Can Ken Clarke provide justice sought by UK’s ignored haemophiliacs?

Posted by Ellee on Jun 29, 2010 in News | 17 comments Haemophiliacs will tomorrow deliver wreaths to the doorstep of 10 Downing Street and the Department of Health to seek justice from the new coalition government over the use of contaminated blood by the NHS 30 years ago which has led to the deaths of 2,000 people who were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C. It is estimated that 4,700 people were infected in the last three decades. I first  wrote...
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Capello should learn from Gordon Brown

Posted by Ellee on Jun 28, 2010 in News | 6 comments Fabio Capello should follow Gordon Brown’s example of how to handle a shocking and humiliating defeat. Brown resigned with dignity as Labour Party leader following this year’s general election results and his heavy losses; it was a clear sign of no confidence from voters in the country.  Fabio Capello should do the same following England’s worst ever World Cup defeat. I...
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We all love a good loser, but ….

Posted by Ellee on Jun 21, 2010 in 2010 general election, updates | 2 comments The post-election parties are still in full swing. While it’s great to celebrate a victory, our unsuccessful parliamentary candidates are also showing their appreciation to those who supported them in the gruelling run-up to May’s general election. Last night I joined fellow Tories to share a Pimm’s with Cambridge’s Conservative candidate Nick Hillman who had an...
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Enjoying our agricultural and environmental heritage

Posted by Ellee on Jun 15, 2010 in My videos | 2 comments If you didn’t manage to visit one of the 400-plus farms at the weekend which opened their gates to local communities during Open Farm Sunday, then you can find out more by playing this video I recorded for the NFU. It shows families having a wonderful time learning about food production, building scarecrows, riding tractors, and so much more, as Jim Paice, the amiable Minister for the...
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David Miliband and his two adoptions

Posted by Ellee on Jun 12, 2010 in Uncategorized | 5 comments I confess to having had a soft spot for David Miliband as he linked my blog to his website as Environment Secretary (I thought he was impressive), and later Foreign Secretary (not so impressive), and I considered this quite an honour, especially as I was endorsing his rival political party. When he and his wife Louise adopted two children from America in 2004 and 2007, it aroused considerable...
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John Bercow outlines his vision to revive the Chamber

Posted by Ellee on Jun 11, 2010 in My videos, updates | 3 comments These are two videos I made of John Bercow, Speaker of the House, outlining his vision to revive the Chamber in the House of Commons to the Hansard Society on Wednesday. In the top video, he describes how he is keen to get more ministers back into the Chamber, provide more question opportunities for MPs, increase the number of private members’ bills, introduce shorter debates (including...
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Diane Abbott storms into Labour’s leadership contest

Posted by Ellee on Jun 10, 2010 in updates | 9 comments If Diane Abbott can score an own goal and win the support of Labour leadership rival David Miliband who also persuaded a string of his backers to the same, will this heaven sent endorsement influence trade unions and other Labour supporters to do the same? It certainly was bizarre in this once in a lifetime contest, even if it was intended to undermine his rivals. It could spectacularly backfire...
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Cambridge’s £1 million golden clock, the Chronophage

Posted by Ellee on Jun 9, 2010 in Uncategorized | 8 comments Whenever I visit Cambridge close to where I live, I always have to stop and admire its latest attraction which has become very popular with tourist – a £1 million golden clock created by an incredible inventor, Dr John Taylor, for his old college. It is an amazing legacy, and always attracts huge crowds who, like me, are fascinated by the movements of the giant pendulum driven grasshopper...
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Will John Bercow’s reform plans for parliament include more women MPs?

Posted by Ellee on Jun 6, 2010 in Women MPs | 5 comments I know I won’t be the only person keen to hear what John Bercow says in the Hansard Society’s Speaker’s Lecture this week entitled “Reform in a new Parliament: Reviving the Chamber”.I want to see if he will keep his word about the need to increase women parliamentarians which was reviewed recently for Speaker’s Conference – only the sixth to have taken place...
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A day of highly charged emotions

Posted by Ellee on Jun 2, 2010 in Uncategorized | 4 comments My husband and I are heading for the smoke today to see the Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A, whose elegance and beauty is still unsurpassed. The story of the Hollywood star and Princess of Monaco continues to fascinate us all and I’m really looking forward to seeing her clothes and learning more about her life. We have also booked tickets for the West End to see the five-star...
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The Percy family and Island Hall

Posted by Ellee on Jun 1, 2010 in Uncategorized | 3 comments You will be pleased to know that my plucky author friend Jean Adamson has made an excellent recovery from her brutal attack by a ruthless mugger in our Cambridgeshire village, though disappointly the cowardly culprit has never never found.We are both garden lovers and after flicking through our local National Gardens Scheme booklet, we planned which ones we wanted to visit over the next few...
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