Liberal England in 2015: Part 1

January

Lord Bonkers remembered the first Liberal Democrat leadership election and a zinger from Paddy Ashdown:

"Beith be not proud, though some have called the
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so."

I forecast that the forthcoming general election would be more boring than people expected. I badly misunderestimated the SNP surge, but was right to be sceptical about Green and Ukip advances.

The Black Beast of Harborough was sighted again, this time along the canal between Laughton and Lubenham.

I pondered globalisation and the death of Pigling Bland:

If your goal is to produce a book that is inoffensive in every culture, it is not surprising if you come up with something rather anaemic. 

Back in the 1970s, good Liberals wanted a greater role for the market as a counterweight to centralised power. We wanted choice and innovation. 

Today, however, things are more complicated than that. What the market often gives us is homogenisation.

I discovered Cleaners from Venus and their 'Illya Kuryakin Looked at me.'

Sadly, the election victory of Billy Brooke (pictured above) as Purr Minster 2015 did not turn out to be an omen for the Liberal Democrats.





February

The New Walk Centre, Leicester, bit the dust.

I explained why Nick Clegg would hold Sheffield Hallam and also - without having the courage to join all the dots - why many Lib Dem MPs would lose in a post on the Eastleigh by-election.

Why haven't tuition fees deterred young people from going to university? I suggested some reasons.

I also explained why every politician always receives "a great reception on the doorstep".

One of my favourite railway videos of the year showed the Stamford to Seaton shuttle in 1966.

March

I spent my birthday paying my respects to a King of England who died 475 years before I was born - Richard III.

Another notable demolition - Greyfriars Bus Station in Northampton - took place.

The Liberal Democrats unexpectedly revived the kerb drill as part of their general election campaign, while I suggested that Parliament should move to Arkwright's Mill, Cromford.

Two of my photographs were used by the BBC and I blogged about sources of free images for bloggers.

I paid tribute to the Yorkshire and England bowler Bob Appleyard and found a video of Bobby Henrey, child star of the 1948 film The Fallen Idol, giving a talk about the film 66 years on.


Now read...

Liberal England in 2015: Part 2
Liberal England in 2015: Part 3