Ever since I became a Parish Councillor, one of my responsibilities was what you might call external liaison, i.e. attending meetings of bodies that reach beyond our small (but perfectly formed) parish. That really consisted of two things, the Stowmarket Area Road Safety Committee and the local branch of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils. And, in truth, I have enjoyed both of them, albeit that I played a central role in bringing the Road Safety Committee to an end (it had become clear that the committee had run its course). But, and I know this may come as a ...
He walked down Coleridge Close, turned right into Tennyson Avenue, then left into Wordsworth Drive, and down the snicket into Station Road. It isn't only Reginald Perrin's Climthorpe that has a Poets Estate. Today I explored one of the many parts of Market Harborough that didn't used to be there and came across this collection of roads.
The final item in Kevin Maguire's latest Commons Confidential column for the New Statesman reveals the existence of a hitherto undiscovered circle of hell: Labour criticising Johnson's award of a peerage for the Brexit Party's Claire Fox, who once said she didn't think child porn ought to be removed from the internet and has in the past defended the IRA, prompted a senior figure to recall Jeremy Corbyn halting an onslaught against the ex-MEP. Printed leaflets highlighting her record were pulped instead of being delivered on polling day in the 2019 Peterborough by-election. Disgruntled Labour campaigners suspected that Seumas Milne's ...
Sky News streaks off with our Headline of the Day Award.
A fascinating juxtaposition of public art can be seen in Ostende, which we visited briefly on Sunday. Notoriously, an equestrian statue of King Leopold II (1835-1909, ruled 1865-1909) dominates the Royal Galleries along the seafront. What makes this particularly gruesome is the tableau of naked Congolese on the left, along with a pith-helmetted Belgian liberator. Given what was actually going on in the Congo under Leopold's personal rule, it's a stomach-churning display. (On the right, a group of Ostenders give thanks to the king for his patronage of their resort.) Obviously with recent events, the removal of the statuary is ...
Current Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel Distraction, by Bruce Sterling Last books finished Bruges-La-Morte, by Georges Rodenbach An Inland Voyage, by Robert Louis Stevenson Isabelle, by Jean-Claude Servais Shadow Scale, by Rachel Hartman Next books East West Street, by Philippe Sands Chronin Volume 1: The Knife at Your Back, by Alison Wilgus
[IMG: Napier Barracks, Folkestone] You may also have heard very recently that the Home Office contacted the District Council last Thursday afternoon (10th September) to explain they had plans, previously never mentioned or discussed, to house a migrant processing centre at Napier Barracks. I am incredulous that they can have failed to consult, or even notify of plans to open such a centre, and yet are planning on doing so on Monday 21st September. They are still yet to give even basic clear details like the number of people, for how long individuals will be there, what the purpose is ...
"Don't kill Granny" – well, thanks, Matt Hancock, I appreciate your concern for me. When you gave that advice ten days ago, the infection rate stood at around 3000 per day. It is now 4000, and hospital admissions and deaths from Covid-19 are beginning to follow, with the usual three week time lag. The last time the UK had that rate of infection was at the beginning of April, well into lockdown. So what is your advice today to the grannies (and grandpas) to avoid being killed? Pardon? I can't hear you... We all know that the vast majority of ...
Conservative MP David Morris will have to make an official apology to Parliament after breaking the rules to prevent 'cash for questions' and similar abuses. As the BBC reports: MPs are not allowed to lobby for any person or organisation within six months of receiving any money from them as a donation. Lobbying means trying to get support on any topic of interest, by asking parliamentary questions, approaching Ministers, public officials or other MPs. The Commissioner, Kathryn Stone, considered the circumstances surrounding a question Mr Morris asked in the Commons on 22 October 2019. In September 2019, Mr Morris had ...
Thu 17th
15:00
Still Standing Up for Princes Parade: Opposing the new Folkestone and Hythe Local Plan
[IMG: Princes Parade] At an online extraordinary meeting of Folkestone and Hythe Council on 16th September, the Council considered the adoption of the Local Plan. The motion passed 17 for, 12 against and 1 abstention. Although this is an important document to the Council, and a tool to limit uncontrolled development in the area, I was not able to support it, and neither did my colleague Gary Fuller. Essentially as part of the plan a number of sites are indentified and listed as suitable for development under certain criteria. One of those listed was Princes Parade, and on that site, ...
The Liberal Democrat peer Navnit Dholakia has long been campaigning to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Britain. It is currently 10, which is low by international standards. Before a general election was called for last December, Lord Dholakia had succeeded in taking a bill through the Lords to raise the age to 12. This debate was dramatised in the play Responsible Child, which received a BAFTA nomination for the best single television drama of 2019. Responsible Child has reappeared on the BBC iPlayer, where it will be available for at least the next year.
Former Liberal Democrat election agent Jonny Oates has a unique record in being a winning general election agent in different constituencies. But there is even more to his life, both in his contributions to the party subsequently – he is now a Lib Dem peer – and also in his much varied life prior to the Liberal Democrats. As with Paddy Ashdown, the Lib Dems play a surprisingly small part in his life for someone who has been so important in the party. So even those who know him well from the Liberal Democrats will most likely find much that ...
Wed, 12:56: RT @BarristerSecret: I prosecute and defend the most dangerous criminals. I speak daily with victims of crime. And I can tell you that the... Wed, 14:27: RT @lisaocarroll: Lewis: We are negotiating in good faith with EU Farry: "How can you negotiate in good faith if you are already threatenin... Wed, 16:05: RT @sciam: Scientific American has never endorsed a presidential candidate in our 175-year history—until now. The 2020 election is litera... Wed, 17:32: RT @tconnellyRTE: 2/ During a briefing this morning it's understood EU ambassadors registered "cold fury" at Boris Johnson's move to overwr... Wed, 17:48: RT ...
The Lib Dem Podcast joined up again with Never Mind The Bar Charts for a special show looking at the latest issues facing the Liberal Democrats. John Potter and Tom Morrison joined me to review the leadership contest as well as to discuss the debate about when the Lib Dems should be campaigning to rejoin to EU. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The Lib Dem Podcast. Music by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Enjoy the ...
i) births and deaths 17 September 1931: birth of Ian Fairbairn, who played Questor in The Macra Terror (Second Doctor, 1967), Mark Gregory in The Invasion (Second Doctor, 1968), both John Bromleys in Inferno (Third Doctor, 1970) and Chester in The Seeds of Doom (Fourth Doctor, 1976). 17 September 1957: 17 September 1972: death of Peter Stephens, who played Cyril, the Kitchen Boy, and the Knave of Hearts in The Celestial Toymaker (First Doctor, 1966), and Lolem the high priest in The Underwater Menace (Second Doctor, 1967). 17 September 2010: death of Louis Marks, author of Planet of Giants (First ...
Back in January, before the COVID-19 health emergency lockdown, on behalf of residents, I asked Hillcrest Enterprises as factors if it would consider improving the road surface around the lock-ups in Ancrum Drive as it was very potholed and muddy at the lock-ups. Hillcrest's Housing Manager (Operations) had advised that "... the cost of tarmac would be prohibitive but we can of course look at some practical repairs and maintenance." It was originally hoped to undertake this in the spring but the health emergency prevented this but it has now proved possible to improve the surface as the "after" photos ...
