Gateshead Lib Dems had another action day yesterday, this time in Bridges ward. 90% of the ward was delivered with the latest Focus newsletter. The noticeable point about Bridges ward is the almost complete disappearance of the Labour Party. They are nowhere to be seen despite (currently) holding the ward. I wonder if the rumours we hear are true - that Labour are struggling to find
Yesterday I joined the other Whickham Lib Dem councillors to hold our advice surgery in Whickham Library. It was a busy session with quite a few people calling in for advice and help on a range of issues. It was also an opportunity for us to catch up with each other on a list of issues. As soon as the surgery was over, I headed to Bridges ward for an action day.
I wrote about Gateshead's full council meeting last week, before I was able to sort the photos I took in the council chamber. So here are the Lib Dem group members with the occasional Labour member in the background.Meanwhile, here are a couple of photos of Labour voting against our motion opposing digital ID cards.
Intrigued by a sign on a Norfolk railway station, Neil Hickman discovers a story of selfless service. We take the people who work on the railways very much for granted. Sometimes, we get jolted out of our complacency, as with Samir Zitouni, who shielded passengers with his own body during the Huntingdon stabbing attack and was left hospitalised and fighting for his life. Now, a little while back, I got off the train at Wymondham, once an important railway junction, though no more - the ambitious plans for a new station for the Mid-Norfolk heritage railway near the main line ...
I was all over chart music in 1974, even though I was dimly aware that the records I was hearing weren't as good as the ones I could just remember from the Sixties. So I remember this one clearly and am surprised to find it wasn't a hit. Johnny Bristol (1939-2004) recorded a few singles in the US from 1959, but he was best known as songwriter and producer at Motown. He wrote Love Me for a Reason for the Osmonds and was co-producer of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's classic Ain't No Mountain High Enough. He had a big ...
Sudan – and gold Gold is currently selling at $4,038.05 an ounce. It has increased in value 121 percent in under five years. It is also financing a civil war in Sudan which, according to the UN, has killed 150,000 civilians, displaced 25 million people and left 30 million facing acute hunger. The two main Sudanese warring parties — the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — now rely heavily on gold as a source of income. In 2024, gold production reportedly generated $1.7bn for Sudan via official channels. But then there are the unofficial channels, ...
At the start of last month, we posted a great photograph of Magdalen Green station from 1956 - the year it closed. Continuing the theme and with thanks to Tom Millar and Dundonian History for All, this is a rather superb postcard from the heyday of the station.
On the Nation Cymru website, Martin Shipton discusses the significance of former Welsh UKIP leader, Nathan Gill's imprisonment and its implication for Reform at the Senedd elections next year. His view that, while those who are enraptured by what they see as Nigel Farage's charisma are likely to remain loyal to his personality cult, more level-headed voters will pause to consider the implications of Gill's criminality, is certainly one that is worth exploring. My concern though, is that it will be mostly be old news by the time people come to vote in six months time. He writes that, despite ...
