City of Towers and other documentaries
November 9th, 2016
“Back in 1979, I made a BBC documentary called City of Towers, charting how the futuristic dreams crystallised in the Twenties by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier had led to the high-rise nightmare that blighted Britain’s cities in the Sixties. The film won some acclaim – not least, surprisingly, from some of the modern architects whose work it had featured, from Maxwell Fry to Richard Seifert, creator of the Centre Point tower.”
“But when, some years later, there were calls for the programme to be repeated, Mr Yentob startled a BBC meeting by expostulating that the film would only ever be shown again “over my dead body”.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11833042/A-fitting-end-for-Alan-Yentob.html
Now this in the Guardian
Alan Yentob: the last impresario
City of Towers – Christopher Booker / Christopher Martin
Click here to play or download
In reply to The Five Estates, Peckham, Part III: Back to the Future
November 4th, 2016
Firstly I was struck by a hypothetical question:-
“Would the regeneration have been necessary had the Thatcher cuts in maintenance been avoided and the inflation proofed money still been available?”
I suspect yes, owing to the change in residential makeup of the estates owing to the effects of right to buy (in subsequent decades companies and individuals bought onto council estates and let the flats to unemployed people on the then DSS thus further weakening the estate demographic) and the 1977 Housing Act – priority needs based lettings.
In my personal opinion the estates and council housing in general were damaged by those two pieces of legislation, the second of which was enacted under a Labour Government albeit with unintended consequences.
Aberfan remembered III
October 29th, 2016
https://www.alangeorge.co.uk/AberfanDisaster_Page2.htm
On the evening of October 21st 2016 I drove from Merthyr to Cardiff to hear the Aberfan Memorial Lectures by five members of the London Geological Society. My recordings of the talks are linked below, split into the relevant parts:-
Introduction by Paul Maliphant - Development and Projects Director, Mott MacDonald Ltd
Aberfan remembered II
October 24th, 2016
The morning of Friday 21st October 2016 arrived cold, crisp, clear and sunny. I drove from Merthyr Tydfil via the nearby village of Troed-y-rhiw to a busy Aberfan already filling with cars and parked on a steep street before walking quickly up to the cemetery for the 0915 memorial service. I was handed the leaflet below on approaching the memorial area. (see footnote)
Despite the chill in the air, as the morning wore on the sun’s warmth won through and before long it was a lovely morning up on the hillside on this sad occasion.
Aberfan remembered
October 21st, 2016
“Blame for the disaster rests upon the National Coal Board” – Inquiry
“Chairman . . .
Could anybody before Tip 7 started — not necessarily a surveyor or an engineer or anything of that kind — could I walking up that mountainside before Tip 7 began fail firstly to see that there was a stream on the land which later became covered by Tip 7? If I used my eyes at all, could I possibly fail to see it?
A. – You could not fail to see it, my lord, no.
Q. – What about the spring you have been referring to? Could a lawyer, with no knowledge of these expert matters at all, taking a country walk up that mountainside, fail to see the place of the spring you have spoken of, or (if the weather was dry) that there was a place where in wetter weather a spring probably ran — could you fail to see that?
A. – He could not fail to see it, my lord, no.
Q. – Those are the stream and the spring, we understand, you tell us later on were covered by Tip 7?
A. – Yes, my lord.”
Paragraph 98 – Evidence of the slinger, Mr. D. B. Jones
London Journal pdfs
August 12th, 2016
“Presstheredbutton” speaks out on Corbyn
July 12th, 2016
I keep an eye on various commentators to the Guardian. Presstheredbutton is one of them. I don’t agree with everything they write but when I do I think it’s worth repeating here:-
As the results of the local elections and mayoral elections were being announced, Polly’s colleague, Anne Perkins, identified the Bristol mayoral election as the real test of Corbyn’s leadership. Marvin Rees, the Labour candidate, won handsomely. Perkins’ response? Silence.
When the mass resignation of Labour’s front bench happened, the aim was to cripple Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.
John Harris – Progressive Alliance London 5th July 2016
July 6th, 2016
“The problem isn’t that half the country are racists, it’s that the racists now think that half the country agrees with them.” – Anon
Thank you. I am a journalist I also write a column for The Guardian once every two weeks I haven’t really got enough to say to write one once a week.
But I’m not a columnist I think we’ve probably got too many columnists in this country and we’ve not got enough journalists.
[Applause]
We certainly haven’t got enough reporters. [pause] That’s what I do.
Another look at migration
July 4th, 2016
I found this the other day while browsing some Facebook pages I link to. While one hears from time to time about the New Labour Polish influx in 2004 it’s easy to forget about the effect that had on the country unless you go to buy a coffee of course. When’s the last time you were served by somebody British born?
I’m certainly not a racist and I spent half my working life traveling the world so I’m not going accept lessons on foreign cultures and their problems. But I think the text below by Simon Elmer is a well written and timely reminder of how immigration has altered our country.
The fight for the Left
July 2nd, 2016
The events of the last seven days have been so tumultuous and the determination of Jeremy Corbyn to stay in place for the people who support him so tenacious, in spite of all the forces ranged against him that the situation necessitates a temporary but different emphasis on the blog so I’ve shunted the student reading list off to its original home while I accumulate relevant links and quotes to put here.
