Finlay J. Macdonald visits the Flannan Isles and their lighthouseThis television film about the Flannan Isles, their lighthouse and the mysterious disappearance of its three keepers in 1900 was made by Finlay J. Macdonald in 1970. The light went over to automatic operation the following year. I once had bed and breakfast at Breasclete on the west coast of Lewis, and the owner was the grandson of one of the men aboard the Hesperus when it went out to the isles to see what was amiss with the light. It had not been seen to shine for 10 days. The film will tell you what they found there. Finlay ... (more) |
Inside Southwark's Green/Lib Dem coalition councilBBC News has posted a positive write up by Susana Mendonca of the Green/Lib Dem administration that has run the London Borough of Southwark since May's local elections. At those elections, the Green Party won 22 seats and the Lib Dems 12, then used their combined majority to take control. Southwark is the only London borough currently being run by such a coalition. The Lib Dems secured three posts in the leadership team, including that of deputy council leader which is filled by their group leader Victor Chamberlain. Chamberlain told BBC News: "The more we started talking, the more we ... (more) |
Blunders for Mr Burnham to AvoidAndy Burnham has successfully changed the mood music of our politics to inject a soupçon of confidence and even optimism, but there are various potential stumbling-blocks which could dent if not destroy his and our hopes. Top of the list in my view is: North Sea Oil Rumour has it that he is "minded" to authorise more drilling in the North Sea Oil Field. Anything which provides jobs (and the elusive "growth) is always a temptation for Labour politicians (the clue is in the name) but he should resist it - even the device of attaching new drilling to an ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1557Stefan Wolff, Elīna Šteinerte and Hervé Ascensio have investigated Russia's military indoctrination of Ukrainian children in its occupied territories: "The headteacher of the local school, accompanied by heavily armed soldiers, went from house to house to question parents who do not send their children to school and had not yet applied for Russian passports. He threatened them with the removal of their parental rights. He also said their children would be placed in institutions if they didn't yield to the pressure to do so." "The university's own financial reports show that 16 members of the University Executive Board are paid ... (more) |
Man vows to "never travel to Lincolnshire again" after Humber Bridge finesThe judges were aghast. What, never again see Lincoln Cathedral or the stone buildings of Stamford? Nevertheless, they gave Hull Live our Headline of the Day Award for its tale of a pissed off hedgehog rescuer. (more) |
The government's near-invisible power to veto legislationThe 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, this time mentioning a welcome move by the Hansard Society. The problem of commencement [IMG: brown concrete building during sunset] Photo by Ian Kelsall on Unsplash As someone who has written about, and repeatedly raised in Parliament, questions about the quality ... (more) |
Public urged to help complete landmark survey of Welsh chapelsA rare mid-week local history related post today, as Nation Cymru reports that the organisers of a major national survey of Welsh chapels are appealing for public help after receiving responses for just one in 10 of the buildings identified so far. The news site says that Capeli Cymru, a new project from The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, has launched a census to map Wales' chapels in April 2026, which aims to build the most comprehensive picture in over a century of their condition, use and future, safeguarding one of Wales' most distinctive cultural ... (more) |