Blogger at Liberal England. Expect Dickens, politics, Steve Winwood, canals, British films, Richard Jefferies, Shropshire, Englishness, chess, social history, Malcolm Saville, philosophy, Leicestershire and Rutland, comedy, railways... That sort of thing.
Liberal England... Jonathan Meades: Remember the Future (1997) I don't agree with all he says here, but then what Meades offers in his work is not so much a set of beliefs as an attitude. And it's that attitude we love him for.
Jonathan Meades: Remember the Future (1997)The news that the Jodrell Bank telescope may soon be no more sent me back to a piece by Jonathan Meades : Concorde was seen in the sky over ...liberalengland.blogspot.com
A £999 fine won't dent Hammonds wallet. We should ban speeders not just fine them. Hammond is clearly a serial and habitual speeder with zero respect for the law. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Richard Hammond fined £999 after being caught speeding twiceThe TV host is caught speeding twice in Herefordshire in the space of three weeks, magistrates hear.www.bbc.co.uk
One of the saddest things about Trump's re-election was that his first term (which is de-facto historicised as the 'moderate Trump' term nowadays, at least until its end) was marked by exactly this kind of violence against children, and it didn't even come close to stopping his electoral appeal.
Rep. James WalkinshawA 7-year-old wants to go to school. A 9-year-old begs to leave. A 12-year-old is told to drink the water that's making children sick. These are children imprisoned at Dilley under Donald Trump. I am demanding Trump #ShutDownDilley and free the children.
New on my Northamptonshire cricket site The Steeler: In the last of our series of features celebrating the Steelbacks' Vitality Blast triumph, we hear from David Willey who says four years of building resilience, raising standards and putting the team first laid the foundations for silverware.
David Willey reflects on Steelbacks' journey to Vitality Blast glory • The Steeler • Northamptonshire Cricket independent newsDavid Willey says four years of building resilience and raising standards helped Northamptonshire become Vitality Blast champions at Edgbaston.thesteeler.counterpress.mediaLiberal England... Our universities aren't just managerialist: they're authoritarian "The atmosphere of fear and expected obedience reminds me of my time as a student in Poland, but the reason I use the word 'authoritarian' is more banal: leadership is immune to any actionable feedback from below."
Our universities aren't just managerialist: they're authoritarianBritain's universities aren't just getting rid of the arts and humanities: they're getting rid of collegiate governance too. Here's Krzyszto...liberalengland.blogspot.com
Liberal England... Book Review: Young Aleister Crowley and the Magicians’ Revolt by Lon Milo DuQuette and Jim Bratkowsky "paints an intriguing picture of an Edwardian London where men in wing collars and women in enormous hats believe the most extraordinary things."
Book Review: Young Aleister Crowley and the Magicians’ Revolt by Lon Milo DuQuette and Jim BratkowskyThis review appears in the new issue of Liberator, which you can download free of charge from the magazine's website. Young Aleister Crowley...liberalengland.blogspot.com
Submitting AI hallucinations to court is always professional negligence, but the potential consequences here are far more serious than any case I have seen before. Time to start disbarring lawyers for cases as serious as this. And the first instance judge missing it is unimpressive too.
Dmitry GrozoubinskiI am normally the first to defend civil servants. However, if this reporting is true then there should be mass firings and if at all legally feasible, criminal charges. To butcher a West Wing quote: everyone who did it, everyone who ordered it, and everyone who knew about it.
The Lib Dem’s call for all schools and Hospitals and new homes to be fitted with air source heat pumps to provide cooling as well as heating. The Uk is not prepared for global warming. The CCC found that 92% of existing homes would be at risk of overheating by 2050. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Fit schools, hospitals and new homes with air conditioning, say Lib DemsThe party says the country is "woefully unprepared for extreme heat", as parts of the UK prepare for another heatwave.www.bbc.co.ukThey're both in the trailer.
No Where to Go trailer 1958YouTube video by emmjay8youtu.beJonathan CalderTomorrow morning on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social. Nowhere to Go is an Ealing Noir. Look out for Maggie Smith as a rich girl looking for kicks. There's Harry H. Corbett too. And the big house at the end is not in Wales but in Gadebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead.
Suspended Reform UK MP James McMurdock had two of his companies blocked from winding up because they had failed to pay back taxpayer-backed Covid loans, The Times can reveal after a 20-month FOI battle. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Suspended Reform MP’s company closures halted over Covid loansDisclosure over the businesses of James McMurdock raises further questions about candidate vetting and financial conductwww.thetimes.com
Really one of the most important postwar sites in Britain
C20 SocietyExtremely concerning news that Jodrell Bank in Cheshire is facing closure, after UKRI announced the end of their funding from 2028. Though the Lovell Telescope is Grade I listed, the best strategy for preserving this internationally significant site is surely to keep the observatory in active use.
The danger is that these measures end up recreating the 11+, but at 14, sorting children into ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ streams from which they cannot escape. Combined with the policy of successive UK governments to run down the university sector, it’s not surprising people are sceptical.