Three years ago, I was somewhat unexpectedly elected as Chair of our village's Parish Council. I hadn't sought the role - which is becoming something of a recurring theme - but wasn't quick enough to escape when I was the victim of an extremely genteel ambush by my fellow Councillors. I had been led to understand that the Chair served two years before being replaced by their Vice Chair, which turned out to be a ruse. But it was alright, and I had quietly enjoyed the responsibility for two years. And then the pandemic struck, and our 2020 Annual Parish ...
This evening I will be attending a rehearsal with the other members of my large amateur choir (in concert a couple of years ago in the photo). We were looking forward to meeting again in person today – 30 members were going to be able to attend at the school hall which is our usual rehearsal venue, with the rest of us watching on YouTube and singing along. Next week a different group of 30 were planning to go along to the school. Then on Tuesday we learnt that the guidance from DCMS had changed (see Section 2.4) and that ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:So said one of the two men who got into the train and settled down.The planet earth passes through the tail of a comet, and as the result of a massive collective shift of spiritual consciousness, human society is transformed into a polyamorous happy new state of affairs. It goes on for a bit longer than that, but that's the gist. Really rather earnest, even by Wells' standards. You can get it here. This was my top unread book by H.G. Wells. I am hoping for better with the next, Kipps.
I felt a brief pang of sympathy for former Prime Minister David Cameron last week, as he endured grandstanding "questions" from MPs over his lobbying on behalf of Greensill Capital. He probably really did think that what he was suggesting on that company's behalf would be helpful to the government. But nobody cares about that; ... Continue reading The information gap – the big issue of our age
These weeks after the Super Thursday's elections can be difficult to handle, whether you were elated by success, deflated by lack of it, or partly arriving where you want to be. Our mostly steady-as-you-go results are challenging but can also feel rather trying, both locally and nationally. Locally, we have to get on dutifully with Liberal Democrat President Mark Pack's blog post: '9 things you must do to wrap things up properly after an election'. But the questions arise straight away and require hard thinking: How can we build from victory? How can we rise from defeat? Or, if it's ...
What an evening we had last night at our first in person meeting in the Council since March 2020. It was great for me. I just strolled down the road to the Wavertree Tennis Centre where, because of the needs ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Rubbish bags piled on waste bins] I know this is part of a regular series of emails from me, but there are a lot of things not well in the world of bin emptying and rubbish collection in Sandgate at the moment I'm afraid. The seafront is currently regularly getting strewn with rubbish *again*, and although I have local residents crying out for bigger bins. The issue is that AGAIN they are being emptied too infrequently, and AGAIN the system seems to have reverted to someone who empties and leaves the bags on or by the bin, and then ...
It turns out that the Conservatives' determination to defend British culture begins and ends with statues. As the Evening Standard reports:The government has approved plans to turn the 450-year-old foundry where Big Ben and the Liberty Bell were made into a boutique hotel. Campaigners have been battling to stop US developer Raycliff converting the Grade II listed Whitechapel Bell Foundry into a 108-bedroom hotel with swimming pool, cafe and artist spaces. The proposal was given the green light by Tower Hamlets council in 2019. But Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick "called in" the decision ...
The Pupil Premium is a system designed to invest more in areas where there is greatest need. At a time when Covid has exposed the growing extent of child poverty, the logic of Pupil Premium means that greater investment in teaching must be made to support their needs - unless, apparently, the Department for Education changes the rules. Just when the eligibility for free school meals (the metric used to calculate the Pupil Premium) is increasing (up by more than 100,000), the Department for Learning to Save Money has decided to calculate the schools budget from data before the recent ...
The problems in the Labour Party since its defeat at the Hartlepool by-election are all the more striking when you remember that it wasn't a surprising defeat. The 2019 results and the by-election polls had both pointed that way. Yet it was the reality of votes being counted up that triggered a crisis. Now there's a chance for another by-election to cause another crisis. This time it is Chesham and Amersham and this time it is Boris Johnson at risk. If, but only if, there is enough help for the Liberal Democrat campaign to make that happen and elect Sarah ...
Wed, 12:56: Entitled Mother ends my engagement and gets me banned from a steak house all in one night https://t.co/7fDjnSzBPK One of the more memorable posts to r/entitledparents. Wed, 16:05: North Macedonia PM: EU risks losing sway in Balkans - POLITICO https://t.co/9t2uw2UJ1y Some people need to remember that it is usually cheaper to keep your promses than to break them. Wed, 17:11: Very good and informative thread by former Australian trade negotiator on the UK-Australia deal. This tweet is the killer. Despite UK's structural advantage, unclear policy goals lead to messy outcome. https://t.co/TvdEh6LXnI Wed, 18:52: The Evidence, by Christopher Priest ...
I don't tend to look at the websites for the reactionary press such as the Mail and Express, so I have no idea whether or not there are English 'gentlemen' spluttering over breakfast coffee at the news that their ability to travel to their pied-à-terre in Paris or holiday cottage on the Côte d'Azur has been compromised by Brexit. But if they did vote for Brexit, or supported it like the Express and Mail, then what did they expect would happen? The Guardian reports that British visitors to France and Spain may be asked to show proof of their accommodation, ...
i) births and deaths 20 May 1926: birth of John Lucarotti, writer of the stories we now call Marco Polo (First Doctor, 1964), The Aztecs (First Doctor, 1964) and The Massacre (First Doctor, 1966) 20 May 1966: death of Mervyn Pinfield, who was Associate Producer for Doctor Who from An Unearthly Child (First Doctor, 1963) to The Romans (First Doctor, 1965) and also directed The Sensorites (First Doctor, 1964), Planet of Giants (First Doctor, 1964) and The Space Museum (First Doctor, 1965). 20 May 1977: death of Lennie Mayne, who directed The Curse of Peladon (Third Doctor, 1972), The Three ...
Late last night the news broke about the wide-reaching Government reform of the railways. In a couple of years time we will see the establishment of Great British Railways – which sounds more like a reality show, or a travelogue that features Michael Portillo's yellow trousers. According to the BBC, Great British Railways "will set timetables and prices, sell tickets in England and manage rail infrastructure", that is, have control over both the physical network as well as the train operators. I think we can all agree that the privatisation of the railways has not been a success. Quality has ...
I have recently received residents' concerns about the need for repairs to the roads surface in Clayhills Drive - see photos below. I therefore raised this with the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership, requesting repairs and have been promised that an Order for pothole repairs to be carried out has now been raised.
