I appear to have stolen the joke about a particular gentlemen's XI turning up a man short from Peter Tinniswood. In my experience, the key to being an original writer is to steal from a wide variety of authors. Saturday In any normal summer I would be away with my cricket XI taking on Plaid Cymru, Mebyon Kernow or the Gentlemen of Surrey (who often turn up at least one man short). As it is, I am stuck here at the Hall watching that splendid carthorse Alfred drag the roller across my own pitch. "When they asked for something heavy ...
Had I not been sent a review copy of Show me a hero: The sin of Richard Byrd Junior by Jeremy Scott, I suspect I would never have read it - and what a treat I would have missed out on.
These two magnificent trees – a willow and a horse chestnut – stand directly opposite my house and give me a great deal of pleasure. It's a bit grey and blustery today, so it's not the best photo. Years ago someone told me that London is, technically, a forest. That may seem unlikely but there are 8.4 million trees in Greater London to be found in gardens and parks and on streets. According to The Mayor of London, in London's urban forest around 20% of the land area is covered by trees. Today I learnt about TreeTalk which has an ...
[IMG: Is it Saturday? Time and the pandemic] The concept of time seems to be lost in the black hole of lockdown. Somebody said to me this morning on the phone, 'Is it...
Soylent Green won the first Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, for 1973. (This particular Nebula category has a complex history, but this is the first time it was given under any name.) It was also on the Hugo Ballot for 1974, but was beaten by Sleeper which also won the 1974 Nebula. More on that anon. The other 1973 Nebula finalists were Westworld, Steambath (a TV play) and Catholics (a British TV play starring Martin Sheen). I haven't seen any of them, and I hadn't seen Soylent Green before either. It's the story of New York in the year ...
Contractors are back on site at Abbotswood, laying the resin play area, the benches are being stripped and repainted and new planters will be put in. This is finishing off the work that had to be put on hold during the lockdown. Can't wait to see the finished project. It is being run by Yate Town Council, using money they raised from s.106 contributions (money developers have to put into local play areas etc)
The MP for Yate is the minister for homelessness, responsible for finding a solution to the homelessness crisis. His solution? - they should move in with family and friends......He has written to councils telling councils to get the homeless to move in with family and friends.If they had family and friends they could move in with, they would not be living on the streets. Homelessness is a LAST resort Luke. Not surprisingly just about everyone who has ever known a homeless person has rounded on the idea as a complete failure to understand how and why people are homeless. For ...
One of the most awful things about Jacob Rees-Mogg's intransigence over ending the virtual Parliament is the position it has put MPs with caring responsibilities in. Although Mogg reluctantly agreed that MPs who were shielding could get a proxy vote, but he will not because he is caring for his disabled wife and not shielding himself. This is incredibly unjust. In normal times, Jamie was able to travel to Westminster with the help of carers who came in to look after his wife, Flora. Because of the risk of spreading the virus, the carers are not coming in any more. ...
As part of the plans to reopen Ludlow town centre as the Covid-19 emergency eases, Ludlow Town Council is proposing to pedestrianise King Street and High Street on Fridays and Saturdays. This will be an emergency measure to promote social distancing on our town's narrow streets. Experimental closures of roads can be brought in at a week's notice without consultation by Shropshire Council. They can be withdrawn at any point, also without notice. The town council is not planning long term closures. Experimental closures can be in place for 18 months. During that period the highways authority, Shropshire Council, will ...
One of the personal advantages of the pandemic is that, as I'm working from home, I have rather more time to think - the eight hours or so I would usually spend commuting are mine to enjoy, for the time being. Now, I acknowledge, that isn't necessarily an entirely good thing, because it does tend to lead me to think of things that I might do. However, given that life is usually quite hectic on Planet Bureaucrat, it is nice to have some relative downtime. But, simultaneously, I don't have anywhere near as many responsibilities as I might have done ...
Fri, 12:56: RT @tconnellyRTE: Can the Brexit transition period be extended after 30 June 2020? @piris_jc concludes not... https://t.co/KQtZEUzAfk Fri, 17:17: RT @thejournal_ie: The Taoiseach ends with a quote from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: "But in the end, it's only a passing thing,... Fri, 18:42: To Calm Turmoil, U.S. Leaders Must Stop Courting Conflict https://t.co/a0kLD7JUeh via @crisisgroup Fri, 18:51: September 2006 books https://t.co/D3ve0C7Z5Y Fri, 18:56: Hugely important news: the foundation where our daughters live has let us know that we should be able to visit (und... https://t.co/hrDCDkh0a3 Fri, 18:56: Eighty days of lockdown, and the end ...
The Independent reports that fears of a no-deal in Brexit trade talks have heightened as another round finished without progress and Brussels accused the UK of backtracking on its promises. The paper says that business groups and unions on the British side of the channel warned negotiators to "buckle down" and said a disorderly Brexit could mean we "potentially face a bigger challenge to the food supply chain" than coronavirus: EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday that talks could not "go on like this forever" while his UK counterpart David Frost admitted that progress required both sides "intensify ...
Jo Grimond's Memoirs were by published by Heinemann way back in 1979 and I read my own copy sometime in the 1980's. One day whilst in a second hand book shop a couple of years back I saw another copy and purchased it for my daughter Jen, a radical green, feminist Social Liberal. Then only a few days ago I put a podcast on my Facebook page (linked here – www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMJscTUAXMI) where Iain Brodie Browne was being interviewed in his capacity of Chair of the Social Liberal Forum. Jen saw saw the podcast and it reminded her of the book ...
At the request of residents, I have asked the City Council if it could consider replacing the rubbish bins on Riverside Drive just east of the Bridgeview Station Restaurant with ones that are rather more "gull proof" - see below :
