The other day I used Bluesky to pass on some of Lord Bonkers' table talk: Lord Bonkers writes: What all this nonsense about Katy Perry and "the first all-female space crew"? I well recall that a British rocket took off from Woomera 56 years ago almost to the day. Its crew? Marguerite Patten Helen Shapiro Pat Coombs Marion Mould on Stroller [image or embed] — Jonathan Calder (@lordbonkers.bsky.social) 14 April 2025 at 17:13 Think of this as a sort of free extra from the old boy - a Patreon you don't have to pay for. (That is unless I'm short ...
There's worrying news of a threat to the future of a beautiful Welsh waterway: Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick has challenged the Welsh Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Natural Resources Wales over plans to limit the water supply to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal relies heavily on water abstractions from the River Usk, which runs alongside the canal for much of its length, providing over 80% of the water required. The canal was originally exempt from rules governing abstraction from the Water Resources ...
The Whinnies Community Garden in Sunniside reopened earlier this month. I was there with camcorder ready to film the opening event.
The Express and Star reports of Cllr Luke Hamblett: Dudley's Liberal Democrats got a boost when a former Labour councillor defected to their ranks after attacking government tax policy. Councillor Luke Hamblett, who represents the Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood ward on Dudley Council, has been sitting as an independent since his decision to quit Labour in March. He was one of a string of Labour councillors, including group leader Councillor Pete Lowe, who turned their backs on Sir Keir Starmer's government in protest at the way the country is being run. Luke Hamblett joins Andrew Tromans who joined the ...
Embed from Getty ImagesJohn Curtice previews the local elections for the Mirror this morning: The local elections on May 1st take place in unprecedented circumstances. Never before have both Labour, whose current average poll rating is just 24%, and the Conservatives, on 22%, been so unpopular at the same time. Both are struggling to keep pace with Reform, narrowly ahead on 25%. British politics was once a two-horse race between Conservative and Labour. Now it is a fragmented five-way battle. Even the Greens (9%) are at a record high in the polls, while the Liberal Democrats (14%) are a force ...
BBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award. The judges pointed out that there's more on the efforts to save this wonderful bird at Curlew Action.
Fragile, unwell, but always determined to serve. After his long stay in the hospital, it was so nice to see the Pope yesterday on the famous Vatican balcony. It almost feels as if he wanted to celebrate Easter with Christians and Catholics around the globe, before he was ready to leave this earthly life. This morning, the Mass at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church was quite emotional. We were all quite sad and shocked. Father Norbert Fernandes, in his short homily, said something, which I think is really important; the role of the Pope is a difficult one. We ...
Our joint weekly ward surgery takes place tonight. This week it is as follows : Blackness Library (Tuesdays 5pm - every week during school term time) All welcome - no appointment necessary!
The Guardian reports that a total of seven MPs have spent on average one working day a week on second jobs since the start of the 2024 parliament, with additional gigs as TV presenters, lawyers and consultants. The paper says that their analysis of self-declared working hours found the seven had worked at least 300 hours since July - the equivalent of eight hours a week, in outside employment averaged across the parliament - totalling more than 3,000 hours between them. A further seven MPs had worked at least five hours a week on a second job. Naturally, the MP ...
