themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: The best question I was asked during the campaign and the answer was Manchester, not Labour
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-best-question-i-was-asked-during.html
Sunday, May 17, 2015. The best question I was asked during the campaign and the answer was Manchester, not Labour. I did a session with about 100 students at Stockport College during the election campaign. On reflection, in so many ways, it was my favourite meeting of all, despite Labour getting a rough ride from some of the audience. Partly this was because I was asked, probably the best question of the whole campaign, and it was this: "why do you think there will be good jobs for people like us? We sti...
manchestersciencefestival.blogspot.com
MANCHESTER SCIENCE FESTIVAL BLOG: The Future is Fracking. Discuss.
http://manchestersciencefestival.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-future-is-fracking-discuss.html
MANCHESTER SCIENCE FESTIVAL BLOG. This is where you'll find news, reviews and stories from the Manchester Science Festival team. Thursday, 16 October 2014. The Future is Fracking. Discuss. Fracking for shale gas has been the game changer in the global exploration of energy. Now, the discovery of shale gas in Lancashire and at Barton Moss has brought the subject right to our doorstep. What do you think? On Tuesday 28th October. Professor of Structural Geology at the University of Manchester. 8220;Shale ga...
manchestersciencefestival.blogspot.com
MANCHESTER SCIENCE FESTIVAL BLOG: October 2014
http://manchestersciencefestival.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html
MANCHESTER SCIENCE FESTIVAL BLOG. This is where you'll find news, reviews and stories from the Manchester Science Festival team. Tuesday, 28 October 2014. Guest post by David Chapman, Royal Society. At first thought the words ‘ants’ and ‘information’ are hardly two peas in a pod. Ants are those tiny creatures that invade your house when the weather gets warm, or sprout wings and descend like a plague on a sunny Sunday. And information; well that’s just stuff, right? By studying these behaviours, Elva hop...
themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: August 2014
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html
Saturday, August 30, 2014. Mental strength and football. Quick one. Went to Manchester City v Stoke City today and was reminded of why I so fondly remember Mark Hughes' time as Rovers manager. They mugged a 1-0 win with a goal from Diouf which he scored too few of for us, but the resolute defending took me back to the Samba, Nelsen pairing at their "never say Dai" best under the Welsh management team of Hughes, Bowen and Niedweski. Links to this post. Douglas Carswell and the end of politics. I have watc...
themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: Summer reading special - are the characters in 40 by 40 real?
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2015/07/summer-reading-special-are-characters.html
Thursday, July 30, 2015. Summer reading special - are the characters in 40 by 40 real? Roger Cashmore, the central character in 40 by 40, is obviously fictional. But there are truths in his persona. People tell me they know who it is based on. And they are right. Even if it's a different person every time. One of the key lines in one of my favourite films is: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist.". Why include real people and situations? Two things, making h...
themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: September 2014
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html
Saturday, September 20, 2014. I've done two blogs on the Scottish referendum result and the aftermath. One is more normal Downtown Friday blog, which is here. There has been an awful lot of hyperbole amongst think tankers and pundits about the triumphs of the Manchester experiment. But it would be wholly wrong to equate this with any kind of awakening of a civic mood for independence. Then I was guest commentator on Prolific North, the media news website. Do we have respect for the institutions of power,...
themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: November 2014
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2014_11_01_archive.html
Saturday, November 29, 2014. The scandal of Bredbury Hall and the bad banks. I wish I had a pound for every time I've been asked if I miss being a frontline business journalist. I don't, but I recalled the best of times this week when I watched BBC Panorama on Monday night about how Lloyds Bank treated Bredbury Hall Hotel (left). There was also a terrific investigative story on The Business Desk by James Graham. On Panorama the BBC's Andy Verity. For all his rhetoric Liberal Democrat Business Secretary V...
themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: Labour: scrutinise Corbynomics, mellow Kendall, substance please fromthe other two
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2015/08/labour-scrutinise-corbynomics-mellow.html
Monday, August 03, 2015. Labour: scrutinise Corbynomics, mellow Kendall, substance please from the other two. Our leadership voting packs will drop on our doormats soon - though knowing the Labour Party it will probably be an email. The hustings for leadership are over and the decision time is nigh. Here are three things I'd like to happen regarding the candidates. Some of this isn't her fault, but there is a tonal problem. Kevin Meaghar nails this in a Labour Uncut piece here. I fear it may be too late.
themarpleleaf.blogspot.com
The Marple Leaf: February 2015
http://themarpleleaf.blogspot.com/2015_02_01_archive.html
Friday, February 20, 2015. Back to the Eighties with Chelsea. The revulsion and shock at the antics of Chelsea's throwback mob on the Paris Metro proves one thing: we've come a long, long way. But it has brought back some horrific memories of their fans and what it was like going to football when I was a lad. There's tales of growing up in the North aplenty in the book I published a couple of years ago, Northern Monkeys. Where he met the Chelsea mob at an England away game in Istanbul in 1984. The au...
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT