Congratulations on reaching number 1000? Up to a point. I seem to recall that something went wrong with the numbering of this feature early on and I am increasingly embarrassed by its title. I sometimes think that the best links should get there own post and the average ones should just be a tweet, but I enjoy putting Six of the Best together and with so much of my time spent looking after my Mum these days I am not in the mood for radical changes, Edward Docx says Boris Johnson is a clown: "Instead of uniting his country, he ...
In my previous article, I railed against the planning system which serves us badly when it comes to protecting and enhancing biodiversity. In this article, I look in more detail at the Fishmore Quarry housing development where the one of Ludlow's richest areas of biodiversity has been bulldozed. It is far from clear whether the tree and shrub clearance is within current planning consents, though the developer insists it is. What is clear is that technical changes to this scheme have led to a significant loss of biodiversity. One of the biggest losses we have seen in Ludlow. We can't ...
Thu 25th
18:59
We are losing trees and biodiversity in and around Ludlow (1) - it's a failure of the planning syste...
Foldgate Lane. Rocks Green. Fishmore Quarry. Just three of the development sites where trees, hedges and scrubland have been the victims of recent work as development in Ludlow accelerates. There is a lot of anger around Ludlow and Ludford. Why are we losing so much biodiversity? Where have things gone wrong? The primary fault lies in the planning system. It assumes that the destruction caused by bulldozing and chain saws can be replaced by planting schemes. The system doesn't understand that biodiversity takes decades to emerge. And that it happens randomly. Biodiversity is a real scruff and that is why ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:I jumped, not having heard anyone's footsteps on the staircase which led up to the observation deck. I'd assumed I was completely alone. All the other passengers had retired to their rooms immediately upon boarding - the journey just long enough to justify unpacking their luggage - but I had gone up onto the observation deck to watch our departure. I had a room, but nothing that I needed to unpack.When I first read this in 2011, I wrote:A long time ago I read Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, and rather bounced off it; perhaps, in ...
The Home Office' s proposals to change the Asylum law is disturbing. They don't reflect an understanding of the hardship and difficulties that refugees face. Desperate people resort to desperate actions risking their lives to find a better life. It is very difficult for these people to come directly to Britain. No visitor visa, no way of boarding a plane. It is unlikely those in conflict zones can obtain a visa anyway. They will have to cross borders and journey across countries to reach Britain. The measures proposed to send them back are not based on any humanitarianism but a ...
After the special joint edition with the Lib Dem Pod looking at cross-party cooperation, it's back to the normal format this time - and welcome back to Duncan Brack for one of our historical dives into a former party leader. After having discussed Jo Grimond and David Steel, this time we're headed into the 19th century with Lord John Russell. He served in government for at least part of every decade from the 1830s through to the 1860s, with two spells as Prime Minister, 13 years apart. What should we make of his political career? Feedback very welcome, and do ...
Yesterday Ed Davey attracted quite a lot of media coverage when he asked this question during Prime Minister's Questions: The Prime Minister talks about "restoring freedoms", yet his actions do not match his words. #PMQs pic.twitter.com/A7kFlTv9qo — Ed Davey MP (@EdwardJDavey) March 24, 2021 He explained his reasoning in more detail in an article in The Independent titled Why the Liberal Democrats won't vote to renew the Coronavirus Act. He writes: When Boris Johnson asks MPs to renew the Coronavirus Act on Thursday, he is asking us to give his government a blank cheque to reduce everyone's rights and freedoms ...
Amongst the many promises that were made during the 2016 referendum campaign was that Wales would not lose a single penny as a result of leaving the EU, a pledge that was especially important given the millions of pounds we have received and are due under schemes run by the European Union to help revitalise deprived areas. However, like many of the other statements made at the time this particular promise has proved to be a lie, for not only is the UK government ensuring that a number of areas are no longer going to receive this money, but they ...
Wed, 12:56: Mars 360: 1.2 billion pixel panorama of Mars - Sol 3060 (360video 8K) https://t.co/tv9p7dmr5e Wow. Wed, 14:01: RT @BrusselsTimes: Belgium announces the latest changes to coronavirus measures at a consultative committee press conference. https://t.co... Wed, 18:22: September 2010 books https://t.co/KJKipuiaB0 Thu, 07:23: RT @Thinkwert: I have blocked the canal that was in Egypt and which you were probably using for the global economy Forgive me It we... Thu, 09:30: Whoniversaries 25 March https://t.co/cKbPHDBjJI Thu, 10:45: This Wooden Sculpture Is Twice as Old as Stonehenge and the Pyramids https://t.co/PdU9W2Xtjv Wow!
Liverpool Town Hall The really surprising thing for me about the damming independent 'Caller' report into the workings of Liverpool City Council, is that if Labour's leaders nationally had taken the time to read Peter Kilfoyle's blog site Kilfoleonpolitics then they would have known long ago about much of this whole sorry mess. Of course, they may well have read it but decided to brush his concerns under the carpet? If they did it was a big error of judgement. Here's a link to Kilfoyleonpolitics:- kilfoyleonpolitics.wordpress.com/2021/03/13/worse-and-worse/ And here's the Caller report:- And finally here's a link to the blogsite ...
Between 14 July 2020 and 16 January 2021, the United States government executed its first thirteen criminals since 2003 - in fact, this was the most people ever executed in such a short space of time by the federal government. However, fourteen states continue to execute people on a regular basis. President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, seeks to end the death penalty at a federal level, but this does nothing to stop states or the several other countries around the world that still employ the method. Indeed, several high-profile cabinet members in this country, such as Cabinet Office Minister ...
In the latest attempt to get one over on a squirming Left, this government is reportedly issuing guidance to see "the Union Jack flown on UK government buildings every day - not just on designated days as is the current practice". This is clearly part of a wider culture war, waged by a resurgent new right and, in an attempt to neuter it, adopted wholesale by the Labour Party. Of course, you can hear the Liberal response.. ..ugh, fine? Is this what you're going to do to solve the country's problems? Wave flags? Well get on with it - quickly ...
i) births and deaths 25 March 1920: birth of Patrick Troughton, who played the Second Doctor from 1966 to 1969 and returned on various occasions. He would have been 101 today. ii) broadcast anniversaries 25 March 1967: broadcast of third episode of The Macra Terror, on the star's 47th birthday. Jamie and Polly are made to work in the pit, while the Doctor tries to analyse the mysterious gas. (This was also the date that the DVD/Blu-Ray of the story was released in 2019.) 25 March 1972: broadcast of fifth episode of The Sea Devils. The British government attempts to ...
A local resident recently reported as follows to me : "We went to visit play park in Victoria Park this afternoon. Wanted to use baby swing. I obviously had a young child with me and my adult daughter who is a power chair user. We were unable to access the play park as no designated access path. Grass very wet, not pram or wheelchair friendly." I have taken this issue up with the City Council's environment management and a senior service manager has agreed to take this matter up.
We take it for granted now that parliament is televised, but it is a recent phenomenon. The Lords was televised on a trial basis in January 1985 and the experiment was soon made permanent. Elected members took longer to be convinced of its virtues. The possibility of a trial broad cast of Commons proceedings was debated and rejected later that year In 1988 the idea came up again and this time MPs voted in favour, and the experiment began late the following year. Again, it became a permanent arrangement. But that is not the whole story. Because cameras were allowed ...
