…and this was the scene from Salford Quays in Manchester – taken from the car park at the rear of the Ramada Hotel.
Category: News
The General Election televised Leaders Debates fiasco
Late last night, the Prime Minister’s director of communications, Craig Oliver, delivered what appears to be a devastating blow to the broadcasters’ plans for a series of leaders debates I’m the run up to the General Election. In his letter, the PM’s spin doctor says that David Cameron is prepared to appear in just one […]
The legality of invoicing a child for not turning up to a birthday party
A Twitter conversation between a BBC and ITV hack over the threat of court action for non-payment of a birthday party no-show invoice caught my attention. BBC Newsnight’s Jess Brammar wrote “PM [that’s Radio Four’s PM programme, not the Prime Minister] have just trailed a BBC legal expert analysing the child’s party invoice. *burns everything*”. ITV’s Damon […]
Church of England considers moving the north-south divide
The precise location of the north-south divide has been difficult to pinpoint with any clarity. Manchester is in the north, of course; unless you’re in the Highlands, in which case it is very much in the south. The midpoint of the longest north-south axis in Great Britain is in the village of Haltwhistle in Northumberland […]
A journalist with a police caution for domestic violence describes Ched Evans opponents as “morons”
Writing in the week’s Spectator (cover date 10 January 2015, but online now), the columnist Rod Liddle describes opponents of Ched Evans as “morons”. He starts his column with an attack on pseudonymous campaigner Jean Hatchet, saying that her name is “almost certainly too good to be true for a perpetually infuriated radical feminist.” He then […]
Some free advice to hospitals declaring A&E Major Incident status
You do sometimes wonder who is running our NHS hospitals. An increasing number of hospitals are declaring Major Incidents in their Accident and Emergency departments saying that their staff can’t cope with the unprecedented demand. Amongst them is my local A&E department at the County Hospital. You may not have heard of the County Hospital. It […]
There ain’t nothing like a dame for tomorrow’s gay knights
It is custom and tradition that the wives of knights are called ladies. It is an honorary title: if your husband is a Sir, then you can be called a lady. And if your husband has a peerage – whether or not it is a hereditary or a life peerage – then you should be […]
A puppy and a bikini brings global fame to singer
Kendra Moriah is a singer. I can’t tell you whether or not she’s a good singer because I’ve not heard any of her songs. She’s probably fantastic and this post is not intended to denigrate her in any way. The only negative thing that I can say about Kendra – and this isn’t really a negative […]
Screaming black eyed child ghost terror
“Screaming black eyed child ghost terror” screams the front page of today’s Daily Star with a story of a ghostly apparition on Cannock Chase – the Staffordshire beauty spot that is, literally, on my doorstep. I don’t give such stories much credence. It’s up there with the Cannock Chase Pig Man; the Cannock Chase Puma; […]
When is a journalist a “commercial observer”?
The Conservatives are in town – that’s if your town is Birmingham. They are relatively frequent visitors to the Midlands and a few years ago, with a confirmed commission, I applied for media accreditation to cover the conference. My application was denied. The reason that was given was that I was not representing a national publication […]