Second paragraph of third story ("The July Ghost"):He picked a long, bright hair off the back of her dress, so deftly that the act seemed simply considerate. He had been skilful at balancing glass, plate and cutlery, too. He had a look of dignified misery, like a dejected hawk. She was interested.Stories from early in Byatt's career; I have previously read Possession, which I loved, and Babel Tower, which I did not. Two of these are ghost stories, most of them demonstrate a talent still coming together. I particularly liked the first one, "Racine and the Tablecloth", about feminist liberation ...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the £1,012 fee charged by the Home Office for registering a child as a British citizen is unlawful. Alistair Carmichael MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Home Affairs, urged the fees to be reduced immediately: "It's shameful that children are being denied their rights by these outrageous, extortionate Home Office fees. The Government should immediately reduce these fees to no more than the cost of administration. "I've almost lost count of the number of times this Conservative Government's policies have been found to be unlawful. These cases highlight why it's so important that individuals ...
Responding to the news that the Government will not give MPs a vote before cutting the aid budget, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran MP said: "By avoiding a vote after promising one the Conservatives have confirmed what we already knew: they don't need legislation to make a temporary cut. "The Liberal Democrats, who crafted the Act enshrining the target into law, are assured that temporarily not meeting the target is permitted by the law as long as you make a statement once a year. There are no sanctions. The real question is why bring legislation at all. And ...
Responding to new figures which show that UK Government borrowing was at its highest levels in January since records began, Christine Jardine MP, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson said: "These record borrowing figures demonstrate clearly the scale of the challenge posed by COVID-19, but they must not be seen as an excuse for cutting support and leaving behind those across the UK who are struggling. "While the vaccine offers hope, the pandemic is far from over and the Government must improve, not reduce help. Furlough must be extended, the three million excluded must be brought under the Government's umbrella, and struggling ...
Michael Caine takes top billing in this comic drama by Lewis Gilbert, with screenplay by Willy Russell based on his stage play of the same name, and available on BBCiPlayer for the next four weeks. Well, he would, wouldn't he? But the real joy of this film is the performance put in by Julie Walters [...]
As Paul highlighted earlier, a major new documentary on the life and career of Charles Kennedy will be broadcast tonight on BBC Alba. There is much to love in this programme. I have to say it brought a fair few of my emotions out to play – from the joy of hearing about his tactics at psyching out the opposition in school debating competitions and the fun of his election campaigns, to the anger at his treatment in his later years and the sadness of losing him way too soon. Friends from school, university, family and politics recall the events ...
Readers of this posting who know me well will recall that I'm an atheist so may consider my reviewing a book about such a deeply religious man and his poetry a little incongruous and I suppose it is but here goes anyway. I came across this book via Sheila, my wife, who asked me to order it for her as a Christmas present in 2020. What drew me to find out about the book and Manley Hopkins is the simple fact that I regularly cycle past Rose Hill House in Lydiate's Pygons Hill Lane and I'd recognised the painting of ...
Mon, 19:00: RT @OliveBridget: Katherine O'Shea #TodayCB #charlesstewartparnell Mon, 19:32: Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake https://t.co/TY3mielQg4 Tue, 09:30: Whoniversaries 23 February https://t.co/qVQIiqPmSj Tue, 10:11: RT @pmdfoster: pet food industry hurt by Brexit checks and red tape - a story that illustrates clearly why SMEs are faci... Tue, 10:45: Caitlin Green: Macamathehou in Lincolnshire and the evidence for people named Muhammad in medieval England https://t.co/QCqqQ2AQsW Very interesting. Tue, 11:56: RT @peterjbirks: @nwbrux Stubborn constant rate of increase in France now appearing in my Netherlands numbers as well. Not apparent in Germ...
In the 1980s, Max Atkinson revolutionised understanding of political speech making which his classic work, Our Masters' Voices: The Language and Body Language of Politics.
The Guardian sketch writer, John Crace, gives a witty mention to our beloved disco in his parliamentary sketch this morning: A return to normal: 21 June. There would be no escape for those hoping to avoid the disco night at the Lib Dem party conference. I understand that the LibDem glitterball is receiving a high-sheen polish as we speak! * News Meerkat - keeping a look-out for Liberal Democrat news. Meerkat photo by Paul Walter
Today's Guardian reports that local councils that have declared a climate emergency are continuing to pour money into fossil fuels through their staff pension funds. They say that an assessment by the campaign groups Platform and Friends of the Earth have found nearly £10bn worth of investments in fossil fuels, including oil and gas companies such as BP and Shell, were found in local government pension funds in the last financial year: Councils in Greater Manchester, Strathclyde, West Midlands and West Yorkshire had the biggest investments in fossil fuels, accounting between them for nearly a fifth of local government pension ...
i) births and deaths 23 February 1918: birth of Bill Strutton, writer of The Web Planet (First Doctor, 1965) and the novelisation Doctor Who and the Zarbi. 23 February 1928: birth of Bernard Kay, who played Carl Tyler in the story we now call The Dalek Invasion of Earth (First Doctor, 1964), Saladin in the story we now call The Crusade (First Doctor, 1965), Inspector Crossland and The Director in The Faceless Ones (Second Doctor, 1967) and Caldwell in Colony in Space (Third Doctor, 1971). 23 February 1935: birth of Gerry Davis, script editor of Doctor Who from The Celestial ...
The City Council is to shortly consult on the Dundee City Council (Variation of Waiting Restrictions) Order 2021. This covers proposed changes to waiting restrictions at various locations across the city and will include a proposal to introduce "No Waiting at any time" on the four corners of the Rosebery Street/Cleghorn Street junction. Given the concerns raised by residents about some vehicles parking right at the junction and affecting sight lines, this is a sensible move, although the proposal will be subject to consultation.
Tue 23rd
06:33
Ludlow Town Council approves funding to keep our junior youth club going for another year
Shropshire Council has centralised youth support services and will in future be running a team of youth outreach workers from Shirehall. It is not supporting youth clubs which must now be independently funded from charitable groups or local councils. Last night, Ludlow Town Council stepped into the breech and agreed to fund Ludlow's junior youth club for the next financial year. This is great news. We have always needed strong youth support in Ludlow. The pandemic and school closures have put a lot of strain on young people who have been isolated from many of their friends and unable to ...
