James Earl Ray fled to London after he shot Martin Luther KingSunday Express, 9 June 1968 Somehow I had managed to live until yesterday without learning that James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King in 1968, fled to London after his crime and was arrested there by the Metropolitan Police. Thanks to Rob Tyers for enlightening me in the middle of a thread on pubs called The Green Man. There's a comprehensive Wikipedia article on the assassination, and BBC News has published one about Ray's journey to London. the people he met and the crimes he committed before his arrest. You should read those for the full story, ... (more) |
Sheila Hancock and Stratford Johns in the original London production of AnnieHere's The Stage reviewing the first London production of the musical Annie in 1978: It says a good deal for the skill of Stratford Johns and Sheila Hancock that they manage to hold their own against the juvenile competition, but both give first-rate, amusing performances as Warbucks and Miss Hannigan, Stratford Johns surprising us with a melodious singing voice.Sheila Hancock and Stratford Johns? Now that's what I call casting. You can see Sheila Hancock in the video above and hear Stratford Johns, who shaved his head for the part, in the one below. Johns voice shouldn't have been such a ... (more) |
Paul Spackman to deliver talk on Lloyd George and Europe in Llanystumdwy - He'll also be speaking at our Weekend too!At 7:30pm on Thursday 19 November, Lloyd George's biographer, Paul Spackman, will be delivering a talk on Lloyd George and Europe at the Village Hall in Llanystumdwy. The talk is being hosted by Cyfeillion Amgueddfa Lloyd George/Friends of The Lloyd George Museum. Entry is £5 or free for Friends of the Museum. Lloyd George Society Weekend On another note, Paul will be speaking at the Lloyd George Society Weekend (February 27-28). His talk then will be on Lloyd George as a Welsh Radical and we're really looking forward to hosting him. The venue for that will be the Lake Country ... (more) |
Local democracy should not be an excuse to stop building homesBritain needs more homes. But why should building them require a choice between local democracy and individual freedom? Bolton offers a revealing example. From 31 October, new national rules in England require planning officers to decide certain applications, including qualifying schemes of up to nine homes on small sites. Larger or more contentious proposals can still go before elected councillors, subject to the rules. Bolton's council rejected the constitutional changes in October and has scheduled another vote for 10 November. It warns that, until the matter is resolved, it cannot lawfully determine planning applications. That is a remarkable result: a ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1602"His administration has been openly attempting to fund its allies in Europe. According to the Guardian, the State Department has allocated $15m (£11.2m) to three conservative groups in the UK. These grants form part of a 'slush fund' to boost likeminded organisations across Europe, with up to $3m (£2.2m) reportedly available to those focused on 'developing civilizational bonds' and 'defending rule of law'."Max Colbert and Sam Bright on the millions of dollars pouring into our democracy from Trump's America. David Henig argues that Brexit psychologically damaged a political generation - except one: "Andy Burnham was not an MP during the ... (more) |
Democracy on fireGuido Fawkes may have been foiled in his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament 421 years ago, but according to this Guardian article it is possible that neglect and parsimony may do the job for him. The paper reports on the finding of a parliamentary committee that the Palace of Westminster will be at risk of a Notre Dame-style fire or a similar catastrophic event if MPs do not tackle the issue of funding refurbishments. They add that decisions about how and when to begin a full restoration of the building, which is Grade I-listed and a Unesco ... (more) |
In which my second crack at a Dickens joke comes on live radioBack in the early Nineties, which was the era when I was doing a part-time MA in Victorian Studies at Leicester, I turned up at a pub in the city to play a county league chess game for Market Harborough. Naturally, I had a copy of Great Expectations in my jacket pocket. A member of the home team saw this and suggested it meant I was feeling confident about the coming game. Just when it was too late, I realsied that I should have replied with a self-deprecating "It's more likely to be a case of Hard Times, I'm afraid." ... (more) |
Fresh woods and pastures new?We can all heave a sigh of relief as this morning's election results from the United States indicate that they may be moving to a more enlightened future. Fingers crossed. Here in the UK Andy Burnham promised us a different kind of politics with a move away from point scoring to an emphasis on solving problems. There was sadly no sign of this new deal at Prime Minister's questions today. With Mr Burnham in the Caribbean for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference his place was taken by the Deputy Prime Minister Louise Haigh. The Conservative Deputy turned out to ... (more) |
The need for a nationally relevant messageCaron Lindsay's article discussing Ed Davey's recent interview on Sky News makes an important point. It's true that as Ed says the Lib Dems have increased their representation in Parliament from less than a dozen to 72 MPs. It's true that they run more councils now than do the Conservatives. But it's also true that their success hangs on the Conservatives not coming back from their recent lows. I think Caron Lindsay is right to say: Those circumstances will not replicate themselves and we need to be looking beyond the Blue Wall to our next gains. And to do that ... (more) |
Procol Harum: Pandora's BoxThough it was included on the band's 1975 album Procol's Ninth and released as a single the same year, this song was written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid back in the psychedelic Sixties. (more) |