Meadows, expert witnesses and the old boys network

Meadows is a charlatan. His so-called expert witness statements, based on nothing but his own supposition, sent three people to prison.

No way should these so-called 'experts' who I think should be banned from trials other than establishing facts be free from comeback if they make a mistake.

I wonder if the judge, salivating and fawning over meadows, celebrated with him in their gentlemens club or the funny handshake brigade afterwards?

By-elections , Everton and the Eurovison 2006!

An interesting result in last nights by-election. No real surprise for voters to have a bash at a Government during a third term, but it appears to me that in some areas such as education, New Labour appears to have dropped off the radar with regard to social democratic principles. We have our own local by-election in this ward in early March. The LibDem councillor who spearheaded their eventual success here was thrown off the council after a six month absence which itself followed a second drink driving conviction. By all accounts it was as a result of a technicality in that she hadn't given formal apologies.

I haven't as yet decided how I am going to vote - and it does appear rather incongrous that given the fact that local authorities directly provide very little these days and most councillors have no say at all in the policy direction of the authority, that the number of local concillors remains the same. The presence of a BNP candidate may increase the turnout. I hope they will be humiliated. The first example of their filth arrived through the door last week.

Everton are now out of the FA Cup after losing to Chelsea. No disgrace - everyone else loses at Stamford Bridge, but the match showed what can be done with plenty of cash. We were simply outclassed and outpaced. We need external investment - and urgently.

And Eurovision season is amongst us.
Selected so far (best to worst)
Norway - wonderful Celtic-influenced ethereal mid-paced ballad
Poland - catchy multi-lingual , well-sung pop
Albania - slightly ethnic, nice lazy feel
Malta - Pretty-boy Fabrizio is back, eye candy rating a 10 but the song is a bit bland
Estonia - yeawn
Slovenia - Retro disco stuff, camp and cliched

A couple of national finalists worth listening for - Irene Dorocheeva in Belarus, Cosmos in Latvia, Biber in Serbia/Montenegro, a couple of good ballads in Iceland, and Peter Evrard in Belgium (unlikely to be selected, unfortunately)

Sion Jenkins - guilty as hell

Let's hope that there are plenty of people around to keep reminding him. How can such an obvious conviction end in acquittal?

and yet more religion.....

So, we once again have the usual suspects jumping up and down in anger about 'those evil Muslims'
I don't have a lot of time for any conservative religion - yet I can see that there is quite a systematic campaign against Muslims and that they are very much fair game for those who would defend all sorts of other wacky nonsense - notably far-right Christians, who hide behind the safety of an established religion. A lot of the current antagonism does appear to be centred on the treatment of the Palestinians and the way that Israel's behaviour appears to be appeased at all times - in hindsight, Israel should never have been created. There are plenty of other places where a safe space for Jewish people could have been constructed without the subsequent havoc and the illegal occupation of other countries.

What isn't going to help at the moment are contributions which are clearly trying to be as unpleasant as possible about Islam in all its varieities

Religious Hatred Bill

Its an interesting one.

I kept changing my mind about it. On the one hand, I have long been of the view that religion itself cannot and should not be protected, any more than any other personal opinion. Yet I do see how groups like the BNP use Islam in place of Asian and that is wrong and provocative. The compromise seems reasonable, yet when you see the BNP being able to get away with saying stuff which is very clearly racist, it does make me ask whether we need to be quite clear about what is acceptable and what isn't.

Liberal Democrats

Intriguing, isn't it? Its hardly news that Simon Hughes isn't absolutely heterosexual, and I have always viewed him as somone not really at ease with himself ( clinging on to evangelical religion won't help him - give it up Simon, you know it makes sense!) .

Lessons which can be learned ; closets are not a place of strength and there will always be the risk of exposure as a liar. Don't say something which isn't true. Either say nothing or tell the truth.

And on a personal level, I hope he will gain some strength and self-esteem from being open - and I hope he wins the leadership contest. In these identikit days a party led by him may even offer a political alternative.

Went to Quaker meeting today...

It felt right. No definite intentions as yet, but thats one of the good things about friends, there are no problems in simply going along. Strangely enough, one of my oldest friends made contact with me over the weekend and it turns out that he has become a Quaker!

Everton FC

I have been somewhat circumspect regarding Everton's fate this year. There are times when only despair and the thought of games against Crewe seemed appropriate, but the win against Arsenal was much deserved, Beattie is starting to play like the forward we thought he was when we bought him, and Osman is well in form too.

But - and its a big but. We still need at least another striker. And just what really happened regarding Per Kroldrup? It seems bizarre to spend 5 million on an international, play him twice, then sell him at a loss. David Moyes says there is no-one he wants avaialable - but strikers are moving from other clubs, and we simply have to get someone. If Beats gets injured, we are stuffed.

Sex in the news again...

The British really do like their sex-related stories.

Mark Oaten, LibDem MP and erstwhile leadership contender, has had a 'moment of madness'that just happened to last six months, with a male prostitute. I hope he manages to sort himself out - but my thoughts were immediately just how many more gay people there are than will openly say so. Look at any police stats for public sex - you get married men. I wonder exactly why these men find the need to pretend to be something they are not? What is the drive which leads them to live a double life - is it the fear of having to standup and be other than the majority?

As for the sex offenders in schools story, as much as I loathe Ruth Kelly, this wasn't the issue to bring her down on (there are so many more!). The new regulations are more straightforward, but I think an unforeseeen consequence will be fewer on the register. To explain - at the moment, cases which have a poor chance of making court result in cautions. Police will now be obliged to inform those accused that a caution will see them lose their job. So, no advantage in accepting a caution. The cases will be no stronger and will probably never make court. As ever the sleaziest tabloids are in the forefront of the campaign. Oh, the irony.....

Satanic panic - is this nonsense still going on?

The documentary about the so-called Satanic child abuse cases in Rochdale was finally shown last night.

Makes me wonder what the hell was going on at Lancaster University where I studied in the 1980's. One of the social workers involved has the same name as a fellow student on the course. She was quite level headed then, so I can hardly believe it could be her - although another Lancaster graduate has produced an academic study which shows that she has been entirely conned by a group of fantasists who claim to have been 'satanically abused'.

Frankly, anyone who believes in Satan, devils, etc should not be allowed to work with people. let them stick to something less dangerous, like working in a bank. Then they can practice their paraniod fantasies on money and computers instead. No doubt they will see little devils perching on the top of the screen

Weekend away

Spent the weekend in Cardiff, with friends Chris and Holger ( hello, if you are reading this!) We really enjoyed the weekend, thinking that Cardiff is somewhere we could live, although its actually a bit like Liverpool in some ways. Dropped in on Sue and Chris from my Uni days on the way back for lunch - now going to collapse!

Slightly delayed, but welcome to 2006

Its my first entry for the year.

So...Christmas was pleasant enough, quiet and relaxing in the main, which was very much what I wanted. We wound down and relaxed, mostly, did see a few friends which was good, but generally it was time for us which we appreciated. I left my marking too late and still have some more to do tomorrow (yikes!)

Charles Kennedy and the LD's. What a bunch of bastards they are. The problem is that contemporary politics is all about the convergence of automatons. They will no doubt replace CK with the exceptionally dull and worthy 'Sir' Menzies Campbell (anyone pathetic enough to accept such a title in this day and age - well...) and there will be three centrist leaders saying much the same thing. And under those circumstance, I'll probably stick with the one I know.
For what its worth, at least Simon Hughes doesn't appear to have either been part of the 'coup', nor a fixation on the wonder of the market. So he would be my choice. I certainly wouldn't want to vote for a party led by Campbell. I always remember a Huddersfield councillor , in my LibDem days, referring to him as the leader of the fascist wing of the party - he always had him down as a Tory at heart.

And sad to hear of the death of Tony banks. You simply can't imagine the same sort of affection being shown for the colourless maching politicians who seem to receive preferment these days.

A poem from labi Siffre

A Civil Partnership Indeed

It is the right in law to be present at
my lover’s funeral or he at mine. it is
the right in law to be his next of kin
in hospital without having to insist
and persist in face of their disdain

it is the right to equality before the
law, recognising that our “loving
relationship” (our love) is to the benefit
of all and should be validated as such
- yes, in property, intestacy and tax
law; thank you very much

but we already have the romance
the passion, the deepest love the
celebration of something stronger than
the state's, till now, lawfully ill-concealed
contempt or hate

so this date will simply be him and me
turning up to collect what has been,
for forty one years, our rights withheld
by the vast majority now claiming
“it never bothered me, mate” and
worse expecting us to be gleeful
(perhaps a little grateful?) 'cause at last
they’ve shown some ethical backbone

brings to mind some lines i wrote for
Nelson Mandela in "The Gift":
You cannot give me freedom
I have always been free
Freedom lives in me

so forgive moi (or not as you please)
for not going soft at the edges shaky at
the knees or rosy red in the spectacles
to put you at your, comfortable,
complacent, makes me want to vomit,
ease.

Yopu can find this on his poetry blog, http://www.intothelight.info

Pigs can fly.....

The earth is flat
And nuclear power is safe....

When Skies are grey....

And after the last two performances, grey is certainly the word.

West Ham was bad enough - an own goal and a home defeat - but this afternoon was pitiful. No leadership, hoofing balls up the field for no-one to receive them, trying to play James Beattie as a single striker without support does NOT work - it was simply dire.
As for Richard Wright - I wonder if anyone has worked out how many goals he doesn't save, on average?

Things have got to change. I reckon at least half of the ground emptied we4ll before the end of the match.

dot.eurovision.com....BOTY contest!

As a Eurovision anorak, I spend some of my time on ESC websites talking to 0ther enthusiasts about the contest.

This time of the year is the fallow period whilst we wait for countries to choose their songs, so one site - dot-eurovision - organised a contest between Christmas and winter-related songs - the backside of the Year contest.

I entered the wonderful Fairytale of New York, the best Christmas song ever, by Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues - and won!

Opus Dei

Anyone listen to the R4 documentary about this bizarre cult, founded by a supporter of General Franco? Who Vaticanplc decided to canonise ( you couldn't make it up, could you?)

It is , I hope, a mark of the good sense of the British that there are only 500 members - and also an encouragement to see the Socialist government in Spain (where they have significant influence upon the Popular (right-wing) Party) ignore them.

However, it is most disturbing that Ruth Kelly, a member of this organisation, appears to find this congruent with her membership of the Labour party, and that she should be considered an appropriate person for the Cabinet. Would we think a member of the Moonies was a fit person to serve in cabinet? This group are far more sinister - it is clearly a secretive cult. It should be treated in that way, and its members should be regarded with the utmost caution..

Kelly should be deselected immediately as a Labour MP ; it is vital that the electors of Bolton West, if they are saddled with this neo-fascist sympathiser as their candidate next time around, vote for the candidate best placed to defeat her.

Cameron and the Conservatives

I am not a Tory.

I have never voted Tory, ever, and I cannot foresee any time in the future when I would choose to do so, even though on one level it might benefit us financially.

Still , Cameron appears to be a reasonable man, and at least he wants - so he says - to take the Tories well away from the neanderthal tendencies of the past...

We shall see.

Civil Partnerships

So, civil partnerships are here at last. When I think of the progress which has been made over the past few years, it really is excellent and not what i would have predicted, if I am honest. I am quite sure that colloquially, the relationships will be referred to as marriage ( which of course, they are), and that in time this is how they will be defined. Still, the important things are the benefits, the rights and responsibilities which they bring, and it is good to know that at least we are to be seen as holding an official status. That is very important.

Its also fun to watch the religious right fulminate and squirm. Their religion is a relic and a laager for the terminally fearful and prejudiced, and their impact, thankfully, is marginal in the UK. It is up to the rest of the Church to ditch them and to step out with a religious message worth believing in, shorn of many of the outdated superstitions that Bible -worship and adherence to supernaturalist improbability brings.

If they don;t , then we will become an entirely secular society, which would be preferable to the church as it exists now expanding.

www.soulspace.org.uk

Please join!

The Roman Catholic 'Church ' - an institution of pure evil

Now, this is not going to be a statement which suggests that all individual RC's are equally characterised.I know many, and they despair of a church to which, at least for the time being, they remain attached to. Whether the malevolent and evil influence of Ratfinger (a man who is the sort of person to make one which there really was a hell, for he would surely be burning at the very heart of it) will make them realise that as an institution, it is beyond redemption, is another matter.

I don't know if any of you have visited Vatican plc. A place of less spirituality cannot be imagined. The effect was to make me want to vomit, preferably over the many pieces of art and finery, the marks of self aggrandisement so beloved of this institution. Perhaps the blood of the millions of people who the Catholic Church have sent to almost certain death in Africa because of their mistaken policy of 'no condoms'.

So, I can see no good reason why any rational, thinking person would wish to remain in the Roman 'church'. The news that they are to try and weed out gay men from the priesthood is to be expected, but whilst I am opposed to all discriminatory practice, it should be patently obvious that no well-balanced gay man should or would choose to become part of such an organisation - and that most of those who do are either not well sorted with regard to their sexuality, or alternately still hold to delusions such as people being 'called to be priests' ( in the real world, its a job like any other, and why someone should choose a job which means no relationships, ever, probably needs some sort of risible superspiritual justification!)

The RC Church is a sick, corrupt and putrid institution which fully and richly deserves the loss of congregations it is experiencing in contemporary societies. Perhaps it can still con those who rely on its premodern suppositions. Thankfully, those numbers, in the UK, are constantly decreasing

Interesting times indeed.....

So, 90 day incarceration or internment without trial has been defeated. Should think so too - although it is genuinely tragic to see the Labour party, to which I was once proud to belong, voting for policies which would have disgraced the Tories under Thatcher. Blair really must go - and go soon.

On more positive lines, the Government have agreed to extend the provisions on protectiom against discrimination with regard to goods and services to gay men and lesbians. Well done, Tone. See. you can get it right some of the time....

Homotopia had brought forth some very good events. Two excellent fils - Bear Cub, contemporary Spanish cinema which was greatly effective, and a documentary on gay Nazis. Yes, you did read that right. I wonder what causes people to join that which is endemically hostile to them? Mind you, perhaps I should ask myself that question, given my contining membership of the Church. It is looking more and more as if there will be a split - I am counting the days. There is no reason why conservative evangelicals and liberals should inhabit the same denominational space, given how little we genuinely share. I spoke at a Deanery Synod earlier this week and it was interesting to hear people's reactions - I think the laity are far more wise than many would realise ( and their undemocratically fixed reps on General Synod, who virtually no-one has the right to vote for, would suggest)

Last weekend we also went to see The Laramie Project. A very powerful production dramatising the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming. And featuring the stunningly handsome Warren Brown of Hollyoaks fame as well!

Moron Moments?

Your views on fighting terrorism

Home Secretary Charles Clarke has asked you for your views on the new terrorist threats that face all of us. Please fill in this quick form below to tell us what you think.

Do you think that our laws should be updated to cope with the current security threat?

Yes No Not sure

Do you think police should have the time and opportunity to complete their investigations into suspected terrorists?

Yes No Not sure

Do you think the government should make sure there are new safeguards to protect innocent people?

Yes No Not sure

Would you like to be kept up-to-date on the progress of this legislation and other issues?

Yes No ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you ever read such biased, unpatronising crap in your life? Who the hell is going to answer 'no' to some of these questions? This wouldn't fulfil the most basic methodology critique. And I actually voted for these bastards again? Pathetic.

Tory leadership contenders

OK, so I'm not the target audience, I am about as likely to vote Tory as swallow sulphuric acid or become a conservative evangelical. But I was surprised at just how lacklustre both Davis and Cameron were tonight. Nothing much there to excite.
Why didn't the Tories go for Clarke, who does have the ability to make an impact?

Blunkett and other stuff

So, Blunkett has gone. he has never been one of my favourite politicians, and I'm not sad to see him go on that level.

But....surely the problem is not so much what he did, which was not really against the rules in any case, but against 'guidelines', but the fact that MP's are viewed as able to make money from other sources at all. Isn't running the country a full-time job?

Move parliament out of london, ban MP's from holding any money-making positions, and lets see how many of the sharp-suited brigade disappear...

Things appear to be changing. A few Labour MP's are starting to get some teeth at last and perhaps this will encourage the departure of Blair, who I think is past his sell-by, and a return to policies which are associated with a social democratic party. The obsession with the private sector and the over-reaction to terrorism are two examples.

The thesis is now being looked at by a publisher - watch this space....

Noticed that a favourite restaurant of ours had recently shut - Bluu. Liverpool is a strange city. Some places take off, others just don't, and quality seems to have nothing much to do with it.

Venice

Rather belated, but we had a long weekend in Venice. Its an excellent city, and our visit coincided with the Bienniale exhibition of contemporary art. Our hotel turned out to be about three minutes walk from both sites, so we spent one of the days looking round that and it was well worth it.

Food was very good - Corta Sconta and Il Nuevo Galeon proved to be excellent fish restaurants, and Vittorio's Trattoria was an experience! Rather disappointed with Alle Testiere, though.

The city has some amazing buildings, even the most humble parish church seems to be decorated with Grand masters, and because there are no cars its a quiet and civilised pace of life. Though the insect bites were not fun - comes of having a room so close to a canal that I could probably have reached out and touched the water!

Life continues to be busy and eventful...

First, we think we have found another church to attend, St.Columba's in Anfield. A bit further from home, but the atmosphere and worship are both good and I like the feel of the church. I'm a bit reluctant to plunge in at the deep end after recent experiences, but its good to go somewhere where people don't sidle up to you to enquire which 'side' you are on, or constantly whinge about the Vicar.

I have been asked to attend a meeting to start preliminary discussions about publishing my PhD. I already have a contract offered, but its not ideal ( though I will opt for it if theres nothing else in the pipeline) and this option would be better.

I went for an interview for a training contract at the end of last week - again, no counting chickens but it did seem to go well and it would be very much what I am looking for to add to the lecturing commitments. I like the flexibility of the part time contracts, and the interest and variety of the work.

Politics. I wonder if the Tories are about to enter the real world and select David Cameron? I think he has behaved with dignity and consistency over the drugs issue- I couldn't care less what his personal habits are, only interested in his policies. And , it has to be said, he's still a Tory, and I can't really see me ever voting for the Tories.

But, I wouldn't fear a Cameron government, and his clarity that he intends to govern according to the place we are now, not the place we were 50 years ago is encouraging, along with his good voting record on gay rights issues.

This is the Tories we are talking about, though, and I wouldn;t put it past them to elect Fox!

Looking forward to HOMOTOPIA - the LGB arts festivel in Liverpool. I haven't had a lot of input into it this year but intend to be an enthusiastic punter.
Details on http://www.homotopia.net

Everton FC....

I have not mentioned the pight of my beloved team this year - simply too depressing. But, it has to be done....

If I knew the answer, then i'd be the manager, not David Moyes. But it seems that there are three main problems

• lack of striker - or at least, effective striker who can play 4.5.1. James Beattie doesn't play in that style, and has suffered a series of niggling injuries. Marcus Bent is fast but lacks accuracy. Duncan ferguson can be brilliant, but he can just as equally be dreadful. James McFadden doesn't appear to be particularly effective as a striker for Everton, although he scores regularly for Scotland. We are not scoring goals, and that is simply why we are losing.
• small squad - with the recovery of Kroldrup and van der Meyde this may improve but we are still scratching around for player - related to this, a couple of the players look out of form (Kilbane) or simply exhausted (Cahill).
  
• we haven't ever really got over the loss of Tommy Gravesen

Its not that they have been diabolically bad, just uninspiring and overly cautious, and thats not the way to win games.

Publication

What should I do?

Still pursuing two possibilities for publishing, but I'm not overly hopeful. Attemting to get a monograph published these days which isn't about something global, meaning the possibility of US sales, appears a virtual impossibility.

I have been offered a contract from a small, specialist publisher, but I will have to make a contribution.

I think I can do some specified publicity so am tempted to take the chance, as a publication is something which I feel to be important.

At last....

More blogging - and its always like this at the beginning of the new term. Teaching is settling down quite nicely, with a fair bit of extra hours at the main place I work, a further two hours elsewhere, and the possibility of further training and research work. All takes time to come together, but things appear to be falling into place for the time being.

So...some views.

The Tory leadership. If they choose Davis, I think they really must have a death wish. Duncan Smith mk 2, and the newly found inclusivity claims do not convince. Cameron appears to be a chance worth taking, and Blair himself had little real experience other than being an opposition spokesperson when he became Labour leader.
I don't think that any leader would really convince me to vote Tory, but Cameron would at least mean I would sleep soundly if we did end up with the Tories back in power. And other than Fox, who would be a surefire disaster, even more than Davis, electorally speaking, the homophobia of previous years appears to be absent.

We have started going to another church. Still not absolutely sure its the place for us, but at least it feels as if it could be....

Spain

We spent ten days in the South of Spain - traveling round Andalusia. We stayed in Granada, Seville and Cordoba, and whilost I was expecting to like Seville most, I thought it was a bit disappointing. The best example being the contemporary art museum which had exactly 24 exhibits , and the permanent collection had disappeared entirely.

Highlights...
The Mezquita/Cathedral in Cordoba. Its an intriguing building. Essentially a mosque with a cathedral core built in the middle of it, and lots of statues of the Virgin Mary. Well worth seeing

Carmona. We went here on the way to Seville, and the little town was reaching the end of its festival. Its a charming place, full of winding streets, old churches, with a village square where lots of people sit in the afternoon

Baena. Centre of Andalusian olive-oil poduction - the very best to be found, and we bought two
bottles. Its heavenly stuff - far too good for cooking, definitely salads and bread only.

Wine! In particular sherry - we went out to Sanlucar, one of the three towns in the Sherry triangle, where they produce largely manzanilla, my favourite dry sherry.

Julio Romero de Torres. I don't know if any of you have heard of this Cordoban painter and his somewhat unique style. Half naked swarthy Spanish women in seductive poses, furtive looking male guitar players, images of death - all quite bizarre. definitely worth seeing!

Lecturing begins next week - a fair bit on this week....

Memo to self...I must not forget to write my blog...

Publishers. Hmmmm. At one time, if you did a piece of research,a substantial piece, there was a fair chance that a publication deal would be a possibility. There was no expectation that huge sales would occur, but it meant that there was a solid range of academic research being published in full book form, rather than via the bite-sized option of articles in journals no-one reads...

Having been trying to find someone to publish my thesis, the responses have been interesting. A significant number of publishers simply said 'we only want to publish textbooks'. What will be the outcome of that sort of policy - that there will be no substantive work for the textbooks to include as references? Others want material which has potential for international sales. Read 'America'. So, if you're research is not American, or isn't general enough to be able to be marketed in America, forget it (it should be noted that monographs are still published in America, and when I was looking for relevant previous studies, I could find plenty of American ones, but precious few about the UK. Not very useful in an ethnographic study...)

Anyway, I shall plod on. I'm not the only one in this situation, as I found at a conference I attended this week...anyone reading this who works in publishing, you know where I am

Everton lost to Portsmouth yesterday. Yes, Portsmouth. We were embarrassingly rubbish.

I'll need to do a memory-check and return to this later...

Loony Right-wing Site of the week - part 2

Just look at this one.

http://endofbritain.blog-city.com/

Its named after a book by Peter Hitchens, which is screamingly funny - but whether he is the blogger or not, I am not sure.

This is another serious site which ought to be a parody.

Loony Right-wing Site of the week

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/

This one has to be seen to be believed. Its one of those sites which is so ridiculous, it could well be a hoax, but I have a horrible feeling it isn't....

RIP Mo Mowlam

With the sickening stench of hypocrisy emanating from the Church, it is sad news to hear of the death of Mo Mowlam, a politician who inspired love and affection from all parts of the political spectrum.

I had the pleasure of meeting her three times, once before she was an MP when she addressed a CND meeting in Huddersfield, and then again twice after her election to Parliament. I think the reason why people liked her so much is that she was real, human, not 'spun 'and homogenised like so many of today's politicians.

Politics will be a lesser place without her. So will the Labour party. Robin Cook and now Mo Mowlam.

And this week I get a local Labour party leaflet so right wing it could have been composed by the Tories!

Sad days indeed.....

More Church nonsense

This time, its Bishopess of Europe, closet case Georgina Rowell, who has decided to admonish the Anglican chaplaincy in Riga for holding a service for Gay pride. With a baying mob, a coalition of conservative Christians and the neo-fascist far right, shreiking outside, Georgina thinks its more appropriate to moan that she hadn't been asked first whether they could hold the service (diddums) and to say not a word about the behaviour of thses Christianonazis outside.

Given that Georgina, like many of her ilk, loathes women priests - it would spoli their cosy closet boyz club - no doubt she will be far happier when she can de-CAMP to Rome.

Godd riddance to a hypocritical closet-case of the worst order.

Sad news about Robin Cook

Its easy to knock politicians, but I was particularly sad to hear the news about the premature death of Robin Cook MP. A principled man and a sharp intellect, with a self-deprecating sense of humour. Parliament and the Labour party will be a lesser place without him

The wonders of Montreal

Its a fantastic city. Its somewhere I had always wanted to go to, but it surpassed all expectations. Its a place of great contrasts, a North American city with a European feel, where French remains the main language used, where within half an hour one can be in the glorious wine-region countryside, or the resort area of the Laurentians, both of which we visited. Quebec's bog-standard still wine is nothing special, but they produce wonderful ice wines and ice ciders from frozen grapes and apples, and I tasted plenty of them and brought some home.

Some of the highlights.

Meeting up with Vincent and Lis again. Vincent is an old mate from University days. He's a great bloke, sceptical and principled, proud to have never voted in his life ( and has no intention of ever doing so .... I think he subscribes to the view that no matter who you vote for, the Government always gets in). He works overseas for the UN so has plenty of interesting and revealing tales. Lis is French-Canadian, a Montrealer, and they were spending some time on home leave, so it was a great opportunity to get together after some 11 years.

The Biodome. This is based in one of the old Olympic buildings (the 1976 Olympics, which Montrealers are paying for until next year - London, be warned!) - the cycle track, I think. It consists of four climatic region reconstructions under cover, including a rainforest and the Antarctic, complete with penguins. I do like penguins! The sort of place where you can be a big kid and get away with it.

C.R.A.Z.Y. I always like to see a film whilst I am away , and we were fortunate enough to find a cinema where this French language Quebecois was being shown with subtitles. Its excellent - well worth seeing. I'm not sure if it is due a British release or not.

The Biosphere. A museum about water - another big kid delight, and built on the 1967 EXPO site

Food! Montreal is a real foodie city, and we had some excellent meals. We would particularly recommend le Poisson Rouge, an informal French bistro which is a BYOW - bring your own wine - restaurant. Fish on the menu, very fresh and well cooked. On the more upmarket front, we liked le Chronique, Raza, and Brunoise. An occasion was the seafood platter at Au Pied de Cochon. To say it was large would be an understatement. Two tiers, including lobster, 2 sorts of crab, whelks, cockles, oysters, softshell crab tempura, winkles, mussels, huge clams - quite impressive to say the least. Their house special pud is a Quebec speciality 'pouding chomeur' - its the sweetest thing ever and quite divine.

Gay Pride. We visited during Gay Pride week, and attended the parade and the community fair. Both were great fun - though there seems to be something of a linguistic divide between the groups simply dependent upon what language they use in the group.

More still, but its getting late....

Montreal...more to come

Just returned from a fantastic holiday in Montreal. Its a city which I would thoroughly recommend, a real fusion of different cultures and styles. More whan I recover properly from the jetlag....

More on the Church

The latest is instructive indeed. Gauleiter Akinola, witch-doctor superior of Nigeria, that well-known country marked by its awareness of womens equality, freedom from government corruption, and peaceful co-operation, has suggested that the Church of England should be suspended from the Anglican Communion.

Now, in itself, this is amusing indeed. The ANGLICan Comnunion is defined simply by being affiliated to Canterbury, and if your church looks towards Canterbury, then it is Anglican. If it splits from Canterbury, it isn't Anglican. Nothing much more to it that that.

This is the latest in a series of threats and promises that a significant number of provinces, probably a majority of the world's Anglicans, will be moving away from Canterbury and starting their own denomination. This time, the CofE's inadequate and cowardly response to civil partnership legislation and its application to clergy members has been swooped upon. I don't think I have met anyone on any side of the argument who sees this as anything other than a dog's dinner. Its a compromise which will please no-one.

Isn't it clear that the Anglican Communion would be better off splitting - and , indeed, the Church of England too? But there is a lot of pride involved. Perhaps if people sat down and looked honestly at the situation, some sort of agreed split might take place, but it looks as if some are planning to walk in any case.

Wahey! Looks like I've made it!

To be recognised by Gaybaiter-in-Chief Green is praise indeed. Of course - a lot of it is wrong (I'm a Dr not a Mr, I haven't been on the Police Authority for a year, and I didn't apply twice, I was approached the second time and asked if I wished to be reconsidered, and was successful....).

But still, I must be doing something right - though there are plenty of other gay-related activities which I don't have very much contact with...

Something new......

Its been an interesting week. Quite a few activities which I was asked to partake in - a seminar on equality and diversity ( and looks as if that will lead to a days paid training work), a local report on the activity of the Get Heard project, which I was part of a focus group for the gay and lesbian community perspective.

And the inaugural meeting of a new worship/reflection/study group which Steve, the Chaplain at Hope, has launched - a lot of enthusiasm there. I think there are so many people around who feel, for one reason or another, that Sunday church services don't meet their spiritual needs, and this sounds like a very exciting initiative. Anyway, I have volunteered to help put the next event together, and come September I think it will be held fortnightly.

Dismissal from work

No, not mine.

Just a thought. I read an online story today which told of a paedophile claiming unfair dismissal because of dismissal from work after his conviction. It wasn't a post where children were involved.

If it is considered acceptable to dismiss someone because of what they have done, even if it is unrelated to the job and did not take place within work, then how will rehabilitation ever happen?

I note that the organisation he worked for was a Christian one.

Is there an easy way round this? Or are we essentially saying that after certain convictions have taken place, then that person should forever be shunned and not allowed to try and remake their lives?

The delusion of conservative evangelicals

Just to add to the last post, I watched the C4 programme hosted by Cristina Odone, who, in the making of the programme, changed her view from against to pro.

Featured were the standard closet FiF queens, as camp as a row of pink tents, probably married, and well experienced in sitting on their hands when anything to do with gay issues are concerned. They simply hate women and don;t want their boyz club spoiled.

Much worse, though, were the conservative evangelicals. The look on their faces in their worship service - the glazed, hyped up, stares, the false, trumped up emotionalism - the sheer delusion of it all.

If women bishops sees their departure , it will not only be good in itself, but will highly benefit the CofE.

Women priests

So, now we have the other issue which sends the conservatives frantic centre-stage. Its an interesting one, this.

The evangelicals are mixed in their attitude. The majority are probably in favour, particularly the open evangelicals, but there remains a sizeable minority who are opposed, largely because of beliefs about 'headship', women not teaching in church, and so on.

The anglo-caths - well, the liberal/affirming catholics are in favour, but of course groups like Forward in Faith exist purely to try and keep women away from holy orders. Many in Backwoods in Bitterness are misogynistic old gin-and-lace queens who detest women - I have heard many of their conversations, and they are little sort of abhorrent, referring to women as 'fish' and 'priestesses'. Of course, many of these same queens are only too happy to both go against their supposed conservative view with regard to their OWN sexual activity, whilst conveniently either sitting on their hands when some of us are trying to make long-overdue changes or actually speaking against gay people in public. I can think of at least one priest who I have heard do this, not a million miles away from Oldham!

Anyway, their aim is a Third, woman-free province. I'm not particularly in favour of this, but it may set a good precedent for an inclusive, pro-gay and pro-women fourth province where conservatives are not welcome. Or, with any luck, this will push BiB out to Rome or Orthodoxy, and Reform closer towards support for the Reformed Protestant Church of Lagos (Prop: Gauleiter Akinola)

They won't be missed.

The London bombings

Not a lot to say, really - I just hope thet there won;t be backlash against Muslim people, many of the victims were themselves Muslims.

This statement from good old Red Ken sums up my view

“This was a cowardly attack, which has resulted in injury and loss of life. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been injured, or lost loved ones. I want to thank the emergency services for the way they have responded.


I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at Presidents or Prime Ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever.

That isn’t an ideology, it isn’t even a perverted faith - it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other. I said yesterday to the International Olympic Committee, that the city of London is the greatest in the world, because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity alongside those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved and that is why I’m proud to be the mayor of that city.

Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life.

I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail.

In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential.

They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don’t want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.”

Should have said - Luther Vandross RIP. One of the greatest soul singers, ever.

Officially doctored today...

Graduation, that is, nothing more hair-raising!

Had lunch at my favourite restaurant, London Carriage Works, then the graduation ceremony which went smoothly enough. My hat didn't fall off, and the weather wasn't quite as hot as I had feared - academic robes, particularly PhD ones, are very heavy!

Where next? I have my part-time teaching, and have made contact with a local consultancy who may be able to use me as a freelance associate. Plus will be applying for some freelance training work. Other than that,its still wait and see time.

So, a few opinions from the Merseymike soapbox:

1. The Olympics. Of no interest to me, I never watch it. However, I was opposed to the London bid. Not only will it mean yet more resources heaped upon the south-east ( with likely detrimental effect on the rest of the country) I have my doubts as to whether these sort of events can be paid for without a kike in taxes. If Londoners want the games, then they should pay for them. Enthusiasm will certainly wane if the expenditure is placed upon the public. And we all know how good UK governments are at running large events. Not.

2. Make Poverty History. Its been quite hard-headed and realistic. I hope it succeeds, but its really, in the long run, dependent on what the Americans choose to do. And aid and even debt relief won't help unless some of Africa's worst governments go. Indeed, how much of the increased resources will some of them get anyway? Is there any point in giving money to governments which will certainly not find its way to the people? There are some good people working in overseas aid, and I hope that they will not be disappointed

3. Films. Seen some good ones lately. In particular Mysterious Skin, which I would highly recommend. Its good to see out local independent cinema doing so well. We noted that we were just about the oldest people there last time we went, which bodes well for the future.

4. Sure there's more, but I'm exhausted!

Church

We have started going again. Not to the same one, I hasten to add - but so far this seems like a good move. Its interesting, going somewhere else after so long at a single place of worship. One gets somewhat used to 'how things are done' and then tends not to notice how what develops is really not at all accessible and if anything, places barriers between itself and those it wishes to attract. We noticed, yesterday and last week, how much more relaxed the overall feel of the place is, particularly in terms of its attitude towards children, and it has made me re-assess the importance of churchmanship - or rather, its UN-importance. The obsessive, anally retentive behaviour of the liturgy queens who seem to think that a perfect liturgy is somehow the only thing that matters is simply alienating those outside that narrow band of opinion.

As for the good old Anglican 'Communion', it has given itself a further two years to continue to tear itself to shreds. ECUSA and Anglican Church of Canada are standing firm - thankfully - and at least will provide a base for an open and inclusive denomionation in the event of the inevitable collapse of the AC.

Landover Baptist and Betty Bowers

A site which has constantly proved to be great entertainment is the home page of landover baptist Church, representing all that is good about conservative evangelical Chrisatianity

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/

In particular, the ministry of Betty Bowers

http://www.bettybowers.com/bash.html


Enjoy!

More musings

The papers are full of the latest material about the European summit, which appears to be the same rather tired arguing about the same issues which went on in the Thatcher era. If Europe isn't to have a distinctive social model, and is to be a pale copy of the so-called 'Anglo-American' model, then the cynic in me thinks that the 51st State is coming ever closer. Having said that, the presence of two unpopular leaders nearing the end of their terms in France and Germany isn't helping. The CAP does need to be reformed, but as for the Blair vision, I can't say it excites me very much.

Our parliamentary constituency is essentially to be broken up in the next boundary review, and we will end up in a safe Labour seat. I wouldn't vote for the Labour incumbent, although this is likely to be his last term, and it made me think whether, had I not been voting in a marginal, I would have voted Labour, given that there was little or no real enthusiasm behing the choice, simply a desire to prevent a Tory government. However, there has been little or no evidence since the election that they have really learned from the experience.

A couple of examples. ID cards. I had mixed views at first. Being a non-driver, there is a practical case for them, as I often have problems finding suitable ID with an address, not having a driving licence. But the arguments being used in their favour are simply not convincing. They will have precisely no effect on 'terrorism', which seems to be the parrot cry to intruduce all sorts of anti-libertarian measures at present. They will undoubtedly be easy to forge, and will produce a new sideline in the creation of identities. And the cost issue is vital. It is an affront to expect citizens to pay for them. If the cost is £300 plus (as identified by former Labour councillor Professor Patrick Dunleavy of the LSE) then watch support flow away faster than high tide in Morecambe Bay.

And the Religious Hatred Bill. Again, I am in favour of its aims. The BNP use Islam as a convenient way of getting round the incitement to hatred legislation which currently exists, and I want that stopped. But I am ever more convinced that this Bill is not the best way to deal with it. The expectations of some groups arefar too high, and I think an amendment to the current legislation would have made most sense. At the same time, sexual oprientation could have been incorporated, as that will also have to be dealt with at some time. I don't think that many people would be in favour of a society where incitement to hatred is encouraged, and some of the claims of what the Bill might do have been fanciful and alarmist, particularly from Christian fundamentalist groupings such as the Evangelical Alliance (and generally, if they disagree with something, it usually means its worth supporting). But at the same time, there are many unanswered questions.

One thing which should certainly happen is the repeal of blasphemy legislation. Hatred against people because of their religious views is wrong. Criticising religion itself certainly isn't.

Jackson trial - not guilty verdict

Quite right too.

I'm suspicious of the compensation-fuelled child abuse industry, and this trial was a classic example of avaricious parents trying to grab some easy dollars.

Michael Jackson may be a bit strange, but I think the evidence in this case was flimsy in the extreme - I hope he can go back to the studio and make another great album.

Loopy Right-wing Site of the Week

Thanks to my friend Benedict for alerting me to this site. It really isn'ta spoof. Its ab-so-lute-ly serious. Enjoy!

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=7591

If you have any ideas for your own nominatrion, then let me know. I think popular fundie-Christian books should feature - how about that vomit-inducing 'Purpose-Driven Life' for a start? Or one of Tom Wright's insufferably pious tomes?

Hello Duchess!

Who is someone I used to talk to on Ship of Fools before they threw me off (OK, I was a bit naughty, but I only said what I thought...). And Duchess was one of the victims but didnt get offended. Anyway, you will be delighted to hear that we went to church this morning.Not the same one, another, in the city centre - and before you ask, Duchess, its liberal. Merseymike does not do fundie-ism as you well know.

Wouldn't mind going back to the Ship but I don't think they'd have me....

Anyone who knows me record Soul Deep tonight?

My bloody VCR decided not to record Soul Deep tonight. Anyone out there have a copy of the last 1 hour episode they could send me?

So, what to say? Not exactly over-busy at present, so doing a bit of catching up on stuff which had been allowed to lapse and making some initial contacts with regard to getting some freelance work to bolster the part time teaching. Not being able to relocate restricts higher education opportunities, and there doesn'tseem to be an awful lot around at the moment in my field, in any case.

More tomorrow...

Time for a rant

1. Europe.

So, its 'Non'. Which wasn't a surprise. It is somewhat incongruous that in the UK, the treaty (not constitution) is presented as a Gaullist plot for the French to take over the world whereas opposition in France has come largely from the Left, who view it as a threat to French social consensus. The French Right appears to be somewhat more to the left than our own 'Labour' government, on economic and welfare matters at least.

I do have some sympathy with the French view, and I was never a major fan of expansion of the EU, which I always thought was something which happened too quickly and with no thought as to the eventual consequences. It would have made more sense for an associate membership to be developed for the East which could have transformed into full membership over time.
What is mildly amusing is that, of course, the Nice treaty remains intact, which is far more centralising than the provisions voted down in France.

I have always been a strong pro-EU advocate, but I can't say that I find the Blair vision for Europe appetising. The EU needs to be an alternative power bloc to the US, not slobbering at its coat-tails Blair-fashion. So, future development will be interesting

2. The Church.
Talking of failed, irrelevant institutions...have you heard the latest? The pathetic hand-wringers who are the 'liberal' face of the Church and are skilled only in vascillation and fence-sitting, have realised that they have got to abide by the Governments new regulations about gay and lesbian partnerships, and so have said that priests can have civil partnerships - but they must assure their bishops that they are not having any of that naughty sex stuff.

Now. lets have a bit of honest truth here ( yes, I know 'truth' and the 'church' are inherently incompatible, but try and suspend incredulity for just a moment......)
First, that gay priests in partnerships sleep together and have sex. That includes those who lie and say they are celibate. On one level I can understand their lies, but they are lies none theless and the reactionary wing of the Church knows it
Two, that there is absolutely no way that the Church would be able to police this other than CCTV in the bedroom.
Three, that one should perhaps serioulsy question whether any well-adjusted gay man would choose to become a functionary in an intrinsically homophobic institution in any case.

The outcome , I think, should be that gay priests should simply lie, and have no problem with doing so. The Church is a despicable institution, and I see no moral problem with lying given their homophobia. They can then wriggle and writhe as they decide what to do, given that there is nothing they actually can do!

But there is a wider issue - that whilst the rest of life continues, the Church remains locked into the values and views of another age, defending the indefensible, failing to face up to the reality that many of its traditional dogmas are simply not credible in the contemporary world - yet people cling to them, as security.

There is so much that Christianity, a forward looking, brave Christianity, shorn of its premodern shortcomings, could still have to say. But I don't believe that the Church as it stands has any possibility of being able to say it whilst it cannot break free from the dogmas and prejudices of the past. Indeed, it remains the major force of reaction in contemporary British society, opposing nearly all worthwhile reform, whilst propping up the Third World industry and failing to be honest about who is really to blame for African poverty (Africa!)

Since I stopped attending these things become all the more clear. I have to think seriously about whether I actually want to be part of this institution any longer. There are some good things going on - read Giles Fraser's columns in Church Times - www.churchtimes.co.uk - and the Guardian, or look at the Inclusive Church website - www.inclusivechurch.net - or John Spong's work. But whilst the CofE is led by a weak, other-worldly hypocrite like Rowan Williams, don't expect a great deal of change. Hand-wringing, guilt, warm words, yes, but not the resisitance to the voices of reaction which are needed if the Church is going to be worth being part of.

I addressed a meeting in recent months where someone said that the Church is going to have to effectively die before something new can arise and fill the gap left in terms of spirituality Perhaps they are right.

About time I updated...

Though not a huge amount to say.

Have now submitted the bound PhD, which looks quite impressive if I say so myself.

May as well get religion and politics out of the way. Still haven't returned to church, and so far haven't missed it all that much - the latest is that the CofE have agreed that vicars can have civil partnerships as long as they promise not to have any naughty naked sex. Were it not that wanking is quite a healthy pursuit, the noun could have been invented especially for them. Cretins. Are they going to suggest CCTV in each clerical bedroom? And then they wonder why the church is despised. The local Diocese had its consultation meetings relating to the topic, following on from the study group I was part of, and I didn't find it very helpful. The fact is that there is not going to be agreement. So either we agree to differ, or we split.The latter is inevitable and I just wish it would happen quickly.

Politics. I have an application form to join the Labour party again. Should I do so? I really don't know. Part of me thinks, now the election has happened, its time to go back and work for change from within. But its hard to be entirely enthusiastic. The Tories, naturally, have thrown themselves into internal turmoil and argument following their election defeat. The husband of our local MP has been fined for criminal damage, flyposting over Tory posters during the election. There is plenty of mock-outrage in the local paper but I think its all a bit mannered and false.

Oh, and that bloody FROG thing is driving me mad.

2005 Eurovision Song Contest -my review....

So, its all over, the favourite won, and for a change nearly all the songs I like made the top 10!

Here's my verdict, with my marks out of 20

Hungary
The first of many, many ethno-pop songs of the night. Sort of Riverdance-meets-Wild Dances, with a weak lead singer and lots of choreography. The song was forgettable and frankly, irritating. The Hungarian national final featured some really good songs too....but i hope they wilkl drop the ethno next year! 9

United Kingdom
Sounding very similar to the preceding song, this just didn't sparkle. Javine appeared out of breath in places and the vocal was harsh. It was never much of a song, and whilst I don't think it was the worst in the contest, nor our worst entry, it wasn't good. The UK has to start taking this a bit more seriously or this low place will become the norm - if it hasn't already. 10

Malta
Fantastic! Not the best draw for a ballad, but Chiara was excellent. Its a simple, soaring ballad, and her singing was amazing. Just goes to show that a simple song, with just a singer on stage, no dancing, no backing singers, can still cut the mustard. Would it have won with a later draw? Or with 50% jury voting ( to break the balkan neighbourly voting) ? Who knows? But I hope Chiara will be back and next time, she may well win. 20

Romania
A good singer, certainly, and it actually won the semi-final. I didn't rate the song much, but she sang well, although it didn't have quite the impact of the semi. Beaty uptempo pop, with an industrial feel.. 12

Norway
I sincerely hope,now this hasn't won, that glam rock will never return to ESC. Straightforward rip off of Living on a prayer, very loud, very unpleasant - but then , I'm not a rock fan. Norway have entered some of my favourite ballads in the past and I hope this is a one-off! 2

Turkey
Ethno, ethno....very colourful performance, and she has a good voice, but a very 'typical Turkish entry' with all the ingredients you'd expect. At least they have a justifiable reason for entering something like this! 10

Moldova
Novelty song of the night. Touches of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, manic and crazy, with the added gimmick of the 80 year old on the drums which may have picked up a few votes. I was scared this would win, particularly when the semi result was leaked, but in the end it came in 6th. Not my sort of thing 9

Albania
More ethno, only this time even more tuneless and tedious than the ones before. Simply boring and forgettable 8

Cyprus
Skin tight while t-shirt, an energetic performance of - yes, another ethno-pop dance entry. One of the better ones all told, with the female guest vocalist used quite effectively,but it did blend in rather with everything else and didn't look like a winner 13

Spain
This was another rip-off - of the Ketchup Song this time. They looked colourful, but this wasn't a song to speak of - another novelty entry, and I don't think it worked. Tuneless noise 9

Israel
Before the contest I wasn't sure about this one, but yes, its a strong ballad from a good singer, though not a patch on Chiara. Still, good to see ballads doing well this year. I think it lacked 'light and shade', though - it didn't 'build' in the way a classic ballad always does. 16

Serbia and Montenegro
Six pretty boys doing some very curious dancing - apparently traditional Montenegran! Dramatic stuff, very well sung, and they looked as if they were enjoying themselves. I thought this was really good - one of my favourites 17

Denmark
The surprise of the night. I've always liked his singing but thought the song was forgettable - but after a few listens its finally made it through the memory banks. One of the best singers of the evening, this deserved to do well. Its a jaunty, mid-tempo easy-listening song, I can imagine it being played on Radio 2! 18

Sweden
With the current craze for retro show songs in the UK, I expected this to get high marks from us - it didn't. I don't know if it was a problem with the singer, but it seemed a bit flat, without the power of previous performances. Should have got more votes than it did though. Funnily enough, on first listyen I didn;t like it at all and predicted relegation to the semi for sweden. I was right 14

Macedonia
Can I admit that I thought this was OK? Martin, the singer, is a chunky, cute young man who really cannot dance at all! He didn't bother much last night! But of the uptempo songs, this wasprobably the one I liked most - its catchy and fun. And he's a sweetie! 14

Ukraine
The chant of the Orange Revolution comes to ESC. Powerful stuff, in the Chumbawamba vein, basically a rap with a chanted chorus. I liked it, but I can understand why it didn't go down a storm at ESC. Still, like nothing else and made a change from the ethno-pop 15

Germany
This was awful. Loud,laboured, tuneless and tedious. It deserved to do badly. 4

Croatia
Another football-chant chorus, which did better than I thought it would (helped by the Balkan bloc, which was well in evidence last night). mid-tempo, singalong stuff, slightly anthemic, but ultimately very average 10

Greece
The winner, and more ethno. I don't really get it, if I'm honest. I don't hate it, and I'm sure its good of its type - its just not the sort of music I would personally choose to listen to. But its catchy and contemporary, and Athens is a favourite city of mine, so well done Greece! 12

Russia
Avril Lasangneski lives! A production line rock chick singing an unmemorable song. Didn't like this. 6

Bosnia-Herzegovina
The first 'typical Euro-schlager' of the night, with a touch of motown rhythm and an Abba chorus. Jaunty, brash, fun, and forgettable. 12

Switzerland
They guaranteed some Baltic votes by picking a popular Estonian girl group who performed a rock track of absolutely no appeal to me. But my heavy-metal loving mate ben thought this was cool! 5

Latvia
A much better performance of a sweet and appealing song. This was, for me, the best actual song in the contest, and at one stage it was in the lead but faded towards the end. Still, 5th is very credible. Its a tuneful, gentle, acoustic ballad, and its simplicity and charm certainly did the trick for me 20

France
if French chanson is noted for anything its beautiful melodies - and whilst French ballad entries haven't won recently, they always do respectably. This was almost completely without a tune, and quite a bemusing entry from France. It could have been rescued by a funky, jazzy treatment, but this was just average 11

So - its off to Athens next year

A few observations:
* The 'Big 4' came last - not undeserved, as none of the songs were good. But they call the tune, financially, so I would expect - at least - some reforms, perhaps a return to an element of jury voting to break the ever-more-ridiculous Balkan bloc voting.
* Ballads did well this year, which i found encouraging
* Too much ethno-pop and exaggerated choreography following Ruslana's win last year. A bit more variety nest time, perhaps?

Eurovision semi - review

The second ESC semi final televised this evening - for non-fans, there are now too many entrants to the numbers have to be whittled down in a semi final. 25 songs in all, 10 to go through.

Austria.
One of two 'novelty' entries, this was rather like a revisit of dr. Buzzard's original Savannah Band with a spot of yodelling. Very professional performance, but a quirky song which I liked a lot but can imagine a few scratched heads and confused expressions.

Lithuania
Totally forgettable, ordinary, uptempo song. I honestly cannot remember the tune, at all, only an evening later

Portugal
This was a mess. Its good on the CD, but live, it seemed frantic, with the singers too out of breath from their dance routines to concentrate on the song. It could have been good - a powerful chorus - but simply sounded overblown

Moldova
The second novelty entry of the night. Manic stuff, featuring a Granny and a drum, this doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, but 8 year olds will enjoy it. Much the same effect as Alffor Austria some years before. QUALIFIED

Latvia
My favourite song, pre-contest. It wasn't a confident performance from the young singers, but it still has charm a-plenty and with a very favourable final draw, I wouldn'truleout its chances if they are less nervous on the big night. QUALIFIED

Monaco
Fantastic performance from a very good singer. The song, a very dramatic, heavily orchestrated show tune, didn't quite have the automatic appeal needed, but if singing alone was the criteria, she'd have walked it.

Israel
I'm a ballad fan. So, I should love this song. But somehow it doesn't do much for me, and I don'tknow why. Its pretty enough, pleasant tune, good singer - but I didn't like it as much as any of the female ballads which didn't qualify. Just lacks that tingle factor which a great ballad has. QUALIFIED

Belarus
Almost ridiculously over the top, this sounded like a 'lets get the gay vote sewn up ' effort, which coming from a country as homophobic as Belarus is quite amusing! Pure hi-energy, excruciatingly badly sung, and what exactly was she wearing? I thought this would get through, I'm relieved it didn't.

Netherlands
The mystery non-qualifier of the evening. Strong sonmg, great vocal, albeit it is Whitney Houston to a tee in style. Black female singers don't have much of a record in ESC; perhaps its a very clearly American style of music which doesn't appeal widely in ESC terms ( see Bulgaria later)

Iceland
Selma isn't the best live performer in the world, and this stop-start, awkward song never sounded good to me. I didn;t think it wouldqualify and for once I was right. Just too ordinary, and forgettable - and yes,maybe she should have won in 99, but will anyone watching otyher than the diehard fans remember that?

Belgium
A very fine vocal performance indeed - but the song wasn't brilliant . Lyrically very repetitive (as my partner said, every other line, he's saying 'ce soir'). With a good song, he could have done very well. Portugal, choose him next year!

Estonia
A shambolic mess. They looked as if they were enjoying themselves, though, but the song , apart from being almost identical to 'My Heart Goes Boom' (Norway 2000) was predictable and ...loud!

Norway
I can't comment fairly on this. I hate and loathe rock music, and so trying to judge whether this is a good version or not is meaningless. Suffice to say, I hate it, and its the one song on the CD I havenever listened to and never will. Having Moldova in the final may well split its support. QUALIFIED

Romania
The surprise of the evening. A splendid performance and a very good, strong voice. Its not the greatest song in the world - tuneful, upbeat pop - but she did Romania proud and fully deserved to qualify. A bit like Albania last year- lets hope the sound engineers don't wreck her chances on Saturday QUALIFIED

Hungary
Ethno-pop, with a touch of Riverdance, a bit of Eastern promise, and a singer who, to me, looked as if she couldn't wait for the three minutes to end. Well choreographed, certainly, but I can't see what all the fuss is about. Boring song. QUALIFIED

Finland
Another very strong singer, but the song is seriously downbeat and mournful. Now, I like downbeat and mournful, but on the whole, this sort of song never does well. I liked it but it was never going to qualify

FYR Macedonia
Mmmmm. Thats for big, chunky Martin, who certainly floats my boat. Before the contest I thought this would provide our Jemini moment, but I was pleasantly surprised - he was fine, and whilst its not world class, its a catchy pop tune - which ,interestingly enough, was the song I hummed to myself after the contest. QUALIFIED

Andorra
Another very, very professional performance of a complex and difficult song - perhaps just too classy and uncommercial for mass appeal. It got a vote from me

Switzerland
This one mystifies me. Its a drab and dull song, very averagely performed, and I think the least deserved qualifier of the night. Just plain boring QUALIFIED

Croatia
An anthemic ballad with a football chant chorus. He sang it very well, and did look as if he was enjoying himself - makes so much difference. One day croatia will produce a real corker and win, but i don't think this is it QUALIFIED

Bulgaria
Another very well performed song, but again, laid back jazz isn't going to be a big scorer at ESC. This is the sort of music I liten to most, and it was probably the one I enjoyed most on the night, but I wasn't in the least surprised it didn't make it. I can imagine it being played alongside Jamie Cullum and Katie Melua on R2 though.

Ireland
What does Ireland do well, when it produces a good song? Ballads. Unfortunately, recent years have produced weak singers murdering pleasant ballads meaning few points. They sung well, but the whole thing had the effect of 'lets write a song which isnt a ballad for ESC' and tragically enough, Donna and Joe would have perfectly suited a sugary Disney ballad which could well have got through.

Slovenia
My partners favourite. Cute Omar sang well enough, and I was surprised it didn't qualify, but the effect of the loud rocky backing and the female backing singer was a shade of overkill. They should have stuck to the original instrumentation.Didn't stop me voting for it,though

Denmark
A very good, assured performance of a totally unmemorable song. At least it broadens the varity in the contest, and its nothing less than pleasant and well sung - but I don't think its a great song by any means.

Poland
Frantic Roma wedding music. Reminds me of an Israeli entry from the 80's - energetic enough, but not my sort of thing.


So - of the five I voted for ,only Latvia got through (no change there!). The draw has been kind to both my favourites, Malta will stand out in a sea of noise, and Latvia has the coveted penultimate spot - always good for a quiet, gentle ballad. They will be my votes on Saturday

Review of ESC semi coming tomorrow.,..

And i'm backing Latvia or Malta in the Final!

Election postmortem

On the whole, I'm happy with the result.

Labour held on here as well - and despite my disagreements with the MP: she works hard locally and the cable channel presenter the Tories put up wasn't credible.

I would think that Gordon's accession will be unopposed and should happen sooner not later.

But the Tories, looking beneath the surface, really are in trouble. The rise in the LD vote was largely disaffected Labour voters. Get rid of Blair, replace him with Gordon, and without the Iraq war factor, many of those voters will return. They certainly weren' t considering a move to the Tories who seem unable to get above 33% of the vote.

If I were a Tory, I'd be seriously looking at how the party MUST change and accept the reality of the 21st century. A bit like the Church, really....

I'm voting Labour

The priority has to be to keep the Tories out.

Vote Labour if its a marginal seat where the Tories may be elected and Labour are in first or second

Vote Lib Dem if its a marginal seat where the Tories may be elected and the LibDems are in first or second.

Just don't give the Tories any satisfaction from their disgusting racist campaign. And to make it even worse, Dracula supports the Redshite.

This week...

Not terribly eventful - and piles of marking to get through over the next week.

The election campaign has continued. I can't get very animated about the issue of supposed 'lying'. First, I think that Blair sincerely believed he did the right thing on the war, I don't agree, but I don't think he lied. When it came down to 'yes or no', the Attorney-General did say yes, and that would have been good enough for any government.

The reality of the thought of the slithery toad Howard in no. 10 means I may have to join Polly Toynbee's peg-on-nose club. You go to the polling station and hold your nose whilst voting Labour again, thinking of Gordon Brown as PM.

Something I have had to think about is that if it wasn'tfor the war, I would be voting Labour, I'd probably still be a member of the Labour party.

Stiull haven'tmade up my mind completely, but the Tory campaign has been abhorrent. Keeping them out has to come first ( remembering that they too would have gone to war)

A time of change

On Friday, David and I decided to leave our church. It has been coming for a while, for any number of reasons.

First, and this is for me alone, I feel my own spirituality is chganging, in fact moving back towards the religious humanism of my Quaker years. Whilst the sojourn into Anglo-Catholicism was inspiring and at times enlightening, I always felt I was very much on the liberal side of that movement, and at heart, I am a liberal, not a catholic Christian.

Second, our disillusion with the Church as an institution has reached far greater proportions, and I don't feel that our congregation is in the front line of resistance to its worst elements. In particular, I feel that its position is becoming more, not less catholic, and recent piety concerning the death of JP2 summed it up, along with the lukewarm at best attitude towards women in the priesthood. There can be absolutely no excuse for discrimination on those grounds, particularly when it comes from non-celibate gay priests only too willing to sit on their hands when it comes to achieving real change.

Third, our own church faces some real problems which I think it is neither capable of facing nor prepared to take the radical action necessary. A congregation which is 70% , 70+ is not viable, and whilst there are those who want to look towards new ways of doing and being church, I don't think it will work without the enthusiastic and wholehearted support of the incumbent, and its clear enough that he is doing all he can to undermine change.

Fourth, I recognise that many ethical positions held by the conventional church are far from what I believe - in particular (obviously) gay and lesbian equality, but also voluntary euthanasia, which I strongly and passionately believe in.

So ... where to now?
I am going to meet up with a couple of clergy I respect in the next couple of weeks, go back to Quaker meeting for a few weeks, and continue to contemplate and seek direction.

Incidentally, on the voluntary euthanasia issue - if you are undecidsed on the issue, then go and see the marvellous Spanish film ' The Sea Inside'. A call for dignity, autonomy, and freedom.

Dr. Merseymike PhD

I did it!

Viva today, went well, and have just a short additional appendix to compose - but have been awarded my doctorate!

EVERTON 1 Scumchester United 0

Thats EVERTON: the Pride of Merseyside, 1, Scumchester United 0

Some of the chants about a certain king Chav who looks like Shrek and only scores in a brothel were priceless.

Continued decline for the RC church

.. given the choice of a charisma-free, conservative dogmatist as pope. Why all the hypocrisy from those who should know better?

Speak the truth. He's a homophobic bigot and the only relief is that he's 78 and will hopefully die before he can do too much damage.

Fun weekend, impossibly busy week....

Went over to Leeds on saturday, to meet up with a few fellow ESC fans. We allp seem to like different entries this year, there's no obvious front runner, although nearly all my favourite songs are in the semi-final which means, if those I like don't get through, there could be very few I actually like this year.

Then headed over to Huddersfield, where I lived for six years, to meet up with an old friend (Nathaniel) and to eat a curry which was excellent. Its BALOOSHAI, 3 Viaduct Street. Superb food, very authentic. The place looks as if it has been spruced up a little since I lived there. David was having one of his ferry weekends, incidentally, so we both indulged in our respective anorak activity.

This week will be busy. PhD viva on Saturday, and supposed to have a job interview for some more hours Wednesday morning, but can't see how I can get a decent presentation together with the PhD revision to do as well, plus lecturing and writing lectures....see what personnel have to say tomorrow.

The election campaign drags on, with a notable lack of excitement. The Tories are fighting a gutter campaign. Will that persuade me to return to Labour? I honestly don't know, I'd say that the likelihood is more no than yes, but I don't want the Tories in government. Neither do I wish to vote for my MP.

Labour's manifesto

Its OK. Lots of jargon, some good suggestions, others I don't agree with.

Still no real change on foreign policy, and extra pledges on overseas aid have no connection with decisions to enter illegal wars - I'm not naive enough to be convinced by that.

Still don't want the Tories to get in, but can I justify a Labour vote? I don't know.

Happy birthday to me!

21 again ( try doubling it and adding a year)

And an early birthday present was Everton's splendid 4-0 win against Crystal Palace. Not only did we get our act together and play better than we have played since Tommy Gravesen left, but James Vaughan, aged just 16, came on in the 75th minute and scored a goal for us. Fantastic!

Now, how about Claire Curtis-Thomas standing down and having the chance to vote for a Labour candidate who didn't support the war in Iraq? That would be good news! Still undecided....

Labour canvasser calls...and that burial in Italy

The Labour canvasser called today. I explained to him that as things stand, I probably won't be voting Labour, largely because of the Iraq war, and beacuse i don't wish to support the candidacy of Claire Curtis-Thomas MP. He gawped stupidly at me. I know well from previous experience that canvassing is largely done to identify supporters rather than discuss on doorsteps, but just a tiny stir of brain activity would have been helpful, and some attempt to discuss the issues with me.

The celebrity funeral of an ageing bigoted Pole took place today in Italy. What sort of collective hysteria exists which produces that sort of reaction. And if someone with those sort of views is a 'spiritual leader', then I choose not to follow.

Election day no.1

So...what I am going to do?

When I talk to Tories, I feel that I must vote Labour, as their views appal me - its right back to having a bash at foreigners and poor people

But how can I vote for a Labour MP who
* supported the war in Iraq?
* is a passionate opponent of euthanasia - indeed, its just about the only thing she is passionate about? I equally strongly support it.
* seems to regard her role as being some sort of local mayor?
* employs a lifelong Tory voter as her speechwriter?

Politically, I'm now closer to the Liberal Democrats. But if I vote for them, will it let in a Tory to this seat? And if so, would that mean a majority Tory government - which I do not wish to see.

Its a dilemma.

Mr Tony calls the election....

And who am I to vote for?

Case against voting Labour:

The illegal war in Iraq
Claire Curtis-Thomas MP
Spin
Student fees
Sycophantic adoration of Bush
Ruth Kelly being considered Cabinet material
Simple disappoinntment at the squandering of real opportunity for change
I agree with more of the LibDem policies

Case for voting Labour:
Progressive legislation, in particular on gay rights
Investment in public services
Incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights
The economy and its management
Better than the Tories
Michael Howard as Prime Minister
Lib Dems a poor third here last time, although have won the seat before.

Watch this space.

Budapest

Returned yesterday from a splendid week in the fine city of Budapest, flying from Manchester. We stayed on the Buda side of the Danube, in the art'otel, which we managed to get a room in for a sillyu price on the internet.

Budapest is an excellent city. It is inexpensive, attractive, and has lots of character. The food and wine were both first class - as were the 24 bottles we brought back.

Highlights...
* The tour around the Hungarian Parliament
* The visit to the Tropicarium, together with giant tortoises, and alligators. I can't somehow see the animal rights lobby in the UK being very keen...
* A visit to Szentendre, a twee and enjoyable tourist-trap together with marzipan museum and Hungro-tat a plenty.
* The new Contemporary Art museum in the Palace of Arts - open for two weeks, and featuring a good selection if international work, including some Hungarian artists not familiar to me.
* The Statue park. Examples of communist-era stautary removed from the city centre and placed in a park on the edge of the city. Bizarre and evocative.

Worth a visit!

The Pope

The death of the Pope and the adulation of the masses reminds me a good deal of the reaction of the UK public to the death of Princess Diana. A quasi-religious spectacle of public display of emotion, of someone who none of the people concerned actually knew....

And what of JP2? Frankly, I didn't have a lot of time for him. A social conservative, with a didactic view of his own position ( suppose that goes with the job description) and no doubt did plenty to assure the future of the Church lies in the pre-modern world. Charismatic, a great communicator, yes - but in terms of his beliefs and ideas, on the whole, I disagreed with them. Indeed, his positions were generally the opposite to mine - socially reactionary, economically naive, reacting very much to his own experience, and inability to accept that theocracy is not the favoured method of governance of anywhere in Europe.

ESC - my verdict as of today

Marks out of 20....


Austria 16
Those of you who remember Dr. Buzzard's original Savannah band from the late 80's will recognise this somewhat quirky and appealing song. It isn't immediate by any means, but the performance is strong, and it should nake a distinctive and worthy start to the semi-final. Will it qualify? Quirky often misses out in Eurovision - look at Belarus last year.

Lithuania 7
Simply horrible. Sounds like a rock-chick version of Swedish schlager. Cliched and unpleasant

Portugal 16
This is an uplifting and well-constructed song, with a soulful feel, and on the studio version it is well sung and punchy. The best uptempo song in this years contest

Moldova 4
Joke entry, yes? The obligatory 'heys' in the background, a song with no melody to speak of , a group who look like a bunch of 70's rejects (one of a few who that description could be applied to). Vile.

Latvia 20
This is my favourite in the whole contest. Its gentle and acoustic, well sung and easy on the ear, with a wistful and memorable melody and lyrics. It could either bomb completely or do very well indeed - I'm hoping for the latter!

Monaco 17
Classic French chanson, old-fashioned and charming, with a very fussy and complex orchestration which you either like or you don't. I love this sort of thing - always have , always will.

Israel 14
Can't quite decide about this one. I liked it on first hearing, but its not my favourite ballad by any means - like so many Israeli entries, it has that 'inspiring anthem' feel about it which ends up sounding more overblown than anything else.

Belarus 5
Nothing could have been worse than Boys and Girls (except the Norwegian entry) buty this nearly manages it. A cliched kebab-shop pop song with execrably bad singing and pronunciation.

Netherlands 19
Great stuff! A real big production soul ballad, sung by a singer with real vocal talent. It isn't a typical ESC ballad, though, and it will be interesting to see how something firmly American in style fares.

Iceland 8
What a disappointment. Selma's 1999 contest is a cheerful pop song, but this sounds like four songs in one with no discernable tune or structure - its a mess, basically. And she's not the best singer in the world - this seems to have a lot of fans, but if there's any justice, it will stay in the semi.

Belgium 17
See Monaco above. Pure chanson, nothing special of its kind, but I like this sort of thing, and he sings well

Estonia 7
This has the greatest amount of Jemini-potential for this year. There is something notably inept about this performance, of a trashy and predictable song. I suppose we can be pleased that theyve opted not to wear rustic clothing in the manner of last years entry, but this is a very poor entry.

Norway 0
Imagine a group sounding like Bon Jovi and looking like the Sweet towards the end of their career. This has nothing whatsoever to commend it. Loud, tuneless, utterly pathetic. Noise for losers.

Romania 8
Oh dear. I thought (hoped) that this sort of retro-disco nonsense had disappeared for good after Xandee's deserved failure last year. It hasn't.

Hungary 10
Hungary put in entries I loved in 94 and 97. This year, their national final was very strong, with four excellent entries. They chose this piece of whimsy, which blends Riverdance and Ruslana and features a lead singer with less charisma than Chris Doran last year

Finland 14
Like Israel, this is a ballad which needs a bit of a lift! I think its lacking in the melody stakes and ends up sounding a mite doleful without having that extra 'something' to make it more than ordinary.

Macedonia 2
Its hard to judge this fairly. Macedonian Martin is this years worst singer, his dancing is hilarious, and even his rather easy on the eye , chunky appearance can't make this anything more than a disaster area. Would it be better with another singer? Hard to say.

Andorra 14
The original mix was a haunting, unusual song which I liked a lot - but the remix doesn't work well. The orchestration isn't a good fit with the melody,or Marian's voice, and again, this does have a quirky sort of sound to it which may not bode well for its ESC success. I hope they will revert to the original orchestration.

Switzerland 8
Just plain dull. Nothing to commend it, too bland to bother to hate.

Croatia 11
Another example of a song whose chorus and verse appears to have no real connection. The verse is a reasonable mid-tempo ballad, and then you get the chorus from the bierkeller/footie match from hell...why??


Bulgaria 19
I'm probably the only ESC fan who has this in their top 5. Its a VERY laid back piece of lounge jazz, think Jamie Cullum, Michael Buble, and that means its the sort of music I listen to a lot at home. The lyrics really aren't the best, but this is all about creating an atmosphere. And it does have a memorable tune....

Ireland 13
I like many of the classic Irish winners, and on the whole, Ireland doesn't do uptempo very well. I backed the McCauls to win for Ireland, but this isn't the right song for them. They are good singers, but rather than try to be different, they should have been given a Disney-style ballad where their naive image and vocal charms would have been better framed.

Slovenia 18
Another example of a remix which may have been unnecessary - removing the female backing singer is a mistake, although the new version does have an energy and freshness to it which certainly works. Its a powerful ballad, with an excellent vocalist - and I hope it does well.

Denmark 13
Very accomplished singer, shame that no-one bothered to write a remotely memorable song. I have listened to it six or seven times and I don;t remember it after listening - at all.

Poland 8
So, Israel abandon Hebrew singalong, so we get the sound of the schetl from Poland instead. Pork chop, anyone?


United Kingdom 11
The UK final produced five songs, none of which were all that good, and the best performance certainly won out on the night. But song-wise, its back to that kebab-shop, and does nothing for me at all.

Malta 19
Produced one of my all time favourite songs in 1998, Chiara's voice is delightful, as is this very strong, commercial, contemporary ballad.

Turkey 7
Back to that kebab-shop - this really is a return to Turkey's cliched worst. Its not a particularly good example of 'typical Turkish music'

Albania 10
Last years Albanian entry was an example of a very good singer, a simple song, managing to get a good number of votes without any gimmicks. This is yet another ethno-pop bore, not a patch on last year, and the chorus is ghastly.

Cyprus 14
The best of the ethno-pop songs, well sung (but what of the female vocalist?) and a pleasant tune. Its nothing special and a little predictable after so many of the same but this isn't at all bad.

Spain 6
Spain's worst for years. A joke entry. If you are going to rip off anything - why the Ketchup Song??

Serbia & Montenegro 18
Love this one - great looking group, like the way it builds slowly and the refrain is memorable and anthemic. Whether it will do as well as their debut is another matter, but it isn't one to rule out.

Sweden 14
Still can't decide about this one. On first listen, I thought - just another schlager' - and its not a patch on Caroline Vennergren! But it does have a retro appeal, my partner loves it, and its hummable and catchy. He can certainly sing, too. This would have really worked with the orchestra.

Ukraine 17
I get knocked down...but I get up again. Yes, its the Ukranian Tubthumping, its powerful and stirring stuff, and its a good example of rap. But how will it be performed live?

Germany 6
One of the many rock chicks in this years contest. Loud, tuneless and horrible. Richly deserves relegation, if the rules allowed it.

Greece 7
Can someone enlighten me as to the appeal of this particular piece of ethno-pop? Its another slice of repetitive tedium, with the obligatory Middle Eastern mid-section. No tune , of course - and one of the favourites. Says it all, really.

Russia 6
See Germany. Only the relegation may even happen this year....

Bosnia & Herzegovina 12
Oh, yes, a bit of fun. Always one every year which you know you shouldn't like, but has some appeal. Lou in 2003, Malta last year, and this year, its Bosnia. Straightforward catchy pop, and this years Gorgonzola. Could do well!

France 12
This isn't a great song, and the singer is dangerously out of key in places - it does have a lot of potential, with a good singer and a bit of lift in the melody, it could have been very good. Asit stands - not bad, but singing lessons before May, I think.

Eeeek - neglected blog!

Which will be put right tonight!