Latest in my series of posts about successive winners of the Tiptree, Clarke and BSFA Best Novel awards. Second paragraph of third part of "Stories for Men", by John Kessel:He washed his face, applied personal hygiene bacteria, threw on his embroidered jumpsuit, and rushed out of the apartment.I remember being hugely impressed by this story when it was a Nebula finalist back in 2003. Hugo voters weren't, and it finished in tenth place at nominations stage, both Hugo and Nebula voters going instead for Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. On rereading I still think it is a classic, and well done ...
For years now committed internationalists in the party have complained that our reputation for internationalism is fading and that parish pump politics has taken over. Worries are being expressed that we could lose that internationalist core vote that has identified with us for decades. Despite serial attempts at proposing emergency motions on international crises to conference, these have repeatedly fallen way behind domestic issues in the ballot and not received a debate. Similarly droves of new members who joined us as pro-Europeans to fight Brexit have not seen their key issue high enough up the agenda. The good news is ...
I don't cycle the towpath of Leeds Liverpool Canal through Sefton and West Lancashire often for two reasons. It's narrow and rough to ride on and the narrowness means I need to stop frequently to let pedestrians pass. However, the other day I decided to cycle the section from Greens Lane swing bridge in Downholland through to Bells Lane swing bridge in Lydiate. The ride was pretty much as I expected i.e. only really suitable for mountain bikes due to its rough and uneven nature. I would add that as the weather had been dry for quite some time I ...
The Independent reports on yet another potential scandal around procurement during the pandemic. The paper says a former Tory councillor was given a £120m government contract for personal protective equipment (PPE) which is now lying unused because of concerns about its quality: Steve Dechan, who owns medical device manufacturer Platform-14, had his offer to supply protective equipment from China fast-tracked through the government's controversial "VIP" lane. The Sunday Times newspaper reports that fewer than 1 in 400 of the face shields procured by the company on behalf of the government have been used, because the regulator does not believe they ...
Liverpool's City Centre 'closure strategy' which was already a wate of money at £55.8 million is expected now to cost £68.8 million. That's just the start. The Lime Street element has already been slammed as being a poor design and ... Continue reading →
Over the last decade or so I have regularly asked myself what forms of resistance are appropriate in the face of populist/authoritarian/power grabbing regimes. Ultimately they have to be removed at the ballot box so some of us doggedly carry on organising and campaigning in spite of outdated electoral systems and huge amounts of money being fed into elections and pre-election PR machines. In the UK we can throw in a very lopsided set of national newspapers and the future for our politically diminished country does not look bright. I keep coming back to satire. When I was in the ...
Sun, 12:48: A long weekend in Paris https://t.co/p3uEtdNVY3 Sun, 12:56: Juno Flies Past the Moon Ganymede and Jupiter, With Music by Vangelis https://t.co/eizWQpJvzv Brilliant. Sun, 16:51: RT @WinstonCProject: @Ed_Miliband Destroying @BorisJohnson with ease. 🏴☠️ https://t.co/1VVzyPlyTN Sun, 19:01: RT @DoctorWho_BBCA: 🚨 This is it. 🚨 Watch the #DoctorWho #ComicConAtHome at Home panel RIGHT NOW on YouTube: https://t.co/M9cVnX4bsV Mon, 10:45: The Chowchilla bus kidnapping: What happened all those years ago? https://t.co/vV4qkY9GeE Brilliant piece. I had no idea.
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 26 JULY 2021 City Fibre H3G Project - rolling road closures commencing on Tuesday 15 June for 7 weeks. Brewery Lane, Brown Street and South Ward Road to follow in July. Blinshall Street (Lochee Road to Guthrie Street) - temporary traffic control from Monday 5 July for 4 weeks for Street Lighting work. Nethergate - closure of the junction with South Tay Street on Monday 26 July for up to one week for carriageway resurfacing. Abbotsford Street - temporary traffic lights on Wednesday 28 ...
