This single from 1975 is something of an oddity. Simon and Garfunkel had not recorded together for three years and My Little Town was not to appear on an album until the late 1990s. Wikipedia quotes Paul Simon on the genesis of the song:"It originally was a song I was writing for Artie. I was gonna write a song for his new album, and I told him it would be a nasty song, because he was singing too many sweet songs. It seemed like a good concept for him."Maybe Simon was getting a bit old for this sort of adolescent ...
Now I'm a Liberal who had some time for John Smith as Labour Leader; I thought he had something about him even though I had little time for his party. That someone should compare him to Keir Starmer struck me as more than a little odd as to me Starmer as Labour leader has been quite a big disappointment. I'd thought that when he was seemingly reluctantly running along with Corbyn that there was far more about him than has subsequently been shown since he became Labour's leader. So what about the article that got me thinking about how on ...
Due to a slight mix-up between myself and our Clerk, I found myself with all of the Parish Newsletters, rather than just those for the core village - the Church Warden, Alice, usually delivers the outliers, which is very generous of her. That meant that I rather felt that I ought to deliver themselves myself, but the distances involved required me to do so in two tranches - Clamp Farm and Creeting Hall in one walk, and the southern end in another. And so, yesterday I trudged through the rain and murk, for neither rain nor snow, nor gloom of ...
Recently I wrote that Boris Johnson is in a strong position politically, notwithstanding all his ms-steps on Covid-19. This was based on British success on the vaccine, and that, for most people, Brexit is not proving to be a disaster. This now seems to be accepted political wisdom. I didn't talk about another reason he ... Continue reading Sir Keir Starmer must take tough decisions on personnel and policy
I have been mulling the question of who votes in referendums in Northern Ireland, but not in elections. There isn't a lot of historical evidence out there, but there is some. Here it is First, and more briefly, let's look at the 8 March 1973 referendum generally referred to as the Border Poll. Voters were given a choice between two questions: Choice Votes % Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom? 591,820 98.9% Do you want Northern Ireland to be joined with the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom? 6,423 1.1% Valid votes 598,283 ...
The vultures are circling. Old Labour bruisers and a host of hangers-on have gathered. They scent blood. A frail looking 30 year old woman is about to chair her first council meeting and it is time for some fun at her expense. She starts. She gets through the announcements. Just about. She fluffs the order of the amendments. The old municipal bruisers roll their eyes. Labour head honcho grins and nods sagely to his entourage. A kindly officer rescues the young councillor and she ploughs on. She eyes the enemy. With their unerring eye grasp of detail the Labour councillors ...
"Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President" is a documentary movie which has recently been shown on Sky Arts. You can watch it via Sky On Demand, or via a slew of other home viewing methods. I can't recommend it highly enough. As a reader of Lib Dem Voice, there's a very good chance you will find it riveting and also extremely entertaining. I was privileged to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He's a surprising fellow. You see the smile and hear his high-minded words, but there are some surprises behind that image. I ...
When I heard a couple of weeks ago that it looked as though a contract was likely to be signed within days to preserve the future of Brushwood and Millvina Houses I was delighted. I was even more delighted when ... Continue reading →
One of the great things about blogging is the possiblities it offers to interact with all kinds of people - especially those who don't necessarily share my views. A question I'm often asked is why I am a Liberal Democrat. Sometimes this takes other forms, such as "why are you not a member of the SNP?" I am at least relieved that no-one has seriously suggested my authentic political home is with the Conservatives. The reason I am a member of the Liberal Democrats is because I define myself by values I believe are Liberal. I don't define myself by ...
A couple of weeks ago, we published Alistair Carmichael's Immortal Memory for lockdown that he had delivered at the South Edinburgh Burns Supper. Then word reached our ears that Wendy Chamberlain had delivered the Reoly from the lasses at the Scotland in Union virtual event a few days later. As she points out, she's the first MP for N E Fife who can do this. Enjoy her speech here: Last year, one of the first invites I was delighted to accept as the MP for North East Fife was to give the Reply to the Lasses at one of the ...
Sat, 12:56: RT @pmdfoster: 🚨🇪🇺🇬🇧🤔🤔🤔🇪🇺🇬🇧🚨NEW: post #brexit immigration rules are shaping up to kill the au pair industry - on which 45,000 working famil... Sat, 14:48: Good thread on EU and Russia, though this non-Russia tweet provides a pithy pull-quote. https://t.co/KjP7gyHk9o Sat, 16:20: A game for the times: Pandemic Legacy Season 1 (in Dutch). https://t.co/flwuOcyJP9 Sat, 20:53: The Last Emperor, and Puyi's autobiography https://t.co/T0SICKSk7y Sat, 22:19: RT @veitdengler: Nein. https://t.co/CCzxrXWFeq Sun, 09:30: Whoniversaries 7 February https://t.co/GMekyv76ts Sun, 10:45: Key point of a good thread. https://t.co/v2F8axvNYW Sun, 11:45: RT @AndrewPRLevi: @nwbrux Thank you! Coming from someone of your knowledge & experience ...
This is the question that has been asked on social media after it was revealed Tim sent this reply to a letter from a constituent: Dear Alison, Thank you very much for your recent letter with regard to your concern about single-sex spaces in women's prisons. I would be more than happy to raise this concern on your behalf, as requested. I am pleased to confirm that I have written to the Minister of State for Prisons and Probation and the Minister for Women and Equalities to share your concern regarding single-sex spaces in women's prisons and I will write ...
Okay, just the Telegraph in this instance, but let's not think that any of the other media have got away with it. By-and-large most of the media in this country is completely out-of-touch with those areas further away from their comfort zone, least of all Wales. In this particular instance, Nation Cymru reports that the Telegraph has deleted a widely-mocked tweet on what it called the "re-introduction of the Welsh language": The London-based right-wing newspaper had conducted a Twitter poll on if the so-called "re-introduction" was "hindering the independence movement". After a 1,096 votes, 96 per cent of respondents said ...
Move over Donald Trump. America's conspiracy-driven ultra-right has a new darling. She is the photogenic 46-year-old freshman Congresswoman from Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene. In less than a month in office, Ms Greene has infuriated Democrats, embarrassed the Republican leadership, made Trump look like a wet liberal, shot to media prominence, sparked a movement to force her expulsion from the House of Representatives, and won the hearts of White supremacists. Ms Greene hit the hallowed corridors of Congress running. The day after she was sworn in she filed articles for the impeachment of President Biden. But it is her record of ...
Sun 7th
08:42
Covid Watch: Infection rates continue to fall though Shropshire is still not in a comfortable zone (...
It is becoming a familiar picture. It is a welcome picture. But it is still far from a comfortable picture. Infection rates have been dropping in Shropshire, and in Telford & Wrekin which still has higher rates. The outbreak at Stoke Heath prison seems to be under control. No one should think it is over yet. The South African variant has been found in north Worcester and the Droitwich area. Surge testing is underway. Infection rates, although low, have yet to fall to pre-Christmas levels in south west Shropshire and Ludlow. Grey bars on the graphs above show provisional data ...
i) births and deaths 7 February 2014: death of Christopher Barry, who directed nine and a half stories from the first four Doctors between 1963 and 1980. i) broadcast anniversaries 7 February 1970: broadcast of second episode of Doctor Who and the Silurians. A mysterious creature escapes the caves, kills a local farmer and terrorizes Liz. 7 February 1976: broadcast of second episode of The Seeds of Doom. Chase's men attack the base, but the Doctor manages to destroy the Krynoid by exploding the generator hut. 7 February 1981: broadcast of second episode of The Keeper of Traken. Kassia is ...
