Little U and I had a nice excursion into Brussels this morning, to see a small exhibiton on comics and censorship at the Bozar centre We had a difficult moment taking a shortcut through the Galerie Ravenstein (a shopping arcade linking the musem to Central Station) when we encountered a pigeon in the rotunda. U has a thing about birds, and the pigeon seemed to be looking at us. It aggressively hid behind a staircase, causing further unease; and then flew up to the top of the gallery and malevolently dropped a twig on the floor, less than twenty metres ...
The controversy resulted in the advertisement being pulled - but also in widespread media coverage which spread the advert's message far and wide.
It's just over 3 weeks since Ed Fordham told us in a typically empathetic and eloquent post that well known LIb Dem internationalist, broadcaster and blogger Jonathan Fryer had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Ed wrote: In 2006 Jonathan and I didn't win the ward of Hampstead Town in Camden for the Liberal Democrats. We failed in that short term objective but that campaign saw the Liberal Democrats emerge as the largest party on the Council and for the first time ever we led the Council under Cllr Keith Moffitt. Camden Liberal Democrats under the tutelage of Cllr Flick ...
Many Conservative MPs have been triumphantly crowing on social media that the government is planning to reduce our foreign aid budget. Make no mistake, not only will this impact on some of the world's most disadvantaged and vulnerable people during a pandemic, but it will also impact negatively on scientific jobs and research funding right here in the UK. Decades of research will be affected. If these Tory MPs, who claim we cannot afford to meet our foriegn aid commitments, were genuinely wanting to save taxpayer's money, they would call out the corruption and cronyism from their own government ministers. ...
The Independent reports on the views of Lord Evans, the head of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, who believes that Government ministers' financial ties to private companies should be scrutinised more closely. Lord Evans, whose watchdog monitors standards among holders of public office, said that "a number of allegations" in the past year "haven't been completely investigated", adding that it could prove "very corrosive" if such cases are left unresolved. He has also highlighted the fact that the post of independent adviser to the prime minister on ministerial interests has been left vacant since November, following the resignation ...
On our last day at Bonkers Hall the old boy has inadvertently tuned in to coverage of the Liberal Democrats virtual spring conference. And virtual spring is now breaking out all around us. Sunday Do you have the electric internet? It's amazing what you can find in it: for instance, as I write these words I am viewing what appears to be a Liberal Democrat event. Wendy "Neville" Chamberlain, Jamie Stone (increasingly known as "The Wernher von Braun of the Flow Country"), Daisy Super from St Albans... they are all there. Wait! Who is this? Call off the dogs: I ...
When I was 13 I coveted the two Beatles compilations 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 but could not afford them. Since then my enthusiasm for the loveable moptops has waned. I have been choosing these Sunday music videos since 2007, yet The Beatles have been represented only by two cover versions (from Laibach and The Jam) and the atypical While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which was written by George Harrison and features Eric Clapton on guitar. My problem with The Beatles is rather like my problem with Mozart in the classical sphere: I can see they are good, but there are half ...
America lost. It has joined other imperial powers—mainly Britain and the Soviet Union—in filling thousands of graves in the mountains, hills and plains of Afghanistan. More than 4,400 NATO troops of which 2,488 were American have died in the past 20 years. In addition, an estimated 43,000 civilians and 70,000 Taliban fighters have lost their lives. America's longest war is estimated to have cost the US Treasury $2 trillion, and its NATO allies $525 billion. Afghanistan has been a melting pot, trade route and gateway to the riches of India for centuries. The Mughals conquered northern India through Afghanistan and ...
New Covid-19 cases have been at zero or close to zero in Ludlow for weeks, and very low in the rest of south west Shropshire over the same period. Our county is coming close to being Covid-19 free, although there are likely to be local upsurges as restrictions ease. Although all over 50s have been offered a vaccination before the end of the month, half our population locally is under 50 and will not be vaccinated until mid-summer. And that is dependent on vaccination supplies. But let's not miss the good news. The town centre was buzzing yesterday morning and ...
An awful lot of birthdays today, David Tennant being the last but not the least. If you want your child to be involved with Doctor Who, perhaps you should plan a hot date with your partner around 18 July... i) births and deaths 18 April 1928: birth of David Whitaker, the first script editor of Doctor Who (from An Unearthly Child to The Dalek Invasion of Earth) and writer of The Rescue (First Doctor, 1964), The Crusade (First Doctor, 1965), The Power of the Daleks (Second Doctor, 1966), The Evil of the Daleks (Second Doctor, 1966-67), The Enemy of the ...
MS Awareness Week starts tomorrow. Please see the poster below for information from the MS Society on details of some events coming up during the week. Details of the sessions can be found at its Eventbrite page here.
