Is the plug about to be pulled on Big Brother?

Posted by on Jan 18, 2007 in updates | 22 comments Now that Carphone Warehouse has withdrawn its sponsorship of the very troubled Celebrity Big Brother, “with immediate effect”, how much longer can the programme continue to run? Does the show have other substantial backers who want to distance themselves too? A ridiculous domestic spat featuring one particularly unpleasant participant has dominated our...
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The Queen reads blogs! Or does she?

Posted by on Jan 18, 2007 in updates | 17 comments Iain must be bursting with pride, after all, how many bloggers can boast that the Queen is one of their readers? It’s a fantastic tale, one he will dine on for life. This is what happened while Iain was at Windsor Castle earlier today: “I’ve just been wandering round the Castle grounds and who should I bump into but a certain regal presence. “And what do you do?” she...
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Should rail commuters pay £5,000 to stand?

Posted by on Jan 18, 2007 in Uncategorized | 10 comments It’s money for old rope for rail operators, just take the commuters money, thousands of pounds a year, never mind if they don’t have a seat. It’s been standard practice for far too long. Mike Mitchell, head of railways at the Department for Transport, believes commuters should expect to stand at peak periods, even if they have paid £5,000 for an annual season ticket. He...
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Could Obama be America’s first black president?

Posted by on Jan 17, 2007 in Uncategorized | 22 comments Senator Barack Obama has announced that he may run for America’s next  presidential election. Could he be their first black president? Obama, 45, has had an astounding and meteoric rise in politics, having spent only two years in the Senate. He is now travelling around the country and listening to people and will announce his decision in three...
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Should Bollywood bullying be raised at Westminster?

Posted by on Jan 17, 2007 in updates | 35 comments Is stunning Shilpa Shetty the victim of racist bullying by fellow Big Brother inmates? 10,000 people think so and have been so upset at her victimisiation that they complained to the media watchdog Ofcom. They were certainly crass and offensive remarks made by others who are plain ignorant and thick. The Bollywood star has been called a “dog� and contestants have complained about her...
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Govt pays £2 million for parent advisers to cut truancy

Posted by on Jan 16, 2007 in Uncategorized | 14 comments See if this adds up. Truancy figures are at a record high, despite the government spending £900 million on tackling it. So they suggest keeping kids at school until they are 18, even though thousands of them refuse to stay there until 16. They already have the choice to stay until 18 if they wish. They are now spending £2 million in Norfolk to pioneer a new...
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Can childless women make decisions on war?

Posted by on Jan 16, 2007 in Uncategorized | 16 comments It’s absurd and very below the belt to suggest that as a childless woman, Condoleezza Rice did not understand the sacrifices made by families of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. She was told bluntly by Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer during a hostile Senate hearing: “You’re not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, within your immediate family. Who will pay the...
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We need more green leaders like Stuart Rose

Posted by on Jan 15, 2007 in updates | 41 comments While Tony Blair tells the world he will not be cutting back on long haul holidays,  we are fortunate in being able to look to Marks & Spencer as our eco champion. They are spending £200 million over the next five years on going green, planning to become the country’s most environmentally friendly retailer. They are not doing it in a half-hearted way...
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Fancy a house swap in St Kitts?

Posted by on Jan 15, 2007 in updates | 13 comments My friends Chrissie and Hector have barely been home five minutes after holidaying in Spain for several months. And today they are packing their bags ready for their next jaunt in Australia. They are going to swap their home with a couple in Brisbane for six months. Oh, and they get a pool and car thrown in with the deal too. This is something they do regularly, they have spent...
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A good day for a barbecue

Posted by on Jan 14, 2007 in updates | 14 comments There was a time when it snowed  in January, here are a couple of pics I took in Ely in 2003 to remind us. Yet today, it’s warm enough to have a barbie – well almost – with temperatures in double figures. I’ve posted a few more snow scenes at the top of this page for us to remember those good old days. Do you mourn the passing of winters spent...
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How many mail order brides do we have in the UK?

Posted by on Jan 13, 2007 in updates | 14 comments I wonder how many mail order brides we have in the UK? How many of these marriages have been   successful? It would make an interesting thesis – and I suspect a warning too for elderly men prepared to pay a fortune for companionship and get duped. Does it work the other way too, are there any mail order bridegrooms for lonely elderly women? Ken Miller, 69, is...
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Would you like to change your name?

Posted by on Jan 13, 2007 in updates | 15 comments This is something we don’t have a say in, but can change if we wish. And now more people are doing so, they are changing their name by deed poll. According to the latest figures,  between 30,000 and 50,000 people a year are officially changing their names, and it costs less than £40 to do so. In 1996, the figure was only 270. My friend’s sister changed her name by...
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Is Beckham worth a cool $250 million?

Posted by on Jan 12, 2007 in updates | 22 comments Is Beckham worth it, $250 million over the next five years? Did Madrid get their money’s worth? Wasn’t be sitting on the bench there quite a bit? This just confirms that football makes people behave in crazy ways, I’ve seen it from the touchline so many times. Becks isn’t even a star over in LA. When people there were interviewed on last night’s...
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Are ballet and the BNP good bedfellows?

Posted by on Jan 12, 2007 in Uncategorized | 23 comments Should principal ballet dancer Simone Clarke be sacked from her job with the English National Ballet because of her membership with the BNP? Anti-racism campaigners United Against Fascism thinks so and will be protesting at today’s performance of Gisele at the London Coliseum. They state: “We are calling on all those who have an appreciation for the arts, music, and dance...
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What is a truth serum made from?

Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 in updates | 18 comments I was reading this grisly report about India’s suspected third serial killer which mentions forensic scientists using a “truth serum” on two suspects. One is said to have confessed to eating the liver and flesh of his young victims. I thought this was the stuff of fiction, but is seems not. So what is a truth serum made from? Is the evidence it elicits admissible in a court...
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Will UK politicians advertise on our political blogs?

Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 in Uncategorized | 10 comments I imagine many political bloggers would love the chance of making some dosh from their online discourse and interaction. If British politicians follow the example of what is happening in America, the chances are it could  happen here too. Former Senator John Edwards and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (pic)have both recently started running ads on political blogs,...
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Is the new Apple iPhone all it’s cracked up to be?

Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 in updates | 14 comments I thought how slick and beautiful the new Apple iPhone looked. But it  seems all that glistens is not gold. Robert Scoble, Microsoft’s former  top blogger has given it the thumbs down, and there are 123 comments to scroll through and help me make my mind up about whether I should buy one when it becomes available at the end of the year.  Do you think it is all it...
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The joy of a love letter

Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 in updates | 4 comments When did you last receive a love letter? I imagine they are very scarce these days, with text messages and emails used instead to communicate those special tender feelings. The emotions and tragic acceptance of fate portrayed in Captain Scott’s last letter to his wife in temperatures of -70% tug at the heartstrings. It has just been presented to the Scott Polar Research Institute...
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Another day in London

Posted by on Jan 9, 2007 in updates | 10 comments I shall be on the train to London first thing tomorrow morning while you are probably still dreaming away, heading for a Blog Breakfast with Echo to discuss corporate and political blogging. I had a successful visit to the smoke today with my son David for his latest check-up at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The chronic oseteomyelitis in his jaw is thankfully improving, but he was advised to...
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The two words missing from Robin Cook’s headstone

Posted by on Jan 9, 2007 in updates | 16 comments A picture of Robin Cook’s headstone has been published today bearing his immortal words: “I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of Parliament to decide on war”. It naturally mentions his wife Gaynor and two sons. I wonder why it could not have said: “Beloved husband of Gaynor and Margaret“, why ignore his first wife’s...
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Waste is not rubbish, it’s a resource

Posted by on Jan 9, 2007 in Uncategorized | 14 comments We need to rethink our views on household waste, it is not rubbish, it is a resource. Any scavenger will tell you that, like those from Poland in my picture. It’s an issue our government has ignored for years, which is why we are the worst recyclers in Europe. But there is money in muck, as China’s wealthiest woman appreciates, having made her fortune from recycling...
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Parenting versus politics – Ruth Kelly’s choice

Posted by on Jan 8, 2007 in Uncategorized | 25 comments Should parental considerations dominant political ones? That was clearly the dilemma faced by Cabinet Minister Ruth Kelly in choosing to send her dyslexic child to a £15,000 a year boarding school as there was so suitable local authority alternative. If true, this admits a serious failing of educational provisions for children with special needs – and as a former Education Secretary, she...
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My IRA prisoners escape "exclusive"

Posted by on Jan 7, 2007 in updates | 8 comments Reading about the latest bout of escaped prisoners reminded me of one of my journalistic highlights at the Cambridge Evening News. It was one Saturday afternoon and we were waiting for the nod to go home when a call came through to tell us that some IRA prisoners had escaped from a high security prison in the town of March, Cambridgeshire. I was sent to report a press...
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A little more info about me

Posted by on Jan 5, 2007 in updates | 17 comments Thanks Norfolk Blogger for tagging me with the meme about five things you probably didn’t know about me: 1. I have a twin brother called Elvan, but we are quite different. We both have a “lazy” eye, though opposite ones. 2. I have a tiny piece of coal embedded in my forehead after falling into the fire as a baby. 3. I have passed my Advanced Motorist’s Test – took it...
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Should Ashley stay a child for ever?

Posted by on Jan 4, 2007 in updates | 21 comments I count my blessings in having two healthy sons and cannot imagine the agony of being the parent of Ashley X, having to make those tortuous decisions about her future – followed by public condemnation. Ashley, who has a severe brain impairment, was given radical treatment three years ago at the age of six to stunt her growth, she will remain a child for ever. She had started to display...
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