#hertsfordshire

[brensimages]

Photos taken earlier in the week in the garden in between the rain and snow. (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpn5QOeNbqD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[grazingtogether]

Prepping orders. We aim for fresh and healthy. #grazingtogether #shefford #grazebox #uk #bedfordshire #letchworth #hertsfordshire #healthyfood #lesscarbs #lockdownfood #familytime #smallbusiness #grazing #fingerfood (at Grazing Together) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDjiKduJZpU/?igshid=8odqu2goin70

[teninsou]

#braidedextensions #differentcolours#hertsfordshire #stevenage #thewomenhairbraider#thesunlounge#mystevenagehairextension#talentedhairstudio #cornrowsstyle#theperfecthair#bookme #highstreetstevenage https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Y1we8FZbX/?igshid=1uko8bb6udxtl

[alice--ravenna]

I love Sandman! #fanart #sandman #desire #digitalart #digitalpainting #illustration #art #commissionsopen #pinup #procreate #procreateart (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVVCEq4MEzd/?utm_medium=tumblr

[vmonteiro23a]

40 YEARS AGO: Sad Lovers and Giants - "Echoplay"

40 YEARS AGO: Sad Lovers and Giants – “Echoplay”

40 YEARS AGO: Sad Lovers and Giants – “Echoplay” “August 16, 1982 Sad Lovers and Giants make their album debut with “Epic Garden Music” on a new indie label called Midnight Music.  The Hertsfordshire band’s album in a 30-minute outing that’s meant to be played back at 45 rpm. Tracks are “Echoplay”, Clocktower Lodge”, “Clint”, “Lope”, “Cloud 9”, “Art (By Me)”, “Alice (Isn���t Playing)”, and “Far…

[margoyagudaart]

“Shorties” - on paper Was working at school and when waiting for students to come in I’d draw this geometric doodles … #geometricart #линии #paper #drawing #londonartist #artcollector #abstractart #conceptart #canvasart #sacredgeometry #geometry #conceptualart #doodling #wallart #MYGallery #margoya #margoyagallery #artistsoninstagram #margoyaguda #abstractpainting #vudumas #abstractartist #margoyaguda_art #margoyagudagallery #vudumast #artsy #ruler #アート #lines #sketching (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgUumREIzm8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[the-empress-7]

The estate in Hertsfordshire was originally intended for William. The main house is gone and on the net you'll find old stories with Charles drawings for a new house. Very neo classic. PC has been redoing other bldgs on the estate as income producers. It might belong to the Duchy not sure. I doubt it was offered to MM. They wouldn't want her to be able to claim it in a divorce..

Surely Charles must have had something earmarked for his younger son? If not that then something befitting the son of a would be King. All I know is that I would kill for any of these historical properties. 

[verdesmosaicos]

Morning lights, Hertsfordshire

[stubbs66]

This is fucking embarrassing. (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkJSso7Nplu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[brensimages]

Nature's Sculptures with the cold weather forecast for this coming week I wonder if this could happen again. (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpYckAeNipX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[grazingtogether]

A Happy Anniversary afternoon tea delivered to a beautiful couple in Stevenage. It’s been a pleasure to be part of your celebration. @grazing.together #afternoontea #tea #scones #clottedcream #sandwich #grazebox #grazingtogether #grazecraze #stevenage (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLWmEB6JF2g/?igshid=b1n0w0wzdsb7

[teninsou]

#Afro Kinky Hair, #natural hair#hairdo#talentedbraidstevenage #based@thesunloungestevenage #weaving#cornrows#twisting#plaiting#trebraiding#boxbraid#smallbraids#salonbraid#salonproducts#hertsfordshire#afrohair#caucasainhair#africanhair. Book now all styles available https://www.instagram.com/p/B2RVRwYllav/?igshid=1gyhvbkbhcs7g

[norafinds]

Vintage Women in Science - Tessa Wheeler

Tessa Wheeler at Verulamium excavation site. Used with permission from St Albans Museum.

I’m so thrilled to finally complete this post for the Vintage Women in Science. When I came up with the idea of writing about these amazing women, dressing up like them and going to the places of significance I didn’t quite realise the amount of effort I had to put in into individual posts. I am proud to say that this post took a lot out of me but it’s now time to introduce you to the amazing archaeologist who pioneered the movement of this field in Britain. She was often credited second to her husband, but this time the highlight belongs to her and her only. It’s time to talk about Tessa Verney Wheeler.

Tessa Verney Wheeler was born in Johannesburg in 1893 and relocated to the United Kingdom as a child. She read history in University College London from 1911-1914. She met her husband Mortimer in 1912, and upon his appointment as a director of Keeper of Archaeology at the National Museum of Wales she relocated with him to pursue the excavation of various Roman forts all over the country. It is these works which ignited Tessa’s love for archaeology and gave her the recognition she deserved. It was, however, well known that Tessa was the hands-on half of this duo, often leading the excavation works and recording results while her husband stayed at home and performed the analysis.

Excavation at Verulamium. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Her main project that I want to talk about is the excavation of Verulamium, the ancient Roman city that was located in now St Albans, Hertsfordshire. The Roman city was abandoned in the 5th century, and the excavation between 1930-1934 revealed various ancient sites that are unique to the country. One of these sites is the Verulamium theatre, built around 140AD and a one-of-a-kind in Britain, where it includes a stage contrary to the more commonly seen ampitheatres. The theatre was used for performances, religious ceremonies and sports performances and the ruins currently stands in St Albans and is open to visitors. I was very fortunate to be able to visit the site of the Roman theatre and saw with my own eyes the ruins and imagined the glory of the theatre that was the centre of the town. The site was well-preserved and is definitely worth a visit. It is also open for performances during summer and I’m really keen to revisit it one day and see the Midsummer Night’s Dream performed there. 

While Tessa was not formally educated in the field, she discovered a natural talent in practical work on site as well as teaching students and staff, and she was very well respected for her patience and kindness. She also acted as the press officer for these excavations sites, liaising with the newspapers to disseminate their scientific findings. Her achievement was unfortunately shadowed by her husband where he was often credited as the single author or scientist behind their work. It was also well known that her husband had multiple affairs with staff or students while still married to Tessa and she often had to deal with the brokenhearted females when Mortimer decided to end the affairs. Despite all the affairs it was reported that when Tessa died from a complication after a minor surgery, Mortimer was devastated and said to his friends that she was his one true love. 

By Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany (Artist impression of the Forum of Verulamium) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

During their work they developed the Wheeler-Kenyon method, an archaeological excavation strategy using an organisational grid system. Tessa and her husband founded the Institute of Archaeology as a part of University College London in 1934 (officially opening in 1937). While Mortimer served as a director there, Tessa who passed away in 1936 never got to see how the institute developed to become one of the largest archaeology department in the world. In 1937, however, the institute recognised her contribution with a black marble plaque and today’s archeological world acknowledges that she was under-recognised during her lifetime. Mortimer went on to become one of the most well known British archaeologist for the next few decades. 

Institute of Archaeology UCL [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I visited the Roman theatre site wearing a suit I modeled from a 1960s pattern. I decided to keep the design simple and used a 1930s pattern for the skirt. I wish I had made the jacket slightly longer but oh well. I picked the colour purple as it is the colour I imagined Tessa wore in that first picture, but I guess I’d never know what colour it really was. I decided that to line the jacket with bronze fabric and this was the first time I actually made lining for a jacket so I’m pretty chuffed with the result! I did actually think about buying a 1920s/1930s suit for this post but I couldn’t find the right one and after a while I thought I would be better off making one. It was this project that reignited my love for sewing so I’m thankful for Tessa to inspiring me in so many ways. 

Sources: Tessa Verney Wheeler - Women and Archaeology Before World War Two By Lydia C. Carr St Albans Museum (website)

[bloobomber]

Enter Shikari’s: the Spark (2017, September 22) does it Really Light a Spark or does it leave us in the Dark? By: Christopher Quintero

Enter Shikari’s: the Spark (2017, September 22) does it Really Light a Spark or does it leave us in the Dark? By: Christopher Quintero

At the beginning of their now well established career, there was a little group from St. Albans Hertsfordshire that consisted of: Rou Reynolds (guitarist) Chris Batten (bassist) and Rob Rolfe (drums ;) They played a couple of shows under the alias of Hybryd until Rory Clewlow joined in 2003, and soon after they formed the name Enter Shikari (Enter Hunter.) Clewlow would then take over as their guitarist and Reynolds would don the bands staple instrument the Korg synthesizer. In 2006 under the label Ambush Reality, the debut album Take to the Skies was released and with critical acclaim, which included tracks from previous EPs, such as: “Sorry You’re Not a Winner” and “Okay Time for Plan B.” The album also included the singles “Johnny Sniper” and “Mother Ship.” To this day I still listen to “Johnny Sniper” and the interlude track that comes before it. It opens with a man introducing Johnny Sniper as if through some megaphone and the instruments conducting an assembly line. It continues along a steady path until the drums break away into “Johnny Sniper” along with its dance rhythm from the synths, then the guttural sound from Reynold’s vocals as he kicks it up a notch. This track definitely left a huge impression on me and remains one of my favorite songs from the band today. As time went along, the band released other albums like: Common Dreads, a Flash Flood of Color and the Mindsweep along with many other LPs and singles that included tracks, such as: “We Can Breath in Space” and “Redshift,” under the Ambush Reality label and Hopeless Records for us here in the States. Now towards the end of 2017, comes “the Spark.” This is an album that can have addicting choruses, brooding rhythms and heartfelt messages as well as insightful ones. Enter Shikari has never been one to stick with a certain genre and it is difficult to peg one down with them (go ahead and try), but I did feel some familiarity on this new album, but not enough to diagnose a certain genre.

The introduction to the album begins with the Spark; a dim intro with fleeting chords played on a keyboard that sounds like something that came out of a science-fiction piece. It reminds me of the instrumentals out of the Stranger Things, soundtrack for which I really find interesting. I think they were going for an outer space sound, and I think they nailed it with this intro. I feel as though I am floating in the far reaches of space staring at the endless amounts of stars far out of my reach.

Right after the Spark, comes “the Sights,” is a song about one person’s firsthand experiences as he or she is readying to take off into space in search of something greater. I believe this song like many other tracks on the album tackle the concept of discovery of other planets and areas, but also the sense of self-discovery. The speaker begins to talk as if addressing someone and as he/she is talking, the person sounds fed-up with their situation on Earth and how tired he/she is on the planet. The pilot compares a magpie’s flight over gleaming diamonds as something, “dull” and not as impressive as the one of a star. I love the line where he/she says that they grab their “pen like a bread knife, as I write.” I get this image of a person sitting at a desk the night before writing in some sort of journal in tense anticipation as they glance at the clock for affirmation of the hour. The song has a repeating stuttering pulse of the keys of a keyboard playing throughout as the drums jog in place with it. It is mostly Reynold’s singing throughout, but the rest of the members kick in for its crescendo moment for the chorus and the instruments pick up the pace as well. As the song continues, the pilot, as someone who is about to head off into the exosphere, feels the need to disprove Jacques Rousseau, a great mind who wrote the Disclosure on the Sciences and Arts, which opposes sciences and arts because he believed sciences corrupted the virtue of people. At the same time, he/she claims to be going boldly, off on this journey- boldly as Marcus Cicero, who was bold in his own sense and accomplishments. Even if so this is in the back of that person’s mind, he/she is going to take off for a search of something better. It is a great song and has one of the most catchy choruses in the album and I am glad that you hear the rest of the members on this song joining in on the singing because they seem to be absent in that sense for most of the album. In” Ghandi Mate, Ghandi,” off the “Flash Flood of Colour”, album, there is a moment in the beginning where Reynolds loses his mind and goes overboard with his speech and the rest of the members come running in to calm him down and to stay in character; I love this part because it throws in a bit of their humor along with their purpose as musicians in the music they write- for they enlighten people with important situations and information without being too demanding and dull. In the Spark, you faintly hear them on the album and I always loved when Batten, Rolfe and Clewlow chimed in with some great notes or some snarky remark.

The next song became one of the singles off the Spark and I completely agree with it being one of the more popular tunes off the album. This next one is “Live Outside;” just like most Shikari songs, I usually am taken by surprise by the difference of sound. At first, I did not know what to think about, “Live Outside,” with its choir sound. I thought it was a pretty solid track, but as I kept going back for more, I realized I was under the Shikari spell. The chorus with the group chanting is addicting and the song sounds like this electronic, gloomy, sing-along. I enjoyed how the song kicks off with just the bare ingredients of the vocals and the synth, but then you hear a far off Reynold’s  yell “yeah,” then it rushes into infectious guitar notes with that hazy mist sound the synth brings in (it was the best description I could give) that pair up nicely with the vocal parts. It is a great song, but standing alone I did not feel its pull until you insert it with the rest of the album, I guess when I had it all together it benefitted with the album’s space/future theme well and I always liked their songs as standalones, but I felt this song needed the full scope of the rest of the album to be enjoyed at its full potential.

When I said that Enter Shikari’s music seeks to enlighten- “Take my Country Back,” is the piece of the album that does just that. This is the track that feels most familiar with me because it tackles an important situation that is going on in our world and that is division. I believe this song mostly highlights what is going on in the United Kingdom with Brexit. Brexit is the United Kingdom separating from the European Union. The European Union is the unification with the United Kingdom alongside many other countries. Brexit was a poll in which citizens could participate in the voting process, the majority voted to cede from the Union. Just like this, in North America, we have the United States trying to cutting off immigrants, specifically from South America and Central America with the election of Donald Trump. There are similarities in both situations. With the lines “don’t want to take my country back, I want to take my country forward,” is the band wanting to keep the unification instead of having a country act as if the land was a possession to keep for oneself than to share with others. Just like the artists in the band, people of that nation share the same sentiment. The song definitely has an apocalyptic tone to it, especially when the band chants in low voices the same repeating lines “don’t want to take my country back, I want to take my country forward,” and then in despair Reynold’s goes on to say lines comparing life to an eroding Cliffside. The song is an eye opener to important scenarios occurring today.

“Airfield,” is a song that cannot exist if one did not experience struggle and rises that have coincided with downfalls. The band rarely speak about their personal struggles, but this song breaks away from their most talked about subjects and puts into light one important topic in life and that is to keep holding on when things seem the most dire and when we are at our darkest moments. Reynolds’s voice guides us through the journey with misfortune along the way, but throws in lines like: “Even if there is no purpose to the things that you have gone through an ordeal can reveal an airfield.” This signifies that even though there is misfortune along the way, they have reason and give way to a different path for us to grow and take flight. He does a great job at capturing the hurt of such misfortunes with his voice that is low and sounds like it is breaking. It is one of the many quiet songs on the album, but it is definitely appreciated. I love the climb towards the songs climax. You have a heartbroken vocalist, but hopeful, chanting along with the rest of the mates “you’re down on your luck, you’re down, but that don’t mean you’re out now” with screeching instruments as if they were losing signal. It’s terrific, but even then after the storm, he throws in this verse,” when the wind's against you remember this insight, that's the optimal condition for birds to take flight. Now the wind’s against you don't give up the fight.

The rumbustious song you are going to get ahold of here is, “Rabble Rouser.” It opens up with one of their most foreboding and grim guitar riffs- yet it has a pretty slick groove to it. It connects to Reynolds throwing in lines like some intense slam poet. At times, the tones hiding behind the rest of the sounds come off like some creepy carnival funhouse, and I am definitely not complaining. Along with all of this, there is one of the most difficult lines to deliver! “I’m on stage with a face like a stacka-stacka screwdrivers.” I cannot for the love of god get that part without messing up. Funny story- I was riding my bicycle while listening to this song, and I kept repeating that line to myself. I looked up at a police officer that had a look of concern. I am sure he now thinks I am some maniac. That is how hard I have been practicing to master that line. I think it one of the most fun parts on this song. This is one of the singles on the album and I agree that it deserves a spot as one of the more liked tracks to be heard from this album of 11 tracks. It is one the louder and faster paced compared to the others.

When you thought the album would pick up the pace after the last track, then you get hit with “Shinrin-yoku.” Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that means taking in the forest atmosphere. Shinrin-yoku is for healing your mind and spirit in the quiet and gentleness of the forest. For the most part, I got a relaxing vibe from the song especially with the intro with the instrumentation, and you can hear faint sounds of what seems like water and the growing of the forest plants and trees. You really never know what you are going to get when you dive into one of Shikari’s albums and when I heard this track for the first time, I felt diversity compared to some of their older stuff- not because of the inclusion of the trumpet because looking back, the last song from them that included brass instrumentation was “Rat Race,” and that was on a different tempo than this song. They have a catalog of tunes that are fast paced with upset messages about climate change like “Arguing with Thermometers,” or even quiet ones that deal with segregation like “Gap in the Fence,” and I felt that it was a nice change to take a moment and appreciate what beauty the band was defending with those upset messages. In this song, you catch the moment of being in a quiet forest lost in thought and appreciating what calmness nature has to offer and for a moment just breathing is enough to be happy. It also has the idea of how microscopic we are in the scope of the universe and it is apparent with the line, “we are the dust on the stained glass windows trying to comprehend the cathedral,” and maybe our problems are not as bad as we perceive them. Easily one of my favorite numbers they play off the album, but it falls short to the next one.

“Shinrin-yoku,” quietly steps into the following on the album, “Undercover Agents.” I believe that off the entire album, this is the most relatable and probably the easiest to get into for its ridiculously engaging chorus and lyrics that will trigger you like some sleeper agent to sing along to every word spoken. I guess they should have called it sleeper agents instead because when Reynold’s exclaims, “tonight I’m howling with the wolves,” it triggers me with this excitement that had been welling up and just explodes as I follow along to singing every line that follows. The part when the groups in unison howl together is always just so fun to hear and to join in as well and it is one of those moments that I speak of that I cannot help but to do as well. It has that bursting moment of the chorus that some of the other songs on the album included. It has the steady tread through the opening, then boom, I’m out here howling with the wolves too. With the message of the song it is familiar to us as the audience because we too face struggles in our daily lives and build stress throughout our days of work and daily activities and it is awesome when you have that moment to finally relieve yourself of all that pressure and weight; This song is a great remedy to all of that and as a person who suffers from anxiety of different numerous calibers- this song really hits home and I can guarantee that you will be howling with the pack too by the time you finish this one.

“The Revolt of the Atoms,” gives off a grim intro that sounds like a corrupted taped recording and be understood as a warning; It transitions into this melodic tune filled with anxiety and uneasiness. I believe it perhaps gives another shot at Brexit for its division of the people living in the nation and how we as people have been acting towards each other. Just like, “take my country back,” this has an apocalyptic atmosphere to it. It comments on the elimination of human life and our civilizations being erased completely because of the revolt of the atom. Everything is composed of matter and matter is created because of atoms. When he refers to the atom revolting, I believe he us commenting on us people. Now, I may be looking way into all this, but some of the lines seem to bring up news from today. The verse” I found some Intel the atoms had conveyed, convened and connived to the sound of my alarm clock now that was a shock.” I think this is just a remark on the terrorist attacks from recent years and many have been from timed bombs. The line “atoms had conveyed, convened and connived,” maybe refers to the terrorists speaking in private and planning to take out their fellow people with the use of a timed bomb. Reynolds goes on to express himself being shocked by his alarm clock I think relates to this topic. Later on he comments on the element helium and gives it a human characteristic like his alarm clock. He goes on to talk about his conversation with helium; “Helium spoke first It cooled tempers and lifted spirits, but then it made a threat and that made me sweat!” Helium can be used for many different things, like: cooling magnets used for MRI machines, it can be used for leak detection tests for container, which would be exposed to areas of high pressure. It has many other uses, but once we extract helium, it is so light and because it is so light, it can pass through our stratosphere and leave our planet completely. We have no way of regaining helium and yet we use it for balloons that rid us of that precious element. So helium making the “threat,” that made him “sweat,” could be commenting on this. The reason I think that this is also rooted with Brexit is because of the lines “it’s the revolt of the atoms from London town to ancient Athens. Eliminate all traces of human life; they plan to wipe us out,” of course London and Athens are part of the European Union and with Brexit they will we divided and this, aforementioned earlier, was decided by the people who voted for this to happen, not all of course, but the majority. At the closing of the song, Reynolds keeps repeating in a delirious state that, “everything’s crumbling.” I think him doing this continues to further push that we are destroying ourselves.

The finale to, “the Spark” is “an Ode to Jigsaw Pieces.” This is a deeply personal song from front man Rou Reynolds and his experiences in dealing with the separation from of a loved one and the heartache that comes from one. Just like “Airfield,” he strews together lines that are poetic and heartfelt. In “Airfield,” it is an optimistic melody about not giving in and looking at positives that emerge even when in such times desolate of happiness; Although they are similar in that sense, Reynolds really opens up on what really is eating at his insides. He gives us a first-person view into his daily life that maybe some of us have experienced just the same. I love how personal it is and we never really get that view-point from the Enter Shikari songs; they tend to usually ignore these topics and they rather focus their energy on maybe the bigger picture with world news and grander topics- even though love is definitely a huge topic and that is an understatement. This is a beautiful ending to this quiet and tranquil album. Aside from the review, if Rou Reynolds happens to read this, I would like to say thank you for sharing your stories and giving us such great music. You told us even when the winds against us, no to give up. I hope you will always remember those winds will always be there when you look, just grab and take flight with us.

The Spark is nothing what I expected it to be and I am quite glad it turned out that way. I am always surprised by the new direction and sound of the Enter Shikari albums. It was and album filled in with a greater list of slower tracks and seemed a little too quiet at times and some member’s voices were not as present as previous albums. It is a personal EP that wears its heart on its sleeves and is insightful to topics occurring in the world today. 8.5/10

Favorite Aspects:

-Personal topics along

-Informative topics going on today like Brexit

-New sound; they always sound completely different

Least Favorite Aspects:

-Lack of inclusion from the other members in the vocal department

-Album feels a bit short

-Although I loved the tranquility in the album, it feels a bit slow paced

Side note: I do not own any of these tracks posted they belong to Enter Shikari, Ambush Reality and Hopeless Records. Thank you.

Next review: Final Fantasy X

[margoyagudaart]

“Ribs” - on paper Was working at school and when waiting for students to come in, I was drawing this geometric art on paper… #geometricart #линии #process #drawing #londonartist #artcollector #abstractart #conceptart #canvasart #sacredgeometry #geometry #conceptualart #doodling #wallart #MYGallery #margoya #margoyagallery #artistsoninstagram #margoyaguda #abstractpainting #vudumas #abstractartist #margoyaguda_art #margoyagudagallery #vudumast #artsy #лиловый #アート #lines #sketching (at Stevenage Hertsfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgP6_LCL8Cn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[labourpress]

Labour launches national State Pension tour as Tories plan to make 36.9 million people work longer - Debbie Abrahams

Labour launches national State Pension tour as Tories plan to make 36.9 million people work longer   Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, will meet with pensioner groups and local residents across the UK to discuss how a future Labour government can provide dignity and security in retirement.   The Conservative Government has announced plans to extend the retirement age from 66 to 68 from 2037, which will see 36.9 million people having to work longer.

Analysis by the Labour Party shows the number of people who will be affected by the Tories increase in the State Pension age, broken down by constituency.   Tens of thousands of people in every constituency who are currently under 48 years old will be affected, including 56,547 people in Theresa May’s constituency of Maidenhead, 59,290 in David Gauke’s constituency of South West Hertsfordshire and 61,753 in Philip Hammond’s constituency of Runnymede and Weybridge. 

Labour has rejected this increase to the State Pension Age and instead is reviewing a flexible retirement age as part of the party's Commission on Pensions.   Debbie Abrahams, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said:   “Thanks to the Tories increasing the State Pension age, 36.9 million people will be forced to work longer, at the same time that evidence indicates life expectancy has stalled in some places and is reducing in others.     “Conservative MPs must explain to the tens of thousands of people in their constituencies, why the burden of Tory austerity is being pushed onto them, while corporations and the richest individuals receive tax breaks.     “Theresa May should answer her 56,547 constituents, and the 36.9 million people across Britain, whose hard-earned retirements are being postponed because of her government.   “Labour will keep the State Pension age at 66 and this tour will help us review, as part of our commitment to people powered politics, the pension system, with a view to guaranteeing a secure and healthy retirement for the many, not just the few.”   Ends