John Rogers takes us on a walk from the end of the Central Line at West Ruislip through Ickenham, passing the River Pinn and down across the fields to the Grand Union Canal and Denham. We then pass Denham Aerodrome and, following the South Bucks Way, arrive at Chalfont St Peter. From here we cross Goldhill Common to Seer Green and Jordans station on the Marleybone line. John has a Patreon account to support his videos and blogs at The Lost Byway.
Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West and the party's Treasury spokesperson, took part in a Westminster Hall debate on universal basic income. The Lib Dems adopted the introduction of a UBI as party policy at their conference last month.Here is part of what Christine said: Coronavirus has changed everything. It has changed everything in much the same way—this metaphor has been used a lot—as the second world war changed everything for this society. When Beveridge put together his report in 1942, a lot of people said that it simply could not work, that it was not sensible and ...
You probably won't remember Eoghan Quigg, who finished third behind third behind Alexandra Burk and JLS in the 2008 series of X Factor. I remember him because I once posted a description of him by Charlie Brooker just because it was so striking: Weird. Eerie. Like the spectral figure of an infant chimney sweep that suddenly appears in an upstairs window, gazing sadly at your back as you walk the grounds of a remote country mansion on a silent Christmas afternoon; alerted by an indefinable chill, you turn and, for the briefest moment, his wet, sorry eyes meet yours... and ...
Second paragraph of third story ("N" by Majd Kayyal, translated by Thoraya El-Rayyes)N's response today surprised me. I asked him: 'Is it cold over there?' He fidgeted, contemplating the question. When ideas move through his head, his mouth twists up along with his cheek and shoulders and he shifts around in his seat. He replied: 'People move around at night... a lot..." He swallowed the rest of the sentence and awaited my reaction to the truth he'd just divulged.It's fair to say that there is not a lot of Palestinian science fiction out there (NB I have previously written up ...
The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce, alongside the LGIU, that John Leech has been shortlisted for their Lifetime Achievement in public service for his dedication to the LGBTQ+ community. John Leech, who has dedicated nearly three decades of his life to public service, has been shortlisted for the Lifetime Achievement award from more than 200 nominations. The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey MP, praised the "relentless and fierce public servant." Whilst working at McDonald's as a student, John Leech began getting involved in local campaigns and social good projects. In 1998, he was elected to Manchester City ...
Why did the Liberal Party become so pro-European and how did that carry over into the Liberal Democrats? That was the topic when I welcomed back Duncan Brack to Never Mind The Bar Charts.
Support for Scottish independence is at its highest ever level, according to a new opinion poll released today. The IPSOS-Mori poll projected that 58% of Scottish voters would vote to leave the Union in a future referendum, with 55% saying they would do so if there was a referendum tomorrow compared to 39% who would vote No. The SNP and its supporters are naturally delighted. Unionists, on the other hand, are pointing to margins of error within the polling, the fact that it is simply "one poll", and so on. Some have gleefully explained that a different poll, from Survation ...
We can't avoid facing up to the issue of citizen identity - the visibility or invisibility of citizens to the state, the impact of the digital transformation on the collection, retention and integration of public data, and the safeguards that need to be built in to prevent its abuse. The private sector has already moved a long way down that path. A thriving sector of data scientists now works on aspects of personal verification: of age (for access to adult content online, for purchases of alcohol, for concessions for pensioners), financial status and probity, confirmation of qualifications and certification of ...
Wed 14th
11:58
Party Awards: Anton Georgiou and the Brent Liberal Democrats - winning against the odds
Next in our celebration of this year's party awards winners is the Dadabhai Naoroji Award, given to the local party which has done most to promote its BAME members to public office. You can watch the whole party awards ceremony here and the full submission for Anton and the Brent Lib Dems is under the cut. At the end of January 2019, Anton Georgiou and the Brent Liberal Democrats won the Alperton by-election taking the seat from Labour on a 28% swing and once again gaining a foothold on their local Council. Anton now serves as the only Liberal Democrat ...
Wed 14th
11:18
A look back at Glen or Glenda - can the Ed Wood's "masterpiece" tell us anything about the trans deb...
"It's the longest hour on Earth," is my brother's capsule review of Ed Wood's first feature, Glen or Glenda, a 1953 film that is about transgenderism/transvestitism. I have always found this and other critiques of the movie that describe it in such harsh terms unfair; noted American film critic Leonard Maltin once described is as "possibly the worst film ever made". Yes, Glen or Glenda is poorly directed and produced – it is an Ed Wood movie, after all – yet it is ambitious in its own way and has a good message. In fact, that message is weirdly topical ...
Wed 14th
11:13
Castle View Terrace housing plan meets objections over open space and tree loss from council's tree ...
Shropshire Council's tree team has been reviewing the plans for six terraced homes and a bungalow on the meadow on Castle View Terrace. Using the language of planning, the team says it is "unable to agree that the development as proposed represents sustainable development." That is a call to planners to insist on changes to the scheme or reject it. The tree team is a consultee. It will be down to planners or the Southern Planning Committee to decide whether the scheme goes ahead or not. The local community have offered to buy the land from Shropshire Homes. That would ...
Tue, 12:56: RT @occamsrazor45: Pete is getting Biden votes from Fox viewers, full stop. https://t.co/IgMQ5gYhJr Tue, 14:23: RT @LaurenceBroers: Monday's ceasefire document refers to the Basic Principles (BP), under discussion within the Minsk Group. Conflict part... Tue, 16:05: RT @RobDotHutton: Reading @katyballs in the Standard, am stuck by this complaint from No10 aides, who may be too young to remember 9/11, bu... Tue, 19:04: Barcelona, Catalonia: A View from the Inside, by Matthew Tree https://t.co/RzpfXwv7e1 Tue, 19:24: RT @nicupopescu: my piece on how the EU tried and failed to play a role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process. https://t.co/A... Tue, ...
Recently the Joe Biden campaign for US President messed up its data a bit. As a result one of the campaigns volunteers unknowingly rang the campaign's deputy campaign manager asking if he would sign up to learn how to do telephone canvassing. They both could have been angry about that. The volunteer could have been angry at their time being wasted on calling the wrong person. The deputy campaign manager could have been affronted that some idiot thought they of all people needed training. But this is how they (Josh, volunteer and Rufus, deputy campaign manager) reacted instead: I [IMG: ...
It is actually very unlikely that any of the governments in the UK have been following scientific advice to the letter over how to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, but that has not stopped all of them from using scientists as a shield for the unpopular decisions they have had to make. The fact is that every decision that has been made has been political, and has been based on a number of factors, including science, economics and pure politics. The problem that ministers now face is that this has beecome more transparent in recent days and as a result ...
Seeing the lines to vote in the US election prompted me to ask my British followers for their experience of voting.
When deciding to run to be co-Chairs of the Young Liberals, Jack and I recognised that we needed to address what we call the three big challenges facing YL: the need to professionalise our operations, the need to organise ourselves more effectively and the need to inform members about what the executive are doing. This article focuses on the need to professionalise our operations and more importantly, how we intend to do this. Firstly, we need to work better with the wider Liberal Democrats; their success is our success and vice versa. There is much to be gained by our ...
Wed 14th
08:30
Whoniversaries 14 October: Katy Manning, Abominable Snowmen #3, Pirate Planet #3, Ghost Monument
i) births and deaths 14 October 1919: birth of Shaun Sutton, BBC executive who had a key role in casting Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. 14 October 1949: birth of Katy Manning, who played Jo Grant from 1971 to 1973, does both Jo and Iris Wildthyme for Big Finish, was also in SJA as Jo. ii) broadcast and production anniversaries 14 October 1963: rehearsals began for the first episode of Doctor Who actually shown on TV (as opposed to the unshown pilot episode). 14 October 1967: broadcast of third episode of The Abominable Snowmen. Khrisong decides to trust ...
I am grateful to the local resident who contacted me recently to say that a young Rowan tree in Victoria Park had been damaged. I reported this to environment management who very promptly resolved matters. My thanks to the forestry team for a very efficient response. Before : After :
Wed 14th
06:44Historic England recommends Shirehall should not be listed paving the way for its demolition and sal...
Yesterday, Historic England issued a decision on the listing of Shirehall on Abbey Foregate. The secretary of state has decided not to list the 1960s civic building. He has said he is minded refusing a certificate of immunity to prevent the building being demolished but that is now a technicality unless there is a legal challenge to the refusal of listing. The decision will clear the way for the 10-acre site to be cleared for housing and Shropshire Council can put the money towards its shopping centres which very soon will have absorbed more than £60 million of public money. ...
