A Real Hero

I didn't write about it at the time, but I was horrified by the hero-worship of Raoul Moat by some people. I could see nothing to praise in a man who murdered one man, attacked his ex-girlfriend and shot a police officer at point blank range in the face, but the news featured people who thought he was a hero, including one woman who took her kids to his funeral (surely in any sane society this should be grounds for taking her children off her).

The incident brought into the light a section of society who dislike the police and saw shooting of a defenceless police officer as something to be admired. I don't understand this mistrust of the police - as a law-abiding person I've had no contact with the police, but understand why they exist, am glad they do and am relieved there are people who are willing to do that job, because I know I couldn't. And on the frequent accusations of them being racist or power-crazy, like any large organisation, there are probably some people of whom that is true, but like people in any profession, there will be good and bad.

Anyway, the reason I'm writing about it now as I've just heard an interview on the radio with David Rathband, the police officer who was shot. He is now blind, but is not resentful and is probably one of the most inspiring people I've heard speak. His ambition to go back to work and finish the shift that was cut short by the shooting was heartbreaking, but what a brave man.

For all of those morons who dislike the police and thought Moatie was a hero, listen to this man and see what a real hero is.

Life and Death in the Media Age

I experienced something new last night - sitting in a pub watching a televised funeral. I didn't set out to watch it in the pub - the trains home had all been cancelled due to the storms so we decided to wait it out in a nearby pub. The pub, where we've frequently watched football and cricket, was showing the memorial.

It was bizarre, but then the whole thing has been bizarre.


The memorial was, I suppose, a fitting tribute. The music was good, the rest I'm not so sure about. A celebration of his talent would have been good without the coffin being on stage.

It felt disrespectful somehow to be ordering a round of drinks while Brooke Shields was talking, although I did it anyway. In a hushed sombre tone.

Paul Gambaccini was commentating on the show and he made the most memorable comment on the star's death. Asked if in years to come, his legacy would be the music or the controversy, he replied that it would be the music "because anyone can own a llama". Having a pet llama wasn't the scandal that first comes to my mind, that is still in acceptable levels of eccentricity as far as I'm concerned.

Nobody panic, Everybody panic

A week ago we were all going about our business, minding our own business, worrying about the economy. Nobody had heard of swine flu. Then suddenly we are expected to worry about it.

I was sceptical, put it down to another round of scaremongering that would amount to nothing much. Frankly I was too busy to be worried. I had other things on my mind (getting some shoes reheeled, finding a savings account with a decent rate of interest, that sort of thing).

Then tonight I read the story in the free newspapers that experts are warning to be prepared for 94,000 people in London to die. That is large number, but more than that it is a precise number. How do they know it will be 94,000, not 93,000 or 95,000? And apparently my borough will be the worst affected. Again, how do they know? Do they already have the names and addresses of the unfortunate ones? What makes this borough more susceptible to it? Should I consider moving?

Best case scenario, the best we can hope for is 7000 deaths. 7000 deaths doesn't seem like something you would hope for.

Is it time to panic?

"Your Home is a Dump"

The girlfriend of the footballer Andrey Arshavin has been reported as saying she hates London because it is dirty and the woman are scruffy. She might have a point about it being a bit on the grubby side, but who judges a place on how its people are dressed? Are you going to dismiss a place brimming with culture and history because its citizens haven't all had manicures?

If a British person went to another city and made similar comments, it would spark a diplomatic incident and within a few days, they would be apologising and back peddling.

But it is perfectly acceptable for people to insult London.

A lot of British people do it too. Every time I go back up north, someone will tell me that they don't know how I can live in London/they hate London/London is too crowded/London is too expensive. Its so rude.

Imagine their response if I replied by saying how much I hated the town where they lived. I'd probably be punched. But it is fine for everyone to insult the place where I live.

Yes, it is expensive, but so are all capital cities, and so is Newcastle if you only ever go out on the Quayside.

And the transport system isn't very good, but it is just a means to an end. We don't choose to live in London because of the tube, unless of course, you work for Transport for London.

Wishing Wall

We went to the cinema last night (to see documentary about Hunter S Thompson, if you are interested). In the corridor, there was a display entitled "Wishing Wall" where local children had written their hopes and wishes for the 2012 Olympics. Visitors could contribute their own wishes too.

Amongst the dreams of "I wish I had a Gold Medal" and "I want to see Usain Bolt winning the 100 metres without even trying" was my favourite:

"I wish Boris would spend the money on pensioners and buying Woolworths instead".

Not quite the right word

Radio 5 was doing a vox pop of young people to see how much (or more accurately how little) they knew about the situation in Gaza. Most admitted to knowing nothing or next to nothing about it. Undeterred one young man still attempted to give an opinion. He described the conflicts as:

"a frivolous waste of time"

The OH entered the room at this point and understandably had to ask what the subject was.

Frivolous is not a word I'd use to describe it. Frivolous suggests an activity like shopping for a new hat or spending all your money on cake.

I think he may have meant futile.

Bus Load

Psychology is a subject I find fascinating, but I'm not sure about the merits of a piece of research from Salford University that was reported in the paper yesterday. A professor has spent time and presumably money researching what your favourite seat on the bus reveals about your personality.

Top Deck of the Bus:
Back: Rebellious
Middle: Independent Minded, more likely to read a newspaper or listen to music
Front: Forward Thinking

Downstairs:
Back: Risk-takers who like sitting on the raised aera because it makes them feel important
Middle: Strong Communicators
Front: Sociable meeters-and-greeters

People who don't have a preference are categorised as "Chameleons" and they feel they can fit in anywhere.

This brings to mind a couple of questions.
1. Where do you prefer to sit? I'm a forward-thinking front of the top deck person
2. What about on single deck buses or the controversial bendy buses?
3. What is the point of this research?

Yo Ho Ho and a Tanker of Oil

Despite the warning by the expert on the radio that these weren't glamorous pirates, but thugs with knives, I've still been fascinated by the pirates who've captured an oil tanker. I know they aren't romantic swashbuckling dandies but still I'm in awe of the crime - its just so audacious. I can't really comprehend how they managed to take over a ship the size of three football pitches. Yes, I realise they are ruthless criminals, but still the logistics of it are rather impressive.

There was quite a lot of talk in admiration of the pirates in my office this week, with a few people suggesting that we were in the wrong game and that they might move from the theatre world into the more lucrative field of piracy. These plans stalled however when it turned out that one of the most enthusiastic would-be pirates suffers from sea sickness so was thinking of a dryland based co-ordinating role.

I'm wondering whether all of this talk of pirates might mean better business for the stage production of "Treasure Island" that is currently on in the West End. I hope not. I saw it last week and it was possibly the worst show I've seen in my life (worse even than the production of the Hobbit with a 3 man cast and crew that I saw on my 10th birthday). There was nothing redeeming about this production at all. Even Long John Silver's wooden leg was rubbish. It is a show that deserves to sink without a trace and I hope its newfound topicality won't prolong its run.

The Numbers speak for themselves

The nagging thought that people in this country have their priorities wrong seemed to be confirmed by two stories in the newspaper yesterday.

Very different stories, but both involving the outraged public using online petitions to voice their concerns.

The story of baby P, perhaps the most harrowing disturbing story to hit the news in a long time. Something went terribly wrong with the system so social services failed to step in to prevent the awful abuse that led to the child's death.

5,000 people have signed a petition demanding an inquiry into how this happened.

The story of X Factor Contestant Laura, perhaps the most inane story to hit the news in a long time (or since something similar happened). Something went terribly wrong with the system so the wrong person was kicked off the television "talent" show.

50,000 people have signed a petition demanding an inquiry into how this happened.

A rose by any other name

There was a story in the news this week about a New Zealand judge changing a 9 year old girl's name and making her a ward of court. The cruel parents called her Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. What were they thinking?

When I was at home in the north briefly last weekend, I commented on a young child who was playing dangerously in the road. I was informed that he wasn't from the nicest of families.

His name was Dante. Not a name you'd expect from a white Norther family, but it got worse. Dante is one of four children.

Mercedes
Dante
Charisma (this is a girl)

and



Simon!

As boring as it might be, I think Simon had been most fortunate.

(Apologies to anyone reading who is called any of these names, but they aren't traditional working class northern names and sound particularly daft in this context. Elsewhere, I'm sure they are fine.)

Propaganda Party

I’ve never really understood the hijacking of the arts and sports by government for propaganda purposes. If I was living in poverty under a harsh regime where I couldn’t access news, voice an opinion, or practice my religion, I don’t think my dissent would be quelled because they put on a big street party or made a film saying how great things were.

But it seems to have been a common tactic used by most governments at some point. I’ve been intrigued for a while with the CIA’s championing of Abstract Expressionism in reaction to the Soviet realism. But yesterday, London found itself dragged into China’s propaganda party – the Olympic Torch Relay.

I can’t claim to know that much about the Tibet situation but the blatant use of the Olympics as a means of propaganda by the Chinese government makes me uncomfortable. The relay apparently was a tradition introduced by Hitler, so it is on dodgy grounds anyway. But I can quite understand why sports stars and athletes took part in it as they have genuine pride in the Olympics and the power of sport and most of them do seem to have agonised over whether to take part.

The same cannot be said for the D-list celebrities who also got in on the act yesterday. What business did former Blue Peter Presenter Konnie Huq have being there in the first place? She might play lip service to her love of sport now, but if that was the case just make a donation to a sports charity? What really motivated her and the other celebrities to come to this dubious event, was to keep their own names and faces in the paper.

So now its not just the Governments commandeering these events for their own ends, its also the celebs.

Dressed To Be Killed

I was never a Goth. Let’s get this clear from of the offset. I didn’t dye my hair black, wear heavy black eye make-up, listen to the Sisters of Mercy and go on pilgrimages to Whitby. But in my youth, I was often accused of being a Goth by people who didn’t know any better.

I had naturally dark hair, pale skin and I favoured black clothes. I didn’t mind a bit of The Cure, but I was more interested in music from the past. Besides the black, my typical attire was flowery dresses or 1960’s shift dresses with woolly black tights or flared jeans and beads, always finished off (much to my mother’s horror) with DM boots.

Apart from the footwear, my appearance really hasn’t changed all that much and its hardly the most revolutionary style. But in a backwater northern town, where the fashion of choice for the rest of the female population was citrus coloured lycra mini dresses with cut away midriff areas and white stilettos, it was enough of a statement to get the occasional bit of name-calling at the bus stop.

Thankfully it was only ever teasing, but it was enough that the story in today’s paper about the girl beaten to death for being a Goth struck a particular cord with me. This poor girl and her boyfriend were attacked by a group of thugs and she died a few week’s later. I’d read the story briefly a few weeks ago, but today the paper gave details of the 999 call placed by an onlooker, who was unable to stop the attack. It was so harrowing.

They attacked her boyfriend first and then when she went to tend to him “cradling her boyfriend's head on her lap”, they turned on her. The tenderness of her action against the brutality of the gang hit me most. All she was guilty of was looking different but that was enough to get her killed.

What monsters this society is producing and it isn’t the people wearing black clothes and listening to allegedly depressing music.

It's Different If You're Famous Pt 2

I am disgusted at the reports that Leslie Ash is to get a £5 million pay out from the NHS because she got MRSA when she was in hospital being treated for broken bones from bedroom gymnastics. The record payout is to compensate for her loss of earnings as an actress.

I admit I’m not going to be the most objective about this since my auntie has suffered from this twice and neither time was she in hospital with something that was self-inflicted like Ms Ash.

But even so there are things about this that annoy me.

Firstly, her acting career was over before she got MRSA after a botched lip implant job left her looking like a trout.

Secondly, and more importantly, people have died with MRSA – are their families getting more than £5m because surely death is worse than a thwarted career?

I'm sure it must be awful for her, its a horrible thing to happen to anyone and its terrible that people no longer feel safe in hospitals, but does she deserve this huge amount? She doesn't need the money but I'm sure other families who've been affected genuinely need financial support, but they don't have the means of getting these results.

I assume that there is some sort of insurance that covers NHS compensation but even so I hate the thought of so much money going to one person when you think what good that could do within a hospital.

Yet again it is a case of the lives of the rich and famous being more important than everyone else.

Of course, I will revise my opinion entirely if it turns out that she donates all the money back to a hospital. That's what I would do.

Cheapskate

I read in the newspaper yesterday about the engagement ring the footballer Joe Cole bought for his fiancee. It cost £50k.

My first thought was that was an obscene amount of money to spend on a ring.

My second thought was that he was a miser.

The reason? The article mentioned that his weekly wage is £80k. Traditionally, a man should spend the equal to a month's salary on the ring. I don't know if this is before or after tax and NI contributions as the OH has asked me before, but either way Mr Cole's spending falls well below that amount.

Petty Criminals

On the radio this morning there was a discussion about defending yourself and your property from burglars, what you can and can’t do etc. They were interviewing a man who interrupted a burglar and was told by the police that he should have given the burglar “a good kicking”.

I’m not interested at the moment in discussing the rights and wrongs of this, but it was the man’s next comment that interested me. He said that as well as breaking into his house with the intention of stealing, the burglar had bitten the heads off all of the gingerbread men his children had baked! How nasty is that?

I don’t expect burglars to be nice but really that seems a rather petty thing to do. And rather stupid too as if he hadn’t stopped to bite their heads, he may have had time to get away with the television etc.

In the news

Amongst the doom, gloom and Madelaine McCann rumours, these have been my favourite news stories this week:

The couple who live in a Travelodge
The old couple who have been living in a motorway hotel for 22 years which has saved them hundreds of pounds in bills. I’ve always fancied taking up residence in a hotel myself – Howard Hughes did, although he had a whole floor to himself and I presume it was somewhere a bit grander than Travelodge.

Paddington Bear advertises Marmite
This made the news because the Bear was famous for his love of marmalade sandwiches, but now he is advertising Marmite. The report I read had even got a quote from a marmalade company expressing their disappointment that Paddington was abandoning marmalade for another choice of spread.

Italians boycott pasta for a day
Consumer groups urged Italians not to buy pasta on Thursday in protest at its rise in price. I’m all for people power and the right to protest, and as much as I love this story, I’m not sure how effective it was, because it would only make a difference if you ran out of pasta on Thursday. If you had a good stock of various types at home, its unlikely you’d have to buy some on that given day. Even I never run out of pasta entirely and I’m no domestic goddess. A week or longer abstention may have had more effect.

Daytime Pyjamas: Discuss

I had heard of about ‘Daytime Pyjamas’ on the radio, but I had not witnessed first hand this cultural phenomena. Until this morning.

I was caught up in the pavement traffic of mothers dropping off young children at nursery, and amongst their number was a woman in cotton powder pink, blue and white striped bottoms. Could they just be ill-advised trousers? Surely not? Surely nobody makes trousers in that pattern and colours for adults? They were definitely pyjamas.

I’d heard about this new trend, supposedly very big in Liverpool, coming to popular attention when a head teacher complained about it. But I didn’t realise it had spread to London. Why do this? Apparently it isn’t mega laziness of not getting ready, but women have a dedicated daytime pair to change into especially for these purposes.

Now I love a comfortable pair of pjs as much as the next slacker, and I do confess to popping out into the garden in my slippers and dressing gown to tend to my tomatoes (they are so demanding at times I don’t have a chance to get dressed, I just have to answer their calls!), but really I wouldn’t go out the front of the house in that state and certainly wouldn’t walk the streets in that state of undress.

What kind of an example is that to set their children? Society is crumbling before our eyes!

RIP, Anthony H Wilson

I was on my home from the office party last night and texted the OH. He replied to tell me Tony Wilson had died.

I'm not normally one for public outpourings of grief for people you don't actually know, but on this occasion I'm going to make an exception. I didn't know Anthony H Wilson, but (as you may have noticed), music is incredibly important to me and he was the man who brought three of my favourites bands (Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays) to the world. His effect on the cultural landscape of this country has been enormous - not only was Factory home to some brilliant bands, but there was the Hacienda and he employed Peter Saville as a designer too. I even loved that ridiculous quiz he hosted, Remote Control (despite the presence of Frank Sidebottom who terrified me)

The tributes to him have already started, for the man once described as "a twat, but he was great twat". Stephen Morris said of him this morning "You couldn't fall out with him. We tried enough times over the years". Paul Morley described him as the "Metaphysical Mayor of Manchester".

He was just 57 which is very young, but I was even sadder by what I read about his illness. The local health authority (of city that he did so much for) wouldn't pay for the cancer drug he needed so there had been a fund set up by the bands he supported to pay for it. If I'd known about this, I would have contributes (I should point out, his music business did not make him rich).

So I'm sitting here listening to the Mondays, and tonight we are going to watch "24 Hour Party People" in remembrance of him.

Media Manipulation

I've previously written about my qualms with the way the Madelaine McCann story has been given huge amounts of media coverage, but I held back on the cyncism about the parents, mainly because other people had written about it elsewhere. Then last the London Lite newspaper led with the story about blood being found in the apartment in which the McCanns were staying. The article on the frontpaper said that the police were now concentrating their enquiry on the family and their group of friends and it was looking less likely that she was abducted. The picture editor had earned their money as the photograph of the McCanns was not of them looking distraught as previously, but incredibly shifty, almost as if their eyes had been narrowed in PhotoShop to make them look suspicious. So the story on the front page was, as near as it could without risking a libel case, accusing the parents.

"An interesting turn of events", I thought, turning to page 11 where the story continued. But on page 11, the picture was muddied further with mention of the possible abduction again, another possible suspect and British police criticising the Portugese investigation. It was so contradictory to what was on the front page. All that really could be concluded from it is that still nobody knows anything.

Now I'm not going to defend the McCanns at all (regardless of what happened to Madelaine, I have problems with them hiring a Campaign Manager and taking money from the public), but really I'm disgusted (again) with the Lite's coverage of the story. If I hadn't read the rest of the article inside the paper (and so many people do just read the first few paragraphs), then that was them pretty much condemned as guilty.

Harry Potter and the Overblown Emotional Response

I have seen a bit of the first Harry Potter film one Christmas and it didn't seem that bad in an easy-to-watch-slumped-on-the-sofa-with-the-family-at-Christmas kind of way, but I have never read any of the books. It might partly be snobbery - there are so many books out there that I should have read that I don't have time to spare reading kids books. But mainly, its that I have no interest in wizards.

But I don't really care that other adults read them. I'm not one of those people who think that anyone over 14 caught reading a HP book should be sentenced to ten years hard labour and a crash course in Dostoevsky. Its good in this digital age to see that people can still be excited by books. Its just not for me.

I'm not even going to pass judgement on those people who camped out over night to be the first to buy it or the American girl I heard on the news who was on holiday for the weekend in London but said she'd be sitting in her hotel to read the book as it was more important. That's their choice - it wouldn't be mine.

But now we come to my problem with this.

I read yesterday that ChildLine is concerned about their switchboards being jammed with children unable to cope with end of Harry Potter. ChildLine provides an invaluable service for children who are being abused or bullied or feel they can't talk to anyone they know about their feelings, and I'm certain I read recently that the service was under threat due to underfunding. It will be a disgrace if their time and resources are wasted on kids upset over the end of book, if the lines are blocked dealing with calls about this so that a child who is in need of real help can't get through.

I'm sure many children will be genuinely upset if their favourite spell-caster is bumped off at the end (or falls nobly on his own wand), but surely this is something that their parents should be able to console them over? And if they really fear it is going to have this effect on them, why on earth let them read it in the first place? But I suspect in many cases it will be the parents encouraging this over-the-top response (like that woman who claimed her 4 year old had depression because she didn't get in their choice of school who was blatently using her child's feelings to gain attention for herself because really 4 year olds move on pretty quickly when it comes to friends). I think this will be an occassion for great one-upmanship at middleclass dinner parties and school gates, parents competing to see whose little darling was most upset - rather than distracting them with a Playstation and a bag of sweets, which for once does seem like a good option.