Great to see seven Liberal Democrats shortlisted in the Cllr Awards 2020 for local elected public officials in England and Scotland.
And a lead in to Tenko too. Note that Herne the Hunter was played by Stanley Baker's son. Herne should be a tough guy like that.
Hoscar stands on the Southport to Wigan line a few miles from Ormskirk. It's the least-used station in Lancashire and the subject of another of Geoff Marshalls' videos.
I was reading criticism of the dear leader the other day and thought without leaders to be critical about we really wouldn't be a Liberal Party. It's understandable when we are down in the opinion polls oscillating between 5 and 7 per cent, but I wonder if we aren't beating ourselves up over something we still haven't fully come to terms with in order for us to put it right. Firstly, how we went into and performed in Coalition has done far more damage to our brand than even the most pessimistic Clegg critics predicted. Unless, in the unlikely event, ...
[IMG: Happy Thanksgiving - it is all about health in 2020] It is an understatement to say that 2020 will be defined by the pandemic. Every nook and cranny of our lives this year has been... The post Happy Thanksgiving – it is all about health in 2020 appeared first on Ambitiousmamas.
Sir Ed Davey has repeatedly said that he wants the Liberal Democrats to be "the party of carers". This is an admirable goal, drawing from his own lived experience as a carer for his mother as a child, and now for his disabled son. However putting this front and centre, both in Sir Ed's conference speech and in numerous media interviews, seems to be a serious strategic mistake. This is not because the issue isn't important. Carers are treated appallingly by the state and receive grossly inadequate support, if they get any at all. It is absolutely right to speak ...
Current Ash: A Secret History, by Mary Gentle Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake The Inside of the Cup, by the other Winston S. Churchill Painless, by Rich Larson Last books finished Doctor Who: The Mutation of Time, by John Peel The Astraea Conspiracy, by Lizbeth Myles SS-GB, by Len Deighton The Empire Strikes Back, written by Archie Goodwin, art by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon Return of the Jedi, written by Archie Goodwin, art by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon Next books After Me Comes the Flood, by Sarah Perry "The Persistence of Vision", by John Varley
Carers - paid and unpaid, young and old - do a remarkable and important job. They deserve our support but are far too often forgotten and ignored.
For me, it was with a great sense of relief that London was confirmed to be in Tier 2 when the current England-wide lockdown ends next week. Though I am used to working mainly from home nonetheless I miss the camaraderie of meeting up with chums at my Clubs, or even just being able to [...]
There is another development in the chumocracy that has dominated many of the Covid 19 contracts and appointments under this government today, with the revelation by the Guardian that an acquaintance and former neighbour of Matt Hancock is supplying the government with tens of millions of vials for NHS Covid-19 tests despite having had no previous experience of producing medical supplies. The paper says Alex Bourne, who used to run a pub close to Hancock's former constituency home in Suffolk, said he initially offered his services to the UK health secretary several months ago by sending him a personal WhatsApp ...
The pandemic has opened all our eyes to the importance of carers, whether employed in the care sector or unpaid people who care for family members. Today is National Carers Rights Day, an event co-ordinated by Carers UK. Their research has unearthed the astonishing statistic that unpaid carers in the UK have saved the state £530 million every day of the pandemic – that is a staggering £135 billion so far. It is essential that carers know their rights – what they are entitled to and sources of help. There are plenty of pointers here. During the leadership campaign Ed ...
This is a blog post I've been meaning to write for several years, but it's one that's fraught with difficulties, because I'm going to attempt here to apply a label to a historical figure, and specifically a label that is ... Continue reading →
That's an advertisement on TV by an insurance company that promises "not to make a drama our of a crisis." With yesterday's spending review, and the reporting of it by their supporting media, our government seem determined to do the opposite. We are warned of "the biggest UK slump in 300 years" and there is much talk of "hard decisions " and "tough choices." Let's be clear. There is a public health crisis. It is very serious. Over 50 000 people have died because of it. We need to make every possible personal sacrifice (such as having a nuclear family ...
Thu 26th
13:29
Covid Watch: Now we know - Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are in Tier 2 - this is bad news for ...
Now we know. Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin which entered the second lockdown in Tier 1 are to emerge in Tier 2 with stricter restrictions. It feels like we are being punished for having dealt with the infection risk effectively. It's particularly galling for Ludlow where the infection rate is around 60 per 100,000 people. On the Isle of Sheppey, the infection rate is above 1,100. We have no choice on this. The government will review our tier status on 16 December. By then, the damage to local retail and hospitality businesses will be significant. If we are promoted down ...
There's no denying that the first 20 years of the 21st Century have hardly been auspicious for the Liberal Democrats in general and the Scot Lib Dems in particular. North of the Border the numbers of our elected representatives has been in rapid decline; in the period 2000 - 2020, numbers of our MSPs in the Scottish Parliament have dropped from 17 in the first Parliament to five now; at Westminster, in roughly the same timeframe, our MPs have reduced from 10 to four; whilst in Scotland's local authorities the number of Lib Dem councillors has atrophied from 170 in ...
Wed, 12:56: RT @DmitryOpines: This is one of the smartest things I've read on the civil service, Dominic Cummings and reform. @Samfr knocks it out of... Wed, 14:50: A Bachelor's London: Memories of the Day before Yesterday, 1889-1914, by Frederic Whyte Autobiography of a distant cousin of mine who was active in the literary world of London in the years before the first world war. #nwbooks https://t.co/0Ixoa2nLtb https://t.co/b5grfgPRGt https://t.co/sNv3wRcGyM Wed, 15:19: Preacher [#2]: Until the End of the World, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon Two stories: 1) our hero confronts his horrific Texan relatives, 2) he and his friends ...
As many of you are aware, from following my blogs and twitter account, I am getting increasingly concerned about the state of the Companies owned by the Council. The last accounts that I have been able to access are for ... Continue reading →
i) births and deaths 26 November 1929: birth of William Dysart, who played Alexander McLaren in The Highlanders (Second Doctor, 1966-67) and Reegan in The Ambassadors of Death (Third Doctor, 1970). 26 November 1977: birth of Ingrid Oliver, who played Osgood and her Zygon double in 2013-2015. ii) broadcast and webcast anniversaries 26 November 1966: broadcast of fourth episode of The Power of the Daleks. The rebels try to use the Daleks; but the Daleks are reproducing... 26 November 1977: broadcast of first episode of The Sun Makers. The Doctor, Leela and K9 land on the planet Pluto, where the ...
Thu 26th
07:28Covid Watch: It's decision day on tiers for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and all of England - wi...
Tier 1 or Tier 2? That is today's question. There are other questions. Will the government apply tiers across entire regions? Or will they be imposed at local authority level? Will Shropshire's unitary area and Telford and Wrekin be treated as one unit because we have a common health system. I am not going to speculate but I am hoping for Tier 1 status for Shropshire and Ludlow. That will be better for business and better for mental health. That will help our town's recovery. The Ludlow Town Centre Recovery Working Group meets first thing tomorrow morning to consider the ...
Residents will recall that, back in August, I was pleased to report that the council's environment manager for our area had advised that a new picnic table would be provided at Lochee Park and it was soon in place - see above. Since then, many residents have pointed out it is very well-used and could more be provided. I contacted the environment manager about this and have had the following helpful response : "There is another picnic table to be installed near the play park, along with a youth shelter which will be nearer to the exercise equipment. These are ...
