Doctor Who has always been political. From the very start, the Doctor has fought fascism and stood up for freedom. But you wouldn't know it from the periodic explosions from some fans or media headlines that the series has been 'ruined' by 'suddenly' turning Social Justice Warrior. It's not new. Fifty-four years ago tonight, the SJW Doctor upset a bunch of fans who just didn't get it, condemned an unequal society, and gave the villain a piece of his mind. "The sacrifice of even one soul is far too great! You must put an end to this inhuman practice." The ...
PM must ensure COVID-19 vaccine is free of charge to all Lib Dems: Govt must do more to protect the vulnerable from modern slavery Lib Dems: Face mask announcement yet another example of Govt's slow response PM must ensure COVID-19 vaccine is free of charge to all The Liberal Democrats have urged the Prime Minister to ensure a coronavirus vaccine is patent free, affordable for all governments and free of charge to all. The call comes as the Prime Minister today hosts a Global Vaccine Summit in London. The Liberal Democrats are also calling on the Prime Minister to endorse ...
Two of my favourite cricket journalists, John Arlott and Alan Gibson, were Liberal Party general election candidates. To them I can add Frank Keating, who was never a candidate but did act as campaign manager to Grenville Jones. The story begins, as Keating once wrote in the Guardian, in the "one-room, one-man Leominster branch office of the Hereford Times in 1958": "Keating, boyo, I'm North Hereford's new Liberal candidate: I'm going to make you - and you're going to make me." And so, mutually, we each contrived to do so. There was no official Lib organisation; the Tories were landslidingly ...
The work of running a great estate must go on, virus or no virus. Thursday How are you finding lockdown? My hair has remained uncut for so long that I now resemble a beatnik, while my moustache is now so wide that there are rooms at the Hall I am no longer able to enter. If this goes on much longer I shall have to call the builders in and have the doorways widened. However, I have not let lockdown keep me from Estate business. Consulting a ready reckoner, I find that the distance of two metres we are supposed ...
I've been writing this week about the lockdown TV that I have been enjoying - see notes on Derry Girls, Unorthodox and The Good Place. I'm still in the second series of Secret Army, but earlier in the week I finished Normal People, a twelve-part series based on the book by Sally Rooney which I really enjoyed earlier this year. This is one of those exceptionally rare cases where the screen adaptation actually improves on the book. The director, Hetty MacDonald, also directed the single best episode of New Who, Blink. The book is told through Sally Rooney's own intense ...
Please find below an update on local services, and also the latest set of local statistics on COVID-19. If you, or a friend or neighbour, is in need of support don't hesitate to get I touch with the local team. You can contact your local community Hub directly via 0161 253 5353, they have a team of volunteers ready to help with essential tasks such as shopping or collecting prescriptions. Important information from NHS Bury and Bury Council: "Health leaders in Bury have urged residents to follow the official Covid-19 safety guidelines, warning that we are nowhere near 'out of ...
Current The Complete Secret Army: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Classic TV Drama Series by Andy Priestner Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens The Queen's Agent: Sir Francis Walsingham and the Rise of Espionage in Elizabethan England, by John Cooper The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, by Stephen Fry The Wicked + The Divine vol 2: Fandemonium, by Kieron Gillen etc Last books finished The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht Make Room! Make Room!, by Harry Harrison The Sleeper Awakes, by H.G. Wells Local Hero, by David Benedictus The Wicked + The Divine vol 1: The ...
June is my favourite month. English asparagus, Jersey Royal potatoes waiting to be scrubbed, local strawberries, roses, Wimbledon and cricket – what not to love? – not to mention my birthday later in the month. As a child I thought my parents had been very clever in arranging my birthday almost exactly halfway between two Christmasses. It spread the presents out very neatly. My memories are of sunny days, sometimes on the beach if the date fell at a weekend. And icecream. We lived on the Isle of Wight until I was nine. Again I thought my parents had been ...
This week, 1-7 June 2020, is National Volunteers Week. This is a week set up to celebrate all the brilliant work that volunteers do in so many aspects of our communities. If you're involved in volunteering, whatever it is, then thank you for the difference you are making. At the present time it is especially important to say thank you to people who have stepped up to volunteer during the coronavirus crisis for everything you have done and are still doing. There is more information on Volunteers Week here. There is more information about volunteering in the wider Bury area ...
It was good to see Welsh Education minister, Kirsty Williams, fronting a press conference yesterday on the re-opening of schools in Wales. In contrast to Boris Johnson's plans for England, which have generated widespread concern, Wales is taking a more cautious and devolved approach. All schools there will re-open on 29th June, staggering attendance to ensure that only a third of pupils will be on site at any one time. Schools and councils will decide how that is to be implemented locally, phasing in the scheme to suit local conditions. Term dates will be adjusted, with a week's extension to ...
The Foreign Secretary had just announced a proposal on extending 'leave to stay' for British National (Overseas) passport holders from 6 months to 12 months if China forced the Hong Kong authorities to enact the National Security Law. It is still a short-term visa and the Government will need to clarify what "extendable with a pathway to the Citizenship" means. It seems the 'Leave' allows work and study during the 12 months stay, which will allow BN(O) status holders to live in the country. The mechanisms on how the ambiguous proposal will work is all subject to the clarification from ...
Remember. It is not so long since our political leaders were civilised human beings. This too shall pass.
Wed, 12:22: RT @CyberpeaceInst: Today we launch #Cyber4Healthcare, a free healthcare-cybersecurity matchmaking service for all #healthcare providers fi... Wed, 12:56: The great lockdown: was it worth it? https://t.co/xdHlu9vkp6 A "yes" from Daniel Gros at @CEPS_Thinktank. Wed, 14:38: RT @Keir_Starmer: This is the week where public trust and confidence in the Government needed to be at its highest. #PMQs https://t.co/XOG... Wed, 16:05: Is it time to reassess the Arms Trial, and the role of Jack Lynch? https://t.co/FRa92RvKUr Former Taoiseach John Br... https://t.co/8dZlscEMru Wed, 16:34: RT @DaveKeating: BREAKING: The Belgian Prime Minister has just announced that cafés, restaurants and bars will reopen ...
The judges were unanimous. Today Headline of the Day Award goes to the Guardian.
Ed Davey has today launched his bid to be Leader of the Liberal Democrats with this video: Nominations close on 9th July and voting will take place in August with the result expected on 27th August.
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Ludlow Town Council backs a trial closure of King Street and High Street on Fridays and Saturdays
Last night, Ludlow Town Council met to consider plans for a social distanced town. As part of this, it discussed proposals to close King Street and High Street to vehicles on Friday and Saturdays. This is move controversial to say the least. Many, if not most, retailers and market traders oppose the closures fearing a loss of trade. People are also concerned that those with limited mobility will be excluded from the town centre on the biggest shopping days. The changes will be temporary and can be introduced within seven days of Shropshire Council deciding to do so. I support ...
If Ministers had not got the message about the inadvisability of dismantling the virtual Parliament and forcing MPs to return to speak and vote in person, the one and a half hour conga line to complete two divisions on Tuesday must surely have driven home to them the folly of this idea. Sure enough, by Wednesday lunchtime, Boris Johnson was prepared to make concessions and used Prime Minister's Question Time to announce that MPs who are shielding will in future be able to vote by proxy. This followed an outcry over the treatment of parliamentarians with medical conditions or those ...
Please see below details of the main roadworks scheduled for the Prestwich area in June 2020. For the full list see the GM Roadworks site here Bury Old Road at the junction with Nursery Road. 'Give and Take' from 12 to 16 June 2020 (BT)Woodhill Drive, Overbrook Drive and the area of Bury Old Road opposite Barnfield Park (at the end of Woodhill Drive). 16 June – 7 July 2020 – road closures on the side roads and lane closure on Bury Old Road (Cadent Gas). Bury Old Road (just south of Albert Avenue junction) – 29 June – 1 ...
Businesses that work from shared premises are the main target of a new grant scheme that aims to boost local economies in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The Government has provided Bury with a £2m funding pot available to organisations unable to apply for previous government support because they did not have a rates assessment. Those who may be eligible to apply for one-off grants that do not have to be repaid include: Businesses who operate in shared spaces, for example in a shared office, business unit or industrial unitOutdoor market traders, for example those in Bury Market selling ...
Bury Market will re-open to welcome back customers on Monday 15 June 2020. Measures are being put in place to maintain social distancing and ensure that visitors have a safe and happy experience while shopping. The vast majority of the 300-plus stalls, on both the outdoor and indoor markets, will be open, except those which under Government rules must remain closed for the time being, such as cafes and hairdressers. The council is working within Government guidelines to put in place measures to meet the necessary social distancing and hygiene standards. These will include using a limited number of entrances ...
Great Altcar Civil Parish in West Lancashire remains a predominately rural community to this day. It lost its very rural passenger service along the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway in 1952, well before Beeching came along. The trackbed is now a part of the National Cycle Network, the Trans Pennine Trail and is known as the Cheshire Line Path. The two light and shade shots in this posting were taken just to the north of the site of the former Altcar & Hillhouse Station. Both are looking south and from the same location – the next bridge north of ...
2 big stories Alok Sharma is awaiting the outcome of his COVID-19 test, having caused the suspension of business in the Commons yesterday after showing signs of ill health whilst at the dispatch box. Perhaps the message will finally get through to Jacob Rees-Mogg that his caricature of parliamentary democracy should come to an end? Or are his intentions sinister rather than ill-advised? One of the less immediately apparent impacts of the pandemic is a crisis in local government finance, with many councils now dependent to varying degrees on income from commercial property assets and commercial services. The crisis in ...
Tomorrow and Saturday! 5th and 6th of June we need you to find and identify as much wildlife as possible. All without going further than your backyard! To take part all you need to do is snap pictures of wildlife in your garden on the 5th and 6th of June. More details at www.facebook.com/events/2692966054268425
