As the Lib Dem leadership campaign comes to a close, has it become easier to choose between Ed and Layla? - In short not particularly; online hustings have been repetitive, both in style and content, failing to provide probing cross examination that is needed to put putative leaders sufficiently on the spot. Too often we ... Continue reading Ed or Layla?
Sun 23rd
21:41
The Saint, Greavsie and Donald Trump make the quarter-final draw for the 1992 Rumbelows League Cup
It's a funny old game, Saint.
This morning I tweeted a story from the Mail on Sunday: When he returned home from the horrors of the First World War, a thankful Walter Brown planted an oak tree on the edge of his farm. Standing tall more than a century later, it symbolises the longevity of his ancestors' relationship with the land in Rutland. The Brown family has tilled the soil in the Welland Valley for more than 300 years, but Walter's grandson Andrew fears the new Agriculture Bill will mean he is the last. Mr Brown, 56, says the Bill fails to protect the UK's world-leading ...
Sun 23rd
17:00
Face mask litter menace - it's a worldwide problem and it's getting a problem in Ludlow
Another day walking the dog. Another encounter with a discarded single-use facemask. Masks are scattered onto verges. They are dropped on roadside. Shoved into hedges. I encounter this potentially dangerous waste when walking my collie. There have been several around the Co-op on Foldgate Lane over the last couple of weeks. People leaving stores simply discard their single use masks, leaving someone else to clean up the mess. That is despite there being plenty of litter bins. I am appalled by this behaviour. Dropping litter is a horrid, antisocial habit. Face masks could be dangerous and harbour Covid-19 Dropping a ...
Over the past few days, I have been approached by a number of parents with kids of different ages and with their kids going to different schools. Everyone, including me, wants the kids to be back at school again as ... Continue reading →
I plucked up courage yesterday to visit the exhibition of Paul Delvaux works, "The Man Who Loved Trains", at Train World in Schaarbeek (which I had previously visited three years ago for a Tintin exhibition). I brought little U with me - she is usually up for an expedition somewhere new ("Would you like to come with Daddy in the car?"). Of course, in the times we are in, we both had to wear masks, and U will submit to this indignity even though she has no idea why. I should add that the two of us got in for ...
In an isolated Bedouin community in the Negev desert, Suliman (Hitham Omari) decides to take a second wife, building a house for her literally adjoined to the ramshackle dwelling where his wife and four daughters live. Though it is never stated overtly, one imagines the reason for this new marriage is the hope of having [...]
Next year, the Scottish Parliament elections take place. Nicola Sturgeon's minority SNP Government's record will be up for the judgement of the electorate. The SNP has been in power now for 13 years. The children who were done over by the exams fiasco up here have had their entire education with the SNP in charge. And, as 16 year olds have the vote in Scottish Parliament elections, they will have the chance to make their voices known. Scotland's public services are failing, local government is being undermined and underfunded and it's hard to think of anything major that the SNP ...
Sat, 12:56: Missed this. Damn. https://t.co/4OkUOYTi0I Sat, 14:48: RT @pmdfoster: You can read @MichelBarnier remarks on Round 7 of the UK-EU trade talks here (FR and EN). Tl;dr. This sentence - paring ba... Sat, 15:08: I'll do a proper blog post about it in due course, but I just want to recommend the Paul Delvaux exhibition at TrainWorld to Brussels friends (and those within easy reach of Brussels). https://t.co/7MqfmSy2EW Sat, 15:23: A Boy and His Dog https://t.co/7JTMHkGyce Sat, 16:05: RT @JoshuaGarfield: Pure joy ⚽️ https://t.co/QOhmDDqJWr Sat, 17:21: RT @archer_rs: She continued, "It's one of the reasons we are moving to ...
Voting in the Liberal Democrat leadership contest closes at 1pm on Wednesday. The title of this 1977 Stranglers single expresses one of the main reasons I voted for Layla Moran. If you are a party member and haven't voted yet, I hope you will vote for her too.
The Sunday Times has published an extract from a new book that sets out how former Labour Party Deputy Leader Tom Watson turned down an invitation to stand for the Liberal Democrats.
Elections are great. They are the cornerstone of liberal democracies. They ensure that the government has the support of the people so that the country can move forward. Elections are great... IF (notice the capital letters) they are free and fair. Otherwise they are an exercise in political hypocrisy designed to sacrifice the national interest to special interest groups—a sad, bad and ultimately dangerous road for the guilty politicos and the country they claim to represent. There are several elements that contribute to making elections free and fair, including: Multiple parties representing a variety of political views; a free press; ...
i) births and deaths 23 August 1991: death of Innes Lloyd, producer of Doctor Who from The Celestial Toymaker to The Enemy of the World, who overhauled the show by getting rid of all the regular cast including the star, thus ensuring its long-term survival. ii) broadcast anniversary 23 August 2002: Webcast of episode 4 of Real Time. Evelyn is faced with becoming a Cyberman; the Doctor confronts the bloke played by Yee Jee Tso and discovers why he is not completely human. 23 August 2014: broadcast of Deep Breath, the Twelfth Doctor's first full story. The new Doctor arrives ...
As if the government was not in enough trouble for abolishing free TV licences for the over-75s by proxy, the consequences of that decision continue to reverberate and could well come back to bite them again. Not wanting to take the decision themselves, Conservative Ministers decided that the BBC should be responsible for funding the over-75 concession in future, but failed to give them the money to pay for that policy. The outcome was inevitable. Only those on pension credit are now eligible to watch their television without charge. Unfortunately, this decision also requires enforcement and, as this article outlines, ...
As part of a very helpful fund to assist communities in Dundee through the current challenging circumstances, Hillcrest has advised me : "I am writing to inform you of the fund we currently have available. This is for any Dundee resident that has a prepay energy supply and costs have gone up due to lockdown. The £30 voucher is issued within 24 hours by the fuel bank and is by text or email, so a mobile phone number or email is required for the client to get the voucher." Any resident with a prepay meter who requires this support can ...
