A blue plaque for Traffic's Jim Capaldi in MarlowJim Capaldi, singer, Traffic's drummer and Steve Winwood's longtime writing partner, is now remembered by a heritage plaque on his former home in Marlow. It was unveiled on Sunday 2 August, which would have been Capaldi's 82nd birthday. Among the people who gathered to see the plaque unveiled were Capaldi's wife Aninha and their daughters Tabitha and Tallulah, and figures from the world of music including Steve and Muff Winwood and Bob Harris. The plaque, which was installed by The Marlow Society, commemorates the home where Jim lived from 1971 until his death in 2005. Photo from the Jim Capaldi ... (more) |
Conference Agenda is out![IMG: Front cover of Autumn 2026 Conference agenda with photos of Ed Davey and other MPs and Brighton seafront] It's just six weeks until Lib Dems gather in Brighton for our Autumn Conference. Yesterday afternoon, the Conference agenda came out. Over the four days we will see debates on such subjects as: Ending Violence against women and girls Mortality of children in temporary accommodation Maternity care Party strategy Defending Democracy Food security Water companies AI Making music matter Rural and coastal education There will be keynote speeches from: Jane Dodds Alex Cole-Hamilton Max Wilkinson Munira Wilson] Daisy Cooper Cllr Lisa ... (more) |
For International Cat Day: This is Sylvia by Sandy WilsonOne of the books I saved from my mother's house was This is Sylvia by Sandy Wilson. This review from the Brechin Advertiser (25 January 1955) explains all. A nonsense book that is something quite new is the autobiography of that successful musical comedy star, Sylvia. Sylvia hesitated when her friends urged her to write her memoirs. She had lived her nine lives to the full, they said, so why not give her story to the public? Hester Briggs finally persuaded this great-great-granddaughter of a Sultan to take the plunge and tell her story up to now. As for the ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat An Iranian Who's WhoAmerica's Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, recently told American television that the problem with negotiating with Iran is that the Iranians are hopelessly divided. He was right. Nobody is certain that the Iranian sitting across the negotiating table can make the rest of Iran obey any agreement. The diplomats and politicians who meet with J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, et al, are generally pragmatists who want an end to war and sanctions. But back home they are being undermined by revolutionary ideologues prepared to embrace martyrdom. The pragmatists are led by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas ... (more) |
From copperworks to distilleryThe Hafod-Morfa copperworks are one of the few remaining relics of Swansea's industrial past. They are subject to a multi-million pound scheme to restore and repurpose the buildings sitting on the side of the River Tawe in Hafod, near to the Swansea.com football stadium. The remains of this complex, originally developed by Vivian and Sons, consists of a core Grade II listed building and additional Grade II listed structures on a 12 acres (4.9 ha) site. As Wikipedia relates the history of this site is over 200 years old: The Hafod works was founded in 1810 by the Cornishman himself ... (more) |
Raven: Phil Daniels and archaeology encounter nuclear wasteNuclear site dig will change prehistory, says archaeologist says the headline on a BBC News article about Sizewell C. A nuclear power station being built on an ancient site? That sounds like the plot of an ITV children's serial from the Seventies. And I was pretty much right, because the largely forgotten series Raven from 1977 dealt with plans to store nuclear waste use an ancient cave system. I'm not sure I remember watching it, but I did have the book. So here's the first episode. Note the strong cast: Phil Daniels, Michael Aldridge and Patsy Rowlands. Before I found ... (more) |
The uncanny on the western front in the first world warEmbed from Getty ImagesMalcolm Gaskill reviews A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination and Faith during the First World War by Owen Davies in the London Review of Books (4 July 2019): It's a well-known story that British soldiers at Mons claimed they really did see angels - but that story, too, turns out to be unfounded. In September 1914 the Welsh writer Arthur Machen published a story called The Bowmen in the London Evening News. In it, spectral archers from the Battle of Agincourt come to the aid of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons. To his dismay the story was ... (more) |
ALDC's by-election report - 6 August 2026[IMG: 4 parallel white vertical lines on orange background ALDC logo] Five principal authority by-elections took place across England and Wales on Thursday 6th August. The Conservatives were defending three seats (two in West Norfolk and one in Surrey), while Reform UK were defending one seat in South Tyneside and Plaid Cymru were defending one seat in South Wales. The Conservatives had a disastrous night, losing all three of their seats. The headlining story of the week for the Liberal Democrats came from West Norfolk, where we delivered stellar first-time performances in two coastal wards, shooting straight into second place ... (more) |
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion pollsWelcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 18% (-1) 24% (+1) 11% (nc) 14% (nc) 24% (+1) 0% (vs Ref) 5/8 GB YouGov ... (more) |
Democracy, defence policy, health care and more at Lib Dem Autumn ConferenceThe agenda and reports to conference for the Autumn Conference in Brighton have been published, including the full text of all the motions to be debated. Conference Agenda Also available here. Reports to Conference Also available here. The three policy papers up for debate in Brighton can be found in my policy paper archive (numbers 164-166). Sign up to get the latest news and analysis (more) |