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Market Harborough Food and Drink Festival in the rain
When the first Market Harborough Food and Drink Festival was announced I was excited and planned on spending some time there.
So this afternoon, despite the rain, I went along,
There was a good selection of stalls and two or three bars. On a warm summer afternoon it would have been great, but the weather meant there was something of grim determination about the crowd's enjoyment.
Anyway, I hope the event will be run again next year and will enjoy a better day.
Labels: Beer, Food, Market Harborough
© Dani Kropivnik
Amanda Taub says German Chancellor Angela Merkel did something really good this week: "Her country will now allow Syrian refugees, who normally would be deported back to wherever they first entered the European Union, to stay and apply for asylum. Thousands of Syrians who would have otherwise faced uncertainty in Europe can now begin the process of rebuilding their lives in Germany."
Jeremy Corbyn misunderstands the situation in Ukraine, argues Halya Coynash.
Rob Parsons asks if the number of graduates working in non-graduate jobs is a sign of overqualification or an underperforming economy.
"The fight to save the Gladstone Arms is a small part of a much bigger fight: to save the life and soul of London, and to uphold values greater and more enduring than money." Three cheers for Peter Oborne and Anne Williams.
The return of pine martens to England could lead to a resurgence of red squirrels. Emma Sheehy looks at the evidence.
Sarah Miller Walters looks at what the Carry On stars did in World War II. Some of them were at it for years.
Labels: Comedy, Economics, Education, Environment, Films, Germany, Housing, Jeremy Corbyn, London, Pubs, Six of the Best, Syria, Ukraine
Gordon Brown as Susan Boyle
From the Telegraph, 1 June 2009:
Speaking on GMTV Mr Brown said he watched the final on Saturday night and described the winning dance group as "absolutely wonderful".
But he said: "I hope Susan Boyle is OK because she is a really, really nice person and I think she will do well.
"I spoke to Simon Cowell last night and to Piers Morgan and wanted to be sure that she was OK."
How long ago all that now seems!
Labels: Comedy, Gordon Brown, Music, Television
"We are not going to win the Tory vote. Nor should we try to."
Thank you to Julie Hesmondhalgh - an excellent actress but perhaps less of a political strategist - for laying bare the weakness of Corbynism.
A move to the left may help shore up Labour's vote against the threat of the Greens and the Farronite Liberal Democrats.
It may even stave off the threat of Ukip, as that party's voters are notably left-wing on the economy. I doubt, though, that they will take kindly to Islington-style social policies.
But a Corbyn-led Labour Party will have little chance of winning over Conservative voters - the sort of Conservative voters who liked Tony Blair and helped him win three general elections.
No doubt the Corbynites will pinning their hopes on people who do not usually vote. But that strategy is unlikely to prove successful.
In my experience, people who do not usually vote do not usually vote.
For more on Labour under Corbyn, read my post Five consequences of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader.
Labels: Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Tony Blair, UKIP
Barry Ryan: Eloise
Paul and Barry Ryan were the twin sons of Marion Ryan, a popular British singer of the 1950s.
They had success as a duo in the 1960s, but Paul found performing too stressful and turned to songwriting instead.
He wrote this for Barry, which was a number 1 in many countries but was kept at number 2 in Britain by the juggernaut that was Mary Hopkin's Those Were the Days.
In 1968 a five-minute single was practically unheard of. With its changes of mood and tempo, you can see Eloise as a forerunner of Bohemian Rhapsody.
The teenagers may recall that the Damned had a hit with it in 1986.
Paul Ryan died in 1992, aged only 44. Barry was performing on Sixties nostalgia tours only a few years ago.
Why Danny Cipriani is not in the England World Cup squad
The awe with which the London rugby union press regards Danny Cipriani has long puzzled me.
Today's example comes from Richard Williams in the Guardian:
The perception here is that Cipriani has what it would take to bring Twickenham to its feet next month, particularly in a squad that looks not so much undercooked as still in the freezer. Now he won't get the chance.
No head coach has made a more soul-deadening decision since Clive Woodward kept Gavin Henson out of his Lions side for the first Test in New Zealand a decade ago.
England do have a tendency to select prosaic rather than poetic fly halves - Rob Andrew rather than Stuart Barnes. Jonny Wilkinson was a formidable player, but if you wanted someone to launch your backs then Charlie Hodgson was a better bet.
But it is not that Cipriani has not been tried. As this video shows, he was tried and found wanting at international level.
Labels: Rugby Union
Nottinghamshire cricket star found asleep in car
BBC News wins Headline of the Day.
Labels: Awards, Cricket, Nottingham
Two facts about Susan Shaw
1. She was christened 'Patsy Sloots'.
2. She is the grandmother of the former England rugby international Toby Flood.
I was not sure of this second fact when I blogged about Flood's theatrical grandfathers, because Albert Lieven married four times. But it is indeed the case.
Shaw was a popular actress for some years after World War II and had a prominent role in one of the best films of the era: Ealing's drama It Always Rains on Sunday.
But hers was a sad life. After Lieven she married the American actor Bonar Colleano and was hit hard by his death in 1958.
There is more about her on The Norwood Society website.
Labels: Films, Rugby Union
Tesco abandons its plans for a Market Harborough superstore
I hope it does not go ahead.
I wrote that in September 2013 when news broke that Tesco was planning a large out-of-town store in Market Harborough.
Today came news that the supermarket chain has abandoned those plans.
For the reasons outlined in that earlier post, I am glad.
Market Harborough is still growing. Ignore all those plaints about Nimbys: the council and residents can do little about it.
So there may come a time soon when the town's population is too big to be served by its centre.
I get the impression that has happened in both Northampton and Cambridge, and it does not make shopping in either a pleasant experience.
If it happens in Harborough then we shall have to look at encouraging out-of-town development.
But shopping patterns are changing, and it may be that an out-of-town store will never be built here at all.
Labels: Cambridge, Market Harborough, Northampton
William Wallace (Are
you sure about this? Ed.)
Laura McInerney overhears someone learning to be homeless.
"We need to pitch our appeal for a liberal left distinct from whatever package Labour develops, and rebuild local bases which we can capture on another anti-Conservative swing. And we should not kid ourselves that many within the current Labour Party will welcome our efforts." William Wallace anticipates another phase of the 'future of the left' debate, whether or not Jeremy Corbyn emerges as Labour's next leader.
Talking of which, Nick Cohen says: "Like many from the Left's dark corners, Corbyn ... is concerned only with the rights of those whose oppression is politically useful. If the oppressed's suffering can be blamed on the West, he will defend them. If not, he is on their enemies' side."
Don't Chase the Wide Ones reviews Death of a Gentleman - a film on the politics of cricket.
"On the ground floor of the warehouse was a lean-to outhouse ,,, The contents were a mystery and I was dispatched to find a crowbar to prise open the padlocked door. When we opened the lean-to, it was stacked with books. The collector from Manchester reached inside and snatched one book at random. He opened it, turned to Asher and said, 'I'll buy the whole contents.' The book he held in his hand was a rare antiquarian Hebrew tome printed in Venice and it turned out that the outhouse contained the stock from Moshe's father's bookshop in Warsaw, untouched for decades." Spitalfields Life remembers the Jewish bookshops of the East End.
Nichola Chester writes a love letter to North Devon (and Bude).
Labels: Bookshops, Cornwall, Cricket, Devon, Films, Housing, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London, Nick Cohen, Six of the Best, Welfare, William Wallace
Carol Vorderman reveals she is 'covered in burns' after she fell off her treadmill while running naked
Headline of the Day goes to the Independent.
Alistair Darling: From the International Marxist Group to the Lords
Alastair Darling was given a peerage today, so it is time to remember how far this particular Lord has come.
Time, indeed, to wheel out my favourite George Galloway quote:
Surprisingly, this strategy had some celebrated friends. There was "Red Ted" Knight, the leader of Lambeth council, in London, and Red Ken Livingstone newly elected leader of Greater London Council. Red Ally and his friends around the Black Dwarf were for a time a colourful part of the Scottish left.
The late Ron Brown, Red Ronnie as he was known, was Alistair's bosom buddy. He was thrown out of Parliament for placing a placard saying hands off Lothian Region on Mrs Thatcher's despatch box while she was addressing the House. And Darling loved it at the time.
Labels: Alistair Darling, George Galloway, Labour, Scotland
Those new Liberal Democrat peers in full
According to Guido Fawkes:
Sir Alan Beith – former MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and former Chair of the Justice Select Committee
Sharon Bowles – former MEP for South East England
Sir Malcolm Bruce – former MP for Gordon, and former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Lorley Burt – former MP for Solihull and former Chair of the Liberal Democrats
Rt Hon Sir Menzies 'Ming' Campbell CH, CBE, QC – former MP for North East Fife and former Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Lynne Featherstone – former MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and held several ministerial positions
Don Foster – former MP for Bath and former Liberal Democrat Chief Whip
Jonny Oates – former Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government
Shas Sheehan – former Councillor for Kew and involved in several community groups
Sir Andrew Stunell – former MP for Hazel Grove and former Department for Communities and Local Government Minister
Dorothy Thornhill MBE – Mayor of Watford; former Councillor and Assistant Headteacher
Labels: Alan Beith, andrew stunell, Don Foster, Lorely Burt, Lynne Featherstone, Malcolm Bruce, Ming Campbell, Sharon Bowles
The Sun names some of the 11 new Liberal Democrat peers
An 'exclusive' from SunNation this evening:
The Sun can reveal they will include at least two ex-MPs thrown out by voters at the general election three months ago, Lorely Burt and Lynn Featherstone.
Three long-serving Lib Dem grandees who stood down as MPs in May – Sir Alan Beith, Sir Menzies Campbell, and Sir Malcolm Bruce – are also being enobled, alongside defeated ex-MEP Sharon Bowles and Mr Clegg's former chief of staff Jonny Oates.
The report also says that Danny Alexander and Vince Cable will be knighted.
Later. The full list of Lib Dem peers is here.
Labels: Alan Beith, Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrats, Lorely Burt, Lynne Featherstone, Malcolm Bruce, Ming Campbell, Sharon Bowles, Vince Cable
What the defeated Lib Dem MPs are doing now
Total Politics has caught up with the career moves of some of the Liberal Democrat MPs who lost their seats in May.
David Laws is now executive chairman of the think tank CentreForum and Steve Webb is now director of policy and external communications at Royal London, the mutual insurance and pensions company.
Other MPs have relaunched themselves as consultants. Total Politics lists Jeremy Browne (who stood down before the election) among them, but a recent report in City AM had him working as a lobbyist for the City of London in Brussels.
I once blogged about the fate of defeated MPs:
The plight of former MPs is not one to attract public sympathy, but they can have a hard time. In a Guardian article in 2004 Michael White quoted Joe Ashton:
"It's not like losing your job in a factory, when everyone loses their job and rallies round. You may be living in a rural area, no contacts, no way to keep in touch. You can be lonely and isolated, your kids may be slagged off at school or even taken out of private school if you're a Tory. If you claim benefit the local paper gets to hear about it."
And White went on to say:
When Labour was defeated in 1979, 38 ex-MPs had not found a job after a year. In 1997 it was the Tories' turn: 126 lost their seats. Familiar stories of depression and drink, debt and divorce, began circulating.
Today you can find the Association of Former MPs on the Politics Home website.
Labels: David Laws, Jeremy Browne, Liberal Democrats, Steve Webb
Bishop's Castle in 1962
A film report made in the days when this Shropshire town was unsuccessfully defending its status as England's smallest borough.
Click on the image to view it on the British Film Institute site.
Labels: Bishop's Castle, Shropshire
The Harborough Mail praises J.W. Logan
Mourning the closure of the town's magistrates court in 2011, the Harborough Mail described my hero J.W. Logan thus:
When the Doddridge Road court opened in Harborough, seven magistrates would sit together as a single bench, instead of the modern three.
In 1911, JW Logan, MP for Harborough, took the chair: an exemplary employer, if controversial and sometimes pugilistic as a politician, he was a JP for 40 years.
No MP could ask for a better epitaph.
Labels: J. W. Logan, Market Harborough
Call for early improvements to Market Harborough station
From the Leicester Mercury:
Rail campaigners are calling for action on plans to improve access for disabled people at a county railway station.
They want Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to ensure an early start to proposed upgrades at Market Harborough station.
They fear the planned improvements may be delayed until 2019 at the earliest following the mothballing of track electrification.
Knowing the two people quoted by the Mercury, I am confident this campaign,it is in good hands.
Labels: Market Harborough, Railways
Labour's confusion over its own leadership contest
Here is Harriet Harman reported by BBC News today:
Harriet Harman has said 3,000 alleged "cheats" have so far been excluded from voting in the Labour leadership contest, with more expected.
The acting Labour leader said: "It is not funny or clever for people from other parties to try to cheat their way into our system."
And only people who supported the "aims and values" of the Labour Party would be allowed to take part.
But she adopted a different tone back in May. A Labour Party press release quoted her as follows:
"The public - not just Labour members - will be able to ask questions of leadership and deputy leadership candidates at hustings events.
"Hustings will be staged in the towns and suburbs where Labour hoped to win in the general election, but where the party failed to make inroads.
"Labour members will be encouraged to bring supporters of other parties, or non-voters, to hear speeches by the contenders."
It's seems pluralism's flowering in Labour soil lasted only a short time.
As Nick Tyrone argued recently, Labour's problem is that it never decided whether its £3 supporter rate was meant to turn its leadership contest into a sort of open primary or not.
Labels: Harriet Harman, Labour
The Stiperstones and The Bog filmed by a drone
A little bit of Shropshire goodness for you to be going on with.
Mind you, flying over the Stiperstones has its dangers:
She followed his pointing finger and saw briefly in the moonlight a small aeroplane against a shifting background of cloud. It was swooping low in silence, but soon rose sharply as the engines roared again, and disappeared over the tree-tops in the direction of the mountain.
"But he can't land on the Stiperstones," Peter said. "It's too rough up there. It would turn over at once."
Malcolm Saville The Neglected Mountain (1953)
Labels: Malcolm Saville, Shropshire, Stiperstones, The Bog
John Harris on the threat to our bus services
John Harris writes on the Guardian website (and presumably in tomorrow's paper, though the site no longer tells you that):
Across the country, meanwhile, with George Osborne now planning November's spending review and looking at cuts in departmental budgets of up to 40%, the money channelled from local councils to public transport looks especially vulnerable. Already, bus transport is in the midst of a huge crisis, just as it is needed more than ever.
Buses are a vital requirement for young people and most Britons on limited incomes. Around 40% of people over 60 use a bus at least once a week; one of the many certainties that comes with an ageing population is an increased demand for public transport. Everyday reality, however, is headed in exactly the opposite direction.
Labour never decided whether its £3 supporters' rate was designed to turn its leadership election into an open primary or not, explains Nick Tyrone, and that is why it is in trouble now.
Christopher Salmon, police and crime commissioner for Dyfed-Powys, has some trenchant views on policing: "investigating crime is the police's job, not a choice. That four out of five burglaries go unsolved suggests they need to up their game, not opt out of it".
Remember when blogrolls were a thing? Fred Clark does. And he wants to revive them.
Jordan Adcock looks at cinema's switch to digital projection.
"Sometimes in cricket you just know it's one man's day. Those days might come along once or twice in a career, but on that day, he can't miss." Geoff Lemon saw the Australians humbled by a fellow countryman in their warm up game against Northamptonshire.
Patrick Baty on the Hope Mausoleum in Dorking. Buried in the 1960s, it has been uncovered this year.
Labels: Archaeology, Blogging, Cricket, Crime, Films, Labour, Northampton, Police, Six of the Best, Wales
Linda Lewis: Rock-a-Doodle-Doo
Nothing to do with Smashie and Nicey, this was a hit for Linda Lewis in 1973.
As her website says:
Linda Lewis is one of Britain's most respected and talented singer songwriters, whose career spans more than four decades. With her five-octave vocal range, she has fused folk, soul, pop and reggae into a unique signature sound that is now an integral part of the pop music landscape.
All that is true, but maybe she has never quite enjoyed the success her talent deserves.
Tim Farron among the racks of vinyl
I missed it at the time, but at the end of last month the Telegraph ran an endearing sketch of Tim Farron in Jon Tolley's record shop in Kingston:
He flipped through the racks of LPs, murmuring excitedly. "Joy Division at the front there! Marvellous." Lovingly he fondled an album by The Clash. "Now, is this the UK version or the US version? Ah, it's the UK version – the US version has (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais on it, and this doesn't!"
It was strangely endearing to watch: an actual political leader, muttering about track listings like a character from Nick Hornby. It's hard to imagine David Cameron or Jeremy Corbyn, say, demonstrating such an unashamedly nerdish enthusiasm for music.
"Oh, I'm a massive trainspotter," said Mr Farron proudly. "Huge pop anorak." He'd lost count of his records, but they were "in the four figures". They were kept in "Daddy's pop cupboard, as the kids call it". He even still listened to cassettes in "my banger" (his car).
He appears to have inherited his passion from his father, who "was a DJ in the Seventies on Friday and Saturday nights in a nightclub not far from Preston. I used to get his cast-offs. On one occasion I deliberately damaged one of his Chic records so I could have it."
Labels: Music, Tim Farron
The March to Spalding line
© Dave Hitchborne
The most substantial British railway line I have travelled on that has since closed is the Woodhead route from Sheffield to Manchester.
After that comes March to Spalding. When I was a student in York there was a regular service from Doncaster to Cambridge and I once used it to have an afternoon in Ely.
March to Spalding was closed in 1982 and all freight workings were diverted via Peterborough.
It was an expensive line to operate because of all the level crossings in the flat Fenland landscape. The photograph above, taken from Geograph, shows the signal box that controlled one of them being reclaimed by nature.
There is some chatter on the net about reopening it, but I don't know how well founded it is. The line from March to Wisbech looks a more likely candidate.
Labels: Peterborough, Railways, Spalding
Building up Mason Crane
This blog has long taken an interest in the career of the Yorkshire leg spinner Adil Rashid. He will either make his England test debut against Pakistan in Sharjah later this year or never make it at all.
So it may be time to start talking up the next prospect: Hampshire's Mason Crane.
Cricinfo described his impact on a game earlier this year:
Mason Crane bamboozled Warwickshire to become the youngest Hampshire player to take a County Championship five wicket haul on Day Two at the Ageas Bowl.
Leg spinner Crane, who is 18 and 171 days, beat Alex Kennedy's 106-year record by 21 days as he posted figures of 5 for 35. This is only his second first-class match after making his debut against Durham last month.
Already that sage judge Steve Harmison has called for him to be picked for England this winter.
I suppose one should counsel caution - I know there is a view at Sussex that Ian Salisbury was doing fine until the England coaching set up got hold of him - but it is hard not to be excited at the prospect of a young leg spinner in the England test team.
And if you want to feel old, turn to this report in the Southern Daily Echo:
As an eight-year-old only child glued to the 2005 Ashes series, Shoreham-born Crane was inspired by Warne's mesmerising performances that summer.
He has been hooked on leg-spin ever since.
Labels: Cricket, Mason Crane
45 years of John Barleycorn Must Die
In the Studio has a documentary marking the 45th anniversary of the Traffic album John Barleycorn Must Die.
I can't embed it, so hurry over to that site to listen to it.
What is left of Herne Bay pier
Back in 2013 I blogged about French Dressing, Ken Russell's first film, in which Herne Bay pier featured prominently.
This is what is left of the pier today. A stub still runs out from the shore, but this landing stage has been left improbably far out to sea - apparently halfway to the Essex coast.
But then the view from Herne Bay is like that. Behind the wind farms you can see the remains of the Maunsell forts.
Labels: Herne Bay
Five consequences of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader
No one really knows, of course, but it does look at though Jeremy Corbyn will be the next leader of the Labour Party.
What will that mean? Here are five likely consequences.
1. Whether the Liberal Democrats like it or not, they will be seen as a centre party.
I know it sounds improbable, but an SWP activist once said a wise thing to me: when you are a small party to rarely get to choose the agenda on which you fight.
Well, the Liberal Democrats are certainly a small party now and, whether we like it or not, we shall be seen as a centre party for as long as Corbyn is Labour leader. The strategy we pursued under Charles Kennedy of outflanking Labour from the left will not be open to us - unless we advocate liquidating the Kulaks or something like that.
I am sure Tim Farron will thrive as a populist centrist, but this future is in some ways a depressing prospect.
2. The Green surge will grind to a halt
I don't know how real a phenomenon the Green surge ever was, but as far as it existed it consisted of the Greens hoovering up all sorts of disaffected left-wingers, many of whom had no particular connection with traditional Green concerns,
More than one longstanding environmentalist has complained to me that this led to the Green Party rather abandoning environmentalism to embrace the anti-austerity cause. This led the party to put forward an incoherent policy platform at the last election, as Natalie Bennett so effectively demonstrated.
Now those disaffected left-wingers will flock to Corbyn's Labour and leave behind a Green Party that is smaller but truer to environmentalism.
3. Social media will be hell
We have all enjoyed laughing at Labour for abstaining on welfare cuts, but under Corbyn it will not be like that. On Twitter every day will be #cameronmustgo day and Labour activists will be filled with passionate intensity.
I am increasingly of the opinion that, by acting as a combined echo chamber and grooming parlour, Twitter is positively harmful to political parties, but that is the way it is going to be from now on.
Oh, and when Labour loses the next election, it will all be the media's fault or the Liberal Democrats' fault or the fault to Labour MPs who did not back Corbyn.
4. Labour will be in a constant state of crisis
As Nick Cohen argued the other day, the election of a party leader against the wishes of the great majority of its MPs will be a unique phenomenon in British politics.
I do not imagine many of those MPs will take his victory quietly. Add to this the opposition of the press, Corbyn's enthusiasm for sharing platforms with unsavoury characters and his eagerness to make excuses for Putin's near-fascist regime and you can see that his leadership will exist in a state of perpetual crisis.
It will be fun to watch, but ultimately will not be good for the health of British politics.
5. It will be harder for the Liberal Democrats to make a comeback
Most of the seats the Liberal Democrats have any hope of winning at the next election are held by the Conservatives. In order to win them we have to win over people who have voted for us in the past but opted for David Cameron last time.
It is entirely possible that a Corbyn leadership will not last as long as the next election, but as long as he is there he will offer the Conservatives a powerful argument against change and taking another chance on the Liberal Democrats.
Labels: Conservative Party, Green Party, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Nick Cohen, Russia, Tim Farron, Twitter
Disused railway stations in Hertfordshire
Earlier videos in this series: Devon, Bedfordshire, North Lincolnshire, East Sussex, Leicestershire, Herefordshire, Hampshire, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Cornwall, Rutland. Northumberland, Shropshire, Suffolk, East Riding of Yorkshire, Norfolk and Wiltshire.
Labels: Disused Stations, Railways
A tin tabernacle in Herne Bay
Wandering the back streets of Herne Bay, I failed to find one of Lord Bonkers' favourite causes: the Home for Distressed Canvassers.
On reflection, it is probably housed in one of the grand 19th-century houses facing the sea at the Eastern end of town on the way in from Reculver.
What I did find was this fine tin tabernacle, now home to the Army Cadets.
Labels: Herne Bay, Lord Bonkers, Tin Tabernacles
Jennie Rigg proves there are respectable arguments against bringing in one member one vote at the Liberal Democrat Conference.
"I am not a social conservative. I'm a Liberal who happens, most of the time, to be socially conservative in his behaviour," explains Andrew Brown.
Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke on how a mother allowed her young son to travel home from Downtown Manhattan on his own and started a social movement.
"The life-saving work of the American medical team on that October day served as clear and demonstrable proof that ambulances shouldn't just be about 'scoop and run' – there was a time and a need for 'stay and play' as well and ambulancemen needed to be combat medics just as much as they needed to be drivers." The Harrow & Wealdstone railway crash of 1952 had an important influence on the development of NHS care, as London Reconnections shows.
Silver Scene remembers Hayley Mills' reign as as America's favourite child actress.
"Not many people shopping below or just walking by Nottingham's Victoria Shopping Centre realise that their is a roof garden situated just above there heads," says Railway Maniac's blog. Sadly, it is no longer looked after.
Labels: children, Films, Health, Liberal Democrats, London, New York, Nottingham, Railways, Six of the Best
Morris dancers and blind footballers in mass brawl
The Suffolk Gazette wins our Headline of the Day award.
I'm not sure I believe a word of the story below its headline, but the judges were unanimous.
Later. Suffolk Gazette is a parody site. When I put this to the judges they suddenly remembered an urgent appointment elsewhere.
Labels: Awards, Football
The Lone Pine Club play reviewed
For an hour on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Norfolk I recaptured my childhood - or at least a treasured part of it.
There was a time when I refused to read anything but Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine books, and this summer the Pentabus Rural Theatre Company has turned those books into a play and toured it round five National Trust properties. I saw it at Sheringham Park, a couple of miles from the centre of that town.
There is one venue left: you can still catch the play at Wallington near Morpeth in Northumberland. If you have young children or have not let your heart grow hard, I recommend you do so.
Malcolm Saville is best described as the thinking child's Enid Blyton and, as Tony Gillam suggested in an early review, hanging over this project was the shadow of The Comic Strip's Give Go Mad in Dorset.
But that spook was swept away by the good nature of the script and the energy of the acting. When the Malcolm Saville Society was formed 20 years ago I coined the term 'amused respect' to describe our attitude to him, and that was very much the spirit of The Lone Pine Club play.
The Saville family wisely gave Alice Birch free rein in adapting the books, and she came up a script that conveyed their essence perfectly.
It featured the book's central character David Morton, his younger twin brother and sister Dickie and Mary, and Peter (Petronella Sterling). Still young, they looked back over their adventures, occasionally breaking out to complain that the story didn't go like that or the best bits were being left out.
Other characters were portrayed by the four young adult members of the cast, who sometimes found themselves obliged to play more than one person in the same scene. With hilarious consequences.
It seems unfair to single out one member of the cast, and it may be down to the writing or the direction, but I have to say that Anya Collyer, who seems to be least experienced of the four, in some magical way was the Peter of the books.
The only note of sadness was when I worked out that the last time I was in Sheringham it was to have tea with Malcolm Saville's younger son, the Revd Jeremy Saville, and his wife.
He has since died, and only Rosemary Dowler, the elder daughter, of Malcolm Saville's children is still with us. You can see her in the photograph above with the cast of the play (and Mackie the dog, of course) at its first venue in Shropshire.
As Rosemary writes in the excellent programme for the play:
It is sad that my brothers, Robin and Jeremy, and my sister Jennifer, are not around to join in the fun, but I know they would be as delighted as I am to see my father's books being brought to life in such a delightful way.
Labels: children, Malcolm Saville, Sheringham, Shropshire, Theatre
Someone tried to warn Nick Clegg that his strategy would not work
An explanation for our younger readers.
Labels: David Hemmings, Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg
Vanished Leicester: Charnwood Street
Copyright © Dennis Calow
Charnwood Street, Leicester, is gone but not forgotten. There is a blog devoted to preserving memories of what was once an important shopping street:
Charnwood Street in Leicester – popularly known as 'Charny' – was built in the early 1870s and demolished in 1970 when the area was redeveloped. It ran from Kent Street to Spinney Hill Road to the east of the city centre, parallel with Humberstone Road. ...
There were around 100 small shops in the street, including butchers, bakers, grocers and sweetshops, those selling new or second hand clothes, bicycles, prams, wool, radios (and later, televisions), and the famous 'Paddy's Swag Shop' which sold almost anything you can imagine!
The national shop chain of Wilkinson's also started in a small shop in Charnwood Street.
Later. Thanks to a reader for pointing me to the Charnwood Street page on Highfields Remembered.
Schubert: Trio in E Flat
As the Proms - at the least the televised Proms - no longer provide much 19th-century Romanticism, I thought I would step in with a bit of Schubert.
This second movement is more associated with The Hunger these days, but here the stills come from Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975). Look closely and you will see Leonard Rossiter fighting a duel with Ryan O'Neal.
The film was an adaptation of Thackeray's The Luck of Barry Lyndon. It is a minor work, but it has something of the wit and life of Vanity Fair in a way that his better regarded novels (Pendennis, Henry Esmond) do not.
You can hear the whole Schubert Trio on Youtube.
Labels: Films, Leonard Rossiter, Music
Jenni Hollis explains why she is standing for the Liberal Democrats in a Haringey byelection.
"Voting for Corbyn is gesture politics. It makes many on the left feel good about themselves and avoids the painful task of re-thinking policies and reconnecting beyond the base to the rest of the electorate", argues John Van Reenen.
Janet Biehl says Murray Bookchin warned about many of the environmental threats we now face back in 1962.
Nicholas Boys Smith on the gulf between the buildings that win architecture awards and those that the public prefers.
"In its fantasy of escaping the rat race, it shared a theme with an equally successful comedy of the age, The Good Life. In this, [Reggie] Perrin was a relative of Tom and Barbara Good, only without their optimistic faith in a better alternative." Jonathan Feedland pays tribute to David Nobbs and the cultural importance of situation comedy.
Andrew Younger looks back at the 1970s British sci-fi fantasy series Sapphire and Steel.
Labels: Comedy, Environment, Housing, Leonard Rossiter, Liberal Democrats, London, Six of the Best, Television
The Lone Pine Club at Sheringham Park
I thought I had missed my chance of seeing Pentabus's play The Lone Pine Club because I was in Canterbury when it opened in Church Stretton.
Then I worked out that I could get to Sheringham Park and back in a day from home by taking four trains and a bus each way. Once I had worked that out, I simply had to do it.
I shall write a proper review of the play in a day or two, but it was well worth the effort and I even got a lift back into Sheringham.
Labels: Malcolm Saville, Sheringham, Theatre
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Au contraire
And so another week at Bonkers Hall draws to a close.
A fellow with a bone through his nose presents himself at the Hall. "Don't tell me," I cry, "you have brought me the Reverend Hughes' shrunken head."
"Au contraire," he replies, "the Holy Man has sent me here to pick up supplies of Shuttleworths and Cow Gum. He has converted us all to Liberalism and told us that we must start campaigning for next May's election."
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.
Previously in Lord Bonkers' Diary...
Armed to the teeth with duck-handled umbrellas
The current Lady Bonkers
The choirboys' rifle practice
"Who told you that?"
Stoned in Chewton Mendip and Langton Herring
Mr Patel was Terribly Nice about it
Labels: Lord Bonkers, Simon Hughes
More photographs of Reculver
While I was in Kent I posted a photograph of Reculver taken from most of the way along the coast to Herne Bay.
Here are some photographs from closer to the ruined church. There is something about the site that makes you keep snapping.
There was once a Roman fort here. Later churches were built within its footprint. The current ruin was demolished at the start of the 19th century. In its pomp, with caps on both its towers, it must have resembled Southwell Minster.
Incidentally, the empty cliffs in the photo in my first Reculver post were occupied by a caravan site in the 1950s, as a British Pathe film shows.
Labels: Herne Bay, Reculver, Southwell
It was the US blockade of Cuba that kept Castro in power
The US has reopened its embassy in Cuba more than 54 years after it was closed, in a symbolic step signalling the warming of ties between both countries.
John Kerry, the first US Secretary of State to visit Cuba in 70 years, presided over the ceremony in Havana.
The US flag was presented by the same US marines who brought it down in 1961.
It was good to see this rapprochement between the US and Cuba. The touch of asking the same marines who lowered flag made it oddly moving.
What we want to see now is more liberty in Cuba. If the US wanted to bring that about or bring down the Castro regime - the two things are not necessarily the same - they should have ended their blockade decades ago.
That blockade was probably the thing that did most to keep Castro in power. American capitalism would have proved far stronger if it had been given a free hand in Cuba.
Labels: US Politics
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Mr Patel was Terribly Nice about it
A fresh breeze whips up the white horses as my launch powers across Rutland Water. I like to keep an eye on my oil rigs, and there have been reports recently that the feared Rutland man o' war jellyfish has been sighted close to shore, so you will often find me aboard. Today all is well, so we moor up early for a lunch at the Bonkers' Arms.
Later I take to the air – or at least my Patent Focus-Delivering Drone does. What with the membership of all parties in historic decline, I reason that we shall have to embrace the latest technology to get the Liberal message across. (This has long been my view: I was, I believe, the first man to employ Bakelite in a parliamentary by-election.)
In all honesty this afternoon's trial reveals a few teething problems, but Mr Patel was Terribly Nice about it and I shall, of course, pay for any repairs needed to the thatch on the village shop.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10.
Blakey on The All New Alexei Sayle Show
Remembering Stephen Lewis, whose death was announced today.
Labels: Alexei Sayle, Comedy, Television
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Stoned in Chewton Mendip and Langton Herring
One of the tasks I have taken on in recent years is editing Wainwright's West Country Marginals. A new edition is published after each general election, and with that in mind I recently dispatched an assistant to those parts to sniff out the lie of the land. Today I received his report:
At Bridgwater and Newton Abbot, Liberal clubs lie in ruins. Bright with buddleias and rosebay willowherb, they are the haunt of feral cats and truant children. Statues of Jo Grimond have been toppled in Redruth and Combe Martin. They threw stones at me in Chewton Mendip and Langton Herring.
I fear the new edition will need considerable revision. As to Wainwright's Midland Second Places, I fear it will be a slim volume indeed this time.
Labels: Cornwall, Devon, Lord Bonkers
Homophobic drunk put his genitals on pub bar and told police he was Batman
Reader's voice: Homophobic monk?
Liberal England replies: No, homophobic drunk. It's quite different.
Congratulations to Plymouth's The Herald on winning Headline of the Day.
Labels: Awards, Devon, Homophobic Monk
Stephen Lewis has gone to the great bus garage in the sky
Sad sad news. Stephen Lewis, who played Blakey in On the Buses, has died at the age of 88.
I once argued that Blakey was hero of that show. If you doubt me, remember that Stumbling and Mumbling has proved that Reg Varney is responsible for all of Britain's economic ills.
After On the Buses, Lewis was known for appearing in Last of the Summer Wine. But his career before it is far more interesting.
Sparrows Can't Sing was a 1963 film starring Barbara Windsor and James Booth that depicted social change in the East End. It is remembered for its premiere, which took place in that part of London and in which the Kray twins tried to play the local seigneurs.
And who wrote the screenplay for the film? That's right. Stephen Lewis.
It grew from a play called Sparrers Can't Sing that was put on at at Joan Littlewood's Stratford East . Given her ensemble method of working, I am sure others had a hand in it.
But have a look at IMDB and you will see that Stephen Lewis got the writing credit.
He also appeared in the film, playing a caretaker who relished enforcing the regulations that governed his shiny new tower block. You can see where Blakey came from.
Later. I have posted a clip of Stephen Lewis on The All New Alexei Sayle Show in 1994.
Labels: Comedy, Crime, London, Television
A 1955 railway poster for Whitley Bay
Go to my recent post on Whitstable and scroll down to the penultimate photograph.
You will see the same young lady, or at least a close cousin, urging you to visit that resort too, The reason she gives may be less then compelling to modern eyes.
Labels: Railways, Whitstable
I'm going to make an example of you, Mr Tompkins
I am not a parent or a teacher, so no doubt I take the problem of unauthorised absence from school too lightly.
But I have always been uneasy at the idea of headteachers having the power to fine parents over this issue - and there are those who would like to see this power applied more widely.
I also note that a system that has rather retreated from punishing children in recent decades has taken happily to punishing parents.
Labels: Education, Tompkins
Tony Greaves and Liberal Democrat Voice
Tony Greaves has an article in the new issue of Liberator. You can download a PDF of it from the magazine's website and it is worth doing so.
The new members can be a lifeline but only if they are encouraged to come forward with their talents and interests, and if they can become active by which I mean rather more than as automatons in a virtual phone bank.
In the course of the article Tony lets slip that he has been banned from Liberal Democrat Voice.
If you want to know why, then you will have to turn to a rather odd post on that blog. It consists entirely of reproduced tweets from one of the editorial team, none of which mentions Liberator. Some of the many comments are more enlightening on the matter,
I don't know if Tony Greaves deserves better than that, but I feel the readers of this semi-official blog do. If you are going to ban another member of your party, it seems a good idea to explain why in a conventional post if you are going to explain it at all.
This post on Lib Dem Voice reminds me of the peer who was so outraged by something I had written about her views in a pamphlet that she wrote an article for the party newspaper attacking it. As she could not bring herself to mention my name of the title of the pamphlet, I suspect she and I were the only two readers who had any idea what she was on about.
Anyway, if you want to read Tony's views in future it looks as though you will have to subscribe to Liberator. On balance, if people are rude to us we are more likely to publish them.
Labels: Blogging, Liberator, Tony Greaves
Lord Bonkers' Diary: "Who told you that?"
Do you know Alex Carlile? He was at one time Liberal MP for Montgomeryshire before being replaced by Lembit Opik – the general view in Welshpool and Caersws was that the latter brought some much needed gravitas to the role.
Yet Carlile's career has prospered in recent years and I meet him this morning while strolling by the Thames at Westminster.
"I hear you've been asked to serve on the committee that is going to review freedom of information legislation," I say brightly.
He looks at me suspiciously: "Who told you that?"
Labels: Alex Carlile, Lembit Opik, Lord Bonkers
Selling Dungeness by the pound
Kent Online reports:
For sale: a spacious seaside property.
The Dungeness Estate - which has been described as the UK's only desert - is up for sale and yours for £1.5 million.
Owen Leyshon, of the estate's managers Romney Marsh Country Partnership, said: "This is the sale of an incredibly unique landscape and a very popular tourist destination.
"We are expecting a massive scrum of people making offers."
The 468 acres of private land has been owned by the Paine family trust since 1964.
But now it is in the open market in a unique sale is being handled by Strutt and Parker estate agents.
The sale does not cover the Dungeness nuclear power site, the two lighthouses, the Pilot pub, Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway station. or the neighbouring RSPB reserve.
I was at Dungeness a couple weeks ago, when I took these photographs.
Let me also quote Malcolm Saville's description of Dungeness at its most run down after the war. It is taken from The Elusive Grasshopper (1951):
Some days later Jon tried to describe Dungeness to his mother and found it very difficult, although it was little more than a desert of shingle which had been made even uglier by slovenly and haphazard building of bungalows, shacks and old railway coaches.
There were a few fishermen's sheds of tarred timber on the sea side of the road, besides the group of well-built cottages round the lighthouse and the square, white building which housed the great foghorn.
Many of the little bungalows had been badly damaged by bombs and the blank eyes of their broken windows gave them a look of unheeded death. There is, perhaps, nothing more depressing than an untenanted house, but one that is empty, damaged and neglected as well is a horrid sight and even on this sunny afternoon Jon felt that this outpost was both curious and uncanny.
Labels: Dungeness, Malcolm Saville, Railways
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Horse stuck in tree rescued by firefighters
Welcome to the new Liberal Democrat bloggers


text:
AP Photo/Arouna Sissoko
Colonel-Major Ismael Wague, centre, spokesman for the soldiers identifying themselves as National Committee for the Salvation of the People, speaks during a press conference at Camp Soudiata in Kati, Mali, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020
By Chidinma Irene Nwoye
Mali's president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned on Aug.18 hours after he, the country's prime minister Boubou Cissé and key cabinet members were detained by mutinous military officers.
Keita announced his resignation and the dissolution of the country's government and parliament during a national televised address while in custody at the Kati army base near Bamako, Mali's capital. "If today it pleased some elements of our armed forces that it should end with their intervention, do I really have a choice?" said Keita. "I do not wish for any blood to be spilled to keep me in office."
The soldiers arrested the president following months of mass protests against corruption and escalating insecurity in Mali, where Islamic militants have been active since 2012. In a broadcast on Wednesday (Aug. 19), the military announced their plans to form a civilian transitional government that will organize new elections.
Styling themselves as the "National Committee for the Salvation of the People," the mutineers called on Mali's civil society and political movements to join them in creating conditions for a political transition.
"We are not keen on power, but we are keen on the stability of the country, which will allow us to organize general elections to allow Mali to equip itself with strong institutions within the reasonable time limit," said Colonel Ismael Wague, spokesman for the coup plotters.
ORTM TV via AP
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appears on state television to announce his resignation late Aug. 18, 2020.
African coups
Hundreds of anti-government protesters celebrated the mutiny in Bamako. Even though Africa has a long history of military-led coup d'etats, the numbers have dropped sharply over the last two decades. The most recent major successful military-led coups were last year's removal of Sudan's Omar al-Bashir from office and the overthrow of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe in November 2017. More recently, there was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the ailing president Ali Bongo in Gabon last year. Since the independence movements of the 1960s, there have been at least 200 successful and failed coup attempts on the continent; between 1952 and 2012, a total of 88 military coups were successful. The regime change is often welcomed by discontented citizens desperate for new leadership which they believe will spell lasting change.
World leaders, including the African Union, condemned the coup d'etat in Mali and called for Keita's release. The African Union has long taken a strict stance against coups on the continent. In 2000, its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity adopted the Lomé Declaration on a framework for the OAU's response to unconstitutional changes of government. The document enumerated penalties for member states who perpetrate a coup and is reaffirmed in the current AU's Constitutive Act which condemns and rejects such changes in power and bans perpetrators from participating in AU activities.
Regional bodies within the AU also adopt and help enforce this policy, which is why the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Mali's membership, closed its member states' borders with the country and halted financial transactions between member states and Mali. As part of its conflict prevention protocol, ECOWAS has a "zero tolerance" policy for coups and fears events in Mali will further destabilize an already volatile Sahel region, embroiled in conflict with Islamic insurgents for nearly a decade.
But there will be concern for a potential contagion effect with uncertainty around the political situation in neighboring West African countries including Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, where both long-term presidents are running for unprecedented third terms.
Keita himself came to power in 2013 months after a military coup in March 2012 at the same Kati base toppled former president Amadou Toumani Toure. At the time, the military was frustrated with Toure's management of the Tuareg rebellion, which had been hijacked by Islamic militants—the rebels sought to secede from Mali and create their independent state dubbed "Azawad."
Keita promised to restore peace and order but the spate of protests preceding his ousting from office suggest a failure to do so. In June, thousands of Malians took to the streets to demand his resignation. The following month, protesters were further incensed by images allegedly showing the president's son on a luxury yacht purportedly leading a lavish lifestyle while most of country struggled with economic hardship worsened by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Aug. 18 coup is a culmination of months of displeasure with Keita's leadership—including jihadists' violent interference with parliamentary elections in March—and failed ECOWAS mediation between his administration and opposition leaders.
The military has closed all air and land borders "until further notice" and imposed a national curfew. There is still no word on Keita's future. This is the fourth coup in Mali since it gained independence from France in 1960.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Health News Science
Canadian Awards Predict Nobel Prize Winners
April 2, 2012 by Nancy Miller
The Gairdner Foundation recently announced the winners of its 2012 awards.
The Canada Gairdner Awards are given to people who have made a new scientific discovery to combat disease or ease human suffering. It is one of the most important medical awards in the world.
As the Gairdner website puts it, "we're dedicated to recognizing the world's most creative and accomplished biomedical scientists." Biomedical scientists work in medicine and biology (the study of living organisms).
The late James A. Gairdner established the Gairdner Foundation in 1957. Since then, 300 awards have been given. Seventy-three of those award winners have gone on to win a Nobel Prize in either medicine or chemistry.
The awards are selected by Canadians, but they are given to scientists throughout the world.
This year's seven award winners include three people who broke through mysteries of the human circadian clock, the internal mechanism that controls our sleep and wakefulness, body temperature, and many other functions.
Health Lighter News Science
Chocolate May Be Good For Your Heart
March 8, 2012 by Joyce Grant
Chocolate – eaten in moderation – may actually be good for you, according to a new study.
The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said that people who ate small amounts of dark chocolate instead of other high-fat treats, had slight improvements in the health of their heart.
For some participants, their blood pressure came down slightly. Some people had lower insulin levels.
The researchers, at the Norwich Medical School in the UK, studied more than 1,000 people. They asked people to eat chocolate (or not eat chocolate) and then they monitored them to check for changes in their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a type of waxy fat; too much of it can cause damage to the heart.
Health News Sports
Skiing, Snowboarding Cause Most Winter Sports Injuries In Canada
Last winter, more than 5,600 Canadians ended up in the hospital with an injury from hockey, skiing or another winter sport.
That information comes from a new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Most of the injuries were from skiing and snowboarding. More than 2,300 Canadians went to the hospital after they had an accident in either of those sports.
Hockey (1,114 injuries) and snowmobiling (1,126) were next on the list of injury-causing sports.
No More Cases Of Polio In India
January 23, 2012 by Nancy Miller
India made history this month when it announced that there were no more cases of polio in the country.
The victory came after years of work by India's public-health workers. They travelled to the most remote places and the poorest areas in the country. They gave vaccines—medicine that prevents diseases—to 172 million children.
Polio is a viral infection that can paralyze (stop movement in) the body, especially in people's arms and legs. It can also make people's breathing difficult is if they have very bad asthma. It can even be fatal.
Remote Community Gets High-Tech Pharmacy
November 15, 2011 by Joyce Grant
Curve Lake is a First Nations community half an hour north of Peterborough.
People who live there no longer have to go all the way into the city when they run out of their medicine and need a prescription filled.
They can get their medicine from a machine, similar to a bank machine – except that what comes out isn't money, it's pills.
Curve Lake gets a lot of snow in the winter.
In bad weather, it can be difficult for the community's residents to get to the nearest pharmacy if they run out of their medication.
Health Politics
We Are Turning Seven Billion Strong
The population of the world is about to hit a new milestone.
As of Oct. 31, demographers say there will be seven billion people living on earth.
Back in 1804, we hit the one-billion mark. It took another 123 years to reach two billion.
By 2083, the population rate could be much faster or slower, depending a few factors including average life expectancy.
It is the poor who are always hit hardest by population increases, researcher John Bongaarts told The Globe and Mail newspaper.
There are more people drawing on the earth's resources—food and energy, for instance.
More than 900 million people in the world don't get adequate nourishment.
Terry Fox's Marathon Of Hope Still Running
October 3, 2011 by Joyce Grant
In 1980, Terry Fox started a Marathon of Hope.
His hope was to raise money for cancer research and eventually help to find a cure for the disease.
After losing a leg to bone cancer, Terry Fox wanted to help other people. To raise money, he began a fundraising run across Canada. His famous run-hop stride is well known to Canadians and people around the world.
Terry Fox ran more than 5,300 kilometres – half-way across Canada – when the cancer spread to his lungs. He died at the age of 22, in 1981.
Physical Activity Can Boost Kids' Brains
Most people agree that doing schoolwork, puzzles, math and reading help kids get smarter. But did you know that a good workout can also help you learn more easily?
Scientists say that physical exercise gets more blood flowing through a person's brain, and helps them think better.
It also causes the brain to release a protein (called brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which makes new brain cells grow.
Researchers say kids who are active and fit perform better on memory tests. It affects certain areas of the brain, like the hippocampus and the basal ganglia.
Children who aren't as active are more likely to become easily distracted.
Health Lighter
Oldest Living Human Turns 115
Besse Cooper is the oldest person on earth. Last month, she turned 115 years old.
She was born on August 26, 1896… seven years before the invention of the airplane.
Cooper has held the title of "oldest person on earth" twice. She lost it once, when the Guinness Book of World Records discovered Maria Gomes Valentin in Brazil. She was about a month and a half older than Cooper.
Valentin passed away in June, and Cooper regained the title. The Gerontology Research Group and the Guinness Book of World Records each verified her age and her status as the world oldest living human.
Cooper's son, Sidney, is 76 years old. He says his mom is in good physical health.
Health Kids
12-Year-Old Boy Delivers His Baby Brother
September 8, 2011 by Joyce Grant
Gaelan Edwards is a special kid. He's 12 years old and lives in Campbell River, BC. He has three siblings, Gage, Rhianna and Rowan.
But it's his newest brother whose birthday he'll probably never forget. That's because on Aug. 21, Gaelan delivered his brother.
Around 2 a.m., his pregnant mother woke up and shouted for Gaelan. She said she was going to have the baby.
Gaelan wondered what to do, and worried that if he didn't catch the baby as it came out it might get hurt.
So he went into action. He pulled the baby out by the shoulders. Then, without being told, he ran to the kitchen and got a pair of scissors.
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It's A Man's World: The Implications of Makeup in Mass Effect
Written by Laura Clancy
Dawna Perry
"Human sperm cells were seen with the earliest microscopes in the seventeenth century. The human egg is several thousand times larger, but — despite earlier postulates — it was not visualized until 1827. […] For something to be found, it must first be imagined and sought." (Duffin, Jacalyn. A History of Medicine, (Toronto, ON: Toronto UP, 2007), p. 249.)
Videogames are not a space for women's voices when parts of women's experiences are not addressed or taken seriously; like scientists dismissing out-of-hand the possibility of the ovum's existence, game developers are dismissing out-of-hand the chance to engage in meaningful dialogue with women about even their most banal experiences (like wearing makeup). How, then, can we expect games as a medium to look at the more profound aspects of women's experiences? Until game developers imagine and seek to include women's experiences in games (and until gamers stop complaining about their inclusion), we can't.
Makeup is a choice in the character creation in Mass Effect. From that point on, it is a permanent feature of female Shepard's appearance, which is not realistic.* Attitudes towards wearing makeup vary depending on the person wearing it*, but regardless of one's opinion, etc., makeup remains a choice. It is not a permanent feature like jaw width or ear size. Attitudes towards makeup also vary tremendously depending on a person's class and culture. Additionally, makeup has different meanings depending on where someone situates themselves on the gender spectrum. Mass Effect treats makeup like bone structure: it is fixed, and the game implies that the player (and the world) should give it no thought.
But makeup doesn't work like that. Makeup deserves to be thought about, talked about, written about. We live in a culture that objectifies women, viewing them as figures to be admired above all else. This culture values and praises women who meet a certain standard of beauty — one which involves heavy makeup — to the exclusion of all others. When pop culture media (like videogames) uphold this standard without question, the message can be immensely damaging, not only to women and girls, but also to society as a whole. So, while makeup may seem like a minor aspect of videogames, it's not.
Every person you meet who wears makeup will likely have a series of (usually banal) statements when it comes to makeup. Everyone who wears makeup (usually, but not exclusively, women) knows the time and effort involved in putting on degrees of makeup. Some people spend an hour every morning applying layers of foundation, eye shadow, lipstick, and blush. Some people take five minutes to daub on some concealer and a bit of mascara. But regardless, one will change their look when they choose to or when circumstances demand it. So why can't we change Shepard's makeup?
Mainly, I wear makeup to work. I imagine that I have this in common with most women, regardless of profession. Shepard is no different; she may be working in a predominantly male field (as a ranking military officer), but it makes sense for her to wear makeup to work just like I do (even though I work in an office that employs mostly women). Also, her job being athletic does not preclude her wearing makeup. Professional female athletes (like hockey players) wear makeup while they're "at work," as well. My issue with Shepard wearing makeup does not stem from the belief that female soldiers (or firefighters, or police, or hockey players, etc.) do not or should not wear makeup, since that's absurd. My issue is that the makeup is a permanent feature of her face.
If we only ever saw Shepard in a professional capacity (i.e. while she's "at work"), Shepard being fully made-up all the time would be excusable. Shepard's job forces her to divide her time between the Alliance (Cerberus in the second game) and the Citadel Council. As an Alliance marine/Cerberus operative, she flies in and out of hot zones, fighting bad guys and protecting civilians. As a Council Spectre, she may shoot bad guys and protect civilians, but she also meets with diplomats and negotiates with politicians. In both of these roles, it would be feasible to expect Shepard to wear makeup. But Mass Effect is not only about Shepard in an official or professional capacity. If it were, if it were more like Gears of War, for instance, and Shepard were nothing but an object by which the player shoots enemies and blows things up (in other words, if she were Marcus Fenix), the permanent presence of makeup wouldn't matter.
In the case of Marcus Fenix, we only see him doing one thing (shooting bad guys) all the time. We never really see him "off-duty," and we only see him "on-duty" for more or less one day. In a game like Gears of War, we are offered one (intense) day in the life of a soldier in the COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments). Mass Effect is very different. For one thing, Shepard is "on-duty" for a lot longer than one day. More importantly, however, Mass Effect shows that Shepard is a person, while Gears of War treats Marcus only as a tool for the player to use. Mass Effect allows us to build Shepard as a character by giving the player choices. For instance, if a player chooses to complete some of the innumerable potential side quests, the game gives the impression that Shepard is choosing to help passersby or collect items, which contributes to her characterization. If a player chooses to interact with her crew or pursue a romantic relationship, that choice also reflects upon her as a person.** The game shows us Shepard as much (possibly more) when she's "off-duty" as when she's "on-duty." Mass Effect is as much about Shepard as a person as Shepard as a soldier/Council Spectre. The same simply cannot be said of a game like Gears of War.
As such, we see Shepard in many circumstances where there is no logical reason for her to be wearing makeup, especially as the series progresses. Most notably, each game contains a sex scene and its immediate aftermath (unless, of course, the player chooses not to pursue a romantic relationship). Makeup tends to, um, smudge during sexual encounters, yet Shepard's remains immaculate. In the second game, we see Shepard immediately following extensive surgery. She wakes up from the dead with perfect makeup. Did Miranda meticulously apply her eye shadow, blush, and lipstick while Shepard was unconscious? (That's a bizarre thought.)
At the beginning of the third game, she is forced reluctantly from planet Earth when the Reapers attack without warning. She rushes to Mars and then the Citadel, seemingly without a moment in between. Given these circumstances, is it really feasible that her makeup is still perfect when she gets to the Citadel, especially after experiencing a vicious sandstorm on Mars? Maybe she had time to reapply it while the Normandy travelled, but that would mean that Shepard had somehow stored makeup on the Normandy before it got impounded. (Even if she had, it would have been long expired and unsafe to use after a year… unless it was some kind of special space mascara. Discussions of futuristic makeup technology aside, I think you get my point.)
Over the course of the third game, it also becomes apparent that Shepard isn't sleeping well. She is plagued by nightmares. The crew worries for her. Garrus even says "I'm starting to see some wear and tear," implying that her lack of sleep is showing on her face, but all we see is her perpetually perfect makeup. After Thessia's destruction, she can hardly bring herself to answer Hackett's call. Why would she bother to apply makeup? Though she's going through hell, we never see Shepard cry, but isn't it possible that she does? Isn't it possible that, in the face of the biggest threat ever known to the galaxy, her makeup smears a little, and she can't be bothered to fix it?
In thus analysing the presence of makeup in Mass Effect 3, it dawned on me how much better the third game would be if Shepard's makeup changed based on the sombre context of the third game. Imagine if we did see the "wear and tear" that Garrus mentioned. In the Batman Arkham games, Batman's suit gets torn, his cape becomes tattered, and his clean-shaven face develops a thick stubble. The changes in Batman's appearance emphasize to the player that it has been a long, tough night. Bioware could have taken a cue from the Arkham games and demonstrated to the player the true impact of this brutal war. Why didn't they?
The presence of makeup at the times that I mentioned above broke the spell of the game for me. Everywhere in the third game, people are dying. They've lost their homes, their families, their livelihood. Everyone says it's the end. The game keeps insisting that the galaxy will not emerge from this war unscathed. But Shepard's makeup does. It makes no sense, and because it makes no sense, the game seems to contradict itself.
Shepard's perfect makeup has ramifications, however, beyond the game itself. The presence of makeup can impact a player's perception of Shepard as a person. As I mentioned above, makeup is a choice; it involves work, and it carries a wide array of associations and implications depending on the person who chooses to wear it. I can only speak for myself here, but I perceive the desire for constantly having perfect makeup as coming from an inherent insecurity about one's looks or from an inherent vanity: both are rooted in the desire to be perceived as attractive in the eyes of another. Therefore, when the game forces Shepard to have immaculate makeup at all times, I find myself sometimes associating the presence of that makeup with Shepard being insecure or vain. That realization broke the spell of the game for me because the game praises Shepard continually: she's strong, brave, loyal, and committed to saving as much of the galaxy as she can. In short, she seems neither insecure nor vain. But her makeup can be perceived to send a different message.
For example, let's say the player chooses to pursue a romantic relationship with Kaidan. In the cut scenes, Shepard is shown to have perfect makeup right before meeting with Kaidan in her cabin. Given what we know about makeup being a choice and possibly being associated with insecurity, we can analyze its presence. Why is she wearing makeup? Perhaps she is trying really hard to impress him. Maybe she's insecure about his affections and trying very hard to be beautiful so that he will continue to love her after they have sex. After they make love, Shepard is awake before Kaidan, and her makeup is impeccable. Is she so vain that she doesn't want him to see her without makeup? Or maybe she fears she'd be too vulnerable without it. Perhaps she's embarrassed about having sex with her lieutenant. Her makeup can be seen as a mask here, a way of putting the sex act behind her and moving forward; perhaps she is using it to re-establish the chain of command.
When Mass Effect refuses to acknowledge the implications of makeup, it says to me that no one on the development team ever considered the implications of wearing makeup. It says that they do not understand, nor do they care to examine, the implications of wearing makeup as clearly as someone who actually wears makeup (i.e. a woman) would. Mass Effect sees a man as the default. Maybe the developers assumed everyone would play as a male Shepard. Maybe they assumed that those playing as a female Shepard were male and therefore they designed the character with the male gaze in mind. Maybe the male gaze is so pervasive that it never even crossed their minds that they were catering to it.
Regardless of why they ignored the implications of wearing makeup, by doing so, the game fails to take into account my voice as a woman. As someone who wears makeup, I can raise these issues, but because the game doesn't seem to take them into consideration, I am shouting in an empty room. The game perceives me as a minority, and I begin to think that I am, that no one else who plays videogames knows about makeup the way I do (read: I am alone as a female gamer), and therefore, I (and my opinion) don't matter. I begin to wonder if my Shepard should have been a man because then I wouldn't be pestered by such troublesome questions. I begin to wonder if there is something wrong with being a woman.
Here's where I return to my epigraph from The History of Medicine. Scientists looking to discover the secret of procreation perceived women as passive participants in the process, vessels to hold the male seed. Thus, no one ever considered that perhaps the woman's anatomy played a role in creating life. Even though the ovum is much larger than the sperm, the sperm was discovered much earlier because scientists bothered to look for it. How much different would games be if, when designing characters, the game developers bothered to take into account the opinions of makeup wearers?
So, Bioware, I ask you: how difficult would it be for Shepard's appearance to change over the course of the game? In the second and third games, facial scars appear or fade depending on a player's Paragon/Renegade score, so why not have her makeup change as well, like Batman's face and clothing in the Arkham games? Alternatively, how hard would it be to allow players to change Shepard's makeup? Games, like all forms of art, strive to break away from the banality of life, so I understand that players may not appreciate having a mini-game in which Shepard rolls the mascara brush over her eyelashes. I feel it's also important to note that many games that do directly involve the player making decisions about the protagonist's appearance are considered "casual" games and are usually marketed to women and girls. Adding a "casual" aspect may not go over well with the target market intended for "hardcore" games like Mass Effect (read: men); however, I'd like to remind readers (and Bioware) that not all gamers are male, so why shy away from taking a chance to integrate women's experiences?
If Bioware isn't willing to incorporate the actions of applying/removing makeup (which, I'll admit could be rather boring), why couldn't we click on the mirror in the captain's cabin and bring up a "Remove/Apply Makeup: Yes/No" dialogue box? The image could fade out and fade back in. Or the mirror could bring up the character creation screen (like in the Dragon Age 2 "Black Emporium" DLC) and feature new Shepard in future encounters. Or perhaps Shepard could have a default 'no-makeup' setting upon re-boarding the Normandy. Major cut scenes taking place off the Normandy (Council meetings, Citadel scenes, etc.) could feature Shepard with makeup, and Normandy conversations could be makeup-less. Would it really be that hard?
If you're a person who chooses to wear makeup (most of the time, that means you're a woman, but not necessarily), you understand that makeup is a choice. When a game like Mass Effect ignores the implications of wearing makeup, the game developers are de-valuing the experience of wearing makeup; they are stating that the choice to wear makeup does not matter. Therefore, they are de-valuing one (albeit small) part of being a woman, while reinforcing the belief that videogames are (or should be) made with the male player in mind. When developers are hesitant to introduce changes that may appeal to different demographics, the perception of gaming as a space where women are not welcome becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Women gamers may feel unwelcome or alienated by the game's omission and devaluation of their experiences, however banal those experiences may be. Furthermore, the game thus upholds the belief that women, even powerful, kick-ass women like Shepard, are viewed primarily as objects to be admired, and therefore cannot not be pretty. This view is damaging to women and men, and I wish my favourite game franchise would take a step towards changing it.
*Note that when we first create the character, and at the beginning of each of the two sequels, we can choose to have no makeup. But it's also unusual or unrealistic for a woman to never, ever, ever wear makeup. (I have friends, for instance, who never wear makeup in an everyday capacity, but they have still worn it a handful of times for theatre productions, weddings, cosplay, photo shoots, etc.)
**More than one person I know has justified their Shepard's actions through a complicated analysis of the character's thought processes, preferences, moral code, past behaviour patterns, etc. For instance, one player's Shepard decided to save the Rachni queen because she thought that it was the right thing to do, while another's Shepard might have saved the Rachni queen because she thought that it could be useful for the Rachni to owe humanity a debt.
Dawna Perry is currently completing her Master of Arts in Literature. When she's not reading, walking, or gardening, she's writing. When she's not writing, she's probably sleeping. You can read her musings on film, television, videogames, and literature on partiestocoverthesilence.com.
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Phyciodes montana är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Hans Hermann Behr 1863. Phyciodes montana ingår i släktet Phyciodes och familjen praktfjärilar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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Praktfjärilar
montana

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My poor Husband has been signed off from work for the next two weeks at least with a slipped disk. Ouch! I'm not gonna lie, it has been really nice having him home, especially since the weather has been so sunny but I do wish he wasn't in so much pain.
As far as I know, there are no magic foods to heal a slipped disk but I figured I could help lift his mood by making his favourite dinner. Chicken and Pesto! My Husband just loves pesto, any pesto, so I thought I would try something new for our dinner tonight and throw in some peppery wild rocket leaves to this one.
Oh yum! So clean, so fresh and so delicious. This Clean Eating Wild Rocket Pesto is really yummy. It's raw, gluten free and dairy free. It is suitable for vegans and tastes great with just about anything. You can try mixing it into your morning eggs, spreading in a wholemeal flat bread at lunch, or stirring through some quinoa and chicken at dinnertime. (That's what we did!).
This recipe makes 4 servings and so feeds my family of 4. You can double this recipe as many times as you like though to make more or to have leftovers for another day.
This Clean Eating Wild Rocket Pesto is really yummy. It's raw, gluten free and dairy free. It is suitable for vegans and tastes great with just about anything. You can try mixing it into your morning eggs, spreading in a wholemeal flat bread at lunch, or stirring through some quinoa and chicken at dinnertime.
Place the walnuts into a food processor and blitz for a minute until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.
Add the basil and rocket leaves to the food procceser and blitz until everything is broken up.
Add the oil, lemon juice and the salt to the food porccesor and blitz until combined. You may want to scrape down the sides once during this process to make sure everything gets mixed.
Stir into wholegrain pasta or quinoa or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.


Credit: Courtesy University of Minnesota Extension There are many different options for the prevention and treatment of EGT.
Exuberant granulation tissue (EGT), commonly known as proud flesh, is a frustrating complication of wound healing in horses. It can lead to extensive scarring and in serious cases, be detrimental to a horse's career. Granulation tissue is red, moist, soft and bumpy. It bleeds easily when rubbed or scraped. It is considered exuberant when it becomes unorganized and extends beyond the margins of a wound. EGT most often develops in horses on wounds of the lower limb that are healing by second intention or those wounds that can't or shouldn't be sutured closed. EGT may develop due to chronic inflammation or lack of oxygen to the wound. Preventing EGT is easier than treating it.
The horse tends to have a weak acute inflammatory response in comparison to other mammals. This can delay wound healing and promote the formation of EGT. Boney fragments, foreign bodies and normal motion can also cause chronic inflammation in a wound. Many agents marketed to control granulation tissue actually cause more inflammation and/or damage the new skin cells. Surgical intervention, thorough cleaning, appropriate stabilization, and avoiding most topical agents will help decrease wound inflammation and the likelihood of EGT formation.
Bandaging can promote the formation of EGT by creating a low oxygen, high moisture environment. Bandages can also lead to chronic inflammation through direct wound irritation. Low oxygen levels in a wound have been shown to promote the proliferation of fibroblasts, a principal cell type of granulation tissue. Bandages have been found to lead to slower wound closure and a greater likelihood of excessive granulation tissue. If possible, application of bandages should be avoided on wounds healing by second intention. If a bandage is needed (i.e., to prevent further trauma or wound contamination), it should be applied to the wound only until a good granulation tissue bed has formed. Wounds should then be managed without a bandage. If bandaging is needed long term, various topical treatments can be applied to decrease the amount of exuberant granulation tissue. Examples of these topical treatments include corticosteroids and silicone.
If EGT has begun to form, it needs to be trimmed back until it does not rise over the wound edges. There are no nerves in this tissue so the horse does not usually object as long as healthy skin is not "trimmed." However, granulation tissue is very vascular so bleeding is often significant and a temporary bandage may be needed for the first few hours. Trimming EGT does not seem to slow total healing time as long as the wound is otherwise healthy.
Topical corticosteroids can be applied to the wound to reduce the chronic inflammatory response and prevent the formation of EGT. One to two applications may be all that is needed. Prolonged use of corticosteroids should be avoided as the drug can interfere with the overall healing process. Silicone containing wound dressings can significantly decrease the likelihood of the formation of EGT and improve tissue quality. Silicone blocks certain inflammatory mediators and decreases tissue overgrowth. Silicone bandages can be used long term with fewer side effects than corticosteroids.
A 2010 study used unfocused extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) to treat limb wounds. ESWT did not accelerate the healing of wounds, but the wounds treated with ESWT did have less EGT. The results of this study suggested that ESWT can aid in the prevention of the formation of exuberant granulation tissue, but further research in this area is needed.
There are many different options for the prevention and treatment of EGT. Prevention currently centers on bandage management. More research needs to be done in order to understand the full potential of newer preventative modalities such as ESWT. Treatment should be limited to those methods and agents shown safe for new skin cells or you may be controlling the EGT, but also slowing wound healing.
Sign up for the University of Minnesota horse newsletter by visiting their website.
This article was written by Claire Kamrath, DVM, past University of Minnesota veterinary student.


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Tag: Diversity
Meet the Assemblies of God's New General Treasurer | Influence Podcast
This past August, the Assemblies of God Executive Presbytery appointed Wilfredo De Jesús as general treasurer of the denomination. Best known as "Pastor Choco," De Jesús succeeds Rick DuBose in that office, which is charged with oversight of the Division of Treasury.
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Pastor Choco about his life, ministry, and new responsibilities.
Until his appointment as general treasurer, Pastor Choco was senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church, a multisite congregation in Chicago, Illinois, and one of the city's fastest growing churches. He is author of Amazing Faith, In the Gap, and Move into More, among other titles. You can watch him on TBN's miniseries, In the Gap.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/influenceresources/194_Inf-Pod_Choco-De-Jesus.mp3
This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of Balanced Budget, Balanced Life:
People don't plan on having money troubles, which is exactly the problem: they don't plan! In Balanced Budget, Balanced Life, Rollie Dimos shows you how to make a Biblically sound financial plan and stick to it. Get back the time and resources you need to stop stressing out about money, and start enjoying the balance of a truly abundant life.
For more information visit BalancedBudgetBalancedLife.com.
The Hospitable Leader | Influence Podcast
Hospitality is a Christian virtue. "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers," Hebrews 13:2 tells us, "for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." According to the apostle Paul, one of the requirements for holding church office is being "hospitable" (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8). At minimum, hospitality means providing food and shelter for those in need.
But what if that's only the start? What if hospitality is a mindset that has multiple expressions affecting every aspect of leadership? That's the question I'm exploring with Terry A. Smith in Episode 154 of the Influence Podcast.
Terry A. Smith is lead pastor of The Life Christian Church in West Orange, New Jersey, as well as author of The Hospitable Leader: Create Environments Where People and Dreams Flourish, published by Bethany House. You can learn more about his book at this webpage, specifically created for Influence Podcast listeners.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/influenceresources/154_Inf-Pod_Terry-A-Smith.mp3
Five Tensions Churches Must Manage to Successfully Engage Millennials | Influence Podcast
America is in the midst of a generational sea change. Baby Boomers are no longer the nation's largest generational cohort. Instead, Millennials are.
Unfortunately, Millennials are the least religious generational cohort in our nation's history. If the Church wants to reach Millennials, it cannot rely on strategies that worked with Boomers. The generations are simply too different.
In today's episode, Influencemagazine executive editor George P. Wood talks to Geoff Surratt about five tensions churches must manage to successfully engage Millennials.
Together with his wife, Sherry, Geoff is the founder of Ministry Together, which "partners with "ministry leaders for relational health, organizational growth and Kingdom impact." He is also author of the free e-book, The Church Will Thrive.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/influenceresources/150_Inf-Pod_Geoff-Surratt.mp3
Preaching with Cultural Intelligence | Book Review
America is increasingly diverse, and so are American churches. Matthew D. Kim wants "to prepare twenty-first-century preachers for the realities of congregational diversity in North America and beyond." To do so, he outlines a "homiletical template" to help preachers more effectively take into account their communities' diversity in their preaching. He focuses specifically on diversity of denominations, ethnicities, genders, locations and religions. Preaching with Cultural Intelligenceis a must-read for preachers who want to effectively minister to people different from themselves.
Book Reviewed
Matthew D. Kim, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017).
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote "Yes" on my Amazon.com review page.
P.P.S. This review is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.comwith permission.
P.P.S. Check out my Influence Podcastwith Prof. Kim about the book!
Understanding Generation Z | Influence Podcast
Over at InfluenceMagazine.com, I interview David Kinnaman of Barna Group about its new report, Gen Z: The Culture, Beliefs and Motivations Shaping the Next Generation. In my opinion, this is an excellent report for pastors–especially youth and KidMin pastors–and parents who want to understand the water in which their Gen Z kids swim.
You can follow Barna Group on Facebook and Twitter. I always find its research to be thought-provoking and helpful.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/influenceresources/125_Inf-Pod_Matthew-Kim.mp3
Episode 125 Notes
00:00 Introduction of podcast topic
00:32 MEGA Sports Camp ad copy
01:10 Welcome to David Kinnaman
01:47 Why pastors and other church leaders should pay attention to generational research
04:00 Demographics of Generation Z
07:18 Big themes of Barna's Gen Z report
12:10 Nominal Christianity vs. biblical worldview
15:51 Diversity of race/ethnicity and gender/sexuality
21:22 Materialistic values
25:04 Best practices for ministry to Generation Z
27:55 Gen Z and Barna Trends 2018
Preaching with Cultural Intelligence | Influence Podcast
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I talk to Matthew D. Kim about his new book, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence (Baker Academic).
Dr. Kim is associate professor of preaching and ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, and author of the book, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear our Sermons (Baker Academic). Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
I think this book is timely because America is becoming an increasingly diverse nation, and so are American churches. This diversification raises an important question: How should pastors and other church leaders preach and minister in this new cultural context?
Take a listen to Dr. Kim's answer!
Friday's Influence Online Articles
Today, over at InfluenceMagazine.com:
Chris Railey gives sound advice to church leaders who are hiring new staff. "When hiring personnel, consider more than just their obvious talents, " he writes. "Look at some of the intangibles that a person won't acquire through training alone."
Kristi Northup makes a Pentecostal case for diversity. "I am all for fair legislation and pursuing justice through the legal system, but racial and ethnic divisions are as deeply rooted as original sin can get. The issue is massive. It is everywhere, on every continent and in every nation. Only a Holy Spirit visitation can heal us of this deep wound."
We note a Barna study about Americans' practice of prayer. "Nearly 8 in 10 American adults (79 percent) surveyed said they had prayed at least once in the past three months, Barna said. Of those who pray, a vast majority are most likely to do so alone (94 percent) and silently (82 percent)."
Please make sure to follow and like InfluenceInfluence magazine on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes!


The 9th edition of Singapore's original all-women run features a new mother-and-child category, beauty queens jogging for charity, and four male celebrities among the race pacers.
Singapore, 14 August, 2014 – Shape Run 2014, organised by SPH Magazines Pte Ltd (SPH Magazines), will be held on Sunday, 17 August, at Nicoll Highway.
As the first all-women race in Singapore, Shape Run is a highly anticipated event with a strong following. A turnout of more than 9,000 is expected for its ninth edition. This year, in addition to the 5km and 10km races, the event introduces a new Me and Mini Me 1.8km Fun Run for mothers and their children aged 10 and below.
Shape Run 2014 will also be graced by four male celebrities: Joining the pacers are Fly Entertainment artistes Allan Wu, Andrew Lua, Bobby Tonelli and Jimmy Taenaka. Besides the celebrity quartet, 27 other pacers –10 females and 17 males– will encourage runners to achieve their target race time: 35min for 5km as well as 55min, 1hr, 1hr 10min and 1hr 20min for 10km. Andrew and Jimmy will be part of the 5km group (35min), while Allan and Bobby Allan will join the 10km groups at 1hr 10min and 1hr 20 min respectively.
Not to be outdone by the men, this year's fastest pacers for the 10km race (55min) will be led by local female athlete Chen Zhilei. In the lead-up to the run, three training runs have been conducted – with Zhilei and company pacing close to 150 participants at each session.
Shape Run 2014 will be more than a sporting competition for 27 special racers. As part of a charity drive, 13 contestants from the Miss Singapore International Beauty Pageant 2014, along with 14 past pageant titleholders, will join the 5km race. Through their participation, the group aims to raise $10,000 for three beneficiaries including THK Home for Disabled @ Eunos, Singapore Women's Association and Lions Home For The Elders.
Your journalist, photographer and video crew are cordially invited to Shape Run 2014.
Please confirm your attendance with Vanni Cheong of Corporate Communications & CSR by 16 Aug.


Sounds great, can't wait for it.
Grey, you failed the first time, so I won't bother with this one.
Okay so I'm sure most of you are like "What happened to the MonsterMMORPG fanfic?" Well, I kinda forgot most of the storyline, so I decided that a simple Pokemon one would be in order...If anyone saw my RP Rausten and was like, "That seems like a boring RP." I agree with you. I'm just gonna make a fanfic about it, which should go much smoother than the MonsterMMORPG one...so...be prepared to see the first chapter tomorrow.
just delete your initial post you made when you created the thread.


Low Parts Count: Once the Low Parts sensor is made (parts are not detected) the machine counts insertions for the head that is low on parts. When the count is reached the machine stops with an error code indicating it is low on parts. If the sensor detects parts before the machine stops, the counter is reset. If no Low Parts sensor is mounted, this field is not used and the default is zero.
Shuttle Off Timer: When the shuttle is retracted to the home position, a timer is started in the software. When the time exceeds the value entered, the shuttle is allowed to fire again when the routine calls it (sets a minimum dwell time for the shuttle). One of the uses of this setting is to allow more or less time for a pin or socket to enter the escapement on a vibratory bowl fed part.
Air Clean Timer: Once the head down signal is made, Vacuum is turned off, the Air Clean valve is fired and the software starts a timer. When the timer expires, the Air Clean valve is turned off and Vacuum is eventually turned on again. Vacuum can be used to hold a Pin in the head during the transition to the board. The air Clean can then be used to clear the Top Die of debris before the next cycle. The default is 50 milliseconds, and should not be changed for most applications.
Head Delay: After the anvil is fired the software sets a delay and waits for it to expire before firing the head. This can be used to ensure that the anvil beats the head to the board. As a rule, the anvil is usually quicker to the board than the head. The cycle time for the head and anvil can be measured using IM Diagnostics to fire the outputs and monitor the inputs.
Part Settle Delay: After the anvil makes the Anvil Up switch and the head makes the Head Down switch, the software sets a delay before retracting the head and anvil to their home positions. This allows the amount of time to "set" the part to be selectable. A symptom of to short a Part Settle Delay is inconsistent or loose settings of the component. The default is 20 milliseconds and should be used in most applications.
Shuttle In: Selected if there is a Shuttle In sensor. If this is not selected, the routine will not look for Shuttle In.
Part Present: Selected if there is a Part Present sensor. If this is not selected, the routine will not look for Part Present.
Anvil Up: Selected if there is an Anvil Up sensor. If this is not selected, the routine will not look for Anvil Up.
Anvil Aux In: Selected if there is an Anvil Aux sensor. This can be used as a "Clinch" option after the Anvil Up sensor is made, or as a way to fire the anvil up after the head is down. If this is not selected, the routine will not look for Anvil Aux In.
Tooling Safe: Selected if Head Home AND Tooling Safe are required before moving the positioning system. If not selected, the software only needs to see one or the other before moving.


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Q: Adding to the TFS 2012 related work items lis Does anyone know how to add queries to the list of Related Work Item queries in the TFS pending changes menu?
There are only two in there at the moment, and they are not filtered queries that we use..
Screen show of the area below

A: I found it - It's under the "Work Items" section, and you then add queries to your favourites

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