The Guardian reports that Nigel Farage's newest billionaire donor was in business with a powerful Iranian religious foundation under the authority of the country's supreme leader, raising questions about his past dealings with the hardline republic. The paper says that Hossein Ghandehari, also called Sasan, was little known in the UK until he pledged to give millions to Reform UK this summer and donated £50,000 to Farage to cover the cost of two passes for the Davos World Economic Forum. They add that he has said he is moving his tax residency from Switzerland to the UK in order to ...
The official reopening of Whickham Library took place on 15th October. I took the opportunity to make this short video of the refurbished facility.
Earlier this month the official reopening of Whickham Voluntary Library took place. The refurbishment was paid for by a government Pride in Place grant. Here are a few of the photos I took on the evening.
The 11-year-old English chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has recorded her greatest achievement yet. She has become the youngest girl ever to qualify for the international master (IM) title, which is one rung below grandmaster. In doing so she has eclipsed the record of Judit Polgár, generally regarded as the strongest woman player of all time, who was was 12 years and 2 months old when she earned her IM title. Bodhana is 11 years and seven months old. Chessbase quotes Bodhana's fellow IM, the English Chess Federation's director of international chess Malcolm Pein: "I can only describe Bodhana as a ...
Like most of the contemporary singles I like, this is more about melody than rhythm and a bit retro. But then I long ago passed the age when you were meant to stop liking what was in the charts - when there was a meaningful singles chart, that is. Lime Garden are an all-female indie band from Brighton. To add to the retro feel, this single does not come from their recent second album Maybe Not Tonight. DIY Mag says of it: Produced by Charlie Andrew, the track explores the pull of falling for someone you know isn't right for ...
The latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Welcome to my latest update on work in the House of Lords which this time looks at reforming the place. My experience since joining the Lords last year has refined, expanded and improved my views on how the second chamber of our Parliament should be reformed – but it hasn't changed my commitment ...
John Harris' column in the Guardian contains some surprising news. He tells us that GB News, that bracingly rightwing TV channel whose regular faces include Nigel Farage, the Reform MP Lee Anderson and the party's failed byelection candidate Matt Goodwin, is about to launch a music radio station: According to its promotional blurb, it will be "dedicated exclusively to artists from Great Britain and Northern Ireland", with tagline "all British, all day". By way of further explanation, one of its presenters, the black GB News host Nana Akua, says that "It's easy to forget how this country has shaped the ...