EXCLUSIVE: How party members rate the performances of leading Lib DemsLib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of a variety of key issues, and what you make of the Lib Dems' and Government's performance to date. Almost 600 party members have responded, and we've been publishing the full results of our survey over the past few days. Today, in the final part of our survey, we focus on the performances of the leading lights of the Liberal Democrats - those of our MPs in the cabinet, those occupying ministerial positions, and other leading Lib Dems: How would you rate the performances of ... (more) |
Whoniversaries 2 September: Eileen Way, Roy Castle, Tomb of the Cybermen #1, The Ribos Operation #1i) births and deaths 2nd September 1911: birth of Eileen Way who played the Old Mother in An Unearthly Child (1963), the old woman in the woods in Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966) and Karela in The Creature from the Pit (1979). 2nd September 1994: death, two days after his 60th birthday, of Roy Castle, who played Ian in Doctor Who and the Daleks (1965), the first of the Peter Cushing films. ii) broadcast anniversaries 2nd September 1967: broadcast of the first episode of Tomb of the Cybermen, starting Season 5. The Doctor, Jamie, and new companion Victoria ... (more) |
Northerners Drink more? So what?The BBC brings us the news (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11138535) that the North West health observatory reports that problem drinking is more prevalent in the North of England than the South. The North East and North West have a much higher prevalence of health problems often linked to alcohol consumption. Now I'm not going to say that alcohol is good for your health. Far from it. But I really object to the way journalists immediately portray it as a North South divide and then immediately conclude that problems of higher alcohol consumption will be dealt with by minimum pricing. Funnily enough looking at ... (more) |
50,000 YouTube viewings last monthAugust has been my busiest month so far on YouTube. I started August with my videos having been viewed 1,222,886 times. I started September with 1,273,124 viewings. So, for the first time ever, my videos have been viewed 50,000 times or more in a single month. If anyone has nothing better to do, they can visit my channel at www.youtube.com/jonathanwallace.Meanwhile, my blog about trying to become (more) |
Stunning hypocrisy from William Hague ?Craig Murray writes on his blog about attempts to smear the man behind Wikileaks, but finishes his article with a comment about how he himself has tried to clear his name of accusations and smears put across by the Foreign Office. To quote Craig Yet, even to this day, the FCO has refused to acknowledge in public that I was in fact cleared of all charges. This is even true of the new government. A letter I wrote for my MP to pass to William Hague, complaining that the FCO was obscuring the fact that I was cleared on all ... (more) |
Winning hearts and mindsI saw on the news last night that there is a report on the harm caused by alcohol and there is a much greater problem in the north of England. In particular Blackpool was highlighted as having a significant problem. The misuse of alcohol may be a factor in losing employment, medical conditions and higher levels of crime. It seems that if all alcohol-related deaths were prevented, men would be living on average nearly two years more. Perhaps we should be looking at preventing misuse. I say perhaps, because you have to compare this with another programme shown yesterday evening ... (more) |
Acocks Green Carnival 2011While its only a few weeks since the 2010 Carnival, the preparations are under way for the 2011 Acocks Green Carnival. The organising committee are on the look out for keen and enthusiastic people to help with the many tasks necessary to make next year's Carnival a success. If you are interested in helping, please turn up to the next meeting of the committee, which is on Thursday 23rd September at Acocks Green Methodist Church, Shirley Road at 7pm. All offers of help will be welcome! (more) |
Dish of the week: beef bourguignonI don't swear for the total authenticity of this recipe, but it tastes good! 1kg beef shin, cut into 5 cm cubes 400ml red wine 200ml beef stock 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 bay leaf 300g shallots 250g cubed pancetta or unsmoked streaky bacon 150g button mushrooms Pre-heat the oven to 140°C (Gas 1, 275°F). ... (more) |
Tony Blair: brilliant politician who changed politicsIn one way, Tony Blair was the most brilliant politician the UK has ever had. That is the way in which, during his time, politicians became more anonymous and less in possession of character. He won three general elections, was Prime Minister for ten years - the fifth longest unbroken stretch of any Prime Minister - yet I always felt we never really knew him. He threw up a mask and has kept it to this day. In the case of his predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major, whatever you thought of them, you knew the sort of people they ... (more) |
In support of William and Ffion Hague - politicians have a right to a private lifeI know I'm a big softie, but when I read William Hague's unprecedented personal statement, I actually had a tear in my eye. It must have been really difficult for both him and Ffion to be so frank about their personal situation. I certainly don't have much time for him politically - he took the Tory Party into a very bad place on issues like immigration and fought a very nasty campaign in 2001. It's worth remembering that Charles Kennedy had the good sense not to pander to the Daily Fail lobby, hold his ground and kept to a liberal ... (more) |