So, my first meeting at national level, and very interesting it was too. Yes, it does seem that there are still some people who haven't really got the hang of Zoom (check the picture of you to make sure that you're both facing the camera and that the camera is facing you...), and the age profile is a bit like that of the House of Lords (which makes me comparatively young), but it's clear that the third tier of local government has adapted pretty well to the technology of virtual meetings. And, as a gentle introduction to the upper echelons ...
Tue 27th
21:45
The earliest-born person to cut a record was the grandfather of a Liberal Party leader
Sir Tollemache Sinclair has featured on this blog before. Writing of his grandson, the Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair, I said: Sinclair was orphaned at an early age and lived at Thurso Castle, the home of his grandfather Sir Tollemache Sinclair. The castle was a gothic pile which had been reconstructed by Sir Tollemache to his own design and was notable for its orchestrion - a sort of mechanical organ which he loved to play. Thurso Castle was damaged by a sea mine during the second world war and largely demolished in the 1950s as a result. Some claim that ...
Abuse was rife in Leicestershire children's homes in the 1970s, but the powers that be have never been keen on public exposure of what went on. The press had to go to court to be allowed to report the trial of Frank Beck, and the subsequent inquiry was conducted entirely in private. A copy of the report of that inquiry was to be found on the county council website (as the result of a freedom of information request), but it seems to have disappeared. But you can find a searchable copy of the report elsewhere on the web. Because of ...
Running through knee-deep mud on the North Somerset levels, it's significantly easier to avoid embarrassment if I can actually see where I'm going. Continue reading →
Second frame from third page of tome 3: Hakim: Stop, Selkert! Manon doesn't like the spotlight. You'll make her blush. Selkert: Apologies! But you can be proud of what you have done. Second frame from third page of tome 4: Antac: I'll turn around. We need an attack plan! Second frame from third page of tome 4: Manon: Hmm, it's like it wanted to warn us about a danger that could come from the sea. I read the first two volumes in this set of five last year and liked them. The second part of the storuy continues in the ...
Tue 27th
15:57Tory leader of Leicestershire: Government has given no money to fund free school meals over Christma...
Conservative leader @LeicsCountyHall @nrushton says for the Govt to say the £63m given to councils can fund free school meals is untrue. He says they can't see children go hungry so 12k on #fsm will get them in the holidays including Easter even though no funds to help.@bbcemt pic.twitter.com/hBonSzTM5X — Tony Roe 👓 (@tonyroe) October 27, 2020 In the tweet above you can see a clip of Nick Rushton, the Conservative leader of Leicestershire County Council, being interviewed by the political editor for BBC East Midlands, Tony Roe. Rushton says the council "cannot see children going hungry" and will fund ...
A constellation of non-Lib Dems have praising Kirsty Williams, who today announced her intention to stand down at the next Senedd election. Here's a selection of their praise, including from non-politicians: Tina Donnelly CBE, former Director the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales and Richard Jones MBE, former Deputy Director RCN Wales: Kirsty has been a phenomenally committed politician – extremely approachable and a politician who acted on her promises. Kirsty worked tirelessly to progress her private members' Safe Nurse Staffing Legislation which went on to become the first act of its kind in Europe. During this process, we were ...
Tue 27th
12:20
Full text of Kirsty Williams' letter announcing her decision to stand down at the next election
Here is the full text of Kirsty William's letter to Jackie Chalton, her local party chair, announcing her decision to stand down at the next Senedd election: Dear Jackie Next May it will have been 22 years since I was first elected to represent the people of Brecon and Radnorshire. A long time has passed. The local party, and then the constituency, placed its trust in me - a young, female, Welsh Liberal Democrat, new to elected politics and for our new parliament. It remains the proudest day of my political career. And for us to keep winning and keep ...
[IMG: Decorated Christmas Tree] KidsOut was able to provide every child in refuge during the 2019 Christmas period at least one new toy and is happy to announce that the 2020 Giving Tree Appeal is now live and ready for you, friends and colleagues to sign up to take part again. Due to Covid-19, the children they support are needing more than ever before and therefore intend to provide more than one new toy per child. Children in refuge are effectively living in a state of lockdown until they are moved to a new home far away from the abuser ...
Kirsty Williams, the Liberal Democrat education minister in the Welsh government, has today announced she is going to stand down next May.
Welsh Liberal Democrat MS Kirsty Williams has announced after careful consideration that she will stand down at next year's Senedd election. Kirsty has served as the member for Brecon and Radnorshire since 1999, served as Chair of the Health Committee in the first Assembly from 1999-2003, as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2008 until 2016 and has been the Welsh Government's Education Minister since her appointment in 2016. Commenting Kirsty said: After a great deal of thought and reflection, I have decided not to stand as a candidate at the next Senedd election. There is, of course, sadness ...
The value of the UK's annual total national income pre-Covid was just short of $(US)3trillion. Our population is approximately 65 million. So if if our national income were to be divided equally between every man woman and child who lives here each would have an annual income equivalent to $(US)43 000. At the current £/$ exchange rate of £1 = $1 27, that means an annual income of some £33 800 per year. So the "typical" family of two adults and two children would have an income of £135 000 a year. I am not advocating that the national income ...
Mon, 12:11: RT @andrewflood: A few weeks back business interests & their paid media & politicians were saying rather than protect lives we should follo... Mon, 12:47: RT @PuxadinhoTardis: Duas biografias de Doutores que eu muito recomendo: - a do Peter D., contando as agruras de qm fez muito sucesso e de... Mon, 12:56: RT @RugeBoris: By popular demand: @akk|s speech on @transatlantic relations in English. Lots on @NATO. But also a bit of a love letter to #... Mon, 14:04: Well, @georgiaEtennant just made my day! https://t.co/iyAn5JWi9T Mon, 14:35: The Pilgrim's Progress From this World to that which is ...
The Prime Minister is well-known for his flights of fancy costing taxpayers millions of pounds. There was the proposal to build a £15 billion bridge linking Scotland to Northern Ireland, the famed Garden Bridge over the River Thames, which actually cost £46 million before it was scrapped, and of course the equally bonkers idea of building an island in the middle of the River Thames for a new four runway airport. With a record like that I have no idea why anybody takes this political Walter Mitty seriously, and yet he has somehow ended up as Prime Minister from which ...
The other day I came across a thread on a community Facebook Page where one of the admins was trying to address what conspiracy theorists had been putting on that page associated with their belief that Covid 19 does not exist or that if it does it's associated with 5G etc. etc. I blogged about the relationship between conspiracy theories and 5G back in April of this year and here's a link back to that posting:- And then this fascinating insight into how outlandish conspiracy theories can even destroy a family. It's a BBC audio recording that's well worth ...
Writing in the Independent, Vince Cable says that 'the chancellor's rapid transition from spendthrift to Scrooge has not yet been noticed by the admiring public but a change has undoubtedly occurred': One of the hot stocks of 2020, British chancellor Rishi Sunak, is starting to look seriously overvalued. His political allies, having talked up Sunak earlier in the year, tipping him for the top job, are now hedging their bets. The hero of the spring offensive may be on the brink of becoming the zero of the autumn retreat. The immediate reason is political; the deeper reason is economics. It ...
i) births and deaths 27 October 1923: birth of Peter Bryant, producer of Doctor Who from The Web of Fear (1968) to The Wheel in Space (1969) 27 October 1991: death of Paul Erickson, writer of The Ark (1966) ii) broadcast anniversaries 27 October 1979: broadcast of first episode of The Creature from the Pit. The Doctor is captured by Adrasta; Romana is captured by the bandits and then by Adrasta; the Doctor is thrown down the Pit. 27 October 2009: broadcast of second episode of Secrets of the Stars (SJA). Trueman attempts to summon the Ancient Lights, but is ...
I am grateful to the residents who highlighted to me last week street lights that were out on Perth Road between Hazel Avenue and Invergowrie Drive. I raised this with the Street Lighting Partnership who very promptly updated me as follows : " ... the lighting fault on the Perth Road has been rectified. Someone had gained access to the street lighting control cabinet and interfered with the controls. This has now been reset, the cabinet door secured and the lights should be operating correctly." There was, thereafter, a further issue with the timer, but this has now been resolved ...
