Some fun at the expense of The Guardian

Idly skimming The Graun's website, I spotted this come on - "Help the Guardian's reporting team plot the effects of the government's public sector cuts on local communities across the UK by participating in our Cutswatch project. Send us details about the cuts in your area or submit your accounts of how the cuts have affected you".

There was not a lot showing in my neck of the woods, but the first blob I clicked on turned out to be this gem:

"The cuts made by Hammersmith & Fulham Council have had an excellent effect on me - council tax bills reduced 3% every year for 4 years and then held constant for a further year and no reduction in services I use at all - a brand new library in Shepherds Bush, improving and new schools, and rubbish still collected twice a week". 

Roy Grainger, author of this, I salute you. 


I feel I ought to do something similar, and would encourage others to do the same.  

Something to entertain pretty well everybody.

Still busy with things, so not much time for blogging, but this merits a mini-post.

A clearly splendid American chap by the name of Stephen Von Worley has created an application which pinpoints places named for first names (and not just the common ones) on google earth / maps.  There are William thises and thats aplenty, although none within easy walking distance, alas.  Fort William, Calcutta is now on my must see list.

More here, plus the all important link    

It's not nice to gloat, but....

I'm going to.  The detailed results of the AV referendum have not been getting that much traction from what I've seen, so if anyone has missed it, here is a list of the yes voting areas:

Scotland

• Edinburgh Central
• Glasgow Kelvin

England outside London

• Cambridge
• Oxford

London

• Camden
• Hackney
• Haringey
• Islington
• Lambeth
• Southwark

Spotting the pattern yet?  All are dens of the Guardian / Independent-reading metropolitan left.  Brighton, surprise, surprise, was close too.  Note the failure of the AV campaign in areas where people make things - other than specious arguments - such as the West Midlands, the North East and Wales.

I may well come back to this, but time is tight at the moment.

And I've been playing with the figures, and Hackney emerges as the most out of touch - 60.7% for AV.  I was rather hoping it would be Islington, but Stoke Newington will do.