Polling Day

It's raining in West Yorkshire. And apparently it's also raining in Hartlepool. What this means for the result tonight, I'm not sure.

Lots of people have taken time off work, uni, or general hanging around to go up and help, and I had semi-planned to be there with them. It is all over bar the shouting, but there's been people in polling stations, delivering last minute leaflets. There is, apparently, an amazing atmosphere. I hope it all goes well.

I suppose I'll have to find something else to talk about next week, hopefully I should have some progress on the househunting to report.

Happy Birthday CERN

It's the 50th anniversary of the world's largest particle physics laboratory. Other than exploring the nature of the universe, one of the things CERN is famous for is that it was where Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web.

Distraction

Listening to the Today Programme this morning put in my mind a number of subjects to blog about. Unfortunately I was distracted and they've flown right out of my head.

One item on the programme was a piece on the English national Opera's new production of Don Giovanni, and how in order to keep it as "real" and as close in spirit as possible to the original, this English language version features scenes of sex, violence, and course language that have attracted the criticism of some opera goers. The coductor, speaking for the ENO, said it was what the piece is about, the person speaking against said it was all unnecessary sensationalism, it wasn't provocative it was unpleasant and we'd seen it all before.

What distracted me was the name of the commentator speaking against the opera. He was introduced as "Oliver Kamm" of the Times. Anyway I spent some of the rest of my journey thinking it can't have been this Oliver Kamm. The blogger who now writes for the Times and has an irrational phobia of Liberal Democrats everywhere?

Maybe it was.

Another day out

I spent most of the day supporting Headingley Blacksheep Explorer Unit in their attempt at the Six Dales. The older, mixed team, performed brilliantly making Lofthouse (23 miles) with over an hour to spare, Grewelthorpe with 40 minutes to spare, and reaching West Tanfield (35 miles) for the first time in our short history. This was the first time since the new trophies that a mixed 14-19 team had been entered so the leaders were surprised to see this team had competition.

The other team (an all males under 16s team) had problems with some members being slower than the others, and had to split up and reform part way to Lofthouse. Two members of the team made it as far as Grewelthorpe, a personal best for one of them.

Both teams did well, and won the trophies for their classes.

19th North Leeds entered two teams, but due to inexperience they were accompanied by adults and could not enter the under 16 categories, putting them up against fellowships and networks in the Open class. One of the teams got a little lost, which was slightly embarrassing for one of the adults with them Mark C, who was greatly experienced and had even won the competition in the past.

A day out

Did my bit for democracy today helping Jody's campaign in Hartlepool. Picked up a student from York who'd accepted my offer of a lift and ended up there about 10 am.

Work involved posting letters to Hartlepool residents in various parts of the cities. After Lunch went and paid in some money to the bank, and drove past Fathers 4 Justice who were holding a protest outside the Labour Party HQ. Their candidate, Paul Watson, spotted us (I had Jody Dunn Diamonds stuck in the back windows of my car) and yelled "D******ds". I thought, "That's rich coming from someone dressed up as 'The Joker'"

On our travels we also came across Respect, UKIP and the Conservatives. We obvserved that Tory activists appear to need to hunt in large packs. We also came across some houses with awkward names, and tricky letterboxes. Some areas of Hartlepool looked like nice places to live, but Hartlepool to Steeton is a bit far to commute.

Houshunting Arrggh!

Had an appointment last night to see a house in Oakworth, however we were stuck in traffic, and just as we were pulling up, barely five minutes late, the guy from the agency was pulling away. No attempt had been made to call me on the mobile to see where I was, and the office was unmanned at 5pm.

We did however look round the house from the outside, and a chat with the neighbour revealed problems with the disused school opposite that put me off. We also looked round a few more houses from the outside.

Currently I'm waiting for the agency to ring me back, because we saw another house that I liked the look of and would like to look round.

It's not all free lunches

Gez Smith clarifies his points on free food people don’t just ply you with food, they try to drown you with leaflets as well. The BBC seem to be rubbing it in with their captions, on Gez's diary it says "He parties, so you don’t have to." He also observes, "Why are journalists always so interested in the bar?" It's one of those eternal questions isn't it.

Gez, along with Vivienne Raper prove me wrong about the Orange Book, as they mention it, if only in passing. I still think the writers and the media are overplaying the importance.

Vivienne goes on to show that there are fringes and training sessions on practical subjects, including one on stress management, which must unfortunately be a key skill for anyone these days, let alone those involved in politics.

Conference ends today with a speech from Charles Kennedy today, and then people will be making their way home. I’m sure I'll hear all about what went on later on.

Possibly on Saturday. I have decided to visit Hartlepool at the weekend. Won’t be staying over for a couple of reasons, firstly the Explorers are entering the Six Dales on Sunday, and secondly due to the proximity of the Great North Run and by-election day all the hotel rooms are likely to be booked up. Needless to say, if any local readers want a lift...

Speaking of Hartlepool, Comical Tommy has a new entry.

It's all go.

Everyone seems to be having a busy time at conference, so much so that the bloggers down there aren't making many entries. Those that have managed to find their way to a computer are saying the time is flying by. Others seem to be admitting to having so much fun, they're burning the candle at both ends. According to Gez Smith on his BBC diary there is lots of freebie food and drink to be had to offset the cost of entry and accommodation. He does seem to have a lot to say about the freebies.

We seem to have some people rattled. Both the Mirror (as read by Steve Guy) and the Sun came out against us yesterday for opposing reasons. The Sun, in a bizarre nonsensical piece of polemic, reckoning we are too left wing and that we are going to wreck the economy, and the Mirror claiming we are just Tories in disguise. But perhaps it's no bad thing, as both start from the assumption that we are a major political party and worth bothering with. According to Charles Kennedy, "The Sun attack alongside the Mirror attack, where one thinks we are ludicrously right wing and the other ludicrously left wing, show we are probably getting it about right."

Yesterday's agenda was all about the Environment, and Welfare, continuing our position of being the most environmentally aware of the three main parties with a carrot and stick approach to environmental taxation, and transportation measures including the building of a new North-South high speed rail link. The issue of the rights of Ghurkha soldiers was discussed with, (according to Martyn Hencher) a Ghurha speaking really passionatly about his situation.

Today’s main issues are Law and Order, Health, and Pensions. Mark Oaten, was on the Today programme promoting tough Liberalism, which is really just saying the inelegant and liberal options to punishing offenders. Instead of mindlessly locking people up, community panels will have the power to issue constructive punishments that fit the crime, say hard graft replanting trees for vandals that wreck parks, rather than putting their feet up in a cell. Other policies up for debate include the draft manifesto pledges of free healthcare for the elderly and improved pensions for the over 75s.

The Today Programme keeps mentioning The Orange Book, claiming everyone is talking about it, however I havn't seen or heard any evidence to support that claim beyond BBC Radio 4.

The feeling I get from the news, and from what I do hear from my friends and fellow bloggers down there, is that everyone is really upbeat.

It's back

After a 7 month delay due to legal reasons, Radio 4 are broadcasting a new series of The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy based on the third book "Life, The Universe and Everything." Make a note, tonight, 6:30pm, listen to Radio 4.

Just have to remember to tune in. But if you miss it there's always the Thursday late night repeat.

Jeremy Hardy Update

During last weeks Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation he made the comment:

"If you just took everyone from the BNP and everyone who votes for them and shot them in the back of the head, there would be a brighter future for us all."

Now members of the BNP are complaining that Jeremy and the BBC are guilty incitement to murder, even going as far as describing it as advocating genocide. Er no guys it was satire. The BNP are in no way an ethnic, cultural or socio-economic group so the genocide claim is fairly far-fetched as well. The suggestion that the programme is seriously encouraging criminal activity is, quite frankly, ludicrous.

So far there has been no evidence that anyone has taken the BNP's complaint seriously.

Click on this link before Thursday to hear the "offensive" remark in context.

It’s that time of year again.

Party conference season. And first up the Liberal Democrats are having their semi-annual shindig in Bournemouth.

My non-political friends are probably going to think I’m strange for saying this, but I do wish I was down there. If events hadn't conspired against me as they have done this year I probably would have been. True, I’ve always been more of a doer than a debater, and am always pretty passive in group conversations, but I think I could learn quite a bit from the meetings and trainings that happen round a conference. Also people like Will and other Lib Dem bloggers make it seem such a fun social occasion that I feel I am missing out.

There is much for Lib Dems to be positive about at the moment, and that upbeat feeling is coming across in the media, even if the Today programme has latched on to the publication of the Orange Book a couple of weeks too late.

But the most important question of the conference has to be: How did my horse do at the race night?

A Day at the Races

A fun weekend spent mostly with Birmingham SAGGA. Yesterday I cleared out the bulk of my remaining stuff from Nicola’s leaving me with a few bare essentials. Clothes, food, a PC...

After eating at my parents it was off to Andy & Het's in Tutbury for supper (pizza) and a DVD (Mystic River). I was introduced to their tilting chair mechanism, and fell asleap until just before the denouement.

This morning after a lazy start and breakfast, we headed off to Utoxeter race course. 14 of us in total all arriving in different car parks, and using the wonder of the mobile phone to get together at the entrance. (For those that know who I'm talking about they were: Me, Andy & Het, Wendy, Mad & Rob, Hugh and Jo, Sally Jon and the children, Lizzie and Dan.)

I did OK on the first few races, with a place, a win, a loss, and another place, putting me at having won about as much as I had lost on the betting. Then all my horses in the final two races lost, leaving me going home out of pocket.
Some of us came close to breaking even, and one (Hugh) even made his entrance fee back. All in all it proved betting on the horses isn’t a very easy way of making a living, but a fun pastime nonetheless.

The Countryside Alliance were present with their misleading "59% support hunting" posters, sticking stickers on children, attempting to collect new members, and equally dishonestly collecting money on the pretext it was being used to protect "country sports like horse racing". I was tempted to say something, but as usual I didn’t.

Still they weren't so prominent as to spoil things, and I left looking forward to November's Birmingham SAGGA event. All in all a good weekend.

Customer Service

Just reminiscing to my past lives working for British Gas and BT on consecutive summers. All prompted by Squander Two who seems to have more interesting memories of his time in customer service.

Via John B's Shot by Both Sides.

An issue of some importance?

The subject of fox hunting has risen to the top of the public agenda, as much due to the actions of the government in treating the bill as important enough to use the Parliament Act, as it is to a bunch of country yobs who became the first people to break into the House of Commons since the reign of Charles I.

The interested parties both claim to have public opinion on their sides, the Countryside Alliance have posters up on my way home from work stating “59% say keep fox hunting” and anti-hunt campaigners claim the figure is actually 74% against. Someone is having fun with statistics somewhere.

If I had to express an opinion it would be that I personally find the idea of fox hunting as a sport distasteful. As animal rights barely register in my mind, I have few problems with the idea of farmers paying the village huntsman to go out in his wellies, wax jacket and flat cap, with his dogs and his guns, for the purpose of getting rid of a few foxes. I just think the horses, horns, red coats, and general taking pleasure out of the whole thing to be a bit unnecessary.

Some may claim I'm just suffering from class prejudice, however as many pro-hunters are quick to highlight the nurses and cabbies who enjoy taking part in hunts at the weekend, so how can class prejudice come into my opinions on such a wide cross-section of society? I may not like fox hunting, but is my distaste a good enough reason to be behind a ban?

Well if society wants to ban it I won’t argue against, however I wouldn’t have shed any tears had things gone the other way.

Policy

The Liberal Democrat pre-manifesto has been launched. This is a statement of actual party policy, not ideas or speculation. Of course as a pre-manifesto it is a draft and is subject to change, but it should give a good idea as to what we're about. I've not had chance to read any of it yet, but the headline policies seem to me to be very sensible.

I did notice this story about the Tories offering free long term care for the elderly, a policy which on the surface seems to be remarkably similar to one of ours. In the conservative version of the policy in order to qualify, apparently, you have to pay up front into a new kind of government insurance scheme. This is some strange new meaning of the word free I was previously unaware of.

More Househunting

Yesterday lunchtime was spent checking out the various letting agents in Keighley- not a very fruitful search. Anyway I have an appointment to see a cottage in Oakworth, and in the meantime am keeping my eye out for other properties.

UKIP News

Some information on my favourite political party.

Their main backer is threatening to quit unless they make Robert Kilroy-Silk the leader.

I don't understand the appeal of Kilroy, he's such a stereotype of all that's bad and oily about politicians. Some of my friends who live in the East Midlands are equally baffled as to how they ended up with him as an MEP.

(Via Nick Barlow)

MMR is safe

So says the latest scientific analysis. Why do I then get the feeling that this "reassurance" will make no difference whatsoever. Even I, anti-luddite that I am, fail to be convinced by the reasoning behind this latest study.

Yay! He's back.

Jeremy Hardy speaks to the nation once more. And this week he was on top form with a comic essay revolving around fear.

Politics is just bizarre

Alan Milburn, he who wanted to spend more time with his family, is back in the cabinet. He must have got fed up of them after 15 months.

Because of various behind the scenes stuff with Ian McCartney, who looks like an owl, Alan could not be appointed Chairman of the Labour party. So Alan's been appointed Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster. What?

People seem to think this is a non-job as an excuse of paying Milburn a Cabinet Salary for doing Labour party business. Personally I just think it's bizarre.

Update 10/9: John Prescott was on the Today programme this morning, it all went well until the presenters raised the issue as to whether Alan Milburn was being paid by the taxpayer mainly to work on internal party issues. Then Prezzer got ratty!

Househunting

I have decided that now is not a good time to buy a house. Firstly I need
to be settled in my new place as soon as possible, and secondly there may be
a crash any day now.

From a small amount of research I was pleased to come up with 4 agencies in
Keighley with properties to let in the Aire Valley. There are also three
houses up for rent in Steeton, the village near where I work. I have
decided to move to the Aire valley as I travel to work 5 times a week and to
Scouts only once. I'll have to move to pastures new with the Lib Dems, but
perhaps that won't be such a bad thing. In some ways moving to a new house
seems quite exciting, whereas in the past it has merely seemed stressful.

I went home from work last night with the intention of starting packing. At
1 am I had packed 1 fruit crate of books and sorted little else.

A good weekend.

Has a good weekend, all things considered. Apologies to those who expected some live broadcasts from Gilwell, but I was far too busy to sit down at a computer. Possibly just as well.

On Friday turned up and pitched my Jamboree tent for the first time since I'd taken it down in Thailand. Needless to say it was very dusty and I quickly had to change my trousers. Spent some time in the bar where I met up with some Random IST people and James.

On Saturday did a couple of seminars, one on a scheme called connect youth for organizing exchange visits between young people, the other being module 19 of the Scout leader training scheme. 3 down, 15 to go. Also visited lots of international fellowships with a view to finding opportunities for overseas travel for both myself and North Leeds Explorers. In the evening I skipped the campfire, then visited the bar where I saw various people I knew. Apparently there was no karaoke this year, but did not attempt to verify this.

Sunday morning I volunteered to help GAPP with their activities, and moved lots of tables and chairs before helping run an exercised based round a balloon debate. Then I changed into my uniform for the Scouts own, and the investiture of Peter Duncan as chief Scout. George Purdy the outgoing Chief was great, and was re-invested back into his old Scout Group as Assistant Group Scout Leader. Peter was less natural with it, but his role will be different to George's and he is after all very new to it all.

Things ran on longer than I anticipated, and I ended up leaving site at 4pm, getting to my parents at 8:30 owing to an accident on the M6, and some poor lane discipline coupled with generalized nervousness at the high level of traffic for a Sunday.

My parents asked me questions about what I'm going to be doing about finding somewhere else to live, but I've been thinking very little about all that and really need to take my time.

It's happened

Me and Nicola have split up. I'm a bit cut up.

Will be away at the Gilwell Reunion over weekend.

A matter of opinion.

We keep hearing about some poll or other which claims to tell us what people are thinking. But how do they work?

Anthony Wells provides an insight. (Quite long)