John Rogers follows the course of the Cran Brook through the streets of Ilford to its source near Barkingside. He says on YouTube:We start on Wanstead Flats and pass through Aldersrbook, a model Edwardian suburb that is seen as a great example of the vernacular revival. Passing down Empress Avenue we look for the site of the Redbridge Nuclear Shelter near Empress Avenue Allotments. These allotments were used as a location in the Mike Leigh film Another Year. The path takes us around the outer perimeter of the Wanstead Park, through the Epping Forest Exchange Lands and near the site ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Government must act to strengthen NHS Test and Trace ahead of new school year Liberal Democrats back calls for Magnitsky-style sanctions against Hong Kong human rights abusers Government must act to strengthen NHS Test and Trace ahead of new school year Responding to news that scientists have warned that current testing and contact tracing is inadequate to prevent a second wave of coronavirus when schools in the UK reopen, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran said: After months being cooped up at home, millions of children are looking forward to getting back to school in September, but safety must remain ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

Remember how Brexit was meant to reduce red tape? The Department of Transport has issued a document on proposed legislative amendments on enforcing Operation Brock, the scheme to have lorries queue for the channel ports inland if there is a need. There you will find this gem:From that point on, the legislation would require any haulier using designated roads in Kent leading to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel to be in possession of a 'Kent access permit' (KAP), which would be digitally issued to drivers receiving a 'green' or 'amber' result from the SF service. Each KAP would be ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Dear Lib Dem Mum, I am finding the leadership election very stressful. I am an Ed supporter, but my son is completely for Layla and my partner dislikes both and is disillusioned by the whole proceeding. My local party and my friends groups are similarly split, and there is so much partiality and fractiousness and bitchiness it hurts my heart. I cannot see the saviour of liberalism that my son sees in Layla, and I can't fathom why he doesn't understand that Ed represents the continuity and safety that we need. It seems to be going on forever, and each ...

Posted by Lib Dem Mum on Liberal Democrat Voice

Second paragraph of third chapter:Never had it taken so long to row up Tresco Channel, Alfie thought. He was quite sure by now that the girl must be dead, so much so that he could hardly bring himself to look at her. Close to tears all the time, he did not trust himself to speak. He kept catching his father's eye, then looking away fast. He could not tell him how cold she was in his arms, how still, that she was gone.A lovely children's book set on the Scilly Islands during the first world war. A young girl is ...

Molly Nolan has been chosen to contest the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross seat for the Liberal Democrats in next May's Holyrood elections. This is largely the seat Jamie Stone represents at Westminster. If you want to know more about Molly Nolan the natural place to turn is the John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier. There you will read that she was a pupil at Dingwall Academy and Plockton Music School before going to Harvard University and that Jamie Stones regards her as a "shining example of the next generation of Highlanders". Molly tells the paper:"With the coronavirus crisis leaving so ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Tue 4th
15:22

Let Them Eat Kale

The LibDem official Twitter account has been tweeting against allowing the "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme being used for McDonald's, KFC, and the like. Apparently having a cheap treat in the midst of one of the most miserable periods of post-war history will bring the NHS crashing down and cause everyone to suddenly become morbidly obese and die of Coronavirus, or something like that. On the 4th of July Munira Wilson, LibDem spokesperson for Health and Social Care, tweeted about a lovely meal she'd had with her family, including those well-known heath foods, burgers, waffles, and icecream. The restaurant ...

Posted on A Rambling Ducky

Every week, LDV gives each leadership candidate the opportunity to write an article. This is Layla's for this week. Thank you for writing to me about racial equality in our country and our party. This issue must be an absolute priority and I am glad it has received such significant attention throughout our leadership contest, thanks to the work of members such as yourselves. I would also like to sincerely apologise for the delay in replying and hope you have had the opportunity to hear about my vision during the hustings so far. As you so rightly point out, the ...

Posted by Layla Moran MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Hong Kong has published the findings of its inquiry into violations of human rights and humanitarian principles by the Hong Kong Police Force.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Tue 4th
11:00

My tweets

Mon, 12:56: Uh-Oh, the Hugos Were a Hot Mess! https://t.co/UQxdPI4q8D An interesting take. Mon, 16:05: RT @CoraBuhlert: More Reactions to the 2020 Hugo Ceremony and a bit about the Retro�Hugos https://t.co/6zR6gjTNE6 Mon, 17:11: RT @AndrewLiptak: I took a deep dive into the world of military-sponsored science fiction, #FicInt: https://t.co/28axZZ0o5K Mon, 18:10: Guban, by Abdi Latif Ega https://t.co/lpYkhJAAfR Mon, 18:24: Classified documents on US-UK trade talks 'hacked from Liam Fox's emails' https://t.co/Ga6svdl20u Mon, 18:29: RT @worldcon2021: We are pleased to announce that the #HugoAwards ceremony in 2021 will be hosted by @blackpotmojo and @m_older. #Worldcon... Mon, 18:44: Recording London Soundscapes, Past ...

YouGov

Anybody wondering why the UK Government was trying to suppress the release of a parliamentary report on Russian interference in our democratic process need no look no further than this article in today's Guardian. Liam Fox's alleged incompetence in failing to secure sensitive government documents from hackers may not have featured in the report, but the general impression given by this latest incident is that the government is flailing about, clueless and impotent in the face of actions by external agitators. The Guardian says that a personal email account belonging to Liam Fox, the former trade minister, was repeatedly hacked ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

i) births and deaths 4th August 1941: birth of Martin Jarvis who played Hilio in The Web Planet (1963), Butler in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974), and the Governor in Vengeance on Varos (1985). 4th August 1971: birth of Fenella Woolgar who played Agatha Christie in The Unicorn and the Wasp (2008). 4th August 1989: death of Maurice Colbourne who played Lytton in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) and Attack of the Cybermen (1985). ii) broadcast anniversary 4th August 2016: Peter Capaldi is announced as the Twelfth Doctor. iii) date specified in-universe From Paul Cornell's (excellent) 1992 Seventh Doctor novel ...

On 24 July, I launched a straw poll on whether Sainsbury's will be welcome in Ludlow. The poll was busy, with 813 votes being cast. The winning result was 480 votes in favour (59%). A sizeable group, but well short of a majority, thought a Sainsbury's at Rocks Green would be bad for the town - 296 votes, 36%. A small number aren't bothered whether Sainsbury's comes to town or not - 37 votes, 5%. Although this is an informal poll, it reflects what I hear around the town and read on social media. A majority of people are in ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

I received concerns last week about glass strewn around the steps at Seabraes and ivy over the steps - also utility covers that required putting back in place. I raised the glass issue with the council's Neighbourhood Services to get it cleared up and am also grateful to the Roads Maintenance Partnership which promptly visited the site in relation to the utility covers :

So due to the current COVID – 19 crises we were unable to go on our usual holiday away earlier in the year. As lockdown measures have been eased somewhat (or for our area of the UK it would now be more appropriate to say had been eased somewhat) we decided we would take advantage [...]

Posted by tompkin982014 on tompkin98blog