In an impromptu and al fresco press conference (the BBC reporter's description) after her talks in 10 Downing Street today, Joanna Lumley announced that Gordon Brown had promised a rapid solution to the problem of Gurkha settlement.
The Prime Minister's response, to a question by Iain Duncan Smith, at question time in the House, was more guarded, but still indicated a change of heart by government in the light of their defeat last week.
Incidentally, the former leader of the party put the only question from the Tory benches which concerned policy, rather than Gordon Brown's position within the Labour Party.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Rhodri Morgan on agricultural devolution
In his Radio Wales interview marking 10 years of the Welsh Assembly, the First Minister cited WAG's response to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak as one of the devolved administration's successes. To my mind, he has chosen the wrong example. My recollection was that Cardiff was slow to act on F&M, failing to respond to pleas from Mick Bates AM, for one, to close markets and stop the transport of cattle, until England had taken these steps. As a result, there were more outbreaks of the disease in Wales than there needed to be.
The First Minister should instead have mentioned the farm payments scheme, which Wales implemented with few difficulties, while DEFRA in England fouled up an over-elaborate IT system to administer their payments.
The First Minister should instead have mentioned the farm payments scheme, which Wales implemented with few difficulties, while DEFRA in England fouled up an over-elaborate IT system to administer their payments.
World Asthma Day
This seems to have passed by not only UK media, but also the world's press, judging by several web searches yesterday and this morning. Full marks to Liz Perkins of the South Wales Evening Post for a story headlined "Mum tells of asthma son's school misery", linked to World Asthma Day and an Asthma UK Cymru report released during these 8 days of putting asthma in the limelight. Liz Perkins reports on a 5-year-old boy in Neath who does not have informed support at his current school for his severe asthma. Consequently, his mother is seeking a new placement for him.
(Lower than top marks to the Evening Post for not putting the report on their web pages as well as in the print edition. Could it be because the story was not centred on Swansea?)
Government health organisations and QuANGOs round the world have risen to the challenge. There are too many to cite here; just give "World Asthma Day 2009" to your favourite search engine and see.
(Lower than top marks to the Evening Post for not putting the report on their web pages as well as in the print edition. Could it be because the story was not centred on Swansea?)
Government health organisations and QuANGOs round the world have risen to the challenge. There are too many to cite here; just give "World Asthma Day 2009" to your favourite search engine and see.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Make votes count
British Columbia, the Canadian province, may be the next legislature to adopt Single Transferable Vote as its method of election. There will be a referendum in a week's time, as this photo by Ros Scott shows.
Meanwhile, the British campaign for fair votes continues.
Meanwhile, the British campaign for fair votes continues.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Songs, symbols and political movements
Much of the publicity surrounding the success of the Gurkha justice vote in the House of Commons concentrated on Joanna Lumley. One suspects that the losers were attempting to blame their defeat on the presence of a 1970s icon in the opposing camp, rather than on the weakness of their case. Ms Lumley certainly helped focus publicity on the cause, but having an iconic supporter is no guarantee of success. Bryan Ferry, who was also a cult figure in the 1970s, wasn't able to prevent legislation against hunting with hounds entering the statute book and staying there.
This came back to mind when I was listening to the repeat of BBC Radio 4's "Archive" programme on Pete Seeger (just a few days left on "Listen Again"!). Seeger was asked by Vincent Dowd whether music changed anything, and typically did not answer the question directly. It was left to contributor Robin Denselow, a long-time student of folk music and of political protest, to say that what music did was to make people feel good about themselves. He had no doubt that the civil rights movement in the States felt better for having such anthems as "We shall overcome" and "This land is your land". That the latter did not in itself change anything was evidenced by the fact that fellow-patients of its author Woody Guthrie, by then hospitalised by the chorea which was to kill him, loved the song but few shared his political views. Moreover, both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton used it on their election campaigns.
Incidentally, Seeger was remarkably optimistic for someone who has just entered his tenth decade. As someone who lived through the depression, the paranoid 1950s and the Cuban missile crisis, he is in a good position to judge. He feels that this is the best time, because of the information revolution. I couldn't resist the thought that, if the World Wide Web had existed fifty years earlier, Seeger would have known enough not to be taken in by Stalin's rhetoric. Joining the Communist party was a cause of much trouble for him until comparatively recently, and it seems to be the only decision in his life he feels apologetic about.
He was grateful to his lefty (his word) reputation for one thing, though; while he was most associated with the communists, he was able to live his private life in seclusion. Now that a new generation recognises him as a standard-bearer for environmentalism, he and his wife have to cope with piles of mail, records and invitations. The latter he turns down (Vincent Dowd was obviously lucky, or persistent, in obtaining the interviews he did). If you want to see me, he says, come to the festivals he and his friends run in the Hudson Valley.
The anthems associated with the green movement are no less political for not being tied to a particular party. Perhaps we may see a revival in the songs of Malvina Reynolds, which were eclipsed in the materialist twentieth-century end years. "Little boxes" and "What have they done to the rain" are as relevant today as when they were written.
This came back to mind when I was listening to the repeat of BBC Radio 4's "Archive" programme on Pete Seeger (just a few days left on "Listen Again"!). Seeger was asked by Vincent Dowd whether music changed anything, and typically did not answer the question directly. It was left to contributor Robin Denselow, a long-time student of folk music and of political protest, to say that what music did was to make people feel good about themselves. He had no doubt that the civil rights movement in the States felt better for having such anthems as "We shall overcome" and "This land is your land". That the latter did not in itself change anything was evidenced by the fact that fellow-patients of its author Woody Guthrie, by then hospitalised by the chorea which was to kill him, loved the song but few shared his political views. Moreover, both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton used it on their election campaigns.
Incidentally, Seeger was remarkably optimistic for someone who has just entered his tenth decade. As someone who lived through the depression, the paranoid 1950s and the Cuban missile crisis, he is in a good position to judge. He feels that this is the best time, because of the information revolution. I couldn't resist the thought that, if the World Wide Web had existed fifty years earlier, Seeger would have known enough not to be taken in by Stalin's rhetoric. Joining the Communist party was a cause of much trouble for him until comparatively recently, and it seems to be the only decision in his life he feels apologetic about.
He was grateful to his lefty (his word) reputation for one thing, though; while he was most associated with the communists, he was able to live his private life in seclusion. Now that a new generation recognises him as a standard-bearer for environmentalism, he and his wife have to cope with piles of mail, records and invitations. The latter he turns down (Vincent Dowd was obviously lucky, or persistent, in obtaining the interviews he did). If you want to see me, he says, come to the festivals he and his friends run in the Hudson Valley.
The anthems associated with the green movement are no less political for not being tied to a particular party. Perhaps we may see a revival in the songs of Malvina Reynolds, which were eclipsed in the materialist twentieth-century end years. "Little boxes" and "What have they done to the rain" are as relevant today as when they were written.
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Sir Samuel Thomas Evans at 150
There was a marvellous commemorative service at St John the Baptist, Neath Abbey, this afternoon. It was attended by two Lords (both former MPs), the High Sheriff and the Lord Lieutenant of the county, members of the legal profession, three AMs, the mayor of Neath Port Talbot, the mayor of Neath, county borough councillors, and chairmen and councillors from Coedffranc and Dyffryn Clydach communities. (This is all from memory; I hope to fill out the list after comparing notes with Cllr. Keith Davies, who was the prime mover of the celebration.)
Lord Morris of Aberavon, a former attorney-general, gave the address, pitched perfectly for the occasion and the audience. He was obviously well aware, even before being invited to speak to this occasion, of the career of his predecessor as a senior elected law officer (Sir Samuel had been solicitor-general in the Asquith ministry). Sir Samuel made less of an impact as a politician, though, than on his appointment as president of the divorce, probate and admiralty division. Lord Morris said that he had brought admiralty law, in particular prize law, into the twentieth century after it had been virtually moribund since the days of the Crimean war. In doing so, he had earned an international reputation.
There was some splendid singing by the Skewen chorale. The service in the church was followed by a short ceremony at the graveside, during which flowers were laid on behalf of the county borough council and Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats. Afterwards, we repaired to the hall in the nearby school which Sam Evans had attended as a child, for tea and cakes.
The picture shows Lord Morris, the Mayor of Neath Port Talbot, the Mayor of Neath and Lord Livsey after the graveside ceremony, with the Rev. Mark Williams in the background.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Rain
BBC-2's programme tonight gave the corporation an opportunity to replay a lot of its archive footage of flood disasters. (There was also a welcome hearing of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's "Raining in my Heart" sung by Buddy Holly, the B side of his last single release.)
Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan's archivist, was pictured in front of a soakedSophia Gardens Swalec Stadium arena last September reporting that this was the first time that all four days of a championship match had been washed out in Cardiff.
Since then, of course, the county has invested in a hover-cover, the most sophisticated on a UK sports ground apparently. It had to be deployed yesterday, as rain interrupted the first day's play against Derbyshire. With all the testing which had no doubt been carried out after its installation, it was inevitable that the first "live" run of the system would produce a glitch. However, although the cover took about fifteen minutes longer than it should have to get off, it performed up to specification in getting on and therefore protecting the playing surface. As the chairman said, although there had been some delay, without the cover there would have been no further play that evening once the rain had started to fall. It is better to find out the problems now, early in the season, and correct them, rather than be embarrassed in July and the test match against the Australians.
Another reason to be cheerful today was the second total of over 400 this season. Glamorgan's batting was very much like the girl with the curl last year, and if we have now achieved some consistency, it will give the bowlers encouragement to attack. I see James Harris closed the day with two Derbyshire wickets.
Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan's archivist, was pictured in front of a soaked
Since then, of course, the county has invested in a hover-cover, the most sophisticated on a UK sports ground apparently. It had to be deployed yesterday, as rain interrupted the first day's play against Derbyshire. With all the testing which had no doubt been carried out after its installation, it was inevitable that the first "live" run of the system would produce a glitch. However, although the cover took about fifteen minutes longer than it should have to get off, it performed up to specification in getting on and therefore protecting the playing surface. As the chairman said, although there had been some delay, without the cover there would have been no further play that evening once the rain had started to fall. It is better to find out the problems now, early in the season, and correct them, rather than be embarrassed in July and the test match against the Australians.
Another reason to be cheerful today was the second total of over 400 this season. Glamorgan's batting was very much like the girl with the curl last year, and if we have now achieved some consistency, it will give the bowlers encouragement to attack. I see James Harris closed the day with two Derbyshire wickets.
Devolution the answer to NHS IT records problem?
silicon.com reports that Christine Connelly, the Department of Health (DoH) director general for informatics, has told current suppliers BT and CSC that they must speed up the roll out of key systems for the national medical records database by November this year.
Last year, a third supplier, Fujitsu gave up its contract. BT has taken over the work it had started for some trusts, but Ms Connelly gave hope to others that have been waiting for new patient administration systems (PAS) due to be provided by Fujitsu.
Last year, a third supplier, Fujitsu gave up its contract. BT has taken over the work it had started for some trusts, but Ms Connelly gave hope to others that have been waiting for new patient administration systems (PAS) due to be provided by Fujitsu.
She said that these trusts would now be able to be able to get central funding to choose new suppliers to provide PAS, from an approved DoH list.
The records system is about four years behind schedule. To this observer, it seems that too much of the detailed design was centralised and this has caused many of the difficulties.
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