This is part of a film shown in the BBC's documentary series One Pair of Eyes in 1970. We see the last days of commercial carrying and the early days of leisure boating existing side by side, while around them the new Birmingham has arisen. Soon Cliff Richard will arrive to make Take Me High. If you like this, you may enjoy my posts on Bill Grundy's children's series Flower of Gloster.
Alan Rusbridger questions the convention that the Royal Family cannot be criticised in parliament, and suggests 10 questions that could be asked about them: "William apparently doesn't want to live in Windsor Castle. None of them wants to live in Buckingham Palace. The King wants to get Andrew out of his house. Do they really need nine Occupied Royal Palaces as well as Balmoral and Sandringham? I think there may be 19 houses, castles or palaces in all, but no one seems very sure." "The Government's 10-year plan places heavy emphasis on AI to ease workload and tackle backlogs. I ...
Happy September 1st, folks. And if it's the first Monday in September, the return of Parliament, and the start of the new political season, it must mean the return of your favourite column by a Lib Dem, gay, Christian, (anti monarchist) Republican, Woke, progressive former Councillor... er, that'd be me then. But seriously I'm delighted to be back in this space after a month off; rejuvenated, revitalised, and ready to give my forthright but hopefully also well informed and nuanced views about the Lib Dems and politics more widely as head towards Conference season, a possible Government reshuffle, the Budget, ...
I wrote this poem on Friday of last week, for my Palace Panel Show. It seemed to resonate with people so I thought I would share it here. Hope it helps. Motivational Poem Sometimes I wonder as I think about my life Lovely children, grandchildren and a gorgeous wife There are still a few feelings of regret and disappointment And I've got a little rash that needs an awful lot of ointment I sometimes feel that I might be a hopeless failure I've never been to Thailand, Brazil or indeed Australia I've had the odd book published but never really ...
Lewis Baston has posted an in-depth report on the Liberal Democrat victory in Thursday's by-election in West Hampstead: Liberal Democrat leaflets targeted left-liberal voters who had supported Labour in the 2024 general election and subsequently felt disappointed. They criticised the Starmer government over welfare cuts, Europe and potential cuts to central government funding of London boroughs. Gaza came up frequently on the doorstep. Labour's campaign majored on the record of Camden Council, one of London's more effective and popular borough administrations, although it is rare even in those circumstances for people to feel all that grateful for improved schools and ...
A few days ago, the Appeals Court ruled in favour of the Labour Government, allowing asylum seekers to remain at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. Despite this new precedent, all twelve Reform-controlled councils have announced that they will still pursue legal challenges against asylum hotels, with some Conservative-controlled councils indicating that they will follow suit. Immigration and asylum. Those are Reform UK's top priorities. They have announced Operation Restoring Justice, a pledge to deport 600,000 foreign nationals over five years of a Reform government. Conflating immigrants and asylum seekers, these plans would incur harm to the UK's international reputation ...
There was a great long-read article in the Guardian newspaper this weekend about the 'traditional family' movement in the United States. In the article, author J. Oliver Conroy (with some great photographs by Celeste Sloman) explores the lifestyles of four couples who have stepped away from the capitalist system and created what they see as a more traditional way of living. I'm always really interested in how others are seeking to live a more intentional life, especially when this involves living off the land. And the article does a great job of getting under the skin of the four families, ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2025 Park Street - closed from 9.00am on Monday 1 September to 6.00am on Tuesday 2 September for Scottish Water work. Lochee Road (at Park Street) - temporary traffic lights from 9.00am on Monday 1 September to 6.00am on Tuesday 2 September for Scottish Water work. Lochee Road (at Smellies Lane) - stop/go traffic control for 2 weeks from Monday 1 September for bollard upgrade works. Forthcoming Roadworks West Marketgait - closed northbound between Greenmarket and Nethergate on Sunday 14 September ...
