I discovered recently that I had a third cousin living on the other side of Brussels, who I had never met but whose grandmother was a Whyte; and then even more recently that I had a fourth cousin twice removed living in Brussels, who I had never met, whose mother was a Whyte. I eventually made contact with both, who had of course never heard of each other either. And this afternoon we had a gathering of the clan at our place. First, the actual Whytes by birth and Whyte descendants: Left to right:1) M, my third cousin on the ...
Until last year, I'd never been to the Hay Festival, much though I'd have loved to go to the beautiful Welsh town. I drove through it when I was in Brecon and Radnorshire for the by-election in 2019 and would love to spend more time there. Anyway, the pandemic has meant that the annual festival has had to go online and is free to access. Although when I say free, there is a danger that you end up buying many books. Last year, I registered for so many events and enjoyed them all. This year's event starts this Wednesday, 26th ...
Sat, 12:56: RT @alexvtunzelmann: This piece doesn't pull its punches and says exactly what I'd been thinking about the hypocrisy pouring out of some re... Sat, 14:48: RT @wildforest_matt: Perhaps the problem with discussions over Cecil Rhodes is that people do not really understand who and what Rhodes was... Sat, 16:05: RT @danhett: very very rare I do this, but I politely sacked a client this week. repeat offender: vague briefs, moving goalposts, late paym... Sat, 16:10: Jurassic Park https://t.co/A6yMMcvrsV Sat, 21:04: I am finding just the opening of #Eurovision quite moving, a feeling that we are turning the corner ...
Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the Finance Bill demanding a review into the impact of the Government's decision to exclude millions of workers from income support. The amendment, up for selection on Monday (24th May), calls on the Government to carry out a review of its income support schemes within three months. It specifies that the review should assess the impact on limited company directors and other categories of self-employed people, who have largely been excluded from financial support. Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Treasury, Christine Jardine, said: "It really is time that this Government stopped ignoring the ...
Put yourself forward to be a member of the EU Citizens' Panel. Many members of the Liberal Democrats will have been horrified to hear about the treatment of EU citizens arriving in the UK, as reported in the Guardian, Politico and other newspapers. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are cases of European citizens who have lived among us for many years suddenly finding themselves unwelcome with questions being raised about their entitlement to healthcare and even school places for their children. This was not supposed to happen. EU citizens were told "nothing would change" after ...
I lost touch with the charts in the 1980s. I know all the songs from hearing them in the pub after canvassing or council meetings, but can struggle to tell you what they are called or who recorded them. Anyway, I heard this in the supermarket the other day and thought it sounded good. It turned out to be by ABC. Wikipedia says the bass line is a homage to Smokey Robinson's Tears of a Clown. No doubt it is, but I was unexpectedly reminded of Footsie by Wigan's Chosen Few. This was a 1975 near-novelty hit from the brief ...
I suppose it was inevitable. The Tories have long sought to rein the BBC in and force the corporation to be more supportive of them, including imposing a more sympathetic chair who has restricted the twitter freedoms of its broadcasters and evens suggesting they employ more right-wing comedians, as if such a thing exists. Now, in the light of the scandal over how Martin Bashir obtained his interview with Princess Diana it looks as if they have the opening they've been looking for. The Observer reports that Home Secretary, Priti Patel has said, giving the clearest indication yet that ministers ...
At last a ceasefire. But not until acting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reduced Hamas's rocket manufacturing capability to a pile of smouldering twisted metal and brick dust. Hamas had tried smuggling ground to air missiles into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt. But they were too easily discovered and closed by the opposition. So they turned to Iranian expertise to develop a home-grown defence manufacturing industry. It worked. At the start of this latest spat, there were thousands of missiles launched from sites dotted around Gaza with ranges of between six and 120 miles. Netanyahu had to react quickly because ...
broadcast and related anniversaries 23 May 1964: broadcast of "Temple of Evil", first episode of the story we now call The Aztecs. The Tardis lands in medieval Mexico, where Barbara is received as the reincarnation of the priest Yetaxa. 23 May 1970: broadcast of third episode of Inferno. The Doctor realises that he has travelled to a parallel Earth. (This is the one with the famous eyepatch scene.) 23 May 1988: release of "Doctorin' the Tardis" by The Timelords (later the KLF). A true cultural milestone. 23 May 2003: webcast of fourth episode of Shada. The Doctor and Chris discover ...
Sun 23rd
08:02
New council leader Lezley Picton announces a pothole cabinet but will it get to grips with the clima...
The Conservatives retained their majority on Shropshire Council in the 6 May elections despite loses of seats and its leader. On Thursday, the council appointed Lezley Picton, previously cabinet member for culture and waste. She will be the first female leader of Shropshire Council. There is some evidence that we have moved on from the Shrewsbury-centric obsessions of former leader Peter Nutting. But in her first day in the job, Lezley Picton outlined business as usual. Although she a promising a "pause and reflect", the council's most controversial policies - spending millions more on the shopping centres, demolishing Shirehall, building ...
Similarly to recent flooding at the bottom of Roseangle due to a blocked gully, a similar situation has recently existed on the Perth Road on its north side near to the bottom of Seymour Street. See photo below. I therefore asked the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership to take appropriate action with a gully machine to resolve the issue here too. I have since received the following helpful feedback : "An order has been raised for the gully machine to attend."
Emmelie de Forest won Eurovision for Denmark in 2013 with Only Teardrops and also provides us with our Trivial Fact of the Day. Because her grandfather was Maurice de Forest, who sat as Liberal MP for West Ham North between 1911 and 1918. The 1911 by-election was called after this blog's hero Charles Masterman was found to have overspent on his campaign in the second general election of 1910. Masterman returned to the Commons in another 1911 by-election in a nearby seat. Emmelie de Forest is reported to have boosted her image by claiming her grandfather Maurice was the illegitimate ...
