i) births and deaths 13 February 1933: birth of Patrick Godfrey, who played Tor in The Savages (1966) and Major Cosworth in The Mind of Evil (1971). 13 February 1943: birth of Donald Sumpter, who played Enrico Casali in The Wheel in Space (1968), Commander Ridgeway in The Sea Devils (1972) and Erasmus Darkening in The Eternity Trap (SJA, 2009). ii) broadcast anniversaries 13 February 1965: broadcast of "The Web Planet", first episode of the story we now call The Web Planet. The Tardis is pulled off course to the planet of Vortis; Ian and the Doctor explore, and a ...
As I write, Scotland are playing Wales in the Six Nations at Murrayfield. As I write, Scotland are ahead by 17-3. I don't know much about rugby but this seems unusual to me. Let's hope we can hold on to that lead for however long a rugby match lasts. However, an earlier clash between the two countries brought an assured victory for the Scots. The Welsh and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have spent the day tussling on the phone lines before kick off in a battle to see who could make the most phone calls to voters. It's all been ...
So what have we learnt this week? On Monday we had the Domestic Abuse Bill in the Lords. A new clause to try to add misogyny (hatred of women) was being attempted, and it tried to define "sex" by reference to section 11 of the Equality Act, which is supposedly a definition of "sex". Now, [...]
Sat 13th
16:38
Shrewsbury's Big Town Plan should aim to build a signature bus station and must not undermine rural ...
For a while, our county town has been working on setting out a new future. Shopping centres have been purchased. And an ambition vision for the future of the town is currently out for consultation. Our county town needs a vision. But one that works for all the county, not just Shrewsbury. Rural bus operators I have spoken to are worried about the Big Town Plan. That plan thinks that Shrewsbury bus station, which must be one of the worst in the country, will be demolished. Rural buses will drop passengers off at the park and ride sites and passenger ...
Coincidentally, it was an appropriate week to watch Rain Man, as it turned out. On Thursday, we had a brief court hearing, done informally and swiftly but none the less fully official, to assign guardianship rights for U to us, now that she has turned 18 - six years, almost to the day, after we done the same for B. Belgian law used to have a concept of prolonged minor status for people in the same position as us and our daughters; as a result of a European Court of Human Rights ruling, it has been changed to guardianship, where ...
You'll never keep up with all the latest scams around, because there's always someone out there wanting to rip you off (as well as the vast majority of people who are decent and caring). I'm always a bit wary if the email, text or phone call I get takes me by surprise and try to stop and think about the likelihood that an approach is in my best interest. Like anyone I get it wrong sometimes, but caution will seldom be a mistake. You can nearly always undo caution. An impetuous decision can be very hard to undo, and if ...
Not all are equal when it comes to vaccination against Covid-19. Israel speeds ahead, followed by Britain and the USA, with other European countries bumbling along in their wake. Developing countries, or most of them, are a long way behind. This has provoked some harrumphing. "None of us are safe until we are all safe", ... Continue reading In defence of vaccine nationalism
Sat 13th
11:54
How the first ever telecoms scam worked: the François and Joseph Blanc secret semaphore messa...
In the 1830s, two French brothers, François and Joseph Blanc, pulled off the first telecoms scam in history by slipping secret messages into the French semaphore system.
I am a big fan of Marina Hyde in the Guardian, but today's column is exceptional in both its disdain for the main players in the Brexit disaster unfolding before our very eyes and in its analysis of how those same players have virtually destroyed the fishing industry on which their zeal for leaving the EU was based: Along with several journalists that day, I spent many hours aboard a luxury dining vessel with Nigel Farage, Kate Hoey and other misunderstood thought leaders. Also on the river was some kind of pleasure boat commandeered and skippered by Bob Geldof, who ...
Fri, 12:56: Wow. https://t.co/KMBgLNmvQM Fri, 13:22: RT @duncan3ross: @nwbrux Misses out a lot (and I disagree with some of his interpretations, for example he won the election by NOT paying o... Fri, 13:47: As usual, excellent thread from @pmdfoster . https://t.co/hRTXClDsg9 Fri, 14:07: More difficult choices. (And some that are less difficult.) https://t.co/MuVLEk5j0A Fri, 16:05: List of interesting Shakespeare adaptations on screen. Unfair on Olivier, perhaps! https://t.co/NC76l4OtEc Fri, 17:11: RT @IrlEmbParis: We have updated our map to include even more direct maritime routes!⛴️ There are now almost forty weekly direct sailings... Fri, 18:10: Friday reading https://t.co/Lgg2vMiVby Fri, 18:19: Endgames: Political ...
Following the economic downturn of COVID-19, a renewed interest has emerged in the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). This development has been visible on the UK political scene, with 170 MPs and Lords calling for an "Emergency UBI" in the wake of the first national lockdown. In practice, a UBI would give every citizen a guaranteed weekly government payment to supplement their main earnings. In effect, it would provide those hit hardest by the COVID recession with a baseline economic security; "a basic income floor", as Prospect puts it. In being an expansion of the welfare state, advocacy ...
i) births and deaths 13 February 1933: birth of Patrick Godfrey, who played Tor in The Savages (1966) and Major Cosworth in The Mind of Evil (1971). 13 February 1943: birth of Donald Sumpter, who played Enrico Casali in The Wheel in Space (Second Doctor, 1968), Commander Ridgeway in The Sea Devils (Third Doctor, 1972), Erasmus Darkening in The Eternity Trap (SJA, 2009) and Rassilon in Hell Bent (Twelfth Doctor, 20157) - one of the few cases where I've had to update one of my 2010-11 lists of roles. 13 February 2015: death of Hugh Walters, who played three different ...
VACCINATION RATES We want to thank the great efforts of all the vaccination staff who have worked incredibly hard to get people vaccinated. In Scotland 1 million people have been vaccinated and the gap is closing with the rest of the United Kingdom where governments organised a faster start to the programme. As of Thursday evening, Scotland was still 47,814 behind where it would be if it had rolled out the vaccine at the same rate as England. As that gap was up at 200,000 at one point this is good progress by the vaccinators. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations These are official figures ...
