How has chess been coping with the pandemic? One development has been online tournaments between the world's top players, who play from home. As their opponents cannot see them, they are much freer in their facial reactions than they are when playing over the board. This makes it fun for the viewing public who can see the feed from both players' webcams. Keeping a poker face, or at least a chess face, is one of the arts a top player needs to master. The young Boris Spassky decided he was revealing too much and cultivated what he call a "clown's ...
Very sorry to learn that the singer-songwriter Colin Wilkie left us today, at the age of 86. His wife and long-time performance partner Shirley Hart went before him, in August last year. They were folk musicians who made a reputation in the UK in the early 1960s, eventually settling in Germany in 1966 where they integrated into their new home while also becoming informal ambassadors for their home culture. I particularly loved them because in the summer of 1986, when I had an accommodation crisis, they took me in, no questions asked, as an non-paying guest in their home for ...
Sun 18th
16:58
King Street is to reopen tomorrow, Monday - we now need to look at longer term solutions to our town...
Ludlow Town Council has announced the Buttercross repairs are complete and King Street will reopen tomorrow, Monday. That will relieve traffic pressure, including HGVs, from Dinham and Linney where they have caused damage. King Street will remain closed between 10am and 3pm on Fridays and Saturdays to promote social distancing in the Narrows. We now need to think about managing traffic in the town centre and across Ludlow as a whole. This will not be as straightforward as we might wish. But a big debate on how we ease Ludlow's traffic problems in the shorter and longer term is long ...
I try to avoid the Sunday press. From its echoes on Twitter, it appears to be a troll-fest through which innocents like me are unpleasantly reminded of the existence of columnists we'd thought had gone to pasture years ago. And even the thoughtful ones, like Matthew Syed, feel an extra urge to be provocative onContinue reading "There are far worse crimes than being smug"
July 2008 began very painfully. At the very end of June I had a vasectomy, and with somewhat imperfect timing moved office a few days later, thinking I would have recovered over the weekend. No. My testicles were swollen to the size of a tennic ball (felt much bigger) and I could barely walk. My gallant intern D and neighbour J did most of the packing up of the old office, and young F joined in the trip to IKEA and putting furniture together. I should also chronicle that the first external visitor to the office was A, who then ...
Good investigative journalists and secret service agents have a lot in common. We follow leads, check and double check information and are careful not to compromise our sources. Yet for most of the 20th Century, Britain's domestic secret service, MI5, was almost as hostile towards the media as it was to foreign agents. We hacks [...]
Laura Nyro, who was born on this day in 1947 and died in 1997, never seems to have enjoyed the fame she deserved. This Guardian article by Laura Barton helps explain why that is: While Nyro was one of the most important songwriters of the 60s and 70s, one who has exerted a profound influence on artists from Elton John to Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell to Carole King and Tori Amos, she also sidestepped celebrity, turned down offers to increase both sales and fame, and for much of her career put the song before the songwriter - allowing others to ...
It is almost as if the UK Government is trying to destroy people's trust in the measures they have brought in to tackle the Covid 19 pandemic. The Guardian reports that people who have been told to self-isolate through NHS test and trace could have their contact details passed to police, a move some fear could deter people from being tested for coronavirus: England made it a legal requirement for people to self-isolate if they test positive for coronavirus. Those who fail to do so face fines starting at £1,000, while repeat offenders or those committing serious breaches could receive ...
Sat, 12:56: Think Tanks at a Crossroad: Adapt or Be Replaced https://t.co/w0OlGUYBOv Aimed at the UK, but of general applicability. Sat, 14:30: Nicholas Whyte poručuje: Republika Srpska neće biti model za Zajednicu na Kosovu https://t.co/wXYZchLnXf Sat, 14:34: RT @DavidHenigUK: Ultimately what we seem to need is the UK to be reassured the EU doesn't want to set our rules, and the EU to be reassure... Sat, 14:48: Scotland has never been closer to independence - and Boris Johnson is to blame https://t.co/CUxnnbxPQf @chrisdeerin thinks the writing is on the wall. Sat, 14:58: RT @piris_jc: You underestimate the shock of the ...
Can people insist on being confused? I am no behavioural scientist but I have been struck by the way many people in the UK respond to the rules/advice for combatting Covid-19 with "I am confused" or "I don't understand". These may be British/English euphemisms for "I disagree" or even "I don't trust you". The latter is particularly important because in a representative democracy the deal is that politicians are given decision-making powers and have time and resources to exercise them that are largely unavailable to most people. So if trust goes then there is a high risk of non-compliance. The ...
Sun 18th
09:33Covid-19 tracker - Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin moving towards Tier Two restrictions
Nothing cheerful to say here as the maps illustrate. Over the last month, the rate of detected Covid-19 cases in Shropshire has doubled. If the trend continues upwards, we could qualify Tier 2 (high alert) in a matter of days. Telford and Wrekin is going the same way. The main impact of Tier 2 will the ban on different households socialising indoors unless they are in the same support bubble. Overnight stays with a friend you don't live with will also be outlawed. The timing is uncertain but move to Tier 2 looks as inevitable as it is unwelcome. The ...
Whether it's canvassing apps like MiniVAN or our fully-fledged - and fully functioning - virtual conference, Liberal Democrats have never shied away from digital innovation. Our current platform champions the roll-out of technologies like gigabit broadband and 5G, whilst also highlighting the frustrations of those in rural areas with limited access. By no means are we wrong to support these policies. However, they do little to help those who don't have the digital skills necessary to make the most of the internet. And what good is gigabit to you if you can't even afford basic broadband? There are millions of ...
This is a fascinating piece of work (see link below) trying to recreate walking routes which have all but been forgotten www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54562137 Unless you're someone who owns Ordnance Survey maps, which detail every public right of way/public footpath, and you know how to read them then even your local footpaths may be all but unknown to you. I love studying maps, particularly OS maps, and I usually buy one for any place/area we are visiting around the country. My interest will often be to identify safe cycling routes but I used to do a lot of walking before taking up ...
Sun 18th
08:30
Whoniversaries 18 October: An Unearthly Child [recording], Planet of Evil #4, Meglos #4, Mindwarp #3
i) births and deaths 18 October 1933: birth of Edward Brayshaw, who played revolutionary Léon Colbert in the story we now call The Reign of Terror (First Doctor, 1964) and the War Chief in The War Games (Second Doctor, 1969). ii) production and broadcast anniversaries 18 October 1963: Studio recording for "An Unearthly Child" (the version that was broadcast). 18 October 1975: broadcast of fourth episode of Planet of Evil. The Doctor clears the antimatter from the ship and restores Sorenson (who doesn't really deserve it in my view) to his normal self. 18 October 1980: broadcast of fourth episode ...
Earlier this month, I posted some great Tay Road Bridge & V&A Dundee photos taken by a very talented West End resident. She has kindly sent me some other local views, which are fantastic!
