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Alderman John Jackson RIP
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I was very sorry to learn that Alderman John Jackson, a former councillor and Mayor of Copeland has died. (To avoid any confusion, I should probably explain that he was Mayor when this was the title of the councillor who was in the council chair that year, and who acted as the ceremonial mayor and first citizen. It was an entirely different post from the subsequent office of directly elected Mayor, who was essentially an elected leader.) John was a straightforward, no-nonsense honest and kind individual who worked hard for his constituents as a councillor and for his community in everything he did. He will be missed. Rest in Peace.
Music to start the weekend: Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor
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Kemi Badenoch on Labour's apparent Winter Fuel Payment climbdown
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Labour blinked. But don’t be fooled. This fight isn’t over. Yesterday, I challenged Keir Starmer from the despatch box. I demanded he reverse his unfair Winter Fuel Payment cuts. Cuts that hit the poorest pensioners hardest. After a year of pressure, Starmer finally admitted he would “revisit the threshold”. That’s not a plan. That’s a vague promise. He hasn’t said how, when, or for how many. Is this a full U-turn or just a cosmetic tweak? We don’t know. They’ve offered headlines, not answers. Some of the country's poorest pensioners are worrying about paying their energy bills this winter. They need certainty now, not a vague promise of help tomorrow. Labour still haven’t explained who will now qualify. They haven’t explained how they’ll fix the mess that left thousands of eligible pensioners out in the cold. And they haven’t given a date for when, or if, anything changes. We’re not letting this drop. Labour’s supermajority doesn’t mean a free pass. We’ll ...
Music to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe - 633 squadron
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2 minutes silence at noon today to commemorate VE Day
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Easter music spot: "Blessed be the God and Father" by SS Wesley
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The origin of this anthem as I was told the story is that Samuel Sebastian Wesley wrote this lovely piece while he was organist of Hereford Cathedral. This was at a time when cathedral choirs were at "a very low ebb" and it was written for an Easter day service at which only three trebles and the Dean's butler, who sang bass, were available. Wesley was a genius and the anthem would undoubtedly work for four such voices, but I prefer it with a full choir, as performed here by the choir of St Paul's cathedral or as I heard it sung this morning by the choir of Selby Abbey.
Music spot for the first day of Spring - is "Spring" from VIvaldi's "The Four Seasons"
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Peter Hemingway RIP
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Prince William has led tributes to John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain, after his death aged 105. The Prince of Wales wrote on social media that he was “sad” to hear about the passing of the last of “The Few”. He added: “We owe so much to Paddy and his generation for our freedoms today. Their bravery and sacrifice will always be remembered. We shall never forget them.” Born in Dublin in 1919, Group Captain Hemingway enlisted in the RAF in 1938 and soon became one of the young pilots who fought in the Battle of France. Two years later, he was among the men known as “The Few” , a term coined by Winston Churchill to describe Britain’s Battle of Britain pilots. Chief of RAF Air Staff Sir Rich Knighton passed condolences to Mr Hemingway’s family and friends. “I am thankful that I was able to meet and spend time with him in Dublin, most recently in January this year,” he said. “Paddy was an amazing character wh...
Saturday music spot: Henry Purcell's "Come ye sons of art" (Birthday Song for Queen Mary)
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Music to start the weekend: Simon and Garfunkel , "The Sound of Silence"
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We Remember
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WE REMEMBER. Today is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. This evening at 8pm I and many others will safely place a lighted candle in the window to remember the victims of the Shoah and all other victims of genocide. When the true horror of what the Nazis had done the world said in disbelief "Never again!" Yet, sadly and incredibly, these have been empty words because, if not on quote the same vast scale, similar things have kept happening. It is time for us all to make sure that the words "Never again" are not just empty words. It is time FOR A B£TTER FUTURE.
Quote of the day for Holocaust Memorial Day
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"The law is not a moral compass. The people who hid Anne Frank were breaking the law. The people who killed her were following it." Alexander Verbeek. As we remember the victims of the Holocaust and all genocides, let us think about what we need to do to make the world better - and a place where "never again" is not a platitude but an actuality.
Holocaust Memorial Day 2025
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Tomorrow, 27th January 2025, is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Berkenau murder camp and will be marked around the world as Holocaust memorial Day. It is a day when we remember the victims of the Nazi holocaust and all subsequent genocides from Cambodia to Rwanda, from Darfur to Bosnia, from the massacre of Rohinga Muslims in Myanmar to those of Jews by Hamas on 7th October 2023. We remember all victims whether they were murdered for their race, their religion or for some other arbitrary reason, whatever that race, religion or reason might be. The theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day is FOR A BETTER FUTURE. Holocaust Memorial Day Trust | HMD 2025 Theme Each year people from across the UK take part in the Light the Darkness national moment for Holocaust Memorial Day. At 8pm on 27 January people across the nation will light candles and put them safely in their windows to: remember those who were murdered for who they were stand against prej...
Swimathon 2025
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Britain's Largest charity swim, the Swimathon, returns on 28-30 March this year when thousands of swimmers will head to hundreds of pools around Britain to raise money for three great causes. These causes are Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie Cancer Care, and the Swimathon Foundation. Each of these organizations plays a vital role in improving lives and advancing research. On 29th March 2025 I plan to complete the Swimathon 5000 metres challenge, swimming 200 lengths of Hensingham pool to raise money for these excellent causes. I have been taking part in Swimathon for thirty years. Thank you if you have supported me before. Please join me in backing these excellent causes. Your support makes all the difference! You can sponsor me online on my Givengain page, which you can find by clicking on the following link: Swimathon 2025 - Please support these life-changing causes
Music spot for the presentation of Christ in the Temple: "When to the temple Mary went" (Eccard)
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Kemi Badenoch's keynote speech today
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The above video shows the keynote speech given today by Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Conservative Party. (She was introduced by Simon Clarke, Director of the "Onward" group. Here is the text of the speech. "We are all getting poorer. Politicians across all parties have not told the truth about this and instead keep prescribing quick fixes that are actually making things worse. This problem is broader than one party, one leader, or one period of government. Generations of leaders and entire ranks of senior managers have been trying and failing for a long time. Many have not been honest with the public about the challenges we face. And others have not even been honest with themselves. We are a great country, but we’ve lost our way. The truth is that Britain is failing to compete in a world that is changing. And it is not working for its citizens, certainly not the way it used to. Back in the 1980s it took just months to save up for a house deposit. Now it is over a decade,...
More joy in heaven over one sinner who repents ...
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I welcome the belated conversion of Cumbria's leading Labour figures to calling for exactly the sort of devolution agenda that I and other Conservatives have been calling for for a decade, and which the county could have had years ago, had not local Labour politicians repeatedly opposed it. We now read in the Whitehaven News and other local papers that " Labour leaders call for Cumbria to embrace the 'devolution revolution' ." What a shame they were so vehemently opposed to it in 2017 and 2022 when a very generous scheme of devolution was on offer, but the Labour led Cumbria County Council and other Labour local authorities opposed it. Other areas like North Yorkshire which were made similar offers at the same time jumped at it, and North Yorkshire got £700 million pounds and a Mayoral strategic authority which is now up and running with significant powers. Cumbria could have had this too. A few years ago I was a guest on the weekly local political panel programme...
Thursday carol spot: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Choir of Winchester Cathedral)
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