MCIPR, PRESS CONSULTANT, JOURNALIST, POLITICAL AND PR BLOGGER.
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Welcome to my blog which has been featured in The Guardian, on BBC News 24, Andrew Marr's Sunday morning show and Woman's Hour. It is also being archived by The British Library.
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Heated talks among the six core “Doha round” negotiators – India, Brazil, the US, EU, Japan and Australia – broke up amid recriminations over irreconcilable differences about farm liberalisation. The US continued to argue for big cuts in farm import tariffs to open up markets for its farmers, a demand fiercely rejected by the European Union, Japan and India, which said America had first to go further in offering to cut its huge agricultural subsidies.
The talks, which began in November 2001, will now enter indefinite suspension unless and until a consensus within the WTOs 139 member countries can be found to revive it. I don’t see how this is achievable.
The latest round of talks showed how countries suffering an economic downturn wanted to protect their own interests rather than opening up their markets for trade which would benefit poor and less developed countries. America is one of the countries guilty of this, and with a presidential election looming, it clearly was not going to give anything away that would be detrimental to its citizens.
This Reuters article emphasises the impact cheap Chinese imports has had on America in recent years, how the U.S. trade deficit with China cost 2.3 million American jobs between 2001 and 2007. Even when they found new jobs, workers displaced by job losses to China saw their earnings decrease by an average of $8,146 each year because the new jobs paid less.
It says that free trade is shaping up as a major issue in the November presidential election, especially in closely fought battleground states like Ohio.
In spite of this, the needs of the ACP countries have to be considered in global trade talks and I wonder if Barack Obama wins the presidential election, whether his African roots will make him more sympathetic to the needs of lesser developed countries.
I see the focus of these talks changing too as self-protectionism takes on a new meaning now some countries are imposing export bans on food because of food shortages, a worrying situation which is set to worsen.
So does anyone have any idea how a Doha agreement can be reached between the 139 WTO member countries?
I doubt Gordon Brown was walking along the Southwold promenade today when hundreds of angry protesters demonstrated over government policy of abandoning its crumbling coastline. The Environment Agency plans to withdraw funding for vital flood defences on the picturesque Suffolk coast, leaving clifftops to collapse into the sea.
I was in Southwold a couple of weeks ago on a walking weekend, and I know it is a topic which causes great concern. I imagine the holidaying Prime Minister has not had a very warm welcome from locals who feel very strongly about this issue.
The campaigners linked arms and chanted “SOS” while some held banners saying: “Gord Help Us. Save Our Shoreline.” It can be seen on video from this link.
I hope Gordon Brown takes in some of the local sights, including the bungalow home of this devastated couple further along the coast in Norfolk which has been valued at a paltry £1 because it is perched on the top of a crumbling cliff.
What I do find interesting when I visit Southwold and Aldburgh is that local people do not seem to object to the huge white dome on its doorstep, home of Sizewell B power station.
I breastfed my eldest son David to Countdown and thought I had reared a child genius when he could recite many upper case letters of the alphabet before the age of two, before he could even speak properly.
However, he never did master the conundrum or numbers game with such ease. And while he still has an amazing photographic memory, his intellectual abilities have levelled out over the years.
Having enjoyed Countdown so much, I was saddened to learn that Carol Vorderman has quit the show, but I can’t say I blame her if it is true that she was offered a 90% pay cut to stay on. However bewitching Carol is, the quiz programme never retained its appeal following the untimely death of its original quiz master Richard Whiteley – theirs truly was a perfect TV "marriage". So it’s probably best for her to quit now, and look for pastures new.
*I have just collected my youngest son James from Ely Golf Club where he is practising hard to reduce his handicap so he can play in a junior tournament next month.
"Did you bump into Gary?" I asked him, because the word going round is that Gary Lineker has moved to Ely and lives near the golf course with his lingerie model girlfriend Danielle. James saw him at the BMW golf championship at Wentworth a few weeks ago when Linkeker was reporting on it.
I wonder how long will it be before James bumps into him on the golf course and they exchange tips….
Blogfather Iain Dale is asking people to vote for their favourite political bloggers for the 2008-9 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK.
Last year I was thrilled to be listed in the top ten. Since then, the topics of my posts have broadened considerably as I have taken on new work and challenges. As well as politics, I write about the environment, women’s issues, sex trafficking, food shortages, plant scientists, missing people, my fear of public speaking, my love of country walks, brain injury survivors and Headway, and my family. Anything that takes my fancy, in fact.
As a result, I doubt I will maintain my high ranking, but regardless of where I am listed, blogging will remain a passion of mine because of the wonderful people it has led me to meet – and would like to meet – and the immense fun I have had from it.
The deadline for votes is Friday, 15 August Top. Email your Top Ten (ranked from 1 to 10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com.
The rules are much stricter this year, and I guess that will go against me, as well the responses Iain gets:
1. Please only vote once.
2. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible.
I’m taking my mother to the Cotswolds for a few days. She has seen very little of England’s glorious countryside outside East Anglia and I’m hoping she will enjoy its unspoilt, picturesque villages. It’s her birthday treat from my sister and I.
I last visited the Cotswolds three years ago on a walking weekend with a girlfriend Heather. We had arranged to meet on a Friday at some stunning gardens I had long wanted to visit, Hidcote.
I arrived there first only to discover it was closed. I couldn’t believe that the National Trust closed this fabulous garden on a Friday. Other disappointed visitors were arriving too. Heather was travelling from London and had not yet arrived. I managed to call her on her mobile and we then headed for Snowshill Manor, which I found enthralling.
It contains an extraordinary collection of unusual objects from the eccentric architect, artist and craftsman Charles Paget Wade. But it was his life story which I found gripping. Wade married in 1946, having met his wife when she was lost and knocked on his door at Snowshill Manor, and went to live with her in the West Indies.
He was extremely fond of dressing up using old costumes from amongst his vast collection, and visitors to his manor house, including John Betjeman, Virginia Woolf, Graham Greene and J.B. Priestley, were often persuaded to perform amateur dramatics in ‘Dragon’, one of the rooms in the manor house, or in the garden. J. B. Priestly described Wade as: ‘My eccentric, but charming friend of the fantastic manor house.
How I would have loved to have been one of his dinner guests. I’m hoping to take mum to Snowshill, and I know my sister Rosalind would enjoy it as she is an amazing collector too, her house looks like a museum.
Heather and I stayed in a B & B on a farm with a charming family whose cattle were being killed by Bovine TB caused by badgers. Their livelihood was being devastated. Their hall was covered with photos of their smiling children wearing graduation gowns. They were so warm and homely and I really enjoyed my stay there.
B & B is not mum’s style, so we are booked in a very smart hotel which has a magnificent looking pool and is renowned for its excellent food. The objective is for us both to be well pampered.
*Talk about a small world. Last weekend Heather and I met for a walk in Suffolk around Aldeburgh and Southwold. Mary, the friend we stayed with, had once lived in a magnificent country house in a nearby village called Yoxford. When Heather and I visited Snowshill, Heather noticed a picture of Mary’s house in the hallway. Charles Paget Wade was born in Yoxford and could have lived in that house. I shall try and find out more on my return visit there over the next few days.
““How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world!”
Those were the optimistic words of Anne Frank on 26 March, 1944.
I was reminded of them yesterday when I joined this year’s winners of the Anne Frank Awards 2008 at the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House, London. The awards are given to young people and educators who have shown great personal strength, moral courage, and determination to stand up for what is right. It recognises the courage of those who speak out, go out of their way for others, and stick out their necks for the common good is identified and held up as a shining example to us all. They stand up against thugs, bullies and cowards and selflessly help improve the lives of others.
One of the recipients was Nick Bennett, a brain injury survivor who campaigns for Headway Cambridgeshire. Nick was 17 and a self-confessed ‘boy racer’ who had recently passed his driving test at 17 when he had a horrific head-on crash with a lorry by recklessly overtaking two cars. He spent 10 months in intensive care at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge fighting for survival and is now confined to a wheelchair.
Last year, Nick started visiting local secondary schools to warn other young people about dangerous driving. His personal story moves everyone he meets.
“Don’t make the same stupid mistake as me,” is the important message Nick wants all young drivers to remember when they are behind the steering wheel.
Nick has joined other winners for a memorable trip to Amsterdam where they will visit the Anne Frank House. He is pictured with his sister Angela, who is joining him on the trip, and Jeanette, a manager at Headway Cambridgeshire where I am a trustee.
I must share with you some of the other personal stories of courage because at a time when our newspaper headlines are full of stories about evil deeds committed by some youths, it is inspiring and good for the soul to remember that they are a very tiny minority. And here are some excellent examples of other Anne Frank winners who joined Nick yesterday:
Alexander Rose, 19: His close friend was stabbed to death in 2006 and the following year his cousin was also stabbed, but fortunately survived. These incidents drove Alexander to take a stand against violence and he campaigns around London against gun and knife crime. He has designed a range of posters and t-shirts bearing the message “STOP”. He is now working with the Met Police to help stop violent crimes of this nature in the city.
Sammie Hamilton, 9: Young Sammie has set up a youth charter to ensure respect and equality in her school and has worked on an anti-bullying scheme that looks at how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim. She chairs an action group campaigning to provide education for children in Kenya.
Emma Speigler: She founded an online support group called COAP, “Children of Addicted Parents”, in 2006 after a difficult childhood watching her mother’s battle with alcoholism. She published a collection of poems called ‘Missing Mummy; living in the shadow of an alcoholic’, which convey the emotions she felt as the daughter of an alcoholic.
I asked Emma how her mother was now, having lost three dear friends to drink, and she told me she has been dry for two-and-half years. I was so happy for her, and my eyes welled up as I remembered my friends’ wasted lives cut short.
It was a celebrity star-studded bash. The ceremony was hosted by Ade Adepitan, the television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. You can see me squeezed comfortably between actors Dean Andrews, star of Life on Mars, and Nathaniel Parker, who is drop dead gorgeous with a wicked smile and wonderful deep eyes, well known as Inspector Lynley.
I spoke to Tamsin Greig, as my son James was an extra in Love Soup with her. She said she remembered him and recorded a special message for him on my video which he was thrilled about. She is fabulous, utterly sensational, a natural star.
Ellie Kendrick, who plays Anne Frank in the BBC’s forthcoming drama of the Diary of Anne Frank, presented an ward too, and we saw some moving clips from the harrowing film. She looked so much like Anne in the film.
Then along came the dashing John Pienaar, the BBC’s political correspondent, straight from reporting Prime Minister’s Question Time, and I whisked him off into a tiny room past security so he could record his views about youth crime today and those selfless young people at the awards ceremony who were leading by their excellent examples:
The memorable afternoon finished with some wonderful singing by the stunning soprana star Natasha Marsh, the voice of Euro 2008, who paid tribute to the worthy winners.
I wonder what Anne Frank would think of this fantastic event, and the legacy she left behind. It’s extraordinary that her girlish scribblings touched millions of hearts around the world and have been been immortalised. I remember the impact her diary had on me when I read it as a young girl, how moving and tragic it was.
I shall finish with another quote from the young and tender Anne Frank:
“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death.”
Update: this is a YouTube I also made of Nick at the awards.
I’ve been overwhelmed today by the kind birthday wishes sent via facebook and on my blog. Every one was special to me and very much appreciated. Thank you all so much. I even had a surprise phone call from Jeremy, which was very thoughtful.
I’m afraid the day started off really badly, but my pal Geoff has now put a big smile on my face. He kindly hot footed it to my house when I called him about my IT problems. Last night I lost all connection to the internet and discovered that I needed a new wireless router and modem. I bought one first thing this morning and was unable to get hold of the IT guy in my village to sort it out. In desperation, I called Geoff late in the morning, and he jumped on the next train from Cambridge to Ely. That’s what I call a great friend. It’s now all sorted. A thousand thanks to Geoff. I can now relax.
However, I won’t be able to drink today because I am on antihistamine tablets for an allergic rash which has covered my legs and arms for the last two weeks. They’ve been very itchy, particularly at night which has made it difficult for me to sleep, and alcohol not only irritates it even more, but also makes me feel drowsy. I have also had swollen glands which all started from a virus when I had a bad throat. Thankfully, I’m now on the mend.
This is partly why I haven’t been blogging recently, as well as my increasingly busy workload which I am enjoying very much. My mother was also admitted to hospital last week with breathing difficulties and high blood pressure, it was very worrying. She is now home and needs a lot of TLC.
I hope to return to more regular blogging soon, I have so much to say….
Doha trade talks which collapsed.
its unspoilt, picturesque villages. It’s her birthday treat from my sister and I.
