Monthly Archives: June 2009

New recording: Pygmalion

Nearly three years ago, we began a group project to record a play over at Librivox.

Today, it’s finally completed and available for download here: Librivox Pygmalion. It is of course the play that gave rise to the musical My Fair Lady, and I play Prof Henry Higgins.

For nearly two years, half the files lay languishing on servers, before one of the excellent co-ordinators at LV made me sit down and record the missing Henry Higgins lines. It was a job I had been putting off for years, but when I finally sat down to do it it took less than an hour.

To make a play at Librivox, we sit separately in our offices and houses across the world, and record the lines of each character one at a time. Another volunteer takes the various sound files and edits them together. The background sounds are not perfectly the same, and you can tell that this is the process we’ve used, rather than an expensive studio process with all the actors in the same place. And yet the finished project is really listenable and enjoyable.

Tweets on 2009-06-06

  • National projected voteshare on BBC News – LD up 3% on 28%, Tory on 38% down from 44%, Labour lowest ever on 23% and a wopping 11% Other #
  • Here in my control room on sofa with (eee)pc, beeb news, mobile, and increasingly bad tempered Bond villain style cat. #
  • @TomattheChad excellent service, watching you closely. #
  • @libdems @NottsCC is also useful, but hasn’t yet had the results from the hopeful LD gains #
  • Received a #postcrossing postcard from Italy – http://bit.ly/YoGtO #
  • Received a #postcrossing postcard from Canada – http://bit.ly/uHxaN #
  • Lib Dems on #Notts County Council looking at gains: already got to as many as previously with lots of our contests still to declare. #
  • @TomattheChad BBC News just called Notts County as NOC, that’s not official yet is it?? #
  • @alanfleming think most of the losses are West Country, where it’s certainly a bit scary. #
  • RT @CatAllenUk: Jason Zadrozny has spectacularly called on Ashfield MP Geoff Hoon to resign as he took the seat for Sutton North. #
  • Tories gain control of Notts CC. It’s tipping it down with rain. Coincidence? I think not. #
  • Election’s over. Now I need a new excuse to put off dieting. #
  • Grr. This isn’t just rain. It’s Tory torrential rain! #
  • @jonball verification should be face up except for euros. #
  • Ooh. That’s a weird feeling. I think I just lost half a molar. #
  • RT @damianbenner The #libdems have taken Hull, Liverpool and Bristol. Is this some sinister strategy to first control the ports? #
  • If only everyone was helping vital pollinating insects thrive. I say – give bees a chance. #
  • Where’s the download button gone from BBC iPlayer website? #
  • @USElaine far from it – they had some of the strangest abuses – moat cleaning, duck houses and the like. Somehow it seemed not to matter. #

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WED: Green Lib Dems annual conference

News reaches the Voice of the Green Lib Dem’s annual conference, unfortunately just a little too late to promote it in time for the early registration rates:

SESSIONS INCLUDE: “The Great Nuclear Debate”; “Greening Your Council”; “Transition Towns”; “Eco Housing”; “Green Campaigning Workshop”

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Simon Hughes MP; Chris Huhne MP; Heather Kidd PPC; Donnachadh McCarthy, Media Environmentalist; Lembit Opik MP

PRICES HELD AT 2008 RATES – BOOK NOW TO ENSURE A PLACE

Registrations received after 5th June

GLD members £22 (for both days) £14 (single day rate)

Non members £28 (for both days) £18 (single day rate)

Conference fees include lunch. A separate Saturday evening event is also being planned

Elderflowers again

We’ve been noticing the elderflower tree at the bottom of the garden flowering again.  Last year, we didn’t get around to doing anything about it until it was too late, which is a massive shame because the year before, we made our own elderflower cordial and it was fantastic.

The main part of the tree is unfortunately too high or too far from our garden to get at the flowers, but I’ve picked well over 20 flower heads off the tree and barely touched what’s there.  We’ve run out of sugar long before we’ve run out of flowers, so must get to the shops and get ready to make even more.

Just in case the recipe I use isn’t permanently on the internet, and my records last longer, the recipe is:

  • 20 elderflower heads
  • 1.8kg sugar
  • 1.2l water
  • 75g citric acid
  • 2 lemons

Shake the flowers to get the insects out. Boil the water and dissolve the sugar and acid in it.  Use a vegetable peeler to take wide strips of peel off the lemons, remove the ends, slice finely and add the peel and slices to the flowers in a bowl. Pour over the flowers, cover with a tea towel and allow to steep for 24 hours before filtering through a muslin-lined sieve into a bottle.

Homemade elderflower cordial

BBC national projected vote share

Interesting set of vote share results from the BBC based on the first few hundred council seat results, where they are giving the following numbers:

Lib Dem – 28% (2005: 28% 2008: 25% )
Tory – 38% (2005: 31% 2008: 44%)
Labour – 23% (2005: 33% 2008: 24%)

Labour’s result is one of the lowest they have ever seen.

The context of those old results is all important. Labour have plumetted 10% from the last time these seats were contested, with the loss of the general election day boost hitting them as hard as the political climate.

The Tory vote share has actually fallen from last year, despite this bunch of largely county councils is typically fertile Tory territory. That said they have seen a significant increase over 2005.

For the Lib Dems, we’re on no change since 2005, but with an improved showing over last year.

Our open thread with the main interesting news continues here.

Tweets on 2009-06-05

  • Some tips for voters today: you do not need your poll card to vote (but it speeds things up. Polls open 7am-10pm. #
  • If you had a postal vote but haven’t returned it yet, you can take the ballot paper that came in the post to your local polling station. #
  • Oy vey, I have no stamina these days! #
  • Oh dear. Incomprehensible TV babble abounds. May have to cull the follow list til end of whatever tosh it is you’re all talking about. #
  • Eek. Sports hall has motion sensitive lighting which just turned themselves off. #
  • About 200 of up waiting for final announcement about turnout. #
  • RT @TomattheChad: I’m going to be tweeting the County Council election results live from County Hall in Nottingham throughout the day. #
  • @ramptops *I’m* not doing live coverage, @tomatthechad is. I’m just watching from home and crossing my fingers for the Nottingham tram. #
  • The Mansfield Chad’s coverage of the county elections is whupping the ass of BBC and Nottingham Evening Post. Put them in charge everywhere! #
  • Heh… http://isgordonbrownstillprimeminister.com/ #
  • Hmm, @libdemlocalgov appears a lab hold announced already, so RSN? But yesterday staff weren’t expecting results within business hours. #
  • “Hour-long World at One today to cover the deepening political crisis.” #bbcr4 #

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Tweets on 2009-06-04

  • http://twitpic.com/6j3hf – Hmmm – looks like cat and Roomba are competing for food. #
  • Is http://www.libdems.org.uk down? @libdems #
  • Wondering if the phrase status ante quo is too pretentious for facebook. #
  • http://twitpic.com/6l2f9 – Good morning, voters! #
  • Seen more smokers than voters this morning. #
  • Oh, this is gonna get complicated – there’s an exam in same building as polling station. #
  • Ever since asking what sort of exam it is, I’ve been humming “it’s fun to charter an accountant…” #
  • Ominous thuds from radio as academics discuss decapitation of King Charles I. #

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Daily View 2×2: 04 June 2009

Today is polling day, which means scores of Lib Dems across the country will be having an exhausting day from Good Morning leaflets before dawn right through to election count verifications beyond midnight.

Good morning!

We’ll be reminding people of the all important facts about the electoral process:

  • You do not need your polling card to vote (but it might speed things up a bit if you have it)
  • Polls are open from 7am to 10pm
  • If you had a postal vote, but haven’t returned it yet, don’t put it in the post, but take it along to your local polling station.  You can’t have another ballot paper, so the one that was sent to you was all important.
  • The returning officer now has more discretion than previously to put right obvious mistakes, so if something wrong happens, get in touch with your district / unitary council’s elections office.

And of course we’ll be standing on our record, reminding you of three key things, pointing out we’re stronger together, poorer apart, and hoping for a good outcome at the end of the day.

All the very best to all of you from all of us, and we’ll meet back here tomorrow (World Environment Day, natch) to see how things went and celebrate and commiserate.

2 News stories

Gordon Brown is fighting for his political life as his cabinet resigns en masse around him days from a major election – the Guardian has ten questions for the Labour party – all process, no convictions.

And the Times reports on the Science minister’s pearls of wisdom for green campaigners: sack cloth and ashes are not too inspiring.

2 blog posts

James Graham on why being in favour of there being an EU does not necessarily mean that you are in favour of everything it ever does.

Anders Hanson – even the Greens think some of their policies are moronic.