This week we unexpectedly received an emergency food package from the Government. My husband is on the extremely vulnerable list, which opens up a number of options for help with shopping. When he initially registered on the Government's website he did not tick the box which asked whether he needed help with shopping. We were managing to access supplies and had friends and neighbours who had offered to help. But getting a delivery from a supermarket was still a challenge, and I sometimes spent hours refreshing the screen in the hope of spotting a new delivery slot. The supermarket sites ...
It's Europe Day today and I find myself quite emotional. This country finds itself outside the European Union and with the prospect of no trade deal at the end of this year. Presumably Boris Johnson's government thinks that we won't notice that nasty little act of economic vandalism in the midst of the economic chaos wreaked by Coronavirus. We know from the last few weeks how bloody difficult isolation is in our personal lives and so it is the same on the international scene. Over on the Lib Dem website, Ed Davey has written this message for Europe Day: Europe ...
If betting shops and arms fairs get up and running again before schools and bereavement support groups, we'll know we're doing something wrong. Continue reading →
As I go through the Oscars, I decided that before turning to The Godfather I'd look at the other big winner of 1972, Cabaret - which still holds the record as the film to have won most Oscars without winning Best Picture (8; followed by Gravity with 7 in 2013). I had seen a stage production in the Arts Theatre, Belfast, in 1992, directed by the late Peter Quigley who also starred as the MC (with Richard Croxford as the male lead), and a lot more recently I read the books on which it is loosely based. And of course ...
Up to 2012 the Liberal Democrats' citywide organisation for Leeds was responsible for the panelling of the party's prospective city council candidates. It placed approved candidates on the panel of candidates for the city, from which the wards could select. There was a rigorous process with a candidate pack of information on the city council and on what it entailed being a Liberal Democrat councillor. There was also a short statement of the party's basic philosophy, expanding on the preamble to the party's constitution. Unfortunately the City Council Liberal Democrat group ended its financing of the organisation out of the ...
– That is a mischievous title, if ever there was one... One of my favourite presenters was Ray Moore, who graced Radio 2, and also the "ENT-ER-TAIN-MENT tonight on BBC1" trailers, for many years. He used to humourously refer to BBC TV "repeats" as "a second chance to see". This week's Radio Times uses an ... Continue reading BBC repeats and Hitler
In recent years on Europe Day, 9 May, I have usually been attending a concert at St. John's Smith Square, sponsored by the European Commission office which occupied the former Conservative Party headquarters opposite. These days the latter building houses the EU delegation to the UK, because Britain left the European Union on 31 January, [...]
With lockdown extended for another three months in Wales, and with England due to follow suit, albeit with some relaxation of the rules, the UK Government appears to be placing all its hopes on us returning to normality on a phone app. As ABC News reports, this has worked very well in China, where the Chinese government has begun to track some of its citizens through software that analyses their personal data to sort individuals into color-coded categories - red, yellow or green - corresponding to their health status and level of risk for COVID-19. However, will it work here, ...
Thanks to lockdown I'm not getting the chance to meet Liberal Democrat members and supporters at events in the way I'd usually do.
DEADLINE 15th May last chance Yate Wildlife AdventuresWriting Competition - deadline 15 May - REMINDER
As we mark 10 years since the formulation of the coalition, I'm reposting my initial thoughts from 8 May 2010 about how we should approach the dangerous situation in which we found ourselves: This is going to be a very quick post. If you want deeper, more robust analysis, go to the lovely Elephant or Daddy Alex. With 15 minutes to go to Doctor Who, you are not going to get any more than a few random thoughts from me. Firstly, a few right wing commentators are getting their knickers in a twist and describing the current series of civilised ...
Fri, 12:22: RT @APCOBXLInsider: In need of some #lockdown TV recommendations? We polled the office for their favourite TV series to binge during lockdo... Fri, 12:56: After Four Antibody Tests, I'm Still Not Sure I've Had Covid-19 https://t.co/FYDCZbdWOn @StephaniBaker is uncertain. Fri, 16:05: Dark Corners: "Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday)" (1930) https://t.co/scMLXg8zhg A glimpse of Berlin in the Weimar era. Fri, 17:11: RT @HorribleSanity: This is one of the more startling headlines I've seen lately. (Indianapolis Star 1910, via @_newspapers) https://t.co/... Fri, 18:13: #LockdowninOudHeverlee 8: VE Day, 75 years on The Commonwealth War Cemetery in Heverlee, and some of ...
The Home Library service is delivering books to Home Library Service Users - it is particularly important for those without digital access. And is going to expand to helping vulnerable families and children. Library members can continue to download free eBooks, eAudiobooks🎧 and latest issues of 100+ bestselling magazines 24/7📲 bit.ly/d1gitalLibraryServicesTo log in to our digital services you'll need your borrower number (on your library membership card) and for some of the services, your PIN. Don't know your PIN? Use the 'Forgot my PIN' option on the log in screen which will send an email with re-set instructions to the ...
In some ways, the days following the 2010 election seem so much more than a decade ago. I have definitely cried more than 10 years' worth of tears in that time. The long term effect of the coalition on our party has been profound. The decisions we made within it were still being used as a stick to beat us with in the most recent General Election. We'll be looking in more detail at the formation of the Coalition in the days to come. It was a process that many of us viewed nervously but that the Party backed overwhelmingly ...
Walking and cycling destinations from Rimrose Valley County Park Country Park. The BBC has the story on its website – see link below:- www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52592421 Quote from BBC article – 'We need to protect the public transport network as lockdown is lifted, the UK Transport Secretary is expected to say at a press conference on Saturday. The BBC understands Grant Shapps will encourage the public to continue to work from home if they can. Those people who need to travel into a workplace will be urged to consider choosing more active ways to travel like walking and cycling. The intention is ...
Sat 9th
07:29
How do you make someone join a political party? Never Mind The Bar Charts with Tim Bale
As it's a bank holiday weekend, here's a return outing for the most popular episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts so far this year. In it, Professor Tim Bale, one of the leading experts in political party membership, talks about who joins parties, why they join and how those who join the Liberal Democrats differ from those who join other parties. Plus he gives his top tips on how to persuade people to join a party. Show notes Footsoldiers: political party membership in the 21st century. Why supporters don't always join parties. The research on how to get members ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT Please note that most works are subject to change and late completion due to the restrictive measures in place following UK and Scottish Government advice that only emergency/urgent works and those considered essential should take place during this period. REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SATURDAY 9 AND SUNDAY 10 MAY 2020 Perth Road (at Seabraes) - temporary traffic lights on Sunday 10 May for Scottish Water works. REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 11 MAY 2020 Riverside Drive (at Tesco) - off-peak westbound nearside lane closure on Thursday 14 ...
To mark Europe Day, the Liberal Democrats are renewing calls on the Government to honour the contribution of foreign nationals working in the NHS during the Covid-19 crisis by granting them and their families indefinite leave to remain in the UK.The proposals represent a significant step beyond the Government's current offer. The campaign has secured support from across the political spectrum, including Labour, Conservative, SNP, Green, Alliance and the Liberal Democrats.Europe Day is held on 9 May every year to celebrate peace and unity across Europe. The EU is marking the day this year by paying tribute to the many ...
