1934 Coalition Manifesto, Legislative Programme and Parliament opens

I had planned to spend Tuesday May 25th, 2010 watching Durham progress in the County Cricket Championship for the third year in succession. Instead I will watch the ceremony in which Parliament is opened by Queen Elizabeth and presents the government programme of 21 Bills to be debated during the first 500 days of the new Parliament until the Autumn of 2011.The usual situation is for a government reception to be held at Downing Street on the evening beforehand at which the programme is revealed to Ministers. This time the full programme found its way to two national newspapers and led to a formal rebuke by the re-elected Speaker who also agreed that the decision to announce the list of departmental reductions should have first been made to Parliament and not to the media.

This morning the new Minister for Schools announced that a letter was being sent to every secondary school in the country inviting them to become academies independent of Local Education Authorities. This means that the sum of 10% of budget will no longer be top sliced to pay for local authority services to the individual school and which can work out as much as £500000 to £600000 for the head and senior staff to provide their own support such as what is now called human resources and was known as Management and Personnel in my day. The Minister will argue that the measure was announced in the Queen’s speech although the usual way was for the opposition to be allowed to give their views and for other Members to ask questions and make comments. The government then went ahead as planned regardless of what was said.

I did watch the usual ceremony which took place at great cost in which the Queen rides to Parliament in a State coach accompanied by horse guards in their livery and the aristocracy get the opportunity out on their robes of state and invited guests from embassies and families get the opportunity to sit in the corridors to watch the Queen and her entourage go back and forth and Members of the House of Commons, led by Government and Opposition Ministers proceed to the bar of the House of Lords to stand and listen to the Queen reading the speech which was prepared by the Prime Ministers and announced to his Ministers the night before so everyone found out what everyone else would be doing in their Ministries and in Parliament and give support as appropriate even when they are individually unhappy about a piece of legislation or aspects of the measures which it contains. There was also the splendid sight of Ken Clark dressed in his robes of Lord Chancellor walking forward and then backwards to present the speech to Queen contained in a ceremonial gold purse, or bag as it is. The whole thing should be scaled down, with the head of state sitting at a desk on which is laid the speech for her to announce the formal opening of the Parliament and confirming the list of measures of the government together with the brief political points about the subjects of the legislation. There should also be the opportunity to announce any State visits being made to Britain and by Britain to other nations. These should be limited to situations where it in the long term interests of the two countries for the visits to be made.

The present performance cannot be justified and should be abolished along with the aristocracy in terms of national and local government and other public bodies. I am not advocating that the private use of such titles should be abolished or taking away by the state of land, property and bank balances as in reality such families have created more effective and profitable businesses, providing good remuneration and conditions of services for their employees than the commercial companies that have moved into running sporting and recreational estates and agriculture.

In the afternoon two backbench members of Parliament, one Conservative and one Liberal democrat attempted to make humorous speeches after which Ms Harriet Harman the interim Leader of the Opposition made a powerful statement of the response of her Political Party to the new Government, indicating those aspects of the programme which it would support, those which will be opposed or seek to modify. As Mr Cameron suggested it is odd that she is not standing for the Leadership, especially as her husband is a leading figure in the Unite Trade Union which is expected to cast 2 million votes in the ballot.

There has been two other political events which set the scene for what is usually a ritualistic opening few days of the Parliamentary year.

Mr Cameron, as leader of the Conservative Party, has exerted his authority by abolishing the right of 1922 backbench committee to meet without the presence of any member of the government, including the government Whips. The Committee has an established reputation as a forum for the dissatisfied and malcontents in the Parliamentary Party, including Ministers or Shadow Ministers who have fallen out with the leadership or other Party governing colleagues. Mr Cameron arranged for a vote which he knew he would win although there was substantial opposition of around 100 which could explain his constitutional and other measures to try and take control to prevent these dissenters from derailing the Coalition at the first opportunity by defeating measures required by the Liberal Democrats.

The Coalition and the expenses scandal and the apparent public acceptance of the need for a stable and strong government, designed to hand substantial rights and responsibilities to the people, means that the House of Commons first, and then the House of Lords, following, will be put in their respective place in relation to the Government of this day. There was little talk, if any, of strengthening Parliament against the Executive during the General Election in the Queen‘s speech or by the new leadership in their statements to-date. Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg mean business. The opposition to them will be formidable, especially as the Labour Party in the House of Commons has always enjoyed Opposition more than it has government. There is to be a Bill on the Reform of Parliamentary Privilege

On Thursday May 20th the Coalition published the extended agreement which will cover the life of a five year Parliament commencing officially with the Queens speech, and ending approximately one month before the next General Election planned for May 10th 2015. Ms Harman has said her Party will seek to reduce the period to 2014.

The agreement, increased in size from seven to over thirty pages, can therefore be regarded as having greater weight than the original Manifesto’s of the two parties and in fact is peppered with the injunction- We will.

Immediately the commentators homed in on the dissent which has already been expressed and at the launch media event, Mr Cameron, in particular, while recognising there were those who are disappointed, emphasised that new thinking is required to match the new situation and new politics and that the Coalition with its potential majority of 80 could confidently proceed. However, priority is to be given to be given to the decentralization of government, empowering people and involving them through new processes.

This is positive for the general public but will as mentioned help to arm the Coalition against those who want to put Party political interest before the national. All governments in the past have felt constrained by their Manifestoes which have included measures which lack majority popularity and are therefore damaging to the Party retaining support of the middle ground, or measures which during the detailed preparations have raised major question about their likely effectiveness to achieve objectives and avoid damaging unintended consequences. Governments are also faced with international events, political and economic, which requires instant decision taking and immediate action and which affect resources in such a way to derail other legislative, policy and resource plans.

Another example of the media trying to create a story when there is not one is that the new Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary and Overseas Development secretaries went on a joint visit to Afghanistan to meet the political leadership, the Generals and the front line troops. At the press conference there was questioning of the Ministers were saying different things which appeared to be in conflict with each other. This was not true and blatant mischief making decidedly not in the national interest. Overseas Development have a different role from Defence and the Foreign office and all that the Ministers were doing was to express their different perspectives as Departmental chiefs. There are those on the right that want to see the budget for overseas aid slashed whereas it has been ring fenced from the major cuts although greater value for money will still apply. Equally there are those on the right who are concerned at the plans to streamline the forces to meet the challenges of the contemporary world and Britain’s new place. This is the argument for retaining the nuclear, so called deterrent, if in other respects we reduce our military strength, especially in the air and on the high seas, or reducing the development of tanks and other heavy equipment when the only enemy is likely to be a guerrilla one.

The second scene setting event was the decision of the national executive of the Labour Party to hold a prolonged debate on the future of the Party until the autumn when there will be a ballot to elect a new leader. This is odd given that Ms Harman has to be given authority if she is to be effective as Opposition Leader, and not become answering to the bevy of contenders reflecting a very wide spectrum of opinion. I cannot see this situation working with three men, former advisers and Ministers, the leading contenders, South Shields MP David Miliband, his brother Ed, another Ed, Ed Balls and two other backbenchers including Diane Abbot. However with David already getting over 100 other members of the House of Commons in support, his brother and Ed Balls collecting the required 33 votes for official nomination, the other two will find it difficult to get past the first hurdle. It is difficult to see how the Party will survive this situation unless the Coalition has an early disaster. None of the candidates appear to have the leadership qualities or the vision necessary to unite the Parliamentary Party in one direction which will also have a more general public appeal in the manger of Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg. I suspect whoever wins will be an interim leader until one or two new faces emerges from those recently elected, or perhaps Ms Harman is playing the long game?

The full Coalition agreement is available online as is now the Queen’s Speech although I shall also try and purchase a copy of the published Coalition document which should come to be regarded as an important historical document. I will only highlight those measures which are of interest to me and my approach to political and economic matters.

The Agreement is divided into 31 sections commencing with Banking and Business and I applaud the inclusion of the banking levy and a commitment to tackle the system of bonuses. There are 11 plans for Banking and 20 on the promotion of business, covering taxation, paperwork, resources, and widen opportunity including enabling participation in government contracts. I like the move to enable Social Housing tenants to be able to start businesses from their homes. The overall intention to is change the balance between public and private expenditure, something which Canada achieved when facing a similar financial situation before, according to Michael Portillo during the weekly politics show. He is in his element as the Coalition follows the pathway he has advocated over the past decade. A bill on broadband infrastructure will be introduced later in the session.

There is to be legislation to create the Office of Budget Responsibility together with the National Audit Government Bill. A Treasury Bill. The Treasury is also introducing one of the subjects which has concerned me over the past decade is the question of civil liberties in the context of freedom to as well as freedom from to be known as The Great Repeals Bill. I share the view that civil privileges, as I would prefer they were called, must accompany civil responsibilities. This aspect is covered by the proposed Commission to investigate the creation of British Bill of Rights where the paragraph adds- We will seek to promote a better understanding of the true scope of these obligations and liberties. There is also to be an Identity Document Bill.

Given my background I was pleased to note the plan to restore rights to civil protest, a commitment which I must have missed when reviewing the original manifestoes. There is also be a review of the laws on libel to ensure the freedom of speech and a number of measures to reverse recent trends. I have always accepted that the first duty of any government is to protect the lives of its people and striking a balance in situations when lives are randomly threatened using information technology and on the shelf ingredients to make explosives is difficult. There is a particular problem when intervening to stop individuals from committing terrorist crimes prevents their prosecution and ideally when such individuals come from other countries they should be expelled. However there limitations and often a prosecution is difficult because of how the information was obtained. The solution is the expensive 24 hour monitoring of such individuals. I have no objection to control orders in such circumstances as long as the whole raft of other restrictions on the liberty of everyone else are lifted.

The 4th section of the Agreement is a headed Communities and Local Government. Here the approach appears to be one of strengthening the political role of local authorities by removing regional and other non elected bodies and their controls and by giving authorities greater flexibility of how they use their allocated resources. There is to be a review of local government finance which suggest the government has changes in mind. This approach is to be extended to community groups. The is to be a Bill to stop the development of one tier Government affecting Norwich and Exeter.

There are several measures to create more affordable housing including giving permission to land owners to convert buildings on farms in areas otherwise protected from new developments. There are to be referendums for the creation of Elected Mayors in the 12 largest cities but also powers to enable Council’s to return to the Committee system if they wish, instead of the present Cabinet Government style and which therefore appears to be facing in opposite directions at the same time. Councillors will be allowed to vote on large salary packages for unelected officials, The one concern I have is in relation to proposed cuts in the Inspection of local authority activities in relation to their child care and protection duties although there has been a problem in the effectiveness existing local and national bodies.

There are a number of measures to protect and further the interests of consumers which I support without exception, notably there will be on to make the bills of energy companies more uniform and comprehensible. There will be legislation to compensate Equitable Life savers. There is to be a Financial Services Regulation Bill.

There was a time when the Tory Party prided its self as being Party of leading the fight against crime with strong policing. This tended to mean an authoritarian approach with the strongest action against the petty criminal and a tendency to be ineffective against the crime bosses and their enterprises. It could be said that over the past three decades the a balance has shifted but reality its has not within the prison population doubling and full of those who have not committed offences of violence or major property thefts, while international and national crime organisations have flourished. Measures to combat international terrorism at home has led to local authorities and public bodies have unprecedented rights to surveillance and entering of properties without warrants. The ability to use discretions over prosecutions both to give cautions and to proceed with prosecutions and shifted between the police and the separate prosecutions service who are accused of only going for prosecutions when there is a certainty of success. There are good measures proposed to cover people who defend their homes and themselves from intruders and attackers. There are moves to take better control of anti social behaviour caused by cheap alcohol and review of the extradition law with the USA which I previously mentioned appears unbalanced. There is to be a Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill.

On Sport, Media and Culture there is concern that the blanket percentage reduction will affect the quality and extent of future major events such as the Olympics, the Rugby League and Union World Cups and the Commonwealth games. There are commitments to retain the free entry to museums and national art galleries. There is going to better control over the National Lottery and an emphasis on sports, the arts and heritage away from other good causes as well as a curb on administrative expenditure to 5%.

The government has already announced measures to remove the target six thousand million from the ongoing capital and revenue budgets of Government departments and local authorities. In fact a greater amount has been identified although some of this will be used to meet new expenditure commitments and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can defer commencement of identified cuts until the next financial year, although they will in effect have to find double the amounts where the reductions are ongoing. The full extent of priority given to deficit reduction will not be known until the interim budget and the autumn review when the revised expenditure targets will be set for the following financial years. There is a major political motive behind the measures already proposed which is to shift economic activity and employment from the public to the private sectors. There is to be a Bill on further devolution to Scotland.

One the biggest sections of the document containing the largest groups of measures is on Energy and Climate change which appears to have brought together all the measures included in the two manifestoes. The creation of extra runways at Heathrow and Stansted have already been stopped and the development of other airports to increase the number of flights will also have to be reviewed. Association with this section is another on Environmental Food and rural affairs with twenty measures which sound good. The Energy Security and Green Economy Bill will be first considered after the summer recess.

Plans in relation to Transport also are designed to take account of climate change and the further prevention of damaging developments The intention to develop a high speed rail link is included

The previous administration, as did the administration before, did make progress in many areas to promote various form of equality in society and one of my first jobs in senior management was to plan the implement the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act in Cheshire with the start of the then new Social Service Departments in 1971. One of the significant failures of the efforts of the administrations is the continuation of unequal pay, sometimes significant unequal pay between woman and men. The new government is commitment to making progress.

I am writing this listening to William Hague, the New Foreign Secretary reviewing the policy and approach of the new government as part of the Queens Speech debates and going on to explain at the end of his statement, the joint approach to the formal European Community. I thought what he said was full of statesmanship, paying personal respect to David Miliband the Member for South Shields and the previous Foreign Secretary, and to the policies and approaches of Labour Administration. He stressed all the areas of continuity and even where there were changes these were listed as improvements, as making greater progress if possible and on exploiting the opportunities of a new administration to bring fresh impetus. I was disappointed by the response of Mr Miliband who appeared too intent on striking a position as the front runner in the Labour Leadership context and in making party political points, sometimes rather snide and petty political points. It will be interesting to see what impact his speech has on the media but I fear that if he fails to gain the leadership he will have damaged his overall political career. I hope I am proved wrong.

The Section on Foreign Affairs in the joint Manifesto is limited for as revealed by Mr Hague, the coalition only tackled the issues of potential conflict between the two Parties and is only now settling down to review its detailed position on the many subjects covered. I thought David was wrong to criticise the increase in the number of Minister from four to six as this highlights recognition of the importance of international relationships in sustaining Britain position in the world. There is to be Terrorist Assets Freezing Bill.

The same debate covered International Development where the Manifesto commits to retention of the .7% of Gross National Income to service expenditure, much to the disappointment of some Conservatives as expressed by questions in the debate. There has been good work by the Labour Government in ensuring the proper and agreed use of expenditure to avoid the misuse into the pockets of some politicians or use for counterproductive purposes such as the purchasing of arms.

One of the contributions in the debate came from former Military office Bob Stewart who was the incident office the night six of his men were killed and 30 wounded together with civilians in one of many Northern Ireland bombings. He spoke with moving knowledge and conviction about the impact on the lives of those permanently injured and on their families and those who died as well as on the mental health of servicemen.

What is proposed for the Ministry of Defence is significant with a 25% reduction proposed in its running costs which will mean major structural changes in organisation and maintenance of operational ships and air force as well a military hardware, concentrating on the pay and conditions of service men, especially those who engage in active service. While retaining the nuclear deterrent there is to be a scrutiny of the Trident replacement in terms of Value for Money. The special defence review will include public participation.
The Manifesto announced under National security the immediate establishment of a National Security Council which continues to puzzle me as to why one did not exist before. Elsewhere the Manifesto explains that it will repeal many of the measures introduced to combat terrorism which have affected the rights of everyone else. There is to be a Police Reform and Social Responsibilities Bill

On immigration the Tory measure is not as significant as its selection propaganda suggested and applies only to non European Community applications. There is the commitment to end the detention of children for immigration purposes although this raises the issue of whether they are to separated from one or both parents which could have just as damaging implications.

Rightly the manifesto places importance on the maintenance and development of opportunities for citizens to undertake paid work, I emphasise British citizens because of the extent to which illegal immigrants obtain employment as well as citizen of Europe and other countries. I was saddened that welfare payments were included in the same section as well as emphasise on curtailment and installation of hurdles. What has always worried me is that while there is widespread abuse where the worst offenders somehow manage to escape detection it is those at the margin of eligibility who suffer with every cut back and clamp down. However I was delighted to see support for the continuation of the National Minimum Wage in the Manifesto given tot eh extent to which Conservatives opposed the development arguing it would lead to widespread unemployment as businesses were unable to meet the requirements and make their desired profits. A Welfare Reform Bill will be introduced after the summer

The separate section on pensions contain the important announcement that the state pension will from 2011 be increased by two and half percent or by the general increase in prices or earnings whichever is greater. There is also to be protection of fuel allowances, TV licences and travel, free eye tests and prescriptions. The Pensions and Savings Bill will be considered after the summer recess.

There are interesting proposals under Justice to make punishment more effective in terms of rehabilitation and reformation and the proposed greater emphasis on the position of victims is most welcome.

It is of particular interest that in protecting the overall expenditure programme of the National Health Service the Coalition is making the largest numbers of commitments for change in its Manifesto over 30 in total. There is a commitment to cut down the number of Health quangos and I remember when visiting the Health Department in relation to the death of my care mother that there was an excess and overlap of inspection bodies. A Public Bodies Bill will be introduced in the session. There are separate proposals in relation to Public Health.

The proposals on Families and Children are full of commonsense, aimed at balance and fairness and also redirecting resources to those with the greatest needs and intractable of problems. Associated with this and my own position I was interested in the section on Government Transparency. There will be new protection for whistleblowers in the public sector and the publication of a all serious case reviews without identifying information.

My impression is that the most radical part of the Coalition programme is in relation to schools with already the announcement of the provision of legislation to enable secondary level schools to become Academies and opt out of the local education authority direct control. The Academies Bill is to be considered before the summer recess. There is also to a premium payment for disadvantaged pupils to ensure they also have the same opportunities as others.

In relation to Further Education and Universities there is the proposal to increase apprenticeships by 50000 as well as internships and work pairings. There is a previously commissioned report already underway in to the funding of Higher education

There is a Social Action section which are mentioned when reviewing the original manifestoes can be interpreted in two ways. The Government intends to provide more people to undertake voluntary work and to contribute to their local community and society in general, or to become volunteer substitutes for work previously undertaken by paid public service. A good proposal is to further cooperatives, mutuals and charities and other social enterprises which provide paid employment but without the profit motive. This proposals includes the right of public sector workers to form employee owned cooperatives. The National Citizens service is to be introduced.

There is going to be a commission to consider long term care issue to report within a year, including ideas such as voluntary insurance and partnership. schemes.

A major Liberal Democrat commitment was raise the amount of earnings before tax is paid to £10000. The allowance is to be raised from next April with the aim to achieve the target over other tax cuts including the Inheritance Tax changes. The National Insurance Bill will be introduced before the summer recess. A financial services Bill is to be introduced later in the session.

I have left until last the section on Political Reform with today the announcement that there is to a new House of Commons standing committee to review the work of the Deputy Prime Minister who is in charge of the reform programme and he proposed legislation which is one of the priorities announced in the Queen’s Speech. Already the division are merging with Ms Harman announcing the full support of her party with those within other Parties who oppose the proposal to make a 55% majority before the House of Commons can bring a fixed term Parliament to a premature end. This is rich from a party which introduced the 65% majority to bring to a premature end the devolved Scottish Parliament. The issue is bringing an end to an end the fixed Term Parliament, and not a particular government measure or a government if it loses a vote of confidence, leading to an attempt for someone else to form a Coalition. There are 30 measures listed in the section and I look forward with interest to seeing how many reach the statute book and are then implemented as intended. The Parliamentary Reform Bill is another Bill to be introduced before the recess. A decentralization and Localism Bill will be introduced Later There is to a Local Government Bill

1933 Cricket disasters, Wallander and some walking

I have been working on three pieces of writing at the same time. The political situation continues to of great interest with the publication of the extended Coalition Agreement and the leaking of the legislative programme in the Queen’s speech to two newspapers followed by this morning’s statement on how the Coalition is to save £6 billion during the current financial year with the Queen’s speech and opening political statements tomorrow.

Waking before 5am this morning I decided to stay up for the worldwide showing of the last episode of Lost having watched the penultimate episode on Friday at 9pm after catching up the previous three episodes on the i player earlier including on episode I had seen before but needed to be reminded of where the sixth season had reached..

So this writing is also catch up on the weekend commencing on Friday when I had an excellent long walk in the afternoon, going through North Marine Park to South Marine and gradually climbing to the highest level path with its grand view across the park to the coast. I had a sit down here and then decided to go in search of the Top club, the only venue with 3D screens in South Shields. Approaching the Town Hall I noticed a sign towards the Register Office and discovered that it a new registry office and marriage suite has been built on the site of the Bolingbroke Hall and where nearby there was the building run by the former shooting club. In addition to the registrar’s there is new contemporary designed housing. I did find the Top Club just before the junction where the main road becomes one way and where I used turn to the right towards the residential home where my mother lives during the last three years of her life. It is an unattractive building on two floors and presumable a working man member’s club which provides the facility for members of the DVD TV. There was no indication of public showings on the outside.

It was a long walk back and I was tempted to take a bus but resisted. I will try and find out where there are 3D showings South of the River before the world cup starts.

A frenetic advertise campaign has commenced as the there is three weeks to go before the start of the world cup and after an excellent campaign to reach the final stages of the competition in South Africa the media has been building up the hopes for a British success. There was a friendly match with Mexico at Wembley on Monday evening and although the game as won 3.1 it was not a fluent performance and had some worrying situations in defence. We will have to wait for the first match in the mini league groupings to make a better judgement



On Saturday morning I received a call just after 8,30 to say that the breakfast table and chairs had arrived and I was able to park in the loading bay outside. An assistant brought the pack on a trolley out to the car. It was well packed with clear instruction on how to assemble with the screw bolts in small marked plastic pockets corresponding to the diagram sheet. I had two problems with first aligning the seat to the support structure and then using nuts the bolts fixed the seat supports to the main seat frame. I spent about an hour and half on the assembly.

It was a glorious day and very hot around 80 degrees from around 9am through to 6pm. I forgot to change to a short sleeve shirt and sandals for a trip to Newcastle in the afternoon to the Baltic Contemporary Art centre. I took a very crowded Metro train to the Haymarket and then the Quayside bus, alighting on reaching the river and walking along to the Millennium Bridge. Alas the centre was almost closed in preparation for new exhibitions commencing in mid June. The atmosphere of Newcastle Streets has been transformed over the past decade with the emergence of the pavement cafe, bar, and restaurant. I would like to believe that the cause is the combination of social and climate change. Alas it is more to do with the ban on smoking inside of such premises.

The journey back was long as just outside of Shields the Metro train to three separate halts. The first two were to let not one but two trains out of the single line terminus station. The third stop seemed to have no reason other than to create a reasonable gap between the three trains and the one following in order to bring the crowds back from the popular seaside resort Shields becomes on such days.

I then went to the supermarket after watching the end of the Play off final for a team to join Newcastle and West Brom in the Premiership next season. Blackpool had come from behind twice to win 3 .2. I go back to the days when Blackpool had become a leading team through the playing of the legendry Sir Stanley Matthews and my first ever game to a top ground was Highbury when the game ended 4.4 I think. I ought to be able to check the score on some historical site if one exists, but not today.

The highlight of the evening was another episode of Wallander, a mystery over a missing chorister. I assumed this was a choir boy only to find it was a choir of 16 to 20 year old girls. It was another high calibre tour de force acting drama although I worked out the “who dun it” early on despite several carefully laid red herrings. First it could have been one of the other girls in the choir responsible fort he death of the missing after she had been kidnapped and held prisoner, then the boyfriend of this girl who appeared to have a controlling Muslim father and it was possible he was responsible. The boyfriend became the main suspect because he had been a racist skinhead with three convictions for GBH. Then it was a middle aged man who appeared to be stalking the girl friend of the murdered, especially after she went missing and the other girl was found dead in the woods having broken out of the place where she had been held prisoner.

This man was given a very hard time by the young female probationer policewoman after he had disclosed he was the father of the second missing girl who had walked out on the family when she was a few weeks old. Her own father had done likewise but in this film the suspect was full of remorse and is seriously wounded when he helps to free his daughter from her captor. I guessed all along it was the choir mistress who had seduced both the girls despite their being active heterosexually. In a nice circular twist the second girl had been with the boyfriend of the killed girl until she had taken him from her, She had then discarded the young man who had then become something of a stalker phoning her 38 times on his mobile phone. Similarly the cause of the situation which developed was that the killed girl had replaced the other in the ‘affections ‘ of the Choir mistress.

There was also strong evidence that the girl had fallen and hit her head badly while being chased having escaped, but there was no mistaking the murderous intent of the mistress or the suggestion that she was a serial seducer of young girls in the choir. However the series flourishes because of the depth of characterization

Sunday was forecast as another glorious summer’s day so I prepared early for the afternoon start of a 40 over cricket competition match between Durham and Leicestershire, arriving at the ground some two hours before the first over and claiming a seat at the top of gangway behind the bowlers arm and then enjoying a prepared crab meat salad and some cold water lunch. It was time for a good walk in the Riverside Park which some will say is jinxed. There was the incident when a woman was killed when a contemporary art inflatable broke its moorings and several participants were flung into the air. Then there was horror near tragedy miracle of the little boy to fell down an uncovered drain in the grassed playing area and was swept through the drain into the river wear to be rescued by an anxious parent as he emerged. The river here on hot days is inviting. There is a spot well into the park on the other side of the river where teenage boys like to jump from a swinging rope. The main road bridge over the river from Haughton Le Spring is under repair with scaffolding and some local youths were climbing into the middle of the river and jumping off. They ignored a notice which advised that four young men had died in the river at this spot during recent years.

The less said about the cricket with Durham electing to bat after winning the toss and struggling to make 189 runs at a rate of under five runs an over. The visitors started at a rate of ten runs an over which they maintained for the first ten thus ending any hope of Durham winning the game. The bowling was not just good enough.

I had decided to obtain a season ticket for the 20 20 series which I thought would cost me £70. I was delighted to find that the price was only £35, that is less the £5 a game.

At least I had two much needed walks. The weather clouded during the afternoon but then brightened and became warm as the evening approached.

And this brings me to Monday, today and the less said about the cricket again. I waited until 11am before deciding to travel to the game and finding that Durham had won the toss and were 4 runs for no wickets. Just after setting off I realised I had little petrol and attempted to fill up sufficiently to get me there and back at a garage at the start of the road to Newcastle. However there was a problem with credit card payment machine and after waiting some five to ten minuets I went off to another garage I knew was further along road approaching the junction between the main road from Sunderland to Newcastle. Despite arriving about an hour after the game had started there was no difficulty in park in my favourite area close tot eh river.

I was shocked to find that Durham had lost four wickets within the space of six runs and the scoreboard said 30 for 4. I went to the gents and then stood at the boundary fence leaning on a walking stick and enjoyed a forty minuet chat with a woman in her thirties perhaps a little older with a later confirmed South African accent who I wondered if she was the wife of one of the South African’s in the side. Late a gateman said she was a friend of Durham’s Coach so it was just as well I showed some understanding of the game and Durham’s present predicament. It was some thing of a horror show with eight wickets down before lunch and all out early afternoon for 121. When it was evident our bowling could not respond to the playing conditions as had Kent, I decided to off in search of some summer trousers, and decided to call in at the Washing shopping centre, the Galleries rather than Travelling all the way into Sunderland. There was no M and S and I had great difficulty in locating the toilet. I was not impressed with centre in other respect having had a full tour to try and find public toilets and eventually resorting to those in the Azda supermarket, There is also a Sainsbury so it is unusual to fund two supermarkets in such close proximity. It was here that I did my good deed for the day find a man older than myself in a distressed condition in the toilets as he had badly wet himself showing down one leg of his trousers and he felt unable to leave. I found an assistant who turned out to be a manager or the manager. and she arranged for a young assistant to investigate further.

I return to the cricket to find Durham had managed to take 5 wickets but Kent had already passed the Durham Total. Although three more wickets were to fall Kent had reached 300 by close of play. I was long homeward bound before then finding the situation unbearable to watch. I had intended staying for the Members meeting at which the new captain and the Chief Executive were scheduled to speak. The weather changed as predicted to somewhere between 10 and 20 as there was a cold wind and skies darkened. Having risen at five I was in bed and asleep long before the football friendly ended, rising again in early hours so my sleep pattern has again been severely disrupted, but of my own making.

There was also another instance of the missing mobile phone, which was discovered 24 hours later on the table in the patio when it had lain during the assembly of the new table and chairs.

1932 Judgement in Berlin and trying to lose weight again

The serious effort to lose weigh and get fit 2010 has commenced in earnest. I have acquired step counter with added gizmos but it still has the problem of falling off and messing up the accumulated step count.

My first venture took me through North Marine Park where there are still clumps of blue bells. I then walked about half way along the ramparts of the South Pier until just before the gates which are closed when the seas and winds make walking further unsafe. From this vantage point one can look across the South Shields Bay along the coast towards Marsden with its Grotto and alone to the headland before bay of Seaburn and Roker at Sunderland.

Looking back I could see the houses above the banking on the Lawe Top before crossing along the pathway between the beach and the amusement and the accommodations for the amusement Park employees and then through the almost deserted amusement park offering £12 pounds of ride tokens for £10 and where three tokens appeared required for the simplest and smallest of rides. The fish and chip restaurants were doing some trade as was the kiosk before crossing the road to the pier with people enjoying their meals on the seats overlooking the Little Haven Bay.

I walked back through South Marine Park noting that the number of swans seems to have dropped by one third before crossing back into North Marine and climbing the hill that way making this part of the journey easier because of the environment.

On Wednesday I was uncertain where to go walking. There was little sun but it was much warmer, warmer than so far this year because there was no cooling breeze and the atmosphere was close. I had enquired at two newsagents for note books and the checked the position at Smith before going to Wilkinson’s which had Reporter size books for 20 pence, yes 20 pence about a fifth of the price of those elsewhere. On my way I saw some garden furniture and then a breakfast table set with a narrow bar time table and two chairs which was ideal for the patio at the amazing price of £26. I could have arranged for home delivery for £5 but decided on collection as there is a loading Bay just outside the store. I then made my way to the supermarket to see if there was any cheap fish without success but 100 plastic pockets were on offer at £1 so I bought eight. This meant a heavy load on my back on the way home and my shirt was wringing wet and had to be changed. On Wednesday I enjoyed a piece of smoked haddock like fish for lunch, may have been smoked haddock, for the amazing price of 70p and in the evening a thick and juicy piece of steak with salad.

On Thursday I decided on crossing the river Tyne by ferry and then taking the bus into North Shields. There was a very pleasant singer guitarist playing in the High Street so I found a seat and listened for a couple of song. On leaving home I noticed that there was a plague of small flies and this was evident on both sides of the Tyne. I had noted the absence of flies until the day, caused first by the cold and then by the close warmth with 17th degrees well after 9pm. On my last trip across the river I commented on the saga of the call centre which was to have provided 200 jobs in an extraordinary modern building, which caused outrage when part of the roof appeared over the steep banking overlooking the river from the Top. The local paper announced that the firm had gone i to administration with the loss of job and an appeal from local residents to have the offending building demolished. Had I won the £86 million in the lottery last week I would have tried to purchase and lower the roof by one floor and turned into a home for my project. Another possibility to dream about, alas only dreams.

North Shields is a very similar community to South Shields in terms of its High Street and general atmosphere. At Wilkinson’s I purchased five display albums for my work and was tempted to stop for a cup of tea. There were also lots of plants for which I wished I had the space .I enjoyed three lamb chops with veg for lunch and a soup followed by a prawns from shell salad in the evening.

I had delayed going out on Thursday until Durham had won their game against Kent at Canterbury, a ground I have visited in the past and would have visited again had the match not followed on immediately after Leeds and Nottingham. Before the game came the news that captain Will Smith had been replaced by Phil Mustard, the wicket keeper, who once looked like becoming an England players with his aggressive battings style. I was not surprised at this development after reading his words in the annual report that he had found it difficult to build a long innings because of the responsibilities as team captain. Given that matches were lost and his own form had slumped it was difficult to see how he would continue as captain and retain his place in the side.

Later I discovered that Durham has had a cash injection from two Indian media moguls and that the county is working with other Test sides on a new 20 20 competition which is to feature the eight test grounds of Yorkshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Cardiff, Warwickshire and Manchester and Nottingham, but drawing on players from the whole of English Cricket and from India with the money to come from Indian TV rights I wonder how much pressure was exerted to change the captain because of the slump in form.

This had its impact on the first day of the match at Canterbury with some bad bowling and fielding to the extent that commentators could not understand the drop in form compared to the past two years. Kent Captain Key who had not a good season before scored 264 runs but his average at the end of the game was still in the 30’s Contrast this with 18 year old Ben Stokes who is the youngest first class player to score two centuries in successive matches ion their first season. He was unbeaten on 161 runs which enabled Durham to come within 6 runs of the Kent first innings total of 424. Benkenstein also scored his first century of the championship season. Kent then collapsed in their second innings, all out for 162 leaving Durham to score 169 for their second win of the season and their first away from home. It was not a clever start with wickets falling at 7, 19 and 37. Benkenstein and Blackwell then gradually took the total to 144 before Benkenstein who has found his form was out for 49. Shortly after Stokes came to the crease, Blackwell was injured and had to have a runner. I imagine he will not be playing in the home game against Kent or the 40 over game on Sunday. Stokes then hit six boundaries in succession to win the match and this included a six. He was the talk of the commentators who like his style and believe he has a great future. He has jumped in the championship averages into fourth position with over 70 runs per innings in his five matches to date, helped by being not out on the last two scores.

American Idol, the last featuring Simon Cowell before he begins a series similar to that in the UK to include groups and those over 25 as well as separate groups of young women and men as now. The last three were all singer musicians and it was pleasing that my favourite the successor to Janis Joplin in terms of style and appearance reached next week’s final together with a likeable and talented young man who has improved substantially throughout the competition, having worked in a paint store only playing in small time gigs in his free time, so the story is present. The third goldilocks young man came from Texas and should have good career in the state and perhaps further affield. Some 45 million votes were cast and all three went home where their communities went bonkers compared to what happens in the UK.

Occasionally I came across an unexpected and brilliant film on one of the Sky free channels which I cannot remember seeing before. Judgement in Berlin is what it says, a Legal Judgement in the City of Berlin but based on a true story.

On 30th August 1979 two East Germans used a starting pistol, not an actual gun, to hijack a Polish passenger aircraft bound for East Berlin and instead diverted it to the USAF base, Tempelhof airport in West Berlin and requested political asylum. A number of the other passenger on the plan joined them and were granted the asylum. In the film the gun is presented as a toy gun smuggled on to the plane by the daughter of one of the hijackers.

In addition to the film my sources is a Wikipedia note on the book written by the presiding judge USA Federal Herbert Jay Stern, who with his wife had lost relatives through German genocide and who was appointed on the assumption that with confessions he would regard the case as open and shut and an provide sentences as required by the State and Justice Departments. The part is played by West Wing Michael Sheen in the film. This was supplanted by an detailed analysis of the actual case by Professor Andreas Teuber, in a work on the Philosophy of Law.

Until this incident anyone making it across the border was granted asylum but the USA government had only recently negotiated a treaty with the Russians over hijacking and wanted to cooperate not only by prosecuting but then allowing the extradition of those convicted back to the Soviets. According to his book and the film the Judge resisted State department and Russian pressure several instances, over holding a Jury Trial, over insisting that USA legal rights applied to the female defendant and then using his discretion over the sentences when the Jury agreed that the make defendant had taken a hostage but was not guilty of all the other charges,

The woman was Ingrid Ruske, a waitress in East Berlin, divorced with a small daughter, and in love with a West German engineer. They had planned to escape to West Berlin by boarding a Polish cruise ship in Gdansk with fake Western ID's. Ingrid, somewhat fearful, wanted someone else to try the strategy first. She remembered her former boyfriend, Hans Tiede, who was agreed to play guinea pig.

“Hans and Ingrid flew to Gdansk to wait for the engineer to bring them their ID's. He never came. East German agents had gotten wind of his efforts through their underground network in West Berlin and arrested him when he re-entered East Berlin. The would-be fugitives guessed what had happened. What to do now? Their own arrests could not be too far off, since the photographs on the engineer's fake ID's would clearly give them away. They couldn't stay in Poland much longer, since they had no money left. In fact, their only assets were the return tickets to East Berlin, which they had bought merely to avoid arousing suspicion.

Hans suggested hijacking the plane to West Berlin. Unfortunately, he had no weapon. As they aimlessly wandered through the streets of Gdansk. Ingrid's daughter drew their attention to a toy gun in a shop window. It looked real enough, Hans thought. He sold some of his clothing and bought the gun.

They got on the plane, LOT flight 65, quite easily, by putting the gun into the child's luggage. Airport security in fact searched their bags and found it, but thought nothing of it when they saw it was a toy. The moment of truth came when the pilot announced the plane's imminent landing at East Berlin's Schoenfeld Airport. Ingrid began to have second thoughts. Wouldn't the Gdansk control tower have told the pilot the gun was a toy? Hans brushed aside her reservations, ordered a stewardess at "gunpoint" to take him into the cockpit, stormed into the cockpit, keeping the stewardess with him as a "hostage," and ordered the crew to take the plane to West Berlin. There were 68 passengers on board the airplane. Everyone reacted calmly. The pilot checked with the East Berlin airport, then with the West Berlin airport and within a few minutes the plane had landed in West Berlin. By this time, Hans' relationship with the crew was almost cordial. He had told them why he did what he did, had passed around pictures of his wife and children, and by the time the police led him away the captain even flashed a thumbs-up sign. Before the plane took off again, eight other East Germans had decided to stay in West Berlin as well.

West Germany, East Germany, Poland, and the United States were all parties to an international agreement to prosecute hijackers. But West German authorities did not welcome the idea of prosecuting the case. The West German Constitution at the time made all Germans, including East Germans, West German citizens and gave them a "protected right" to enter West Germany. West Germany did not at the time recognize the validity of East German travel restrictions either. In fact, an East German body guard who shot and killed a fleeing East German was regarded under West German law at the time as having committed murder. Since the Americans continued to exercise the power of an occupying force in West Berlin, the West German authorities asked them to convene an American court to try the hijackers. The Americans obliged, setting up a special United States District Court of Berlin, Judge Herbert Stein of the United States District Court of New Jersey presiding.

Ingrid Ruske was never brought to trial. Her part in the hijacking was evidently minor. The only proof of her involvement was a statement she made to an interrogator. The judge ruled that the statement had been improperly obtained and ordered it suppressed. Stripped of its evidence, the prosecution withdrew the charges against her.

The case against Hans Tiede, however, went forward. He was charged with hijacking, taking a hostage, depriving other persons of their liberty, and doing bodily injury to a stewardess. Hans Tiede pleaded not guilty on grounds of necessity.

Tiede claimed that he was simply asserting his rights under the West German Constitution. At this time, prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the merger of East and West Germany into a single nation, the West German Constitution did not recognize the border between the two countries nor did it recognize the distinction between "East" and "West" Germans. An East German who successfully escaped from East to West was simply regarded by the West German constitution as a German citizen travelling within his or her own country. Tiede pointed out at his trial that he and Ingrid Ruske were threatened with imminent arrest by East German agents and that the only way for them to avoid arrest was to hijack the plane. Tiede also argued that he had secured not only his own and Ingrid Ruske's freedom but the freedom of eight other East Germans who seized the opportunity to defect. The USA Penal; code states: "The harm or evil sought to be avoided by [one's] conduct [must be] greater than that sought to be prevented by the law defining the offence charged."

The prosecution argued that Tiede's conduct had indeed caused harm. By hijacking the plane he had "endangered the lives and safety of 68 innocent people" aboard Lot flight 165. The pilot had to land on an unfamiliar airport that was not designed for planes of the size of flight 165. He had also caused mortal anguish to the stewardess.

However at the trial the issue was raised if in fact he was a hijacker. When he left the plane and was led away across the tarmac the pilot gave him "a thumbs up sign." By the time the plane landed in West Berlin, Tiede's relationship with the crew had been cordial after he had told them why he did what he did and had passed around pictures of his wife and children. There was also evidence that he captain had known all along that he was carrying only a toy gun. He was not in fact a terrorist but a man desperate to join his Polish wife and two sons already in the West

The West Germans did not wish to try the case. They reminded the Americans that they were still an occupying force and therefore requested the USA to convene an American court to try Hans Tiede and Ingrid Ruske. A special United States District Court was set up in West Berlin where the trial was held. In the film the Judge insists in a jury trial which was drawn for West German citizens and had to be advised about the relationships of the charges and USA law. Steiner instructed the jury in the relevant rules of law. Given their decision to find Tiede not guilty of the hijacking charge it could be argued they were inconsistent to find him guilty of taking the air hostess hostage. I suspect they were influenced that at first she did not know the gun was fake would have been terrified and this was used to gain access to the pilot. Judge Steiner then decided that he would not grant the maximum sentence demanded by the prosecution but ordered time served, nine months to the date thus immediately releasing him to join his family. In the film Ingrid boyfriend is seen one side of a crossing point while she is on the other. It is not cleat if he was free to join her and if so if he had been imprisoned.

I was able to find this out from the German Paper Speigel who followed the story in terms of passengers who decided to return to East

“Some 32 years later, Ruske, who now uses her married name Maron, is sitting in a pub in the western part of Berlin. After the hijacking, she was charged with disrupting air traffic, but then the charges were dropped. Her lover, who had been captured by the Stasi, was sentenced to eight years in an East German prison for engaging in organized crime and for forgery of personal and border crossing documents. It wasn't until years later that he decided to marry Ruske. They separated after 11 years, and he died in 2006.”

Today Ruske says: "I had no expectations of the West, and it didn't even live up to those." She had had a happier life in East Berlin. Once she was in West Berlin, she trained to become a practitioner of alternative medicine and now provides acupuncture massage and hypnosis in her West Berlin apartment.

When Tiede was released from prison after a few months, he refused to talk about the hijacking unless he was paid to do so. His account eventually led to two novels, a film and a play about Aug. 30 and the period after that. Tiede has made a living from his story, which is the subject of a TV movie to be broadcast on the German broadcaster RTL this year. So I have gained some knowledge about what then happened to the two accused.

1931 Young Musician of Year 2010, Wallander, Lewis, World Cricket Champs, Boy George and New Romantics

09.00 16th May 2010.There has been great joy and much satisfaction over the past days and yet a great sadness suddenly gripped me. I was thinking about a Wallander episode seen last night after and equally sad drama documentary on aspects of the life of Boy George. The highpoints were England’s win in the 20 20 World Cup Final against Australia and the Young Musician of the Year Final 2010.

15.00 It is the best day of the year for sunshine and warm temperature although there is a chill breeze outside during a walk through North Marine Park, down to Pier and as far as the half way gates which are closed when the weather makes continuing dangerous and then back through the amusement park into South Marine Park and then back up the hill home and a count of 2500 steps on the new step counter and fatness assessor. A start but a long way short of the 10000 steps a day to make the kind of difference I intended to achieve over the next six months.

09.15 In the Wallander, the Sniper, one of two episodes experienced last night, a fifteen year old perhaps sixteen year on boy set out on a killing mission in order to get close to an Eastern European crime boss, one of several who appear to have made Sweden a base for their operations. The objective is to kill the crime boss out of revenge for the death of his father. The boy is shot in the tum by one of the body guards and then goes to his isolated home where he has prisoner a young probationer policeman having said if that if he returns from his mission he will have to kill him too because he has seen his face. The dying young man cries out in the pain of his wound for his mother. What struck me was not just his pain and sadness but my own. As a young man had I been in that situation, then I would have had no one to have called out in that way. That is was I had felt at the time. Realising that caused great sadness and adds to the sense of failure in relation to my care mother. I was able to make the situation right with my birth mother over the past three years of her life.

The Wallander episode was of the usual high quality centring on the probationer policeman, Pontius, or similar name who in the previous episode, called The Leak, is accused of being timid and showing no gumption by his female partner who rushes off against orders after thieves who have robbed a security van and nearly gets both of them killed. In the Sniper Pontius who has appeared intelligently creative and studious in the past also behaves wildly putting at risk his future. The cause of his actions is the arrival of his father with the two year old son of Pontius from a marriage with someone picked by his father, an established lawyer. His former wife is also a lawyer and father wants his son to return home and work with him in his legal practice. Pontius also blames his father for the death of his mother and because of this background refuses to acknowledge his son, fearing that any relationship will entrap him back into a situation he found intolerable.

The crime story appeared complex involving a policeman from another area, his girl friend who was an associate of a criminal, a trader in guns as well as the major crime boss. How the boy was recruited to undertake the first assassination and has become such a skilled marksman is never fully explained, but it is Pontius who gets on his trail early on and nearly captures him. Just when it looks that the crime boss is going to get away with it again he is killed by the young boy. Pontius is saved and Wallander shows understanding about the young man’s predicament.

In the Leak the evidence points to information from a security firm resulting in its vehicles being attacked and robbed. The evidence also points to the young man who controls the routes which the security vehicles takes and who it caught playing online poker and attending a private poker game. In fact the young man has become an expert poker player and is making sufficient from the gambling to turn professional and leave his job with the security firm. The firm is operated by a former police colleague of Wallander who he meets at a police function. It is revealed that the boss is providing a criminal gang with the information for cash which he used to save up to retire in the sunshine with his wife. Pontius, who narrowly escapes being burned alive by the gang when he is captured at one point has managed to take a photograph which puts the police on the trail of the gang. One of the other members of the team retraces an orienteering run of a man who has been discovered shot on the shore, apparently having been swept down by the current. This policeman manages to find the hideaway which the gang have used and this leads to their capture. The wife of the security firm owner is shot by the gang leader who manages to escape capture.

Around noon watched a recording of David Miliband making his leadership speech from South Shields Town Hall. I liked most of what he said. He seemed nervous at times and made a couple of slip ups which he had to correct which helped to him along with the approach Cameron and Clegg and the new style of politics. He actually used the expression Progressive Politics which I would like to see the Party rename itself, suspecting and Cameron and Clegg will form a Progressive centre Party if they find their position is being undermined by dissenters.

The drama about aspects of the life of Boy George Alan O’Dowd was revealing as although I enjoyed the Culture Club records and was aware of his notoriety subsequently I had no knowledge of his background. He was one of six children of an Irish family although born in Bexley in 1961. There was limited information about how George became an ultra feminine homosexual and was able to join a London squat in Kentish Town with other similar orientated beings including, Marilyn (Peter Robinson) who is portrayed in the film as a feminine homosexual. In the Wikipedia notes on Marilyn it appears that he and George did not move into the squat until after they had met at the Blitz club- an establishment mainly catering for homosexuals and bisexuals who dressed up ostentatiously with extraordinary hair styles, flamboyant makeup and clothing. The film portrayed the young men in their late teens and early twenties, although I suspect many in the circle would have been younger, promiscuous and drug taking, some running away from care and other earning money as rent boys. While those able to perform as rock, punk and the new romantics quickly had the means to fund their lifestyle, it was not made clear how those like George were able to afford the clothing make up, club entrance drugs and food during the early years.

What quickly emerged in the film is that George wanted to be allowed to be himself in the world he made for himself and to be loved by one individual which eluded him. His father appears to have never given up on his son although he did not understand the whys and wherefore’s. George is said to have become a cloakroom attendant at the Blitz Club in order to survive but was sacked after the manager, Steve Strange, suspected George of stealing from the paying guests who included many notables of the day, including David Bowie and Spandau Ballet. George appears to have taken over the job when Marilyn left London for a time.

All three men have had colourful lives. In the film Marilyn goes off at one point with a wealthy young Scotsman but this relationships ends in tears as appears did the relationships of Boy George. It is known that Marilyn also worked as a cloakroom attendant at the Blitz club and possibly George took over the job when he left London for a time.

According to Wikipedia Marilyn went to live in Los Angeles in the early 80’s but then had a successful career as a solo singer after record companies tried to cash in on the popularity of Culture Club, David Bowie and such like, he became friendly with George’s brother Kevin, and he and Kevin appeared in court in 1986 charged with a heroin offence. He struggled to restart his career and after appearing in a few TV programmes about the era is said to be living quietly with his mother in North London admitting to health and financial problems.

Steve Strange born Steven John Harrington in South Wales became a singer with the group Visage but his name has remained more known for his involvement with trendy nightclubs commencing with the Blitz Club where Richard Egan was the DJ and reported to have exercised considerable influence over the creation and development of the New Romantic musical movement in the early 1980’s. Other names involved included Adam Ant, Ultra Vox, Duran Duran, the Human League with Brian Eno and Roxy Music also having an important influence.

Steve worked for Malcolm McLaren, the clothes designer with his partner Vivienne Westwood and who became the manager of the Sex Pistols and Adam Ant. At one point in the film George persuaded McLaren to give him a job as a singer in a new group but the group then persuaded McLaren to fire George before going on tour. Strange, as he liked to be called, formed Visage with Rusty Egan and Midge Ure and the band had considerable success in the early 1980’s and after leaving Blitz he and Egan ran the Camden Palace nightclub for a couple of years and then the Playground which was not successful when public and commercial interest in the New Romantics and glam rock changed. He then moved to Ibiza to become part of the early Trance club development and hosting what Wikipedia describes as exotic parties for such celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone. A heroin addict Strange suffered a nervous breakdown and over the last decade has published an autobiography and appeared on TV programmes.

While the drama concentrated on the years before the success of Culture Club there are scenes showing how his intense emotionality affected his life as a major performer and recording star. Culture Club was renamed from Sex Gang Children to reflected the English Transvestite, Jamaican-British, Jewish and Anglo Saxon mix of the band. Do you really want to hurt me was one of the early hits featured in the Drama with Karma Chameleon perhaps the most successful. Drugs commenced dominated George and his circle leading to an arrest for possession with a keyboard player dying from an overdose at George’s home The programme shows one moment of reconciliation with his father who remain steadfast in trying to help in son overcome his difficulties. He continued to record without success, wrote songs, created a fashion line, presented a radio programme became a DJ visiting continents, countries and more than thirty cities. In 2005 George was arrested while in New York and was sentenced to five days community service, a fine and ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation programme. The more recently he was found guilty of having imprisoned a male escort in his home and served fourth months of an 18th months sentence before being tagged and placed on a curfew for the balance of his sentence which is due to end over the next month or so I was left with the impression that George has rarely been happy in his life and then for only short periods which I find sad.

I only watched the early part of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix on Sunday after Jenson Button retired with an overheated engine in only the second lap. Lewis finished 5th behind the two Red Bulls in first and second position. This means that the two drivers now hold the same position in the driver’s championship with Button back to fourth behind Massa.

I was quietly confident about England’s chances in the 20 20 final in Barbados on Sunday evening, but did not expect the scoreboard to read Australia 8 runs for 3 wickets. I could not help letting a great yell when the third wicket fell, Hussey with White and then with his brother, Mike kept the Aussi’s in with a shout when they managed 147 runs for six wickets. There was a brief moment of nerves when Lumb went with only two runs on the board but then Kieswetter 63 and Petersen 47 thumped ball to take the game away and Paul Collingwood with a six and four tied the score and hit the winning run with the third ball. England had won with 7 wickets and 3 overs to spare.

I stayed up late on Saturday night watching a gothic extravaganza called Van Helsing with Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. The story is a mixture of Frankenstein and Dracula with Dracula‘s Bridge behaving as flying furies and their children causing mayhem by their thousands, Dracula has killed Frankenstein and uses his monster to awaken his children.

Van Hesling is himself a creature, but not of the dark, but none other than Gabriel who is sent by the Vatican to kill Dracula and destroy his offspring. Arriving in Transylvania he encounters Anna Valerious whose family has for generations attempted to kill Dracula and gain the means to enter heaven. Her brother was captured after saving Anna from the clutches of the Furies and changed into a werewolf. The film has made a lot of money twice its large budget but was disliked by most critics. I thought it was boring and predictable.

On Saturday evening I watched the five group winners repeat their 20 minute performances to gain a place in the final shown on Sunday. There was in fact a three month gap to enable three successful participants to prepare to perform a concerto of their choice with a full orchestras. Anna Doulas18 years had won the Brass competition and played Strauss Rondo from Concerto no 2, Saint Sans Romance in E and a piece by Krol. I thought she was good but was not in my top 3. Lucy Landymoore aged 17 years impressed me greatly with four pieces Zappa The Black age, Corea Children‘s Song no 1 Freidman Texas Hoedown which caught the attention of the audience most and Zivkovic- to the Gods of Rhythm. I was disappointed that she was unable to perform in the final under the new system although I was not unhappy that that her place went to the Flautist Emma Halnan 17 years who played In Ireland by Harty, the Largo from Bach’s Concerto in G Minor, the Spiral Lament of Clarke and 3rd movement of Suite Trois by Goard.

This brings me to two young musicians who I thought were exceptional exceptional and that one would be the winner. Callum Smart was the youngest in the final at 13 and his violin playing was not only technically perfect but he showed an emotional understanding and maturity beyond explanation. He played only two pieces Tzigane by Ravel and the Sonata no 3 by Brahms 1st Movement. He is also in this year’s final of the Yehudi Menuhin competition being held in Oslo.

And there was Lara Omeroglu playing Beethoven’s Sonata in B Flat, and Etude by Chopin and a Suite by Ginastra. It is difficult to put into words the impact this young woman has on an audience. She becomes, completely, intensely, emotionally engaged in what she is doing showing every feeling in her face and physical movement and she also immediately and totally engages the audience. In the keyboard final she faced the young individual in the competition the group finals Yuanfan Yang another prodigy destined to become a soloist and composer. He was awarded the special prize for the most outstanding competitor.
Because of the cricket on Sunday evening I decided to watch Lewis immediately following and the Young Musician on Monday morning. I enjoyed the Lewis which featured Alan Davies as a harmless conman who arranged quiz weekends at Oxford Colleges and posh nosh hotel for £500 with a prize money of £2500 which always was allegedly won by students or other employed for a fee to whom he provided the answers in advance of the various rounds of the competition. There were several red herrings and it was not possible to work out the murderer in advance other by guessing.

Previously, probably before the trips to Leeds and Nottingham, I started to watch New York New York, the 1977 Martin Scorsese film with Liza Minnelli and Robert De Nero. I was attracted because De Nero plays a jazz musician and while there was some early swing band music it was quickly evident that the jazz was not going to be at the level I had hoped in this two and half hour epic to merit staying up late.

Now the final of the Young Musician of the year which I will be listening to again and again over the remaining days when it remains available on the BBC i player as well as the semi final. KI heard the keyboard final on Monday evening. Callum Smart opened the final with the well known Violin Concerto in E minor opus 64 by Felix Mendelssohn. This is a familiar work which I have though Callum played as well as anyone two and three times his age. Clearly he has yet to have sufficient life experience to communicate emotions with a passionate intensity although he did demonstrate considerable maturity and well as technical brilliance.

However there was no inhibition about the playing of Lara Omeroglu who brought one judge to rears with her playing in the section final. To say her playing is awesome is an understatement, In fact I have no words to explain and express what happens when this young woman takes the stage. On Sunday night she performed the second piano concerto in G Minor, opus 22 by Camille Saint-Sains. Its is not a work I know I would have rushed out to buy had I listened to beforehand, or since, if it had not been for performance of Lara. She clearly has a remarkable mother who has brought up her two daughters alone since the break up of her marriage and where the elder daughter is also an accomplished Pianist attending college and has become her sister‘s biggest fan, shrieking in delight at the announcement of the winner. I was stuck how she had the same electrifying impact as Jacqueline Du Pres although hopefully not the same emotionally challenging life or tragic young ending.

1930 From political necessity to political opportunity

Saturday morning 15th May and I find difficulty inbeing confident about predicting what will happen in British politics over the next Parliament. Will Coalition last the full five year term to May 15th 2015? What will happen to the two political parties forming the Coalition and to their leaders. What will happen to the Labour Party as a consequence?

During the morning I heard an interview on Five Live radio which I found very disturbing. The mother of the young man due to be extradited to the USA for having hacked into the Pentagon explained that because Clegg in particular but also Cameron had opposed the extradition, with the chief police man saying the action was spiteful. The extradition should be stopped and he tried in the UK. His lawyers had stopped the High Court hearing planned for later this month and contacted the new Home Secretary. This is the good test for the integrity of the new Administration. Does what is said in opposition carry forward to being in Government?

12.30 Sunday 16th May according to the Andrew Marr show which I am now watching one of the Sunday papers is saying that Labour Party former Member of Parliament, Frank Field is going to be a new Poverty Tsar. This could indicate an even broader coalition of interests wanting to create a new political process as well as changing the structure of Parliamentary democracy.

Earlier the Sunday Politics show South Shields was featured because of the declaration of David Miliband for the Labour Leadership. The venue was Coleman’s Fish and Chip restaurant in Ocean Road. The argument put forward by a local Councillor is that the election of David as Party Leader, and then as Prime Minister would be good for the town and for the North East to which I wholeheartedly agree. However while the first part should be possible, despite the standing of his brother in the same election and presumably of other candidates to be announced over coming weeks, becoming Prime Minister in a Labour Government should prove more difficult if the kinds of electoral reforms talked about in the Coalition agreement and by the two Party leaders in the coalition are implemented. My reaction is that David may have been hasty unless he is confident about how the Labour Party needs to be re-branded. It is good time to buy a new wardrobe of clothes but only if the body is in good shape. Mine is not, nor is the Labour Party with many in no mood to match what the Tory and Lib Dem leaders have done and are doing.

It seems that everyone in Labour is beginning to explain why the Party lost by getting major things wrong and being out of touch with their voters with immigration and recreating the status quo in relation to the bankers and speculators. John Denham rightly lists the achievements and then makes the important point that the government failed to engage the public or give them ownership of the changes.

There were bad mistakes over the past three years of the government, the decision not go to the electorate when there was opportunity, the abolition of the 10pence tax rate and calling a Labour voter a bigot for raising the concern of a whole range of Labour supporters about the feeling of being overwhelmed by new arrivals to the UK.

In a moment I will test if my reaction and hopes are reflected in the columns of the Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Independent, but the omens on programmes such as Question Time and Any Questions and arising from some of the interviews on 24 hour TV indicates an attempt to challenge and de-stable the new Government before it has got the opportunity to show what it can do, and cannot.

They appear to be searching for the advocates of the old and discredited politics to point out not just the difficulties which will now be encountered but why the new approach is wrong. The worst example of this was Melanie Phillips and the political director of the New Statesman on Question who appeared biased and irrational to the point of hysteria. I did not expect them to immediately surrender their positions and accept coalition government and what this involves in the style and content of Government and politics but I found their reactions alarming. The BBC got it wrong and I was pleased that in subsequent news bulletins they highlighted the contributions of the three other contributors to the programme.

I am also interested if the intentions of the new Government will impact on the future of the monarchy and the aristocracy as well as the church of England as we should go further and move closer to the USA system with a directly led Presidential system with a united states of Britain with each state having their separate political administrations and assemblies. I cannot see the Labour Party moving into this territory. There is also need to re-examine the balance between capitalism and socialism which at present is being translated as changing the balance between state provision and free enterprise.

Although the future role of Frank Field has not be confirmed Will Hutton the highly regarded writer for the left in British politics, Editor of the Observer Newspaper 1996-1998 with a career in broadcasting and who now heads The Work Foundation, previously known as the Industrial Society, has agreed to head an inquiry into cutting top sector public pay in the UK and which has the objective of bringing gap in pay between the lowest and the top no more than 20 times compared to 30 to 40 now.

14.00 I will take breath after an excellent roast chicken with vegetables dinner and then continue drafting a private letter to David Miliband.

15.00 Time to get on with going through my notes, newspapers and print outs before England’s final against Australia in the 20 20 World Cup and the Young Musician of the Year Final which I may watch on the i Player after the next episode of Lewis.

First while I blame Gordon Brown and his supporters within government for failing to understand that the majority voters wanted political change, because of the expenses scandal and the traitorous behaviour of bankers and capital speculators, I am not joining those who now rubbish what he achieved and what he stands for. In contrast to Cameron and Clegg he has the achievements spanning three Parliaments behind him and I think it is a wise decision of his not to immediately resign from Parliament giving him time to work out what he wants do after considering the many offers which will come his way.

I am not surprised that the Prime Minister and his deputy, and other Coalition Ministers are having to defend the establishment of the LIB Dem Coalition to their activists and to some of their voters. The media is making much that a hundred or more people have resigned from the Lib Dem Party omitting to enquire, or if they have, not mentioning that these have been replaced by several hundred more who have joined as a consequence of Coalition.

The 24 hour media and the press started to behave behaving in their usual obnoxious way regardless of whether what they are doing is in the national interest and that of democracy. Hopefully it will dawn on the front line staff that they are being placed in a dishonourable position by their editors and paymasters and insist that they are allowed to act responsible. Of course if is proved in the future that Coalition Ministers have not done what they have promised or if they have failed to achieve objectives then this should be exposed and accurately reported on, but to start by trying to undermine the coalition is reprehensible and undemocratic. Obviously one expects the politicians and their media supporters of the old order to be bitter and behave unscrupulously, as they have done in the past, but the media needs to begin to keep its distance from them.

Today the Liberal Democratic Party is holding the special conference of Members which would have been required had they obtained the 75% majorities of the Parliamentary Party and National executive for the coalition. It is being held in private which is excellent as it enables everyone to have their say without having to look over their should about media reaction. The test will be if Mr Clegg is able afterward to be frank about what happened and therefore take the sting out of the leaks which will follow and be exploited in as damaging a way as possible by those against this development. From what was said after the meeting my impression is that the critics were allowed to have their say, and others to express their anxieties which I imagine the leadership will share, but my impression is that they obtained overwhelming support for the first time in over half a century of being in government rather than throwing stones from the outside.

For me the argument in favour of the Coalition outweigh all others. However much I might have wished otherwise, Mr Cameron was justified in becoming Prime Minister and forming the majority of the new Government. He will need to establish his authority in order to get things done as he would like and to avoid damaging opposition from within the Party by those who are not given a Government job or who oppose the concessions made to Liberal Democrat Policy. My impression is that having decided that a Coalition was right for the country and for him he has immediately seen the advantages in terms of freeing him to a greater extent than would have been the case from the extreme right wing of his party and conservative Conservatism. He can point to Lib Dem demands as the excuse for not going ahead with some things and going ahead with others not included in the programme. This point I subsequently noted is also made in the May14th Guardian.

I am just going through the latest information on Cabinet and found that this list does include Ministerial appointments made to date and will have to apologise for complaining that the list was no where to be found. In addition to George Osborn as Chancellor and David Laws as first secretary, both cabinet members three other ministers have been appointed Financial secretary Mark Hoban, Economic Secretary Justine Greening and Exchequer Secretary David Gauke. Mr Cameron has announced that there is to be an immediate independent audit of government finances and that he was shocked to find the nature of bonus deals agreed for the senior Civil service this year. Three Conservatives have also joined the Home Office Cabinet Minister, Damien Green Immigration, the man arrested over Home Office leaks, Baroness Pauline Neville Jones as Security Minister, previously the first woman to chair the UK Joint Intelligence Committee and Nick Herbert as Police Minister and who previously Shadow Justice Minister. He will work also with the Justice Minister, Ken Clark.

For Defence with Liam Fox is Nick Harvey of the Lib Dems previously Shadow defence spokesman, as Armed Forces Minister, and Gerald Howarth as Junior Defence Minister.

I am interested that Paul Burstow Lib Dem is Minister of State at Health under Andrew Lansley with Simon Burns, a new name to me, I had communication with Paul in relation to the death of my care mother. Sarah Tether of the Lib Dems is at Education with Michael Gov who has impressed me several times with what he has had to say. Nick Gibb who has shadowed education and skills is the other Minister of State with Tim Loughton the Junior Minister.

The great Vince Cable is to have with him Mark Prisk and John Hayes also names which I do not know. It will be interesting to work out later how many if any of the new Tory M.P’s have been brought straight into government because of their experience outside of Parliament.

Duncan Smith at Work and Pensions under Ian Duncan Smith has Chris Grayling previous Shadow Home Secretary and is therefore demoted outside the Cabinet without being humiliated and he also has Steve Webb of the Lib Dems a Professor at Bath University before going into Parliament, an expert on pensions and on the Left.

One of the great challenges of the new government has gone to Chris Huhne of the Lib Dems and he is joined by Charles Henry and Gregory Barker of the Conservatives. Lord Wallace, previously deputy first Minister in the Scottish Parliament has been appointed Advocate General for Scotland to the office of the Scottish Secretary with Danny Alexander.

Patrick McLoughlin is the Chief Party whip with a seat in the Cabinet but with a Lib Dem as the Senior Government Whip, Alistair Carmichael. Local Government is all Tory with Eric Pickles, Greg Clark for Decentralisation and Grant Sharpe in Housing. Dominic Grieve is the Attorney General and Jeremy Hunt for Culture Olympics Media and Sport with other Ministers to be appointed. The Conservative co Chairman is Baroness Warsi with a place in the Cabinet. It is evident that a number of Departmental Ministers of State for the Lords are to be appointed, I suspect until their credentials in favour of abolishing the Lords in its present form have been worked out. Similarly other Ministers will be appointed to Environment with Caroline Spellman and James Price. Alan Duncan is at International Development with Andrew Mitchell the Cabinet Minister. Theresa Villers is with Phillip Hammond at Transport and Owen Paterson is for Northern Ireland. Cheryl Gillan is at the Welsh Office. Sir George Young is Leader of the House replacing Harriet Harman who will now lead the opposition against the Government use of Parliamentary Time.

Francis Maude, one David Cameron’s allies in moving the Conservative Party forward, is in the Cabinet Office and can be expected to work closely with the Deputy Prime Minister. Also there is Oliver Letwin Edward Garnier is the Solicitor General. Universities and Science is to be with the Business Office David Willets.

I have printed out what must now be regarded as the first agreement and have decided to leave a detailed review until the full document or documents are completed and released over the next two weeks according to the interview with the Prime Minister this morning.

I like the May 14th Guardian article by Martin Kettle arguing that what David Cameron has done is more dangerous and significantly more significant than Tony Blair getting rid of Clause Four when he became Leader, because Tony was still away from being the Prime Minister. He suggests that Cameron has created a salon des refuses within his own party. Yes but I anticipate that even the most hard nosed will warm to his style and progress.

There is considerable dissent about the proposal to require a 55% majority vote to end a Parliament before five years. It should be evident that if the fixed term is to mean anything then it should not be easy to force a General Election and what happens elsewhere is that with a vote of no Confidence someone else attempts to form a coalition. I guess all those in Parliament against the Coalition lasting five years or against the major political changes proposed will vote against the 55% and for the moment it looks as if some others will also join in. The Guardian also had a nice little piece about the Yes Minister and Prime Minister series reminding of when Sir Humphrey explained that the country would survive any period in which the politicians were not in command. It is the a strength of the UK system and it was good to see the new Prime Minister giving praise about how the transition was handled. The Guardian correspondence page was headed A Very Conservative Coup bemoaning the prospect of a Tory led government for five years missing out on two fundamental points. It is not a Tory Government and had the Party obtained a majority similar to that they now have then it could have been for the full term. I agree with the letter from various interests including the Fabians and Compass that there should be no rush to elect a new Labour Party Leader and I believe Harriet Harman will do an excellent job over the coming months. Shirley Williams also had an excellent piece, rational, cautious but also understanding that this a great opportunity for her Party and for Parliament to make changes which will work in the best interests of everyone for the better.

The Guardian is right to suggest that Cameron has been forced by the coalition to row back from the position before the General Election on Europe but they misunderstand the achieved Lib Dem position on the future of a new Generation of Nuclear power stations. Elsewhere nuclear power, as here, has only been developed with substantial financial support from Government. Lib Dems behind the Coalition have persuaded the Tories to agree only on the basis of no further public funding. Commercial projects are unlikely to go ahead without funding commitment. Therefore it is unlikely that contracts for new stations will be agreed within the life of the new Parliament. Cameron this morning reiterated that the emphasis will be on reducing public expenditure rather than raising taxes, particularly VAT.

The Guardian also draws attention to the failure of all the parties to achieve a better proportion of women and those from ethnic minorities, stating Britain now ranks 52nd below Sweden, Rwanda and Afghanistan. The new Coalition Government has taken several steps backwards because of the cards that have been dealt as they say. I cannot see the situation being tolerated for long.

I have never been a fan of Margaret Hodge, but with help her successful defence of her seat in Barking against the leader of the National Front Nick Griffin merits praise whatever other political party is supported. Even more important all the 12 BNP members elected to the local Council in 2006 were defeated. Most of the credit goes to those who campaigned in the constituency but the holding of the TV debates was also a factor and the limited attention given by the media to the party.

Alexander Chancellor was also excellent in pointing the success of Nicholas Clegg, first in the TV debates and then in the negotiations with the Conservatives although in fairness it was the approach of the negotiators and the way they interacted which changed the position from one of political necessity to political opportunity.

The Daily Telegraph which could be expected to be disappointed by the turn of events in its official comment May 13th argues that the coalition is as new and full of unprecedented possibilities as an administration for years. The article ends that newness disappoints, and fades- that’s what newness does. But these transformations, as from a pantomime, and reminds us for the moment of everything we might once have hoped for. The Telegraph editorial begins “One things is evident from the seismic shift that has reshaped the Westminster landscape over the past seven days: politics is interesting again. Yesterday’s remarkable double act in the Downing Street rose garden suggests it could even be fun. The article concludes There will indeed be some bumps and scrapes...perhaps even some head on collisions. It is not going to be dull. The front page had Andrew Gibson declaring Men of different cloths, sharing the pulpit. Inside it was humble pie and good manners at table for two. The Telegraph believes that the coalition could last for the Parliament... Because they have no where else to go.

The Times opinion page has the headline: The Political earthquake in the rose garden with the sub line It almost felt if a divine hand was at work, bringing together two men to blow away years of staleness “Mathew Parris” is another individual who I have always have a lot of time for. He said, “ it was like witnessing a coup. Millions of viewers will have shared my impression almost of watching two men staging a putsch against their own political parties, against the entire British political system, and against the ingrained assumptions of more than a century of parliamentary government. Think again said the moment, Almost all over Britain a very large number of people, I suspect, were thinking again. Mr Parris is quiet right that within the life time of the Parliament, perhaps even a few months into the future, those of us who feel the earth moved and refuses to settle back as before, will be shown to have been idealistic and naive yet again. Mathews concluded that as they spoke, for him there was a palpable lifting of the ghastliness of the past few years. maybe Mr Cameron was right: it does not have to be this way. Jack Straw expressed relief at the loss of office in the same paper and Leon Britain for whom Nick Clegg worked believes that combination of Tory pragmatism and Liberal idealism could be a winner for Britain. David Aaronovitch is confident that the New Politics is here and hopes there will now be new votes. The main casualties are the Troglodytes of all parties, he said. Brilliant I say, but we must continue to be aware of the threat they pose, worse than any jilted lover. The Times front page says A very British revolution.

Simon Hughes has gone up in my estimation several notches over the past few days. He would have preferred a coalition with the Labour Party but accepts that in the event what has happened is the best possible outcome of the election for liberalism. This is also my point. Do people really think the country would be better if the old politics under the Conservatives or Labour Party had continued as before. It may still do so but I strongly believe the architects of the Coalition will work hard to provide their view of the political future is better.

One of the several interesting firsts which the coalition has immediately progressed is to hold a meeting of the new National Security Council, a development which I am perplexed has not occurred before. The Telegraph mentions that the state security services MI5 MI6 and GCHQ, the armed forces through the Chief Of Defence staff, with individual services attending as required the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office are mentioned. No special operations here I suspect. Surely these individuals have met before and on a regular basis

This morning there was a press conference at the Treasury. Such a conference not been held for several years with the Chancellor having to joining the Prime Minister at Downing Street. The Important point being made is that the process of finding £6 billion this year has commenced. The spending position in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will remain as already agreed until next year, or at least the autumn spending review. The second is that the Chancellor has promised has delegated responsible for auditing the finances and presenting the forecasts to a new and independent body who will advise the Chancellor and future chancellors if they are on target or not. The main reason is to ensure that the budget of taxation and spending decisions fits the figures rather than what all chancellors have done in the past is to fix the figures to fit the budget. It was also quickly evident that that the men from different political parties have trust and confidence in each other. It augured well and is likely to ensure their parties are with them. It was a good start to the new week.