It was a late start after late to bed but a continuous uninterrupted period of sleep follow by a lay in and more sleep. Rising again already mid morning I had to push myself to immediately shave and wash and put on clothes to face the external world. The motivation was the start of a two week season of free World War II DVD’s given with the Mail.
There was a touch of moisture in the air but the snow had departed and although the pavements were wet, walking presented no problem. I was able to collect the DVD at the supermarket as it was included with the Saturday TV and Radio listings for the week. The Mail also includes a similar Magazine in its Sunday edition together with other magazine features to justify the extra expense, but much like the originator of the multi sectional newspaper here in the UK, the Sunday Times, there is a week’s reading, mostly of matters outside one’s daily experience or usefulness. I used to enjoy the sections on expensive properties or fast and luxury cars, and the travel/holiday section, because there was still the ambition and hope that I would become a participator instead of a spectator. There was also the catholic sense of having invested the cash it was wasteful not to take time to go through the Sunday paper from cover to cover especially as so many people had made their living from its writing and production. Now there is a choice of TV news and information channels covering the UK, The USA, Europe, Russia, the Middle East and China, together with the limitless Internet. I need to keep myself abreast of what is happening, internationally, nationally and locally but rationing the amount of time reading researching and writing so as to balance with my other work is a daily challenge.
I was also motivated to go out on Saturday morning, for more mundane reasons. I needed some tooth paste and shaving foam and also decided on a small packet of fabric plasters having experience a further problem with the skin at top of the bridge of my nose. A swap of spectacles to the newer pair of black frames appeared help but might not be sufficient to immediately clear up the sensitivity. A tea when I came downstairs and then a coffee before going out was all I needed. I dislike going to supermarket on Saturday mornings because it is full of people rushing with no regard for anyone else. Crossing the car park confirmed that I would have been better off going further for the paper and to Boots or another store for the toiletries. A young man accompanied bus wife or girl friend stopped his vehicle across the clearly marked pedestrian crossing and then ignore the complaint from someone of my generation approaching from the opposition direction to me. I followed this up by explaining that he should not have come over the crossing until the way ahead was clear. At the very next intersection, worse still it was a mother with children in the vehicle straddling the crossing and forcing us to walking around the vehicle. She ought to have known better and I told her so politely, but firmly.
On returning home before reading the newspaper while also watching the first half of the televised game between Manchester City and the Boro I glanced quickly through the TV guide for the day and to Sunday to confirms that the BBC were allocating two and half hours to the Baftas witching between channels to show the red carpet and two hour long recordings of the award ceremony. I would have to watch on Catch up Lark Rise and Lost. Although I could watch Anne Widdecombe on the Reformation if I gave up the froth in the Red Carpet. Given her conversion to Catholicism her take on the Reformation will be interesting. I decide against going through the rest of the guide to TV and radio, preferring to undertake the review on each day after I have decided my work priority and other activities. I will go and see Revolutionary Road and The Strange Case of Benjamin Button Tuesday Wednesday. There is the friendly with Spain on Wednesday. I must also make the effort to begin the photographing of Newcastle.
The game was interesting because Man City continues to struggle but was saved from an attacking Boro by Newcastle’s long standing now former goal keeper Shay Given. His effort enabled a narrow 1.0 victory which stopped their recent slide. Alas it confirmed that Boro to the relegation Zone. It will be interesting to see if Chairman Steve Gibson holds his nerve if relegation becomes certain. Steve has been impressive as Chairman taking over as a young man, supporting he club financially and his managers despite not attracting support from Teeside, Durham and North Yorkshire to fill the impressive stadium on the banks of the Tees. He selected Gareth Southgate then still a player to be the manager although he had no experience or qualifications. One compares this with Nigel Clough who played for his father and then learnt the job as player manager and then manager at non league Burton Albion, before his recent move to then relegation threatened Derby. If he is successful can see him being courted by Premiership clubs but he has already shown a common sense as well as ability which suggests that although he might switch to his father’s other club at some point, his destiny is taking one of the two Midland clubs back into the Premiership.
I decided to look through the Mail taking cuttings to read and write about later. The main story in the Mail remained the weather with Transport Minister Geoff Hoon given the full blast of the editorial team in a move which demonstrated the paper‘s whole hearted support for the Tory Opposition.
The problem of using billions of public money to bail out Britain’s financial services industry and reduce the impact on job and home losses is that the public has become significantly less sympathetic to any failure in public services and will rebel at the ballot box if the government decides not to allocate additional resources to allocate additional resources to deal with national and regional emergencies. I have sympathy for the decision of local authorities, the Highways, Rail and airport’s authorities for not having the latest equipment in quantity and standby workforce to cope with once a decade or two prolonged and severe snow falls, but not to have stockpiled grit and salt in sufficient quantity is not defensible. This should have been an immediate government priority. I do not blame individual politicians but the civil servants and emergency planners who failed to check or ask the right questions. This is not good enough and should not be allowed to happen again.
The government stand accused of inconsistency and yielding to public and media hysteria which saw the head of education and other children’s services in Harringey summarily dismissed without compensation while bankers continue to reward themselves for incompetence and negligence. The mistake which the Head of services at Harringey made was not to immediately offer her resignation, and call for a national inquiry of why she was failed to be advised and supported by the Inspectorial services. In my judgement, given the previous situation there was no option for her resignation but a public enquiry should have taken place on the role of \Ministers, including the Children’s Minister, on the Inspection services, the role of Local Authority Councillors and the Chief Executive and his colleagues in the chief Officers management team to ensure that their colleague was getting the support and had in place the staff and management systems to ensure they never experience another tragedy as the Climbe case. The media is having second thoughts about the treated of the former Director of Education services who became responsible for the management of child care services with the creation of the combined local government department, something which I pressed for ten years before the government, the managers and the professionals saw the light.
On Saturday the media turned its attention to the former Chief Executive of Northampton who has retired after seven years service at the council with a lump sum of close to £300000 reflecting his £215000 annual salary and an annual pension of £97000, Of course it is right that as a public paid official this information is disclosed. However I do not see the Daily Mail and other papers having campaigned for a similar transparency for the salaries and pension deals of the chief and other executives of banks, prevented from bankruptcy by the taxpayers. After President Obama demanded that those given tax payer bailouts should not be paid more than half a million dollars in pay and bonuses Number 10 was quick to say it was considering a similar approach. Too little too late I say. Gordon has been in bed with the city financial whores for too long to see them objectively for what they are.
Meanwhile the protection of Jonathan Ross by the BBC continues with back to normal contractual work. I had hoped that one development would his replacement as a film critic for which he appears to have no special qualities or depth of judgement. It is just one further indication of how low the BBC and moved away from its impartial national role as a public service broadcaster and attempts to compete with commercial interests pandering to baser public interests.
In fairness to the Daily Mail its anti government positioning has not led to unqualified support for David Cameron and his team. Two years ago it applauded Mr Cameron for .Baroness Neville Jones as their front bench National security adviser. But this has changed to questioning her position when recently she side stepped questions about Government and Security service apparently collusion in covering up their knowledge that the USA was using torture against terrorist suspects. The government line is that it has always remained opposed to the use of torture while side stepping the issue that it knew what the USA was doing. The Mail was flabbergasted when Baroness Neville Jones appeared to be joining in the alleged cover up conspiracy. The Mail should not have been surprised. Lady Pauline has had a remarkable career, following the establishment line of the day. Lady Pauline was educated at Leeds High School and Lady Margaret Hall Oxford where she my contemporary for two years while at Ruskin College. While I went to Birmingham University, child care and social services management for the next 30 years, she entered the UK Diplomatic Services serving British missions to Rhodesia, Singapore, Washington DC and Bonn. In 1972 she was seconded for five years to the European Commission as deputy and then Chef Du Cabinet to the Commissioner Christopher Tudgendhat. In 1991 when left may career she became head of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat of the Cabinet Office and Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet. She had two years as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and from then until her retirement she was the Political Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. From 1998 until September 2004 she was Chairman of the Audit Commission and then on reaching the age of 65 she became a governor of the BBC becoming Chairman of the World Service Consultative Group. Information references from Wikipedia. While at the BBC she was blamed by Greg Dyke for leading the Governors against himself and the management over the David Kelly Andrew Gilligan affair. While at the BBC she was also Chairman of a Government owned firm which engaged in the arms trade Iraq which raised questions about BBC impartiality in Iraq coverage. I would make the obvious point that David Cameron knew what eh was doing when he appointed the Baroness to his front bench on National Security issues. It also has to be pointed out that Mr Cameron had positioned himself to the left of the right Wing cantering Labour Administration sandwiched between the Liberal Social Democrats.
On Saturday afternoon I turned my attention to listening to Sunderland and playing at the Stadium of Light against Stoke City, a match which was important for them to win if they were move further away from the relegation zone. The commentators became very upset when the Referee and linesman missed the clear handling of a football to prevent a goal as anyone as ever seen. The referee and linesman bringing the game into disrepute. This d to herald another 0.0 draw or worse still as happened at Newcastle, as last period loss. I turned off the Radio hoping that this act would changed fortunes and switch the TV from the score updates to the Test Match where England had made progress to ending the West Indian Innings, reducing the lead to some 75 runs. Newcastle meanwhile had obviously participated in a more exciting game scoring within a couple of minutes, then giving away a goal and then scoring a second all with in the first ten minutes, They scored a third before half time. In the evening I kept one eye on the full 90 minutes of this match on Sky. While there were good indication that Newcastle now has the basis of surviving in the Premiership without Owen, Martins and Viduka. Injured or lacking match play, and the loss of Given, West Bromwich Albion were awful defensively and but also showed during the second half when they scored a second goal that they are a team with resolve and scoring abilities. I decided to watch the brief highlights of the Sunderland game rather than the 60 mins extension, watching to catch up on the six other Premiership games played during the day. Soon after I had switched the radio off Kenwyn Jones had scored and within minutes a second had been added to move Sunderland more comfortably into mid table, three points above Newcastle despite their win.
During the day I decided to use the Google Blog facility to duplicate current writings as well as creating revised duplicates of those already included on Space through a feature of a week ago and a year ago, changing to a month ago and a year ago, until all 600 odd creations have been revised and transferred. This will be a two way process because having identified mistakes or made improvements those on MySpace will also be amended or new versions added.
There was a touch of moisture in the air but the snow had departed and although the pavements were wet, walking presented no problem. I was able to collect the DVD at the supermarket as it was included with the Saturday TV and Radio listings for the week. The Mail also includes a similar Magazine in its Sunday edition together with other magazine features to justify the extra expense, but much like the originator of the multi sectional newspaper here in the UK, the Sunday Times, there is a week’s reading, mostly of matters outside one’s daily experience or usefulness. I used to enjoy the sections on expensive properties or fast and luxury cars, and the travel/holiday section, because there was still the ambition and hope that I would become a participator instead of a spectator. There was also the catholic sense of having invested the cash it was wasteful not to take time to go through the Sunday paper from cover to cover especially as so many people had made their living from its writing and production. Now there is a choice of TV news and information channels covering the UK, The USA, Europe, Russia, the Middle East and China, together with the limitless Internet. I need to keep myself abreast of what is happening, internationally, nationally and locally but rationing the amount of time reading researching and writing so as to balance with my other work is a daily challenge.
I was also motivated to go out on Saturday morning, for more mundane reasons. I needed some tooth paste and shaving foam and also decided on a small packet of fabric plasters having experience a further problem with the skin at top of the bridge of my nose. A swap of spectacles to the newer pair of black frames appeared help but might not be sufficient to immediately clear up the sensitivity. A tea when I came downstairs and then a coffee before going out was all I needed. I dislike going to supermarket on Saturday mornings because it is full of people rushing with no regard for anyone else. Crossing the car park confirmed that I would have been better off going further for the paper and to Boots or another store for the toiletries. A young man accompanied bus wife or girl friend stopped his vehicle across the clearly marked pedestrian crossing and then ignore the complaint from someone of my generation approaching from the opposition direction to me. I followed this up by explaining that he should not have come over the crossing until the way ahead was clear. At the very next intersection, worse still it was a mother with children in the vehicle straddling the crossing and forcing us to walking around the vehicle. She ought to have known better and I told her so politely, but firmly.
On returning home before reading the newspaper while also watching the first half of the televised game between Manchester City and the Boro I glanced quickly through the TV guide for the day and to Sunday to confirms that the BBC were allocating two and half hours to the Baftas witching between channels to show the red carpet and two hour long recordings of the award ceremony. I would have to watch on Catch up Lark Rise and Lost. Although I could watch Anne Widdecombe on the Reformation if I gave up the froth in the Red Carpet. Given her conversion to Catholicism her take on the Reformation will be interesting. I decide against going through the rest of the guide to TV and radio, preferring to undertake the review on each day after I have decided my work priority and other activities. I will go and see Revolutionary Road and The Strange Case of Benjamin Button Tuesday Wednesday. There is the friendly with Spain on Wednesday. I must also make the effort to begin the photographing of Newcastle.
The game was interesting because Man City continues to struggle but was saved from an attacking Boro by Newcastle’s long standing now former goal keeper Shay Given. His effort enabled a narrow 1.0 victory which stopped their recent slide. Alas it confirmed that Boro to the relegation Zone. It will be interesting to see if Chairman Steve Gibson holds his nerve if relegation becomes certain. Steve has been impressive as Chairman taking over as a young man, supporting he club financially and his managers despite not attracting support from Teeside, Durham and North Yorkshire to fill the impressive stadium on the banks of the Tees. He selected Gareth Southgate then still a player to be the manager although he had no experience or qualifications. One compares this with Nigel Clough who played for his father and then learnt the job as player manager and then manager at non league Burton Albion, before his recent move to then relegation threatened Derby. If he is successful can see him being courted by Premiership clubs but he has already shown a common sense as well as ability which suggests that although he might switch to his father’s other club at some point, his destiny is taking one of the two Midland clubs back into the Premiership.
I decided to look through the Mail taking cuttings to read and write about later. The main story in the Mail remained the weather with Transport Minister Geoff Hoon given the full blast of the editorial team in a move which demonstrated the paper‘s whole hearted support for the Tory Opposition.
The problem of using billions of public money to bail out Britain’s financial services industry and reduce the impact on job and home losses is that the public has become significantly less sympathetic to any failure in public services and will rebel at the ballot box if the government decides not to allocate additional resources to allocate additional resources to deal with national and regional emergencies. I have sympathy for the decision of local authorities, the Highways, Rail and airport’s authorities for not having the latest equipment in quantity and standby workforce to cope with once a decade or two prolonged and severe snow falls, but not to have stockpiled grit and salt in sufficient quantity is not defensible. This should have been an immediate government priority. I do not blame individual politicians but the civil servants and emergency planners who failed to check or ask the right questions. This is not good enough and should not be allowed to happen again.
The government stand accused of inconsistency and yielding to public and media hysteria which saw the head of education and other children’s services in Harringey summarily dismissed without compensation while bankers continue to reward themselves for incompetence and negligence. The mistake which the Head of services at Harringey made was not to immediately offer her resignation, and call for a national inquiry of why she was failed to be advised and supported by the Inspectorial services. In my judgement, given the previous situation there was no option for her resignation but a public enquiry should have taken place on the role of \Ministers, including the Children’s Minister, on the Inspection services, the role of Local Authority Councillors and the Chief Executive and his colleagues in the chief Officers management team to ensure that their colleague was getting the support and had in place the staff and management systems to ensure they never experience another tragedy as the Climbe case. The media is having second thoughts about the treated of the former Director of Education services who became responsible for the management of child care services with the creation of the combined local government department, something which I pressed for ten years before the government, the managers and the professionals saw the light.
On Saturday the media turned its attention to the former Chief Executive of Northampton who has retired after seven years service at the council with a lump sum of close to £300000 reflecting his £215000 annual salary and an annual pension of £97000, Of course it is right that as a public paid official this information is disclosed. However I do not see the Daily Mail and other papers having campaigned for a similar transparency for the salaries and pension deals of the chief and other executives of banks, prevented from bankruptcy by the taxpayers. After President Obama demanded that those given tax payer bailouts should not be paid more than half a million dollars in pay and bonuses Number 10 was quick to say it was considering a similar approach. Too little too late I say. Gordon has been in bed with the city financial whores for too long to see them objectively for what they are.
Meanwhile the protection of Jonathan Ross by the BBC continues with back to normal contractual work. I had hoped that one development would his replacement as a film critic for which he appears to have no special qualities or depth of judgement. It is just one further indication of how low the BBC and moved away from its impartial national role as a public service broadcaster and attempts to compete with commercial interests pandering to baser public interests.
In fairness to the Daily Mail its anti government positioning has not led to unqualified support for David Cameron and his team. Two years ago it applauded Mr Cameron for .Baroness Neville Jones as their front bench National security adviser. But this has changed to questioning her position when recently she side stepped questions about Government and Security service apparently collusion in covering up their knowledge that the USA was using torture against terrorist suspects. The government line is that it has always remained opposed to the use of torture while side stepping the issue that it knew what the USA was doing. The Mail was flabbergasted when Baroness Neville Jones appeared to be joining in the alleged cover up conspiracy. The Mail should not have been surprised. Lady Pauline has had a remarkable career, following the establishment line of the day. Lady Pauline was educated at Leeds High School and Lady Margaret Hall Oxford where she my contemporary for two years while at Ruskin College. While I went to Birmingham University, child care and social services management for the next 30 years, she entered the UK Diplomatic Services serving British missions to Rhodesia, Singapore, Washington DC and Bonn. In 1972 she was seconded for five years to the European Commission as deputy and then Chef Du Cabinet to the Commissioner Christopher Tudgendhat. In 1991 when left may career she became head of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat of the Cabinet Office and Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet. She had two years as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and from then until her retirement she was the Political Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. From 1998 until September 2004 she was Chairman of the Audit Commission and then on reaching the age of 65 she became a governor of the BBC becoming Chairman of the World Service Consultative Group. Information references from Wikipedia. While at the BBC she was blamed by Greg Dyke for leading the Governors against himself and the management over the David Kelly Andrew Gilligan affair. While at the BBC she was also Chairman of a Government owned firm which engaged in the arms trade Iraq which raised questions about BBC impartiality in Iraq coverage. I would make the obvious point that David Cameron knew what eh was doing when he appointed the Baroness to his front bench on National Security issues. It also has to be pointed out that Mr Cameron had positioned himself to the left of the right Wing cantering Labour Administration sandwiched between the Liberal Social Democrats.
On Saturday afternoon I turned my attention to listening to Sunderland and playing at the Stadium of Light against Stoke City, a match which was important for them to win if they were move further away from the relegation zone. The commentators became very upset when the Referee and linesman missed the clear handling of a football to prevent a goal as anyone as ever seen. The referee and linesman bringing the game into disrepute. This d to herald another 0.0 draw or worse still as happened at Newcastle, as last period loss. I turned off the Radio hoping that this act would changed fortunes and switch the TV from the score updates to the Test Match where England had made progress to ending the West Indian Innings, reducing the lead to some 75 runs. Newcastle meanwhile had obviously participated in a more exciting game scoring within a couple of minutes, then giving away a goal and then scoring a second all with in the first ten minutes, They scored a third before half time. In the evening I kept one eye on the full 90 minutes of this match on Sky. While there were good indication that Newcastle now has the basis of surviving in the Premiership without Owen, Martins and Viduka. Injured or lacking match play, and the loss of Given, West Bromwich Albion were awful defensively and but also showed during the second half when they scored a second goal that they are a team with resolve and scoring abilities. I decided to watch the brief highlights of the Sunderland game rather than the 60 mins extension, watching to catch up on the six other Premiership games played during the day. Soon after I had switched the radio off Kenwyn Jones had scored and within minutes a second had been added to move Sunderland more comfortably into mid table, three points above Newcastle despite their win.
During the day I decided to use the Google Blog facility to duplicate current writings as well as creating revised duplicates of those already included on Space through a feature of a week ago and a year ago, changing to a month ago and a year ago, until all 600 odd creations have been revised and transferred. This will be a two way process because having identified mistakes or made improvements those on MySpace will also be amended or new versions added.
No comments:
Post a Comment