Finding the last traces of England's lost riverWhen I blogged about the Hulmes Ferry a couple of years ago, I discovered that the Manchester Ship Canal is a canalisation of the lower reaches of the River Irwell. This video sets out to find what remains of those lower reaches between Salford and the Mersey at Eastham. (more) |
Tributes paid to Jim Wallace in the Holyrood chamberThe funeral of Jim Wallace- Baron Wallace of Tankerness - took place earlier today at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. Eulogies were given by Liam McArthur and Alasdair Carmichael. Last week MSPs from all parties paid their tributes to him as a motion of condolence was moved at Holyrood. The presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, said: This is my 27th year in the Scottish Parliament, and I know that, without Jim Wallace, Parliament would be a different place - a lesser one. Jim lived our parliamentary values of wisdom, integrity, justice and compassion, which were constantly demonstrated through his incredible career. His ... (more) |
Llama drama! "Hero" rescue llamas who narrowly escaped death stop offender fleeing from police in DerbyshireDerbyshire Times wins our Headline of the Day Award by a distance with its tale of crime-fighting llamas. The judges have asked me to point out that my photograph shows alpacas, who would probably have pointed the offender on his way after asking him to admire their hairdos. (more) |
TrainingThis is the reason I wasn't at the Gateshead Lib Dem action day on Sunday. I was at a Lib Dem training session instead. It wasn't a long trip for me to get to the meeting. It was at Sunniside Social Club which is only a few minutes' walk from my house. A useful day for me to dust down some of my campaigning skills and learn new ones.There were inevitable discussions about the political (more) |
UPDATED: Jim Wallace's funeral takes place in KirkwallUPDATE: A brief reflection on the service that took place earlier today. If you knew and admired Jim, and haven't seen it, it will be up for a while here. I'm not going to tell you too much about it, but there were some stories that illustrate Jim perfectly, from the things he was excellent at, grace and kindness being mentioned a lot, to the things he was less good at. It sounds like he might have been less good at DIY than I am and that's saying something. And there are some things you might be surprised to learn. ... (more) |
Fighting like cats and dogsWho would have thought that Starmer's government could descend to the sort of chaos its predecessor suffered? The difference appears to be that the Tories know how to commit regicide, whereas Labour are rank amateurs. The Independent reports that Keir Starmer is clinging on to power with the support of key cabinet figures - even after being rocked by the departure of a second key aide, and public demands for his resignation by Labour's own leader in Scotland. The paper says that the prime minister is supported by colleagues, including former deputy Angela Rayner, when previously loyal Anas Sarwar urged ... (more) |
Dunfermline by-election - 20 years on from an historic and unexpected victoryTwenty years ago today, I and many many Lib Dems took to the streets of Dunfermline at the crack of dawn to deliver our Good Mornings. We were quietly hopeful that we would be able to "Send Willie to Westminster" which was a bit of a miracle given the pickle the party found itself in at the time. Our leader Charles Kennedy had just resigned after a bit of a psychodrama and many of us felt pretty bloody annoyed about that. During the by-election campaign itself, there were multiple tabloid stories about potential replacements. But when we are under the ... (more) |
More about policies, please, and less about peopleThe past week has shown British politics and the appetites of the British public as mirrored by the media in a shameful light. Acres and acres on the antics of the rich elite, including a prince of the blood, have flooded the prints and airwaves, with very little on the conditions that enable that elite to prance around ignoring common decency and even less on the policies that might put those conditions right. The Israeli government and its IDF continue to kill Palestinians in Gaza and steal the lands and interfere with the liberties of residents of the West Bank: ... (more) |
Nouvelle Vague - The blog post does not describe the film: the film bends towards the blog postI saw Nouvelle Vague at the Phoenix in Leicester this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. The film tells the story of the shooting of Jean-Luc Godard's first feature Au Bout de Souffle in 1959 and recreates a whole era: the black-and-white cinematography, the fashion, the music. It manages both to laugh at and to laugh with Godard's pretensions and eccentricities, making him a compelling figure despite everything. Do not be surprised if you find me wearing dark glasses, smoking Gitanes and issuing gnomic, Godardesque pronouncements. The blog post does not describe the film: the film bends towards the blog post. ... (more) |
Mathew on Monday: Labour has lost its way - and the country is paying the priceWatching the unfolding political drama in Westminster over recent days, you could be forgiven for wondering if the British public have been dropped into an episode of 'Yes, Prime Minister' rather than living real lives under a Labour government. Instead of focusing on the pressing challenges facing everyday Britons – from the cost of living to the NHS crisis – the spotlight has been firmly fixed on internal Labour turmoil, bitter factional rows and the fate of its own leadership. The resignation on Sunday of Sir Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney, amid the controversy over Peter Mandelson's appointment ... (more) |