Suez: 24 Hours That Broke the British Empire The dramatic inside story of the Suez Crisis, which changed Britain forever

I thought the @channel4news.bsky.social programme on Suez more revealing about today’s Middle East Wars and Western Leaders than much of the current news coverage www.channel4.com/programmes/s...

Sandy Denny: Who Knows Where the Time Goes? BBC John Peel Sessions YouTube video by AntPDC

48 years since Sandy Denny died. Who knows where the time goes? youtu.be/jsqztvHIB9Y?...

Pollcheck predicting Labour to be wiped out in Dudley and Walsall, but holding up well in Sandwell...

Green PREDICTED TO GAIN St Peters but not so far away in Park.
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Some interesting close calls in the forthcoming local elections if Pollcheck is to be believed. 'Too close to call between Lab and Reform in Wednesfield North& Oxley and 3 ways with Tories in Merry Hill. 2 up in Wednesfield South & Lab and Reform predicted one each. Green predicted to gain Park.

Blue Sky over Wolverhampton's Chubb building .

Good to see Local Social Workers members of @basw-uk.bsky.social having their fifth annual joint Poetry and Prose event with Blakenhall Writers on 11th May at The Lych Gates, off Queen Sq, Wolverhampton from 7pm. All Welcome.

Get a grip on ‘scandal’ of illegal child social care in England, ministers are told Vulnerable children placed in caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, with children’s commissioner saying practice must stop Ministers must get to grips with the “national scandal” of England’s shadow child social care system, the children’s commissioner has warned, as a shocking new report reveals the number of children in unregulated settings has increased by more than 370% in five years. Some of the most vulnerable children in England are being temporarily placed in unregulated caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, which risk the “accumulation of increasing levels of harm for children who have already faced enough distress for several lifetimes”, according to a new report. Continue reading...

Get a grip on ‘scandal’ of illegal child social care in England, ministers are told

‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only option Social workers in England say they often have no choice but to place children in unregistered settings because no one else will take them

‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only option

Fee hikes, big bonuses, then bosses exit: the curious case of City & Guilds privatisation Sale of vocational training brand and million-pound executive pay deals now subject to Charity Commission inquiry

Fee hikes, big bonuses, then bosses exit: the curious case of City & Guilds privatisation

Fifth letter/ Leaflet from Labour and three from Reform but still no description of who the Candidates are and what their background is…. Given the previous Labour Councillor had to resign after telling fibs about his military experience, this is a mystery….

Mandelson saga is a messy palaver - and the questions continue to swirl Sir Keir and the top official at the Foreign Office at the time are expected to face questions from MPs next week.

Should I want to meet Messy Palaver , perhaps after being expelled from the Bowels of Government?
Yuuuuck!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I wander what make the good folk of a wet Stafford escape to a drama set in the Channel Isles...

But then I think all MPs associated with Mandelson's creation 'Labour Together' should go...

So in the middle of a massive international crisis, the most senior Foreign Office Civil Servant gets sacked apparently to save the skin of the PM???

Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Beautifully written like all his books , set in Tanzania but with England having an impact . AG's books on Africa, England, the experence of migration are all worth reading. #Booksky

Orbán’s pay cheques: Reform candidate fuelled by profits from Russian oil The Reform candidate at this month’s byelection claims he wants to put Britain first, but is he still on the payroll of Viktor Orbán’s far-right propaganda unit?

These people call themselves patriots. Almost invariably, they turn out to be stooges of foreign powers. goodlawproject.org/orbans-pay-c...

Leaflet from Reform. Men with poor haircuts , suits and blue ties remind me too much of the poor Managers who didn’t survive very long at work. No local policies mentioned . No idea if they’re real people or AI generated stereotypes. Probably will win around here….

All out elections in Sandwell. Massive Ballot papers… www.sandwell.gov.uk/downloads/fi...

Dudley nominees. ‘Black Country Party’ standing in five seats www.dudley.gov.uk/media/epjn40...

Some points: Park Ward Tories and Reform seem to each have nominated two candidates for just one available seat… There are two seats up in Wednesfield South with both Brackenridges (husband and son of MP) standing down… Several Independents standing - are these really CorbynSultanaites?

So, Candidates officially announced for May 7th Local Elections in Wolverhampton www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

Still no sign of the return of Youth Services to Wednesfield/ Bentley Bridge
‘Police patrols increase around Wolverhampton cinema after arrests and 'youth trouble' ‘
www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-countr...

Church of England to apologise for role in historical forced adoption Tens of thousands of babies were taken from their unmarried mothers in the three decades after World War Two.

Church of England also to apologise for role in historical forced adoption www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Grimleys was written by Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty, Cardiac Arrest, etc) . (Jed has local roots- born in Cannock, worked at New Cross Hospital) Look forward to ITV showing it again.

I hope @richardparkerwm.bsky.social follows this with many more than one per Borough.
Great policy

Former Black Country councillor admits grooming offences A former Dudley councillor who sat on the council’s Children’s Services Select Committee has admitted grooming underage girls for sex.

Dudley ex Labour Councillor member of local Childrens Commitee admits to Grooming www.expressandstar.com/news/former-...

New Stations very welcome, but intrigued that Economically well off Moseley and Kings Heath get a half hourly service from the start whereas its only hourly for economically downtrodden Willenhall.... And all five open plus Tramline close to local elections .....

Spotlight - Celebrating Stoppard: Darkside - BBC Sounds A play for radio by Sir Tom Stoppard incorporating The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

On BBC Sounds www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

West Midlands' new railway stations open to the public Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road stations opened to passengers on Tuesday morning.

Thanking Andy Street for getting the the new Train and Tram services in the West Midlands. I never voted for him but he did his Mayor job well as far as new Trains and Trams are concerned. 'West Midlands' new railway stations open to the public' BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...