tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383947042011-11-24T14:54:15.544ZMusings on politics, rugby and theatreBernardnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-89739716514587499272008-02-21T23:38:00.002Z2008-02-21T23:44:08.376Z

I have been amused to see that the end of our road is now adorned by a billboard announcing that Virgin Media (officially supplier of multimedia to the Wooley household) are the only broadband supplier with super-fast cable broadband. Unsurprisingly, ever since said billboard has gone up my connection has been slower than an arthritic snail. Hello, ASA?

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-26532759749616562962008-02-19T20:07:00.002Z2008-02-19T20:18:03.771Z

News from the US reaches me of a revolt against trendy Math(sic) teaching. Apparently parents can't cope with the fact that their little ones are being taught differently to how they where. Anyway not of much interest in and of itself, except to add to my list of stories that prove there is nothing new in the world, as the following song written in the '60s by a Mr. Tom Lehrer proves.PS. other

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-25635311891714600662008-02-14T20:30:00.002Z2008-02-14T20:39:40.536Z

I'm not sure who are the biggest muppets in the story of the £2m given to the wrong Newcastle. The official who got confused between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Newcastle upon Tyne and gave the small potteries town £2m of the Geordie's LABGI money, or the officials at Newcastle upon Tyne for not being sure enough of their figures to not have forced CLG to rectify it sooner. In my experience when you

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-73129583208294615512008-02-12T20:50:00.001Z2009-08-11T07:48:57.849+01:00

Blogging is likely to remain light for a while yet but I had to break radio silence to protest about the latest attempts by the US Government to discourage anybody foreign ever going to the US ever. As the other half is a US citizen, and currently living in the US (this week at least), I have a vested interest in travel across the pond being as easy as possible. But trying to look at this

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-26112286604767639232008-01-26T15:57:00.000Z2008-01-26T16:23:00.640Z

File this under geeky, but did the Labour Whips screw up on Friday morning? Michael Fallon's private members bill on planning and energy passed its second reading in the Commons 45 votes to 0. Not all that surprising you may think, after all all the parties now (officially at least) support renewable energy, which Fallon's bill professes to promote. But the Minister responding to the debate (

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-54624586647362718932008-01-20T19:19:00.000Z2008-01-20T19:24:33.219Z

... or very very dense. Either way I think I would be coming round just about now if I had been on the receiving end of this:Hat Tip: rugby dump

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-21245311904953543322008-01-07T17:54:00.000Z2008-01-07T18:01:39.995Z

Still in South Africa, but think it is necessary to break off the Holiday to pimp up the Hobbit Hotel in Bloemfontein (so called because Bloem is Tolkein's birthplace pub quiz fans). Not only is our luxurious suite (well after a week in backpackers) beautifully kitted out, and cheap at only 900rand; but how many Hotels provide you with a large teddy bear to cuddle during your stay? made my

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-11039582260974991052007-12-29T18:38:00.000Z2007-12-29T18:50:14.410Z

I'm currently traveling around South Africa with the Girl (hence the even lighter than normal blogging schedule), but the thing that struck me today was just how bad things have become in Zimbabwe. Picking up my complimentary copy of the Saturday Star in Joburg Airport this morning what jumped off the page was not that Zuma the heir apparent to the SA Presidency had been charged with corruption

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-13141620417631055922007-12-22T18:46:00.000Z2007-12-22T18:52:29.124Z

You can tell that it is a slow news day when the BBC news website is leading with the 'news' that Tony Blair has converted to Catholicism. Not sure when man does something that it has been well known he was going to do for years actually became news, nor why the BBC thinks that former prime minister decides to believe in slightly different version of fairy story is more important than say ... (

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-53035340392039361042007-12-22T10:24:00.000Z2007-12-22T10:34:04.266Z

A couple of evenings heavy drinking have wiped from my mind all the clever things I was going to say about Sam West's revival of Dealers Choice which has won a deserved west end transfer from the Menier. Suffice to say I really enjoyed Marber's study of the losers who congregate in the basement of a restaurant to fritter away their earnings at the poker table. For a more considered view see

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-44895279727323515362007-12-17T20:15:00.000Z2007-12-17T20:15:16.234Z

One for the converted perhaps, but if you have a couple of hours to spare the new video from the Richard Dawkins Foundation the grandly titled "The Four Horsemen" is worth a look (you can download it here). The title is rather misleading. This has the feeling of a self-help group for atheist intellectuals rather than the full bore attack on the godly you may expect, as four of the more high

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-16140771439044079362007-12-10T21:07:00.000Z2007-12-10T21:17:47.925Z

Great news from Caribbean, the West Indies have formed a unified rugby team to compete in international rugby competitions.So if Mark Evans is looking for somewhere to take Quins on a pre-season tour next year I can think of worse places. Who knows we may even win a few games...Hat Tip: Scrumbag

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-2224290362413283482007-12-08T12:08:00.000Z2007-12-08T12:23:51.532Z

Most of my none Lib Dem friends can't understand why I'm willing to give up chunks of my spare time and leave allowance to putting focus leaflets through people's letter boxes. Why waste my time (and increasingly money) supporting a party that has no hope of wielding power, especially when my job prevents me from doing a lot of the more interesting stuff like going to conference or standing for

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-66059898947580112152007-12-07T20:09:00.000Z2007-12-07T20:25:35.072Z

With the Iowa Caucuses less than a month away I've started to tune back into the Presidential race. After a year of rhetoric, bluster and frantic money raising it could potentially all be over on the Democratic side a week tomorrow when the people of New Hampshire vote in their primary. If Clinton comes into the 8th with a win in the Iowa caucuses I suspect that a win in the Granite state would

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-47161520463233449022007-12-05T17:56:00.000Z2007-12-05T17:57:44.601Z

With my long legs it is not often that I leave a theatre wishing a play had gone on for longer, but Doubt at the Tricycle left wanting more (and not in a good way). The playwright John Shanley has been quoted as saying that he has deliberately left the second act for the audiences imagination, which is all well and good, but maybe he could have been so kind as to fill in some of the gaps in the

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-17086631583190850692007-12-04T18:44:00.000Z2007-12-04T18:46:05.857Z

All the signs point to the fact that the lib dem leadership election is effectively over, thank goodness. For those Huhnistas still in denial lets look at the facts:1) That yougov poll, putting Nick 12 points ahead with probably around 2/3rds of those who are going to vote having voted (if I recall turnout last time was around the 70% mark?). Yes with such a small sample it has a large margin of

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-21604636326396010702007-12-02T13:26:00.000Z2007-12-02T13:33:15.856Z

... but in the view of the ongoing diplomatic incident over a teddy bear (a teddy bear for heavens sake) and his death on live TV last night (Marcus what were you thinking?) I think these these are particularly appropriate...

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-50230712000912170682007-11-26T22:29:00.000Z2007-11-26T22:42:53.119Z

.... but I was slightly surprised to learn that the returning officer for our local party elections didn't think it necessary to bring ballot papers to the AGM the other day. Cue much scrambling when it turned out that there were some contested elections.Not that the elections were supposed to be a stitch up, of course not, we are democrats you know. Next you will be suggesting that the front

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-77511849827390979362007-11-26T22:04:00.000Z2007-11-26T22:23:03.505Z

Retaining a line like 'some jokes don't travel' in a new translation of a foreign comedy is perhaps tempting fate. But Alistair Beaton has decided to take that risk in his new translation of Max Frisch's The Arsonists currently playing at the Royal Court; and generally he gets away with it. Following a strong opening gag this is rarely a laugh out loud production, but it does produce a steady

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-33627259265477823152007-11-25T15:29:00.000Z2007-11-25T15:59:59.836Z

Michael Pennington is a bit of an obsessive about Shakespeare. At age 11 he was inspired to become an actor by a production of Macbeth, has spent, at his own estimation 20,000 hours performing the Bard, and even went as far as forming the English Shakespeare Company in the 1980s when he felt that the theatrical establishment weren't addressing the politics in Shakespeare's writing.He has

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-64674677287714596792007-11-22T23:20:00.000Z2007-11-26T22:54:02.188Z

The Masque of the Red Death is one of the hottest tickets in London theatre, with its complete run now sold out (although there are rumours of an extension). Following the spectacular success of Faust (which I unfortunately never got round to seeing) this is not surprising, but does it live up to the hype? Well its certainly not a show for those wedded to conventional theatre, nor claustrophobics

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-89699913908452346912007-11-20T08:14:00.000Z2007-11-20T08:21:29.403Z

For most of us Jerry Springer the Opera faded from view a couple of years ago. Fun at the time, but not really something of lasting value apart from its ability to annoy the more excitable elements of Christian right.Well it appears that some people have longer memories than me. Christian Voice are still trying to prosecute the BBC for blasphemy, and are going to the High Court to try and get

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-91888937680277168212007-11-18T15:34:00.001Z2007-11-18T15:48:51.833Z

... its the fact that it looks like Chris has lost control of his campaign.To be honest I couldn't give a toss that Chris' campaign is putting out negative briefings, after all they are both big boys and quite frankly a nice positive campaign on the issues is just a little bit too dull for my tastes. I know that makes me a bad person, but I've been involved in too many campaigns against Labour to

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-87605868350580793352007-11-17T08:32:00.000Z2007-11-17T08:32:23.482Z

The balance of opinion amongst the Lib Dem blogs appears to be that Chris Huhne shaded the Question Time debate on Thursday evening. I think they are wrong. Not because of anything Chris said really, in fact on the few substantive policy debates I think he had the edge (even if I do tend to lean more towards Nick's views on them).But, TV debates and more importantly being a modern political

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-10954830712545612142007-11-15T21:11:00.001Z2007-11-15T21:29:44.681Z

Ways to get yourself beaten up in a country pub number 57: call your quiz team 'free the Dando one' the week after Barry George was convicted (other effective ways include standing up for the Brass Eye paedophile special, and outing yourself and the bloke sat next you 10 minutes before closing).Anyway you may have guessed that I was never convinced that Barry George would have convicted had he

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-57413736851070648742007-11-14T20:19:00.000Z2007-11-26T22:52:35.241Z

It is always uncomfortable seeing another's family argue amongst themselves, especially when you don't understand the background. Statement of Regret Kwame Kwei-Armah's new play at the National gave me that feeling. In effect an extended argument about what 'black' means in British politics today, as the kind of white bleeding heart liberal that the play at times mocks I feel ill-placed to make a

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-91480670246903530142007-11-11T09:25:00.000Z2007-11-11T15:48:21.456Z

Trying to explain the plot of Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine to my philistine work mates was a thankless task. I mean how hard can it be to grasp a plot where the first act is set in 19th Century colonial Africa and the second in Clapham in 1979; but only 25 years have passed for the characters. Oh and all of the actors swap roles (and in many cases genders) at the interval. I mean compared to the

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-8234186656478206302007-11-08T22:27:00.000Z2007-11-08T22:35:29.151Z

Okay maybe a little harsh, but after being critical of the party's videos in the past I think its fair to give credit where credits due and say I actual think this evening's response to the Queen's speech is pretty good. I also think that it proves that Vince was right to stay out of the leadership race. Respected intellectual who commands attention to what he is saying, and an underrated

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-45799717354940430902007-11-02T22:07:00.000Z2007-11-02T22:35:49.378Z

I've got a bit bored by US politics lately but I couldn't let this brilliant attack video from the John Edwards campaign pass un-noted. Its dirty and maybe unfair, and obviously I personally deplore negative campaigning and want to see a positive campaign fought on the issues. But you can't deny that its a thing of beauty. Maybe this race isn't quite dead yet.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-62770232154165966222007-11-02T21:29:00.000Z2007-11-02T21:07:00.312Z

Is Once the perfect date movie? Well given my disastrous dating history (pre:2006 obviously dear) I'm probably the last person to ask. But anyway I think it might be:1) At heart its a classic story of mutual unrequited love . As with Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (one of my favourite films of all time) it throws together two young people in a brief unconsummated love affair that ends almost

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-80451615508692888462007-11-02T21:02:00.000Z2007-11-02T21:12:17.975Z

I still can't decide who to vote for.On the one hand I am completely turned off by Chris Huhne's sly manoeuvring on Trident. Blowing a huge dog whistle to the idealistic pacifist wing of the party with big headlines of scrapping Trident, whilst trying to placate those of us who live in the real world with quiet promises that actually he wants to keep a nuclear deterrent after all, really doesn't

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-32721849918898263332007-10-21T08:20:00.000+01:002007-10-21T10:24:48.074+01:00

I wrote a post after the final Harry Potter book came out speculating about the backlash there would have been from the christian right if JK Rowling had included an openly gay character in her books. Some, of course, choose to read my post as general whinge about a lack of representation, but hey that's their hang up not mine.Well I guess we are about to find out. And could JK have chosen a more

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-47376772289152858382007-10-20T21:50:00.000+01:002007-10-20T21:53:24.219+01:00

15-6 was a fair enough result and I do think Cueto's foot was in touch, but it still hurts to have been close for so long and for it all to slip away because of a couple of silly penalties.Oh well, at least Quins won.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-1895721520210007082007-10-20T08:18:00.000+01:002007-10-20T08:39:00.654+01:00

So here we are, World Cup final day. I'm sure I'm not the only bloke (and quite a few ladies too) who has woken up with a knot of apprehension in his stomach this morning. In fact its been building for several days. It is fair to say that for once the taxpayer did not get their money's worth out of me this week.This week has been different to the last couple. Having witnessed our thrashing to

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-74865755090670985472007-10-17T20:59:00.000+01:002007-10-17T21:34:28.320+01:00

I feel that it is probably a bad sign when 24hours after seeing a play I had to look up what it was called. That unfortunately is the case with Moonlight & Magnolias.Not that it didn't leave an impression. After a couple of hours with my knees rammed into the seat in front and my feet twisted underneath me by the lack of legroom in the Tricycle I doubt my legs are going to be pain free for a

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-58708980173797836862007-10-14T22:04:00.000+01:002007-10-14T22:18:59.084+01:00

Trip to the cinema this evening to catch Control the Ian Curtis biopic. Its been praised to the heavens by the critics, and for good reason. Even if it starts slowly by the second half it has dragged you in to such an extent that the ending, even though you know what's coming, is devastating. It is the closest I've been to crying in a cinema since I blubbed through the last 15mins of Boys Don't

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-20938982244423803352007-10-13T23:15:00.000+01:002007-10-14T21:45:51.120+01:00

So with the threat of a snap election out of the way the rumblings against Ming have begun. At times like these it is tempting to circle the wagons, mutter darkly about media agendas and cling to the evidence that we always slump during the mid-term. As a natural loyalist I honestly wish I could drink the kool aid too.But, I can't get the image of a slowly declining yellow line out of my head.The

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-46203752403861096252007-10-07T16:13:00.000+01:002007-10-07T16:18:03.422+01:00

I know Schadenfreude is generally a bad thing, but headlines like "All Blacks plead for mercy" can't but fail to bring a smile to your face.If they felt under pressure this time round (and from reading the New Zealand papers on the web it appears that a day of national mourning is about to be announced) imagine what its going to be like in 4 years time when the tournament returns to the Land of

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-18772281406079383302007-10-06T21:59:00.000+01:002007-10-07T16:21:44.581+01:00

Yes! Yes! Yes! and Yes! (I know we were supposed to be well up for an election but lets face it we dodged a bullet on that one).

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-52893872153861303222007-10-01T19:30:00.000+01:002007-10-01T19:51:34.308+01:00

it may be an indication of how debased our political culture has become that my first thought when I saw the headline "Drug Dealers are Victims too says Letwin", wasn't "interesting point" or even "the man's talking bollocks " but "the Labour attack monkeys are going to have fun with that quote!".

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-12061011909797143982007-09-27T11:51:00.000+01:002007-09-27T11:51:26.097+01:00

Whilst all attention is focused on Labour's pre-election rally in Bournemouth this week spare a thought to the faceless masses left behind in Whitehall.Whilst their political masters enjoy a week drinking and carousing by the seaside they huddle around their workstations, trying to get their News24 feed to work so they can watch, quaking with fear, Gordon make his big conference speech. What

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-12982798854475276182007-09-26T21:16:00.000+01:002007-09-26T21:43:19.688+01:00

After feeling decidedly old the other week at Chatroom/Citizenship I reasserted my youth yesterday with a trip to the Orange Tree to see their revival of The Years Between. I think I counted 5 people in the audience under the age of 60 (and not a single non-white face). It would have caused the diversity people at the Arts Council to have a fit.Anyway don't let that put you off, as after a slow

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-91488070659374578302007-09-26T21:10:00.000+01:002007-09-26T21:15:52.844+01:00

I know that we are in a world of long tails and niche media, but a radio station devoted solely to the 2008 presidential election? well whatever floats your boat I suppose. I'm sure the weekly talk show on polls and polling is going to be appointment radio.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-58679275388285382952007-09-25T23:23:00.000+01:002007-09-25T23:26:15.523+01:00

Too tired to think about this properly at the moment but with PB.com reporting Labour on 44% and the Lib Dems on 13% as the resident of a Labour-Lib Dem marginal am I allowed to panic yet?

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-78714011279538397232007-09-19T20:49:00.000+01:002007-09-19T20:56:39.803+01:00

... one might think that Nick Clegg's seemingly unprovoked admission to a youthful indiscretion looks suspiciously like pre-empting the kind of scrutiny that would come with a leadership campaign. Of course I'm sure nothing is further from his mind.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-91062098599539678112007-09-18T21:12:00.000+01:002007-09-18T21:12:42.318+01:00

On a whim I had took myself off to the National's revival of Chatroom and Citizenship, two of the plays from 2006's connections series, this evening.They are aimed at teenagers (both to perform and to watch) so maybe I shouldn't be too critical. But I found them at heart rather light morality plays, eerily reminiscent (if much better acted) of the skits we were made to act out for assembly back

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-50853181228914809112007-09-16T10:11:00.000+01:002007-09-16T10:37:12.144+01:00

According to Ed Balls in today's Observer 'the government has no policy to increase the number' of faith schools. What, since when? One of the driving forces behind Labour's schools policy in the last couple of years has been to increase the number and diversity of faith schools in order to increase parental choice (assuming the parents aren't humanists of course). If they don't want to increase

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-9235651814854567452007-09-15T21:58:00.000+01:002007-09-15T22:05:48.589+01:00

Having personally witnessed England's humiliation at the hands of South Africa last night (believe me it didn't look any better in the stadium)it was good to see a side actually deserving to wear the St Georges Cross this evening. Ireland were very, very, lucky to survive Georgia's onslaught in the last 20mins with the Georgian pack looking out on its feet whenever the ball went dead but throwing

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-64590188639651523652007-09-10T21:57:00.000+01:002007-09-10T22:27:56.627+01:00

Today's publication from the Government and numerous religious groups on faith schools boldly states that in 2001 there were 5,098,930 "christian children" in England's schools. That's a very precise figure for quite an amorphous concept. It got me wondering, in the eyes of DCFS was I a "christian child"?Now from the rest of the document it is clear that when they talk about christian children

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-60176431755339827102007-09-09T00:12:00.000+01:002007-09-09T00:15:41.972+01:00

One for the Girl (who likes a bit of haka)

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-36246803626865995842007-09-08T23:59:00.000+01:002007-09-08T23:59:05.842+01:00

Virgin Media are crap.Their website is nigh on impossible to navigate.They don't deliver on their promises ("we'll get back to you in 48hours", I spend the next two weeks trying to call them).When they can be arsed to answer the phone, their customer support staff are rude, unhelpful, incompetent and appear never to have come across a northern accent before (and mine isn't particularly strong

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-34021363926980761052007-09-06T19:28:00.000+01:002007-09-11T19:03:42.711+01:00

It appears that my humble blog has been nominated in the best newcomer category in the "prestigious" Lib Dem blog of the year awards. Thanks to whoever nominated me. Its nice to know that at least some of you aren't here just to find out whether David Strettle is gay (not as far as I know).It is slightly strange, and not just because as Chris K has pointed out there are plenty of other more

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-48748785191780472942007-09-04T23:25:00.000+01:002007-09-05T00:04:21.459+01:00

My flatmate, a nervous beast at the best of times, has had a hard time of it the last couple of days. First dark goings on amongst the religious in Silent Witness, and then I drag her to Reverence at the Southwark Playhouse. Staged as promenade performance underneath the railway arches that form the playhouse's temporary home, Reverence is Goat and Monkey's take on the story of Abelard and

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-27809727753488991412007-09-03T20:55:00.000+01:002007-09-03T20:55:54.863+01:00

As a 16 year old I was promised by the Labour candidate (now MP) in my parents constituency that it would be a 'cold day in hell' before the Labour party introduced tuition fees for higher education.I paid £1000 a year for my BA.As a student protesting against the possibility of Top-Up fees the local Labour students insisted that there 2001 election manifesto meant they wouldn't happen.I

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-87196202802646535212007-08-02T09:45:00.000+01:002007-08-02T09:54:14.063+01:00

I'm not sure the latest advert from the Paris Tourist board is going to attract a single extra rugby fan to Paris for the world cup, but you can't deny its a thing of beauty:

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-31146716273233044732007-07-25T21:46:00.000+01:002007-07-25T21:46:48.729+01:00

I saw Saint Joan a couple of weeks ago now but haven't got round to blogging about it yet, partly because it was so large a play (for starters its 3hrs 10mins even after a serious amount of cutting) that I didn't know where to start.Suffice to say others haven't been so reticent. Anyway in lieu of my own review can I just say I loved it (including the "Stompesque" battle sequence others have

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-51421747039254448322007-07-25T21:23:00.000+01:002007-07-25T21:23:52.457+01:00

The thought occurred as I was reading the final pages of the Deathly Hallows on Sunday morning, there aren't any gay characters. As far as I can remember there isn't even a hint of same sex attraction throughout the many thousands of pages of prose J K Rowling has produced (although some have argued that the whole wizzard/muggle thing is really an allegory for the queer/straight divide).Its not

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-34977367315918243012007-07-23T19:41:00.000+01:002007-07-23T19:49:21.186+01:00

According today's Torygraph the Conservatives spent £125,000 on their failed bid to win the Ealing Southall By-Election.That is £15.19 a vote for those of you keeping score at home. They would probably have been better off stumping up for a poster lottery.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-77089347108477860312007-07-19T22:18:00.000+01:002007-07-19T22:38:06.741+01:00

I'm firmly in the don't ask don't tell camp when it comes to politicians minor indiscretions in their past (excluding blatant hypocrisy). After all we have all done things in our youth that we are ashamed of (my first ever vote was for the Greens after all).So what interested me about today's revelations is not that five (or more) Cabinet ministers have smoked dope but the fact that they all

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-41918451169461626772007-07-14T18:50:00.000+01:002007-07-14T19:02:13.451+01:00

Wandering around Ealing yesterday evening I was struck by the lack of posters that have gone up. I can remember Leicester South when the whole constituency went orange (or at least thats how it seemed) or Brent East when nearly every house in some streets in Willesden Green were showing their support to one side or the other. In the bits of Ealing Common ward I was delivering I only saw three

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-60909114359950160412007-07-08T09:53:00.000+01:002007-07-08T10:01:56.444+01:00

You have got to love Iain Duncan Smith. Unfairly maligned during his too short tenure as Conservative leader has come back to the forefront of politics today with his calls for a massive hike in the tax on alcohol and to reclassify Cannabis as a Class B. Way to get down with the kids IDS. I'm sure Dave will be thrilled with those vote winning ideas!

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-53899945423062839452007-07-07T10:38:00.000+01:002007-07-07T10:48:43.054+01:00

There appears to be some splitters in the ranks of Sunrise Radio.Apparently not all the staff got the memo that their former (temporarily one hopes) MD Tony Lit is standing for the Conservative Party. It looks like one of their presenters, Yaqub Masih will be standing for the Christian Party of (wait has anybody told Ann Widdecombe that the Conservatives aren't the christian party anymore?). The

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-86059461804068906022007-07-02T23:24:00.000+01:002007-07-02T23:34:47.624+01:00

There has been a lot of comment over the last couple of days that the failure of the immigration bill in the US Senate marked the death of George Bush's chances of any kind of domestic legacy from his second term. Lamed by Iraq and the Democratic victory in last year's midterms, it is widely thought that he now lacks the authority (as well as the votes) to force any of what is left of his agenda

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-12325243500886565642007-07-02T22:53:00.000+01:002007-07-02T23:16:33.463+01:00

I don't think I've been to the theatre laughed so much and still come away feeling disappointed that this evening. Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch seems to have everything going for it, a stellar cast headed Matthew McFadyen who are on top of their game, an easy target in America's uptight not so liberal east coast Liberals and some really great laugh lines. But yet this drags. Even with the

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-88091950566895564102007-07-01T22:05:00.000+01:002007-07-01T22:06:02.230+01:00

In honour of tonight's concert for Diana here are some appropriate lines from Half Man Half Biscuit:James Dean was just a careless driver/and Marilyn Monroe was a slag

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-87149380137418851452007-07-01T11:34:00.000+01:002007-07-01T11:47:10.934+01:00

Well according to Labour Home over the boundary in the next constituency (at least their campaign HQ is in Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush).Seriously though, I spent the whole day in and around both ends of the constituency yesterday and I didn't a single sign of Labour activity, you would have thought that in one of their held seats three weeks before polling day they would have had some

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-73038825198564167872007-06-30T22:52:00.000+01:002007-06-30T22:54:44.140+01:00

... it appears that it has left our terrorists are too stupid to be able to make their bombs explode.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-14168339089038095272007-06-29T08:27:00.000+01:002007-06-29T20:15:44.593+01:00

This has been doing the rounds but it amused a very tired me that at least one person in the 'news' business understands that some of us have a brain, and want real news and not the latest updates in the life of some spoiled brat. Mika Brzezinski I salute you, and your two co-hosts should be shot.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-36588547907378969822007-06-23T10:17:00.000+01:002007-06-23T10:43:05.687+01:00

Due to last night's trip to the theatre I missed the Newsnight interview with the Prime Minister in waiting. I'm watching it back on-line this morning and to my surprise I've been fairly impressed with his performance. He looks relaxed, seems on top of his brief and is generally answering the questions put to him, even if he is then pivoting back onto message (no shame in that). Interestingly the

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-32806828446421578232007-06-22T22:34:00.000+01:002007-06-22T22:58:00.852+01:00

Twenty minutes into Small Miracle I was wondering whether I had made a serious mistake. I had bought tickets on an impulse, egged on by Charles Spencer's rave in the Torygraph. This comedy about family life seemed rather light and tired, the interfering mother in-law and stroppy teenager standard comedy meme's, with a comedy irishman thrown in. But slowly I was drawn into a play about family,

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-129982387389593922007-06-21T19:56:00.000+01:002007-06-23T10:43:52.241+01:00

its just that they know how to run the brown peoples lives better than they do.This of course has nothing to do with the fact their is an election in the offing and John Howard is behind in the polls. Such a fine upstanding citizen would never stoop to stirring up xenophobia or racism to win an election.No he just needs to find a scapegoat.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-58376994714702993902007-06-18T19:55:00.000+01:002007-06-18T19:55:59.587+01:00

I recently explained to a colleague that the reason why I'm a Lib Dem not a Tory can perhaps be best summed up in two words, Ann Widdecombe. Any party that could not just tolerate but actually venerate her, and her Victorian views on society, couldn't also find a place for me. But, she protested, the Widdecombe's of this world are a small if vocal minority in Dave Cameron's new model Tory's. Its

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-36457547284108047492007-06-14T21:14:00.000+01:002007-06-14T21:15:30.615+01:00

... but I have just a couple of questions about what Ming announced today:1) We appear to be calling for 1,000,000 new social houses to be built over the next decade. Nice round eye catching number, but where does it come from? Shelter are only calling for an increase in supply to 50,000 a year, when you are massively outbidding the lobby group maybe its time to check your maths.2) How much will

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-75325829319311171442007-06-11T19:49:00.001+01:002007-06-11T20:21:34.714+01:00

I've always been slightly sceptical of the likes of Richard Dawkins et al. and their claims that science (and in particular science education) is under serious threat from the fundamentalists in the US. After all, despite its professed christianity and odd right-wing fruitcake, this is still the country that has produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other, the home of MIT, Sillicon

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-751785320069805042007-06-09T18:52:00.000+01:002007-06-09T18:52:44.122+01:00

The Girl and I had the pleasure of spending a week in Kosovo last month. We found a country that, although still bearing some scars of the 1999 war and the ethnic violence that both preceded and followed it, was both beautiful and welcoming. The mountains are simply breathtaking, and observing a mass at the 13th Century Visoki Decani Monastery was, even for this committed heathen, a spine

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-29509071521682551422007-06-08T11:59:00.000+01:002007-06-08T11:41:09.800+01:00

Following the disappointment of failing to get into QI the flatmate, and I dived into the National to see what standby tickets we could pick up. Two tickets to Andrew Upton's new adaptation of Gorky's Philistines were forthcoming, and so instead of a very English evening of eccentricity we had three hours of naturalistic Russian melodrama to enthral us.This is a play and production that needs

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-72356191852918657742007-06-07T23:25:00.000+01:002007-06-07T23:31:19.686+01:00

I'm not sure its too much to ask that if you turn up to a show you have a ticket for half an hour before the doors open that you might be let in. Not at QI it appears.The flatmate and I and several hundred others were turned away this evening after queuing for over an hour . It appears that whoever the guests were this evening had large guest lists so there was less space than normal. Not

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-27930106533669046212007-06-06T13:29:00.000+01:002007-06-06T13:11:40.028+01:00

This quote struck my eye from the write ups of last nights Republican presidential debates:Mike Huckabee : "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Either someone believes God created the process, or that it's an accident and it just happened,"John McCain: "I can't say it more eloquently than Pastor Huckabee just did. I hold that view."So is John McCain a creationist or is he

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-77553381870698963882007-06-04T19:59:00.000+01:002007-06-04T19:37:29.486+01:00

The response to the launch of the new brand for London 2012 has been lukewarm at best. 'Bloody embarrassing' and 'makes you want to emigrate rather than face the shame of it' were two of the more positive comments in our office this lunchtime.Now as a public sector worker I'm used to crap branding chosen by committees who have the visual sense of Stevie Wonder. So what worries me is how much is

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-38186193819710918552007-06-03T16:29:00.000+01:002007-06-03T16:30:05.727+01:00

Despite the 1st XV's not unexpected hammering by the Springboks, yesterday was actually not such a bad day for England rugby.First, lets not forget that England led at half time yesterday and were in touch in both tests well into the second half. Take away the effects of altitude and the widely reported virus that rampaged through the touring party, neither of which will be a factor in France

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-79303044756640419142007-05-31T21:55:00.000+01:002007-05-31T21:35:53.743+01:00

I'm not sure whether this makes me a dead white male but I must admit that last nights trip to see Kneehigh's A Matter of Life and Death at the National didn't particularly make the earth (or the heavens) move for me.Adapted from the classic 1946 Powell and Pressburger film of the same name it tells the story of bomber pilot Peter Carter who falls in love with the voice of radio operator June in

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-73982620611444804062007-05-29T22:47:00.000+01:002007-05-29T23:32:58.703+01:00

Ok so there must be an angle to this but on the face of it Mark Thomas (of comedy product and general pissing the DTI off fame) and friends are offering to take the strain out of protesting, by doing it for you. For a small consideration they will display your banner of choice wherever you want within the SCOPA zone in Central London and throw in a photograph of them doing it (protest songs are

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-42621743016808636662007-05-28T21:07:00.000+01:002007-05-28T21:21:12.423+01:00

Continuing today's theme of Eastern Europe's fight against sexual depravity comes news from Poland that the Teletubbies are to be investigated to determine whether they promote homosexuality. Apparently the Polish equivalent of the Children's Commissioner was taken aback by the sight of Tinky Winky holding a handbag. A few thoughts occur:1) How do you a sex a Teletubby? Do we know that Tinky

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-62550171487167813052007-05-28T10:55:00.000+01:002007-05-28T10:54:06.483+01:00

The Girl has expended a significant amount of effort trying to persuade me to take her to St Petersburg in Russia. I've resisted, partly because I'm not sure there is even a word for vegetarian in Russian, but mainly because I baulk at supporting (even indirectly) a regime that seems to be sliding towards authoritarianism.I can now add to my list of reasons the fact that it seems to be perfectly

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-56584807154365195392007-05-23T10:53:00.000+01:002007-05-23T11:12:04.007+01:00

With the announcement of the England to team to play (or should be to loose to) South Africa on Saturday, I'm glad to say its time for the third in the series of who the hell is.. posts on Harlequins who have got catapulted into the big time.Unlike Dave Strettle and Nick Easter, Mike Brown has risen the ranks in the more accepted way, being the product of Harlequin's Academy and a veteran of

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-54641340967160194532007-05-19T20:10:00.000+01:002007-05-19T20:20:38.124+01:00

With Clermont Auvergne beating Bath in the European Challenge Cup final this afternoon, it will mean that Harlequins will be contesting the Heineken Cup next year. Which is nice. Except for the fact that the last three teams relegated from the Premiership (Quins, Leeds and Northampton) all played in the Heineken the year that they went down. Oh dear not a good omen.Personally although the extra

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-68454528755030369692007-05-18T20:12:00.000+01:002008-12-10T00:21:46.006Z

Rudy Giuliani has been leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination for several months now with a clear lead in all the national polls. The RCP rolling average has him leading McCain by 5.8% , well outside the margin of error.But the markets don't agree. The latest prices from the Iowa Exchange (below) has him falling behind John McCain into third place, they both still trail

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-19543267227373849782007-05-17T20:26:00.000+01:002007-05-17T21:15:15.274+01:00

Perusing my free paper on the tube home this evening my eye alighted on an advert for MI5. It appears that they are short of linguists. The list of languages they are looking for includes all the ones you would expect, Arabic, Urdu, Somali, Pushto and Russian. Russian? I thought the Cold War was over.Or then again maybe not.

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-71898419826181943522007-05-17T08:29:00.000+01:002007-05-17T08:34:40.165+01:00

I only ask because Fianna Fáil have plastered him all over their latest PEB for the Irish General Election.I can't see Gordon Brown's Labour party giving him such a prominent slot in 2009 can you?(Hat Tip: Guido)

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-7931882947749988152007-05-16T19:29:00.000+01:002007-05-16T19:16:13.786+01:00

There have been many pixels spilt (and some amount of hair pulling) since the local elections about the shortcomings or otherwise of our Glorious Leader and the position the party finds itself in. Amongst all the finger pointing and name calling I haven't seen mention of the name of the person who must carry a share of the responsibility, Charles Kennedy.One of Ming's main problems, from where I

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-39040251297687490532007-05-15T23:16:00.000+01:002008-02-12T21:43:31.230Z

In the wake of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech there was some muted rumblings that perhaps it was the wrong time for the Young Vic to be staging an adaptation of DBC Pierre's Vernon God Little. Set as it is in the wake of a Columbine type school shooting. In fact there is no better time. There is no better time for this biting satire of how the media exploits such tragedies (or as James

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-69250775827606494262007-05-14T22:30:00.000+01:002007-05-14T22:44:43.543+01:00

If the Lib Dems have a hard time breaking the two party mould spare a thought for third parties in the US. There are only 2 independents out of the 500 and odd members of Congress and as far as I am aware there isn't a single third party Governor in any of the 50 states.Therefore I wouldn't hold out much for Chuck Hagel the anti-war Republican Senator if as he keeps hinting he does make an

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-62388587958250031822007-05-14T21:07:00.000+01:002007-05-14T21:35:10.040+01:00

I'm Lancashire born and bred (and bloody proud of it, might I add) and caught the play going habit thanks to trips to Bolton's Octagon Theatre with the parents. It was with pleasure therefore that I spent Friday evening listening to Lancashire accents on the stage of that bastion of southern metropolitanism, the National Theatre. Rafta Rafta is Abdul Khan-Din's updating of Bill Naughton's 1963

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-5554729749792200952007-05-10T23:25:00.000+01:002007-05-10T23:30:18.920+01:00

There must be a lot of people in the play writing community who hate Polly Stenham right now. Not only has she had her first play staged by the Royal Court at the age of only 20, but its has had some critics drooling and you now can't get tickets for love nor money.All well deserved in my book. Analysing it on the tube on the way home I realised you pick all sorts of holes in the plotting and

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-4754004872380760412007-05-10T22:40:00.000+01:002007-05-10T22:51:48.688+01:00

To break up the theatre here is Bill Richadson's (current Governor of New Mexico and wannabe Democratic Presidential nommine) first TV adds in the primary race.I like these because not only do they neatly encapsulate his USP in the democratic race, that he has actually has some real life experience of running things, but also effectively casts him as a regular kind of guy. These are both nice

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-31891377702931983772007-05-10T22:28:00.000+01:002007-05-10T22:40:06.405+01:00

Christopher Hampton hasn't had a very good time of it recently (leaving aside his adaptation of the Seagull at the Royal Court. The high profile revival of Treats (staring Billie Piper) in West End was greeted with lukewarm reviews and has allegedly struggled to shift tickets. The revival of Total Eclipse the Girl and I went to see at the Menier last night had equally bad critical notices, and

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-50665365288787070612007-05-08T22:15:00.000+01:002007-05-08T22:15:24.680+01:00

With the Girl being a wannabe international lawyer it was only a matter of time before we pitched up at the Tricycle to see Called to Account. This is the latest in the line of the Tricycle's tribunal plays, which have seen the edited transcripts of the Saville (Bloody Sunday) MacPherson (Stephen Lawrence) and Scott (arms to Iraq) inquiries cast as stage plays. The twist here being that given

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-89303126851616628872007-05-08T20:52:00.000+01:002007-05-08T21:00:21.714+01:00

One of the things I missed whilst out campaigning last week was the coming into force of the Sexual Orientation regulations (which out law discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds).I was shocked. I had been reliably informed by the Christian right (and their fellow travellers) that the regulations coming to pass would herald the ending of western civilisation. I

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-30196010034508738102007-05-07T14:14:00.000+01:002007-05-07T14:27:20.645+01:00

I haven't written much about Rugby recently, partially because I've been tied up in trying to win other people's elections and mocking the Tories, but also because the administration of the English game seemed to be in such a tailspin that it didn't seem worth writing about something that wouldn't exist in a few years.However brighter news this weekend. It seems like the IRB have brokered a

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394704.post-67079062613420478612007-05-05T18:08:00.000+01:002007-05-05T18:31:33.991+01:00

I know I'm not the only person this election who has been out delivering and found someone running after me down the pavement screaming abuse because I dared put a leaflet through their door. I've always had limited sympathy for such morons. It takes very little wit to put your recycling box under your letter box if come election time you don't want your world sullied by the horrors of

Bernardnoreply@blogger.com0