The BBC website has a priceless account of English and German soldiers meeting peacefully at Christmas on the Western Front in World War I. It comes from Arthur Tugwell, who was still a name in the town when my mother and I moved to Market Harborough in 1973. I used to slip away from Welland Park College with one of his grandsons. who must be the brother of the Tim Tugwell interviewed by the BBC, to listen to prog rock. He, incidentally, was the ally I mentioned in a blog post about my education:When I moved to the upper school ...
Who said what when and to whom in the British Royal Family is dominating world headlines? Bullying, racism, misogyny, mental health.... They are all urgent and material topics, and it is important that the Queen - and by extension - the Royal Family reflect the concerns of the society at whose apex they stand. But there is a wider constitutional issue at stake. And it is complicated by the role of the monarchy; the obtuseness of the unwritten British constitution; the British class system; and the problems of investing a part of the constitution in a physical person. The row ...
Health warning – Brexiteers shouldn't read this posting without having extra blood pressure tablets within reach Jim Hancock has the posting on his blog site – see link below:- jimhancock.co.uk/hancocks-half-page/ Jim has this about right as a piece of level-headed commentary but the matter is far from being level-headed of course because Brexit is very much an emotional as opposed to a logical issue. Well that's probably got my Brexiteer readers jumping up and down but however you cut it this Northern Ireland issue is a direct consequence of Brexit. The way forward according to our government seems to be ...
I've been sequencing these ten-day updates from St Patrick's Day last year, when the full lockdown was imposed, but the first inkling we got of how bad things would get was almost exactly a year ago on Friday 13 March, when the foundation where B and U live told us that we would not be able to see them until 3 April. We knew that it was unlikely that the situation would improve in three weeks; we didn't think that it would be more than three months before we could see the girls again (we next saw B on her ...
Current Titus Alone, by Mervyn Peake It's the End of the World: But What Are We Really Afraid Of?, by Adam Roberts The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke Last books finished Comet Weather, by Liz Williams Mostly Void, Partially Stars, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor "Sandkings", by George R.R. Martin Chasm City, by Alastair Reynolds Enemy Mine, by Barry B. Longyear The Doors of Eden, Adrian Tchaikovsky Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, by Nick Mason Next books Romeinse sporen: het relaas van de Romeinen in de Benelux met 309 vindplaatsen om te bezoeken, by ...
After last week's restart of elections, there were three council by-elections this week, again all in Scotland. As a result, all three by-elections were conducted using the alternative vote, and with 16 year olds able to vote. Good to see a full slate of Liberal Democrat candidates this week. Once again, the SNP failed to hold all its seats: Aird and Loch Ness, Highland A Conservative seat with Martin Robertson standing for the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives however lost the seat: Aird and Loch Ness (Highland) By-Election, 1st Prefs: Independent ~ 997 (28.3%, +28.3) SNP ~ 994 (28.2%, +5.9) Conservative ...
A gem from the Liberal Party's history: a Young Liberals cornflake eating contest from Letchworth in 1966.
This informations is taken from a letter in this morning's Guardian from Dominica Jewell of Bazoches-au-Houlem, France Last November medial staff were awarded bonus payments of between €1 000 and €1 500 for their work on the pandemic. They have now been awarded a pay rise of !0% International staff have been offered, free of charge, French citizenship. In the UK they got a clap. a pay cut, and, if "international," the Foreign Office's hostile environment. I am not proud.
Responding to ONS figures showing UK goods exports to the European Union fell by 40.7% and the UK economy has shrunk by 2.9%, Treasury Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, Christine Jardine MP, said: "These figures are disastrous. Businesses, jobs and livelihoods are being ruined and this botched, unnecessary Brexit deal just makes everything worse. "The Chancellor needs to come up with the long-awaited long term strategy now. We need the big and bold action to save our economy. The budget was a missed opportunity and time is fast running out to save our economy before its too late. The Government ...
With local council elections less than eight weeks away in England, Lib Dems are getting the message out local government funding. John Marriott, a former Liberal Democrat councillor in Lincolnshire, writes on the Guardian's letter page: "Local government funding has been... the victim of the totally inadequate council tax for decades, and an ever-reducing central grant... "Local government still has the ability to deliver, but it needs urgent reform, so let's start by replacing council tax with something more progressive and then complete the transformation of the first tier of local government in England into the unitary format." Lord Greaves ...
Thu, 12:56: Cryptophone firm and Belgian police clash over 'cracked' drug trafficker messages https://t.co/sWhBD7WdOy Frankly, I am unconvinved by either side's story here. Thu, 13:45: RT @why0hy: @nwbrux I remember being highly impressed when US law enforcement authorities said that it had "traced" the origin of the ilove... Thu, 16:38: RT @deannawol: @why0hy @nwbrux I looked at the code as part of a project in Uni and yup, I laughed so hard at how it had been portrayed in... Thu, 18:31: July 2010 books https://t.co/YQubRq2qGr Fri, 00:00: 200 hours left to nominate for this year's Hugo Awards! If you were ...
Well, there is still all to play for - Labour Bristol has failed to be the first local authority to take a stand on advertising high carbon products like polluting SUV cars. They have agreed to ban fast food advertising on council-owned advertising sites, like bus shelters, but they failed to follow up on the rest. They say they would need to go out for consultation on it and they fear 'consultation fatigue'. Apparently, the people of Bristol feel strongly about their children being lured into eating badly - important as that is - but not about what SUVs are ...
The tragic suspected kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard in London has sent shockwaves around the country, leading to many women questioning not just their own safety but the past behaviour of men towards them and the focus of safety advice, which they rightly argue should be directed at men, just as much as women. Many are sharing their experiences of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, have pointed out how even innocent behaviour by men can terrify a lone woman walking home at night and called on all men to modify our behaviour. A common Instagram meme has 'protect your ...
Kirsty Williams the Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Minister yesterday announced an additional £30 million to develop new Welsh-medium education. The capital investment aims to help reach the longstanding target of 1 Million Welsh speakers by 2050, by supporting young learners to become Welsh speakers by the time they leave school. This announcement follows hot on the heels of the new Welsh Curriculum approved by Senedd members this week which will be introduced after an extensive consultation and is the first complete reform of the curriculum in a generation. Kirsty Williams Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Minister, said: "Providing first class schools ...
i) births and deaths 12 March 1907: birth of Arthur Hewlett, who played rebel scientist Kalmar in State of Decay (Fourth Doctor, 1980) and doomed passenger Kimber in Terror of the Vervoids (Sixth Doctor, 1986) ii) broadcast anniversaries 12 March 1966: broadcast of "The Plague", second episode of the story we now call The Ark. The Doctor, Steven and Dodo are on trial; but the Doctor is able to find a cure for the plague, and all watch as the Earth is destroyed. 12 March 1977: broadcast of third episode of The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Leela watches as Weng Chiang ...
As I previously reported, the Dundee Partnership Fund is offering increased funding to the West End of £20 000 for 2021/22 for community groups and local projects in our local area next financial year. Get in touch with Joanne Kelly, our community development worker - see contact details below - for more information. Application forms are available here.
Burma is in turmoil. The military coup has plunged it back into the repression of the past. The eyes of the world must remain on Myanmar as it is now officially known. International diplomatic pressure must be maintained at the strongest level and sanctions applied against the military.
