It's time again to see what Lord Bonkers was saying 30 years ago. The November 1990 issue of Liberator (no. 192) found him looking back on that autumn's Liberal Democrat conference. Perhaps the old boy and I were still smarting from the Liberal Party's decision to merge with the SDP at a special conference in Blackpool two years before - we both voted against. You can find more evidence of my animus against the town in the Wikipedia entry for the Norbreck Castle Hotel. Saturday There are some phrases that strike terror into one's very soul. Worst of them all ...
[IMG: Interesting articles on Joe Biden] Trump lead in Iowa poll rattles Democrats - but Biden still leads nationally While Joe Biden is handily beating Donald Trump in national polls, two... The post Interesting articles on Joe Biden appeared first on Ambitiousmamas.
In order to tackle residents' concerns about the way Dudley Park Medical Centre is run, I met (virtually) with some of the senior managers and clinicians who run Dudley Park Medical Centre this week. We discussed both these concerns and also the ongoing issue of the Practice's relocation. In terms of the relocation, there is now some more breathing space as their new landlord has agreed to a one year extension to the lease. That said, these are some of the most difficult times possible to arrange such a move. I have offered to do what I can to help. ...
This post first appeared on the Radix UK blog... What do they know of the England who only England know," wrote the much-derided poet Rudyard Kipling more than a century ago. After listening to the excellent debate on science and politics last night, which Radix organised, I wondered whether we should say the same of scientists. Or indeed anyone whose narrow field of expertise gets in the way of understanding the world. Should we also for example say: What do they know of epidemiology who only epidemiology know? I don't know. Some of the debate goes back to C. P. ...
Quite early in the Covid-19 outbreak, policymakers told us that the critical thing to understand about managing the disease was something they called "R". This is the reproduction rate: the average number of other people that anybody that catches the virus will infect. If it less than 1.0 the epidemic will fade away. More than ... Continue reading It's all about R. Lockdown critics don't understand exponential mathematics
I was wandering the back streets of Market Harborough this afternoon when I came across this lone protest outside the Conservative Party's office. Well done to whoever was responsible. 'Neil' is Neil O'Brien, the Tory MP for Harborough. Remember, the Tory leader of Leicestershire has exploded the myth that the government gave councils money to fund free school meals over the Christmas holidays. Should you wish to add a plate of your own, you will find the office in Nelson Street.
[IMG: A short walk a day is better than none] So it is that a second national lockdown beckons in a few days' time. After getting used to the freedom of being able to go... The post A short walk a day is better than none appeared first on Ambitiousmamas.
Second paragraph of third chapter:Until 1845 Ireland had but one University, Trinity College, Dublin. Founded in 1591 on the site of the Augustinian monastery of All Hallows confiscated under Henry VIII, its avowed aim was to conquer Popery and establish a Protestant nation &mdash a somewhat tough proposition. In 1633, in an effort to speed up the process, Laud, Wentworth, and the Provost of Trinity, William Chappell, introduced new Anglicized statutes, inaugurated fresh acts of repression against Catholics,and imposed on the protesting Fellows a completely English style of life modelled on Oxford and Cambridge. In the century that followed, Trinity ...
Sun 1st
15:35
Covid Watch - Boris Johnson imposes a national lockdown - we must keep our community and town thrivi...
We shouldn't be here but here we are. Yet again political leaders have dithered in the face of that the epidemic is getting out of control. That happened in March. It has happened again this November. The second lockdown will last until December. A month's shutdown is expected. The main story is known. Hospitality and leisure businesses, barber hairdressers and nail fashioners must close by midnight on Wednesday. You won't be able to buy a new car either, except online. The shielded are being told to shy away from society again, though we won't know the details of their restrictions ...
Non-fiction: 3 (YTD 44) Darwin's Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England, by Steve Jones Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos, by M. Mitchell Waldrop Helen Waddell, by Felicitas Corrigan Fiction (non-sf): 9 (YTD 34) Kramer vs. Kramer, by Avery Corman Secret Army, by John Brason Secret Army Dossier, by John Brason Ordinary People, by Judith Guest Secret Army: The End of the Line, by John Brason This Must be the Place, by Maggie O'Farrell Kessler, by John Brason Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into ...
Imagine if last year Jeremy Corbyn had won the general election with a small majority, his government had ground to a halt with the Lords rejecting legislation and then the Queen just sacked him.
Recently I was privileged to be asked to make the speech proposing Glenys Falconer to be the 380th Mayor of Chesterfield. I was especially delighted to do so because I have known Glenys both as a friend and as a committed Lib Dem campaigner ever since the 1980's. The interview below, which originally appeared on the Chesterfield Lib Dem website, expands on just a few of the reasons why Glenys will be such a good Mayor. Glenys refers to being the fourth female Lib Dem Mayor in the last 15 years and the other three were all likewise long-standing fellow ...
Sun 1st
13:03
Former Tory MP for Harborough condemns attacks on lawyers by Boris Johnson and Priti Patel
Lord Garnier, who as Edward Garnier was Conservative MP for Harborough and Solicitor General in the Coalition government, has written an article for The House magazine condemning government attacks on lawyers: The unlawful prorogation of Parliament in September 2019, long trailed in the media by his acolytes before he took office and executed shortly afterwards, (personal interest alert: acting for Sir John Major in the case, I must be one of the few in this land who have called the Prime Minister "the defendant"), is an example of Mr Johnson's carelessness about the law and what it means. Which goes ...
Liberal Democrat peer, democracy campaigner and friend to so many, Lord David Shutt has passed away.
Peter Wylie played with Ian McCulloch and Julian Cope in minor Liverpool bands before he formed his own. Wah! changed names regularly - it's possible this single should be credited to Wah! Heat. Seven Minutes to Midnight was released in 1980 and is very much of its period - which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. At times it sounds like a more melodic version of The Jam. Its title refers to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Doomsday Clock, which had just been set forward by two minutes,
Halloween yesterday and we were ready for the local kids to knock on the door for trick or treat. Given the pandemic situation, we didn't expect many. Indeed, we didn't expect any but we were prepared. Sadly, there was no knock on the door, leaving us to eat all the sweets ourselves. Perhaps everyone was at home watching the Halloween horror show off Boris Johnson announcing another lockdown.
Sun 1st
11:16
Lothians candidate Jill Reilly talks about her experience of volunteering to help homeless people du...
Yesterday, Scottish Conference discussed a motion which called for the party to adopt the Housing First model to help the most vulnerable homeless people. This means that people with addictions, mental ill health or prison leavers, for example, are given somewhere to live. Housing First projects set up in Scotland have been successful – with no tenancies failing and incredibly positive feedback from those who have been helped. It is an important tool in making sure that the most vulnerable homeless people are properly looked after. If they have somewhere to live, then everything else that is going on in ...
Most sitting Prime Ministers receive gifts from foreign dignitaries as part of the normal course of their work and naturally there are rules to be followed as to how these gifts are treated to avoid allegations of corruption and undue influence. Boris Johnson is no exception and nobody can criticise him for being in receipt of such gifts especially as they will be properly catalogued and disposed of. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see the sort of gift he is being given, and doubly interesting that the Independent reveals he has had wine, caviar and other luxury items confiscated by ...
Sat, 12:39: RT @smetmike: In 1st wave we saw the first small kink in strong growth in most provinces +/- 14 days after 1st series of measures and the t... Sat, 12:56: Sad and horrifying. https://t.co/JIHV6xsr8j Sat, 14:19: Damn. https://t.co/WRlPaf5mIn Sat, 14:20: The Golden Age, by John C. Wright Enjoyable space opera romp. Took a few chapters to get into and understand what was going on, but in fact by the end all had become clear. #nwbooks https://t.co/eQ3KFV0KwY https://t.co/B6dRbx5x54 https://t.co/paDRwsyJUG Sat, 14:48: Five ways to save the United Kingdom https://t.co/FcvMTZL6tl Scotland heading for independence. Pollster outlines what pro-Union messages do ...
Sun 1st
09:16
Connect: 8 things Lib Dem activists should know about the Connect electoral database program
5. Don't share your Connect database login. Your Connect login is just for you to use, and what is done with it gets logged and recorded.
For the first time, I have voted for a Democrat for President. In doing so, I cast my vote more for the party than for the candidate. Joe Biden was not my first, second, third, or fourth choice in the primary contest. I will not pretend that voting for Biden is exciting, compelling, or particularly virtuous. But he is a competent representative of the values of the Democratic party, which I have supported in local and state level contests for some time. As an Iowan, my vote has considerable weight. Iowa is one of the perennial swing states, and the ...
i) broadcast anniversaries 1 November 1975: broadcast of second episode of Pyramids of Mars. Scarman and the mummies chase the Doctor and Sarah around the Priory. 1 November 1980: broadcast of second episode of Full Circle. The Marshmen take the Tardis, with Romana inside it, and she gets to meet the spiders at close quarters. 1 November 1986: broadcast of first episode of Terror of the Vervoids (ToaTL #9), and first appearance of Bonnie Langford as Mel. She and the Doctor investigate mysterous goings on aboard the spaceliner Hyperon III. 1 November 1989: broadcast of second episode of The Curse ...
