It is occasionally hard to believe that I've been writing this blog for more than fifteen years now. I was, at the beginning, decidedly single, having concluded that this was likely to be the case forever. So much for predictions, eh? And perhaps it's time to, occasionally, take a look at what was happening in retrospective to see if I learned much... Fifteen years ago, I was in India, attending a family wedding. That was a part of my life that had fallen into abeyance for the previous decade and a half, given that my then relationship didn't leave much ...
The first sentence of the Preamble to the Liberal Democrat constitution, oft quoted, sets out the sort of society we want to see: The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. No-one – that's a high bar, and it's not qualified by national boundaries. Tackling poverty is a central part of what we are about. In December, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published its third report into destitution ...
Both Scottish and Federal Conferences will be taking place virtually in March. Often, pre-election conferences aren't so well attended as people prioritise their local campaigns. This time, it's easier for everyone to take part in at least some of it and not miss out on that all-important leaflet delivery and door-knocking. Here's how you can take part: Scotland (and members from all across the UK are welcome) Scottish Conference Convener Paul McGarry announced the Scottish event, from 5-6 March, in an email to members: Spring conference will be taking place on FRIDAY 5th and SATURDAY 6th MARCH 2021. Like our ...
I took B to a new place yesterday near where she lives, somewhere I've only just found: the Necropolis at Grimde It's a 13th century church which had become very dilapidated by 1914, and was used as a burial place for the Belgian soldiers killed during the German advance in the area. After the war it was done up properly, and apparently is unique in Western Europe as a church which has been completely converted to a war grave. I have to say that just because it's the only such case doesn't in itself make it all that interesting. The ...
Since the demise of Joe Anderson, a number of people have challenged me to say why it would be different if I become the Mayor on May 6th. It will be very different because I will change the way that ... Continue reading →
Lib Dem Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Daisy Cooper has called on the Government to close all primary schools until 18th January to enable the development and implementation of a Covid safety plan. We are calling for four things: All primary schools to move to remote learning until Jan 18th, except for vulnerable children and children of key workers. A review of Government plans for Covid testing strategies in schools. A move to single-school transport. A new pupil bubbling strategy to tackle the new Covid strain. Daisy said: With the government's own scientific advisors saying that they cannot provide any ...
This is my blog on Livejournal, which I have been running since the spring of 2003. Since late 2003, I've also been using it as a record of (almost) every book that I have read; I read a lot (in non-plague times, I have a long commute) and wanted to keep a good note of what I read. At 200-300 books a year, that's over 5000 books that I have written up here. As the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging comes closer, I've also been revisiting each month of reviews every six days or so, so you'll see some less ...
Last year may have seen nature reassert itself after we all locked ourselves in and stop polluting the atmosphere with car emmissions amongst other things, but it seems that profit still wins out when it comes down to the real choices facing developers. Here in Swansea a property developer and his firm were fined a total of £300,000 in October 2019 for ordering a 176-year-old giant redwood be cut down for new homes. They are appealing, a case that will likely come to court in 2021. There are countless stories of councils failing to protect valuable trees but surely one ...
Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini (available via BBCiPlayer for the next four weeks) is largely autobiographical. He was "Luca", the illegitimate child sent to an orphanage when his mother died and then raised by an eccentric group of English old biddies who had made Florence their home. Their somewhat idyllic existence gets a jolt with [...]
Sat, 12:56: RT @stphnfwlr: Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger puts out a statement deriding "failed treasure hunter" J. Johan Philyaw (aka... Sat, 13:34: RT @khalafroula: This quote Iain Duncan Smith: "I just wish I was 21 again... My goodness what prospects lie ahead of us for young people... Sat, 13:52: RT @CallidusDominus: @khalafroula @nwbrux Good god... IDS really is awful. I suppose lucky if you reached 21 under his misery architecture. Sat, 14:48: RT @ChairmanYaffle: Excellent on #Brexit and well worth a read. https://t.co/clU9GlPSJH Sat, 15:00: Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The book has three stars - Raskolnikov ...
Welcome to the first Sunday of 2021. Here are six hand-picked items from today's media to inform, amuse or provoke you. As Scotland records the worst drug rate death in Europe, costing the job of Joe Fitzpatrick, the Public Health Minister last month, a senior lawyer, Ian Smith of defence firm Keegan Smith backs decriminalisation, according to the Herald. He said: "Most of the people I know that take heroin and almost all of the ones who have died, have come from childhood trauma. Heroin, drugs and alcohol, are a way for them to deal with that. "There needs to ...
Stuart Whomsley on the psychodrama that was Brexit. Ten years ago, Europe was not an issue for the vast majority of the people of the UK. The right wing created this psychodrama, created this problem, this crisis that was never there and now see themselves as the ones who have heroically solved it. This represents a fine piece of manipulation. However, we can start to consider this issue with the role of New Labour. I remember when Blair was still PM, my saying that though I thought it was the case that the UK needed migrants and they add to ...
i) births and deaths 3 January 1920: birth of Peter Stephens, who played Cyril, the Kitchen Boy, and the Knave of Hearts in The Celestial Toymaker (First Doctor, 1966), and Lolem the high priest in The Underwater Menace (Second Doctor, 1967) 3 January 2017: death of Rodney Bennett, director of three Fourth Doctor stories - The Ark in Space (1975), The Sontaran Experiment (also 1975) and The Masque of Mandragora (1976). ii) broadcast anniversaries 3 January 1970: broadcast of first episode of Spearhead from Space; first episode of Season 7, first appearance of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, first ...
The deadline for the applying to the EU Settlement Scheme, June 2021, is slowly creeping closer. Estimates suggest there are still thousands of EU citizens and their families living in Scotland who have not yet applied to the scheme. The Citizens Advice service across Scotland wants to help EU citizens preserve their rights in the UK by making a claim. Citizens Advice Scotland is running a dedicated EU Citizen Support helpline to assist with the application process for settled or pre-settled status - 0800 916 9847 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm). At Dundee CAB, it is also offering telephone ...
