Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Six of the Best 297

Photo: Financial Times photos
The Widow's World notes the letter in today's Times from Lib Dems Against Secret Courts and urges you to sign its petition.

This evening Max Atkinson and Paddy Ashdown are taking part in an event organised at Portcullis House by the UK Speechwriters' Guild. If you couldn't attend then you can enjoy some vintage videos of the first Lib Dem leader on Max Atkinson's Blog.

"These rules have been catastrophic for local organisations which rely on leafleting to build an audience, but cannot afford such fees. A flyer ban in Leicester Square caused the collapse of several comedy nights and a dramatic reduction of audiences. One Women’s Institute was threatened with a fine for handing out leaflets about their art exhibition. Oxford student societies and arts events have to pay £100 a month for leafleting. The leafleting licence system in Brighton caused the decline of smaller, more experimental music nights, which cannot afford the fee." On Lib Dem Lords Tim Clement Jones writes on his campaign to prevent local authorities restricting leafleting for cultural events.

Great Jewish Comedians has a video of a 1965 stand-up performance by Woody Allen.

"Barely 150 metres from IWM London today is the site of the most destructive explosion in Lambeth during the Second World War, which killed 43 people." You can see the results of this V2 attack on Transforming IWM London.

"Today, more than 50 years since their demise, there’s only the odd clue that trams ever ran in Leicester. Just two of the old terminus buildings still stand, in Stoneygate and Narborough Road, and you can find many of the original tram shelters around the city – one stands outside Humberstone Park." This Was Leicestershire remembers Leicester's trams.

1 comment:

Charlieman said...

Around about year 2000, there was a national project to reinforce old river bridges on trunk roads. In mid summer, Aylestone Road was closed between the gas works and Aylestone village whilst work was performed over the Soar at Boundary Road. The excavations showed tram lines running along the middle of the road which had been hidden by the heavy camber. They are probably still there.

There was a huge terminus adjacent to the Tigers ground which was used to accommodate trams redirected to serve crowds at the two football grounds or even the leccy cricket ground. If you look at photographs in the Leicester tram book and compare them with the area today, you can understand how it worked.

Other things are more difficult to understand. For some years, Clarendon Park Road was a tram route.