Completed in 1794, the Glamorganshire Canal ran for 25 miles from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff Docks. At first it did well, but the railways inevitably took the coal traffic from it. Closure began in 1898 and was effectively complete by 1942. If you click on the still above you will go to a film on the British Film Institute that shows members of the Cardiff Amateur Cine Society and their children exploring the canal in 1945. At that date it was a picturesque ruin. Much of the route was lost under a new Cardiff to Merthyr road ...
"What was Brexit like? America's declaration of independence? A man leaving a golf club but demanding to still be allowed into the bar? Over the years, I went through a few analogies, but the one that persisted was of a married man who has for years enjoyed casually flirting with a work colleague. One evening he makes his traditional half-hearted pass, and instead of rolling her eyes, she replies: 'Go on, then'. A month later, he's living out of his car and negotiating through lawyers to see his children one weekend a month, and he can't really tell you how ...
Johnson's government deserves no applause. In so many instances it has shown itself unable or unwilling even to recognise that problems exist. One of the issues that show how incompetent they are is that of the port of Holyhead. It is expected that, with the UK's departure from the European Union that trade between the Irish Republic and the UK will be very different and with far more documentation required. It is already announced that, in an attempt to avoid tariffs and time consuming form filling, one ferry line will be sailing directly from an Irish port to mainland Europe. ...
I've not been up to speed on posting about our recent eFocuses in Gateshead so below are the links to our two most recent editions.Low Fell edition 78 key issues covered include:Merry Christmas from the Focus TeamThank you to the sponsors who made the Christmas tree and lights possibleRats in Saltwell ParkCalls for leisure centres and swimming pools to re-open - sign the petitionGateshead Council
Residents attending Sunniside Chapel have been knitting angels recently. The angels have quietly been placed in various locations throughout the village. One appeared in my hedge! I have 5 sheep on my smallholding so next year, once they are shorn, I think I have found some people who could make use of some of the wool!
[IMG: Passing the virus on does NOT count as a Christmas present] One would hope that the Pandemic would have knocked some common sense into people but the world of Trumpism which discounts reality exists beyond the... The post Passing the virus on does NOT count as a Christmas present appeared first on Ambitiousmamas.
This is the latest post in a series I started last year, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and family developments as well as the books I read in that month. I've found it a pleasantly cathartic process, especially in recent circumstances. If you want to look back at previous entries, they are all tagged under bookblog nostalgia. I don't seem to have travelled abroad this month, but we did have a family expedition to the megaliths at Wéris, Belgium's ...
In October 2016, a few weeks after David Cameron walked away and Theresa May our became Prime Minister, the government ran an exercise to test Britain's preparedness to deal with a pandemic. The findings were that we were woefully unprepared. The exercise, called Cygnus, made six recommendations, relating to: Capacity; such as availability of ICU beds, PPE etc:Planning; delegation and regional co-ordination etc:Education; what to do about schools, colleges and universities:Care homes - yes, they were thought about:Communications:Social distancing. The report was not published at the time and efforts to gain access to it have produced only heavily redacted versions. ...
Kazakhstan has this year been celebrating the 175th anniversary of the birth of the national poet, Abai Qunanbaiuly (1845-1904), and to mark the occasion his works have been translated into a number of languages, including an excellent collection in English published in conjunction with Cambridge University Press and distributed by the Kazakh Embassy. Though a [...]
Tue, 16:00: Mirror Dance, by Lois McMaster Bujold A tale of redemption, of resurrection, and of unorthodox families. An excellent book, one to recommend to newcomers to the Vorkosigan universe. #nwbooks https://t.co/iyBCxL2LNh https://t.co/nA7ZQiRaCy https://t.co/jbBGsl8KQq Tue, 16:52: Between The Acts, by Virginia Woolf A story of manners about a village pageant for Empire Day, but in fact there are deep currents of violence, both sexual and colonial, running through it. #nwbooks https://t.co/uw285SIMYh https://t.co/kBSkAzW0g9 https://t.co/IvkoC1Snnc Tue, 17:46: Alexander the Corrector, by Julia Keay Argues that Alexander Cruden was perfectly sane, and was a victim of local politics in Aberdeen and of his ...
[IMG: Money ()] Limited likely audience for this post, but there might be someone who finds it interesting...! The provisional 2021/22 "Tax base" calculations have been issued today from Folkestone and Hythe District Council to the area's Town and Parish Councils. The tax base calculations are one of the critical numbers that the Town and Parish Councils need to set their precept / Council tax demand for next year. Tax Base x Band D Council Tax = Total Amount of money that Council will get from their precept. In normal years, that tax base number tends to stay broadly stable, ...
In many ways the question is moot, as the Tory Party, as with most political parties have specialised in fake news since politics began, however nobody in the UK does it on a Trumpian scale or as well as Trump. Now, just as he is about to be cast out of the White House, Tory activists are being urged to try and replicate the soon-to-be-ex-President's style. As the Independent reports a party newsletter has urged Tory activists to campaign like Donald Trump by "weaponising fake news" and talking "nonsense" if it works: The bulletin sent out to members in Northamptonshire ...
Alison Alexander has been selected as the Liberal Democrat Senedd/Welsh Parliament 2021 candidate for Montgomeryshire.
i) births and deaths 16 December 1929: birth of Nicholas Courtney, who played Bret Vyon in The Daleks' Master Plan (First Doctor, 1965) and Colonel, later Brigadier, Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart from The Web Of Fear (Second Doctor, 1968) to Enemy of the Bane (SJA, 2008), the longest-running character on TV apart from the Doctor himself 16 December 1971: birth of Ashley Way, director of Torchwood episodes Captain Jack Harkness (2007), End of Days (2007), Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2008), Reset (2008), Something Borrowed (2008) and Exit Wounds (2008); also of the New Who two-parter The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (2010) and the ...
Shropshire Wildlife Trust has launched an appeal so it can buy land on the Stiperstones. The Shropshire Star reports: The trust is raising money so it can buy 12 acres of little fields on The Stiperstones above Tankerville, Pennerley. The restoration and protection of natural habitats on The Stiperstones is one of the trust's most cherished projects, which began with the 'back to purple' heathland recovery scheme more than 20 years ago. John Hughes, development manager at the trust said: "Much has been achieved during this period and now we have an opportunity to ensure the protection of another delightful ...
With thanks to Mary McGowne, a great update about Ancrum Road Primary School pupils! The Overgate Centre is keeping the Christmas spirit alive this year with a heartwarming initiative to connect local children with new friends in twin city Alexandria in the USA. Overgate Air Mail has seen 76 pupils aged between six and twelve years old from Ancrum Road Primary School in Dundee write a letter of festive cheer to new pen pals at Charles Barrett Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia. The campaign is part of Overgate's DUNDEE'S 7 CITIES initiative which aims to strengthen ties between Dundee and ...
