it was an important hit: What was at first considered a novelty record helped shift the parameters by which British listeners understood music, adjusting their ears to the offbeat but addictive ska rhythmYou can hear Millie Small singing on ...
Wed 6th
18:26
Shropshire Council leader calls for government funding for "jam and cream" town and parish councils ...
Last Friday, Shropshire Council leader Peter Nutting wrote to Robert Jenrick, the minister for local government, asking for support for town and parish councils because their finances have become stretched during the Covid-19 emergency. But Nutting refused to pass on any government money to parish councils. This is not the first time Shropshire Council has hijacked money destined to be used to support parishes. The language of Nutting's letter is extraordinary. He declares that Shropshire Council is "my council". Peter, the council is not yours. It's ours. Councils are democratically elected bodies not sole ownership businesses. The letter gets more ...
The NHS has launched a tracing App for trialling in the Isle of Wight. How does it measure up against the civil liberties checklist that I authored on Lib Dem Voice on 15th April, along with some excellent additions within the comments? First, the positives: I urged that opting in should be voluntary. It is. A liberal society works best by consent. It is good news that this is an NHS App, rather than being owned by the central government or by a private company. Moreover, as the NHS has overwhelming public support, this makes it more likely that there ...
So, it's seven weeks yesterday since I was last working in the office. (I've been in twice, briefly, to the deserted corridors to pick up documents and other stuff.) When I do go back, it will be very different at first. People will be socially distancing, wearing masks, and generally being very careful. Cafes, bars and restaurants won't reopen until June, so until then a lot of the normal work socialising will be reduced to munching sandwiches at a safe distance in the park. (Which is not too awful.) I'll probably start off by using the car to commute. (It's ...
I don't usually view TV during the day, apart from the rolling news, and that hasn't changed since we have been in isolation. We don't watch any news, on any media, after 7pm and by 8pm we are ready to sit on the sofa and relax with light entertainment. Having been brought up on the Radio Times I do like the the weekly rhythm of watching my favourite programmes as they are broadcast. So that means Would I Lie To You on Mondays. I don't care how many repeats I watch, the inspired combination of Lee Mack, David Mitchell and ...
Yate Sort it centre reopens on 16 May In a temporary change to opening times it will be open 6am to 6pm. It will be for 'essential use' only - so only for things you can't put out for recycling and large items. Garden waste, soil, DIY, recycling and plastics cannot be brought onto the site. Those limits are so they can lay things out to meet social distancing requirements. Staff will not be able to help you, so bring someone with you if you need help unloading. Each vehicle will have the use of 2 parking spaces, and two ...
It's crucial that apps designed to help us battle coronavirus also protect our privacy as otherwise their take-up and so public health will suffer. That's the key point made by the Open Rights Group's Jim Killock in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as we discussed the potential risks to our civil liberties from the different attempts to track who people have been in contact with. Such contact tracing is essential to tackling coronavirus, but how can it be done best? Listen to find out... Feedback as every very welcome, and do share this podcast with others ...
High deaths within BME communities – CLICK TO SEE THE VIDEO COVID-19 has devastated the lives of people of all faiths and nationalities. Yet, there are increasing indications that the Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community in the UK has been disproportionately affected. This bias towards those of BAME origin suffering most, and more acutely, is also reflected in the US Afro-American population. Since the government's delay in imposing lockdown, I have seen the tragic loss of people from BAME communities in London and across the UK, and how COVID-19 restrictions have exacerbated the respective families' grief. Mohammed Rakib, who ...
At midnight tonight I complete my 37th year as a Councillor. I was first elected in1975 for St Michaels. In 1980 the ward was split and I was elected for the Dingle Ward and left the Council in 1984. In ... Continue reading →
In his weekly column last Friday, Tim Harford criticised the concept of "degrowth" now being promoted by some environmentalists. But I think he's missing the main point. Degrowth, as presented by Mr Harford, is the idea that the stopping of economic growth must be part of the policy toolkit towards creating a sustainable economy. As ... Continue reading Tim Harford and "degrowth": missing the broader point
I saw first-hand growing up in Scotland the ability Devolved Government has to impact and change lives. Growing up in Inverclyde in the late '90s and early 00's we had ranked consistently among the highest rates for drug and alcohol abuse. At one point regarding the 'Heroin Capital' of the UK, with overwhelming numbers in the area registering an addiction problem. The reality then was depending on the area you grew up in; it was more likely for you to encounter hard drugs than go on to further education. The reality was the area was hit by a long-term economic ...
A few years after the Second World War, a young writer receives a letter from a man in Guernsey who has found a book by Charles Lamb with her name and address inside, which leads to a sort of pen pal correspondence. Echoes here of 84 Charing Cross Road. Restless with her life in London, despite [...]
Thank you for reporting spaces where you have seen people gathering. As a result, Avon and Somerset Police are deploying youth workers to the Yate area, with the sole purpose of reinforcing the #stayhome message. These youth work teams are essential workers and they will be supplying outreach support to encourage young people to return home, or to a place where they are safe. Brimsham Park and Lye Fields have been identified as emerging hotspots for Avon and Somerset Police, where young people are breaching social distancing guidelines. Starting on 04.05.20 for 2 weeks, there will be daily outreach sessions ...
Tue, 12:56: RT @TreeSmithMusic: If Ring Around the Rosie is a nursery rhyme about the bubonic plague, then I say we get to work on a covid-19 nursery r... Tue, 16:05: Doctor Who 1970 â how Radio Times went behind the scenes 50 years ago https://t.co/F9v2g1ozkI Rare photos from th... https://t.co/EekEdGTBkJ Tue, 17:11: A beautiful thread. https://t.co/4TNw6sPWzN Tue, 18:44: April 2006 books, and reflections on Alexander Hamilton and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire https://t.co/wLHYHfTZtt Tue, 20:48: 'I feel a tremendous sense of humility': MP Tony Lloyd on how NHS saved his life https://t.co/SRoKciBJPJ Fascinatin... https://t.co/dw8INNCTtd Wed, 08:47: I think this refers ...
Conservative turned independent Rory Stewart has pulled out of the race for Mayor of London: He said he was giving up hopes of securing his "dream job" because of the difficulties independent candidates faced against the Labour and Conservative "machines", with hundreds of canvassers and bigger budgets for election leaflets and advertising. "The point about an independent campaign is it needs to be a sort of quite quick insurgency where you really build excitement over a few months," he said. "But you can't beat these huge machines if you're pushed into a nearly two-year campaign." [Evening Standard] You can find ...
FULL CLOSURE OF YATE ONE STOP SHOPSouth Glos Council has announced "In March, we closed all of our One Stop Shop (OSS) sites but continued to carry out emergency and pre-booked essential appointments. After considering the safety of the public and our staff, we've decided to fully close the Yate OSS. Patchway and Kingwood One Stop Shops also remain closed but will continue to carry out emergency and pre-booked appointments e.g. homelessness, foodbanks and welfare support. Staff from Yate OSS will be redeployed to our central contact centre. Full closure will last until we can re-open which will depend upon ...
Including stories from Liberal Democrats all across Wales, my email digest service is available for free and you can sign up to it here.
Trialled this week on the Isle of Wight, and soon to be rolled out to us all: an app for our smartphones will record who we come into contact with, so that if either we or they are discovered to have covid-19, the other party can be informed and take action. Don't confuse this with the Covid Symptom Tracker app, which you should have already. This allows you to anonymously record your symptoms daily to assist in research on the spread of the disease and on how symptoms begin to manifest. The new app will use the bluetooth radio feature ...
Even as a former Welsh Assembly Member and a strong supporter of devolution, I am struggling to mark the so-called historic rebranding of the Assembly as a Welsh Parliament or Senedd with anything more than a resigned shrug. As the BBC report, the new name is meant to reflect powers and responsibilities the institution has gained since it was set up in 1999. The names of the politicians will also change - from Assembly Members (AMs) to Members of the Senedd (MSs). For many this will be a significant development. As the BBC says, Wales' last Parliaments were convened in ...
With the establishment of the Welsh Parliament, we are sending a clear message to people across our nation that our politics is changing. Now is the time for us to learn the lessons of the past and changing the way we do things. For too long we failed to convey a clear message of what the purpose of the Assembly was and what it had the power to do. Instead, we let it be portrayed as ineffective, a barrier to change that was little more than a glorified talking shop. We need to cut through the noise and bluster of ...
Wed 6th
08:21
How the rally round the flag affect is waning - and what that means for Boris and the government
The Tories are still riding high in the polls. The prime minister's personal ratings remain outrageously positive, as do the numbers reflecting faith in the government. So, it would be highly logical for you to rubbish the idea that the rally round the flag affect is on the wane at all. But I believe at a grassroots level, something is starting to shift. A lot of normally faithful Brexiteers are beginning to not only question some of the current lockdown strategy, a lot of normally faithful Tories are as well. Sweden is starting to become a problem for Boris. I ...
It's becoming increasingly hard to keep up with the news cycle and, beyond the chaos of lockdown, a no deal Brexit begins to loom ever larger... 2 big stories When the specialist trade press, the Adam Smith Institute and Guido Fawkes think that you've got something wrong, your instinct might be to think that you've got something very right. On the other hand, this is HM Government's new app for coronavirus contact tracing, and all three sources above think that it's rubbish. Here's Guido Fawkes (and I'm not sure that I really believe that I'm writing this) on just one ...
Many thanks to local resident Kirsty Angus, who is a primary school teacher. She has been painting these pebbles at home. Kirsty left some down at Magdalen Green on her daily walk so others could enjoy and some in town - a lovely idea 😊
