Jack Straw, the Poles, and the EU’s anti-death penalty day

Posted by on Sep 19, 2007 in Uncategorized | 4 comments I don’t understand why the EU feels it is necessary to hold an anti-death penalty day, earmarked for 10 October. The fact that the death penalty doesn’t exist in Europe means it is pretty pointless. And which other country which imposes it is going to take notice of protests we make about it? They surely know our views already. Poland is the only one of 27 member states digging in...
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Will environmentalists scupper Brazil’s success?

Posted by on Sep 18, 2007 in updates | 8 comments The Brazilian economy is thriving , according to this BBC report. The Economist magazine recently identified what it described as a new lower middle class “emerging almost overnight” in Brazil and Latin America – millions of people who are “the main beneficiaries of the region’s hard-won economic stability”. Credit must go to Brazil’s president, who as...
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My first Vista post

Posted by on Sep 17, 2007 in updates | 10 comments I’ve been struggling all day to familiarise myself with Windows Vista now that all my programmes have been transferred over to my new computer. However, I have still had to install much of the software again, and as all my blogging software was installed by Geoff, and he is away on an epic trek on foot across the Pyrenees, I had no choice but to try and unravel this challenge. I had...
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Should voting be made compulsory?

Posted by on Sep 17, 2007 in Uncategorized | 24 comments Greece’s Conservatives have retained their lead in the latest general elections. But how many people are aware that it is one of 32 countries in the world where voting is compulsory? Even in the fire-ravaged villages of southern Greece, where many homes remain without water or electricity, prefabricated containers were used as temporary voting centres. Despite the loss of homes, voters...
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A breath of fresh air

Posted by on Sep 14, 2007 in updates | 14 comments And the fresh air doesn’t get much fresher – or more bracing – than on the North Norfolk coast. I shall breathe it in by the lungfull tomorrow as I walk the 12 mile scenic coastal path from Brancaster to Holkham with fellow members of Cambridge’s Simply Social Club. It’s been a while since I have walked this distance. Both my big toe nails dropped off...
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Welcome to the world, baby Milan Scoble

Posted by on Sep 14, 2007 in updates | 4 comments Since blog pioneer Robert Scoble’s lovely wife Maryam gave birth three hours ago to their uniquely named son, Milan William,  he has posted a dozen messages about it on Twitter (I share his network), as well as downloading pics of the lusty new arrival from his mobile phone’s camera. This might annoy most women who have just given birth, but Maryam is a great blogger...
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The missing – Stefan Punch

Posted by on Sep 14, 2007 in updates | 4 comments Stefan Punch was last seen on 27 August, 2003 at a friend’s house in Cork County. His car was found the next day in County Clare. Since then, his phone has been switched off and his friends and family have not had any word from him. He is around 5Ft 11inches, of lean build, has dark brown hair and tanned skin. When last seen, Stefan was wearing a dark blue check shirt, white...
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Our decaying care of the elderly

Posted by on Sep 13, 2007 in updates | 62 comments A guest post by fellow former regional press officer Janice Small who is helping organise Kent Conservatives’ EU trealy rallies. This post focuses on a subject close to our hearts – our decaying health service for our elderly to ensure they have dignity at all times, and are allowed the care and medication they need without having to swing through hoops – or...
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Lib Dems and leaflets

Posted by on Sep 12, 2007 in Uncategorized | 16 comments If a political campaigning leaflet arrives on my doormat, there is a good chance it could be from a Lib Dem candidate. One of their strengths is this basic form of communication, and gathering a team of volunteers to make the deliveries. This was particularly evident in York last week where Lib Dems scored a victory in a local by-election following the death of a Conservative...
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David’s first request on waking up

Posted by on Sep 11, 2007 in updates | 14 comments What do teenage boys think of as they lie in a hospital bed? In David’s case, it was a Starbucks banana Java chip coffee based Frappaccino, with no whipped cream. I thought this might be too rich, but David reasserted his request when waking up after his bone biopsies, so I headed for Starbucks in nearby Ely this afternoon after we returned home to make him a happy chappy...
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Off to hospital for David’s bone biopsy

Posted by on Sep 9, 2007 in updates | 18 comments    I have just confirmed with the University College Hospital, London that they have a bed for my son David today. His consultant will perform a bone biopsy on his jaw tomorrow in the hope that they can find a cure for his chronic osteomyelitis which David has had for almost four years, and has suffered considerable pain, though the pain is being successfully...
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How should government consult about nuclear power?

Posted by on Sep 7, 2007 in updates | 12 comments Dizzy predicts that the government’s public consultation over nuclear power in the UK will be a waste of time, that it is a foregone conclusion. Their press release states that the government has reached the preliminary view that new nuclear would be in the public interest, yet also states that the consultation will help inform the decision due to be made later this year on...
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How can we help our depressed society?

Posted by on Sep 7, 2007 in updates | 12 comments  The saying about how much easier it is to cure the body than the mind could not be more true, according to the latest study from the World Health Organisation which concluded that depression feels worse than many chronic illnesses, that there was a high degree of association between depression and disability. The researchers called on doctors around the world to be more...
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Who truly understands Kate McGann’s grief? Only another mother in the same position…

Posted by on Sep 7, 2007 in updates | 10 comments I absolutely do not believe that Kate McGann had anything to do with the tragic disappearance of her beloved daughter Madeleine. The fact that she is to be officially declared a suspect by Portuguese police today is unimaginably cruel. I do not know what evidence the police base their suspicions on, but it seems to me they want to take the easy way out, they have probably felt intensely...
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The many challenges faced by farmers today

Posted by on Sep 6, 2007 in updates | 4 comments The challenges faced by today’s farming industry is the topic of Robert Sturdy’s latest report for the local press and  highlights many real concerns, do let us know what you think: People have become used to the headline: ‘British Farmers Get a Raw Deal’, but despite regular press reports about the agricultural community, many people are still ignorant of its...
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The missing – Denise Pipitone

Posted by on Sep 6, 2007 in updates | 7 comments It’s almost three years to the day since Denise Pipitone vanished in Mazara del Vallo, Sicily on 1 September, 2004 aged four. She will be seven-years-old next month. Denise was playing outside the front of her house while lunch was being prepared when it is believed she was kidnapped, and that ”nomads” could have been responsible. Beppo Grillo, Italy’s...
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How would you want to spend your last six months?

Posted by on Sep 5, 2007 in updates | 10 comments There is no doubt that Jane Tomlinson was an extraordinary woman. She was told she had only six months left to live, but miraculously survived for seven years, raising £1.75 million for cancer charities, taking on challenges that many healthy people could never manage, including running three London marathons. She sadly died on Monday aged 43. While the press has paid a much deserved...
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Video editing and stilettos

Posted by on Sep 5, 2007 in updates | 9 comments I had a lesson on video editing with Mike Rouse today at 18 Doughty Street. It is a very fiddly job and we didn’t have time to finish off what I had hoped we would . But I did learn a tremendous amount and am very grateful to Mike and hope to post my first citizen’s journalist post about Julian Sturdy’s campaign in York Outer very soon. I had a fairly uneventful rail...
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Has Andy Coulson done a good job so far?

Posted by on Sep 4, 2007 in updates | 7 comments Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it was Andy Coulson’s bad luck that the Conservatives’ popularity  plummeted soon after be became their director of communications following a run of bad press stories. So where does the buck stop? And, as a PR Week report suggests, does his future depend on whether he can recapture the magic of David Cameron at the Conservative Party...
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Julian Sturdy launches new blog

Posted by on Sep 3, 2007 in updates | 5 comments Many thanks to Geoff for creating a great blog for Julian Sturdy, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for York Outer. He is also on facebook and twitter.  Despite the brilliance of these social media tools, they are no substitute for face to face interaction with local communities and getting down to the grassroots which I really enjoy, meeting as many people as...
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