Late, but I hope worth waiting for

We have been enjoying a trip to Europe - hence the lack of blogging. We started out at Hull, took the ferry to Zeebrugge, and then spent time in Luxembourg and a week in Alsace, in eastern France.

Alsace produces the best wine in the world, and that was one of the reasons for going - many wines do not get exported to the UK and that includes some of the best ( and after the killjoys have slapped tax on it the price of the best stuff is astronomical in any case )

First stop was Luxembourg. We opted to stay just outside the city, in a small spa town called Mondorf-les-Bains, and found a very good value 'gourmet break' in the Hotel du Grand Chef, which is highly recommended. No air-con though...fortunately it wasn't too hot. The food was good, nothing very adventurous, classic French, but no problem there....one of the waiters looked exactly like Mr. Dead, from the Harry Enfield TV prog.
Time in Luxembourg was spend divided between culture and wine. Luxembourgeois wine is good stuff, though largely unknown, and the Moselle valley is attractive and well set up for wine tourists. The city itself is modern and has a new contemporary art museum, opened last year, which we thought was excellent - at the moment they have an exhibition which focuses on the links between art and science fiction, which is more than worth seeing.

We thern drove down to Alsace, to our gite in the village of Bergheim. Alsace is a strange place. Its French, yet it isn't. All the place names are Germanic, the food is certainly more akin to German than French (unfortunately...) and at one time many people spoke Alsatian, a High German dialect, but we heard only the owners of the gite (both over 70) use it. Its also both very pro-Europe, and right-wing. It was the most pro-Sarkozy region, and has a very strong National Front vote. There are a couple of interesting academic papers on this phenomenon - http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/21st/workingpapers/boswell.pdf and http://mondediplo.com/1998/05/07bihr.
We seem to have majored on Right-Wing Holiday Destinations this year! On the Sunday, the village had its local fete which highlighted the excellent gewurztraminer wine produced in the area, and they had a parade which was on the theme of famous Alsatians in history. One of them simply wouldn't be considered acceptable in the UK. The participants were 'blacked up' and one was dressed as a gorilla. We were almost expecting the free bananas.
But we enjoyed the trip. Lots of wine tasting and purchasing, a fair bit of culture - the Unterlinden museum in Colmar being a particular highlight - and some good food too. Much Alsatian food doesn't appeal - pardticularly choucroute - but we did find plenty of good places to eat. The culinary highlight was Le Table de Gourmets, in Riquewihr. http://www.jlbrendel.com/main.php?set_lng=en is the website.

No blogging for a few days...

But expect a mega-blog this weekend...

Banned!

Mad fool that I am, I have ended up becoming a regular contributor to blog discussions which are diasmetrically opposed to everything I believe. The effect has been odd. Most notably in terms of religion. The last three years or so has seen me shift from being a fairly comfortable liberal catholic Anglican, to a position which is sort of post-Christian humanist. Participating in those blogs has undoubtedly had some influence on that shift, simply because of the sort of responses I get there.
Latest development has been a banning from one of those sites. It seems its because my presence shifted the discussions on to me! But that was hardly my doing, but those who always ended up making the discussions 'personal'. It does rather display my own feeling that there isn't very much space for dialogue on either side.
Contributing to a specialist blog like that is a bit strange too, in that all I ever talked about was religion. Correction. Nearly every discussion wound its way round to gay matters, even if it initially had no input from that direction from me. Its as if thats the only part of one's personality and as if one has no other interests or concerns...
Having said that, spending time elsewhere has meant that this blog has itself been sorely neglected, and I think its about time I started taking it a bit more seriously and gave the world the benefits of my musings rather more often (oh, the pomposity of this whole thing.....but I hope those of you who do visit and read enjoy what I have to say, even if you don't always agree!)

On the whole, those who ban tend not to like mavericks, and thats what I am, I shall never fit cosily into a round hole. All power to square pegs everywhere....

Floods....

We had our own mini-flood last night. Our house is old (Victorian) and has a cellar - which I realised, on a visit there had started to amass water. It turned out to be a blockage in the drain outside.
Its all cleared now but it wasn't a pleasant thought, that the house could have been flooded, even if it was only the cellar
More broadly, it looks as if we are going to have to get our act together with regard to the erratic climate. I've never been totally sure about the whole global warming
/climate change thing, either way - but there does appear to be something going on.

Trophy wives

I've been doing a bit of research into the whole so-called 'ex-gay' phenomenon - self-hating or self-oppressed is probably a more accurate description, but still.....one thing I have noticed is that they like to festoon their blogs with pictures of Wifey, if indeed, their self-deception has reached those remarkable levels. I suppose its a way of convincing themselves and creating the necessarily heterosexual image! One of them even wrote 'isn't heterosexuality great' as a blog entry. he must really need to convince himself.

On one level I find these sort of people very dangerous. They can severely mess up people's lives, and having seen the effect they can have, I certainly think they need constant monitoring.

But, much more positively:
1. In the UK at least, there are very few of them. Even the largest of the groups, which takes a reasonably moderate position (carry your cross, not God will turn you straight) has a remarkably small number of members. And the throughput appears considerable given those who leave and then find partners, leaving that world far behind
2. It appears to me that with gay people now finding it easier to come out, most of those attracted to this sort of group are likely to be those who have been brought up within evangelical Christianity. The church has displayed so much homophobia over the past few years that it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed, and i think few young gay people are in the least interested in the institutional church
3. Their stance is ever more an anachronism. Gay people have become so much part of the mainstream these days: you realise this when you work with students who simply can't conceive that anyone would find being gay any sort of problem. They have gay friends and thats just one factor about them. I think thats good and demonstrates still further just how irrelevant the church has become

Of course, many in the church love this sort of martyrdom. it also fits into their theology of being 'counter-cultural' (in Christian speak - the real meaning is 'outdated and fearful of anything in contemporary society') and being a small, fringe group standing firm against the wicked, fallen world.

Looks like they will have plenty of chance to carry on practising!

Cash for peerages....and those by-elections

So, after a drawn out enquiry, dawn raids and the like, no charges are to be laid.
Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The fact is that all the large parties have been doing this sort of thing for years, and with the huge upsurge in spending at election time, the pressure has increased to make it more not less likely

What we need is a downsizing of political campaigning so that there are very clear limits on expenditure. But will the main parties agree to this? I doubt it somehow.

And what about those by-elections? The Tories did extremely badly. How can anyone say otherwise? If the main opposition party is falling from 2nd to 3rd in a safe Labour seat, and does noticeably badly in the sort of seat they have to up their game in (Southall) after a very high-profile campaign, then they are surely not about to win the next election?

Thanks to MadPriest for this...

Following the story that by all accounts Priddis has congratulated a church organist on his forthcoming civil partnership (the celebratory party will be held in the church)
I do think there seems to be a little ...errr...confusion here

The fallout continues. The Church is clearly not happy, still spinning away, helped by its trusty band of conservative bloggers who hope that the issue of civil partnerships can be returned to, and what appears to be a misreading of the decision. I haven't read it, but if the conservatives are right, then Priddis would have won the case. The thing they appear to have overlooked is that its o nly because this case was deemed a probable lay post exempt from the regulations that all the other issues were taken into account at all. And they still lost - and the judgment stated that it would have been the case on indirect as well as direct discrimination

It really is about time they woke up and realised that their position is more akin to that of the racist - tolerated, even allowed in the private sphere, but certainly not approved of. Poor dears. Must be a terrible shock to them to realise that their brand of bigotry no longer holds sway

Dope

No, not another post about church conservatives!

Its dope. Today, seven Ministers in the government have said they have smoked dope. No surprise there given their age group.

Personally, I don't do drugs. Other than coffee. And alcohol. So, I don't have an axe to grind here.

My views on the topic are:
1. Classification itself is meaningless. Change it back to a class B, but don't waste police time tracking down users.
2. Its undoubtedly stronger than it used to be. ultimately, though, prohibition doesn't work, and the links between drugs are more down to the dealer contact than anything else
3. Once the drugs are on the streets control is an impossibility
4. 'Wars on drugs' don't work, and simply end up glamourising it more
5. Most drug users grow out of it.
6. Some cannabis users will be badly affected, just like some smokers die and some alcoholics suffer those consequences. I don't think thats enough on its own to prohibit. There's only so much you can do to save people from themselves.

Of the above, 5 is the most relevant - lets stop panicking.
And if we are serious about the question, then its the big boys who need catching and sorting.

Yet more church homophobia

And it is amusing to see people try and spin what is an embarassing defeat in an Industrial tribunal into some sort of victory.
So, wooden spoon to Chief Homophobe Anthony Priddis, Bishop of Hereford. Nasty bit of work, like most of the slimeballs
I can't imagine me ever wanting to return to church now. The longer you remain outside the institution, the more you come to see that it is essentially damaged to the core. For me, its gone further. Christianity itself and its bible are equaally problematic.

The time has come, I think, that gay people should no mlonger accept this sort of homophobia. if they don't speak out against it, and remain in a homophobic institution, I find it hard to have respect for them.
All priests should leave all denominations which do not fully accept their ministry. Otherwise, they are acting as their own oppressors and allowing themselves to be treated as second class citizens
All lay members of the church should refuse to fund the institution and refuse to take on any role of responsibility. if they feel they must, turn up on Sunday and leave it at that. Best of all, stop going. Its really rather liberating to be free of such a dead and stifling institution!

The good thing about this is that gay people are already clearing out of the churches. Young gay men don't need the gin-and-lace anglo-catholic closet any longer. This sort of publicity will only make it clearer that there is no place for us in the church and it will become, ever more, a laager for the bigoted who wish things were like they used to be.....whilst the rest of us get on with our lives, protected in the civil law, leaving them to wallow in their own sad, deluded nostalgic fantasy.

Fractured rib

Painful, though the painkillers work quite well.

So, the Blair era draws to a close, and Brown plans his takeover. I am awaiting to see what happens with interest. I think Brown is more of a party man than Blair, and he will be more concerned to feel that the party are being brought on board. He has shown little interest in foreign policy and his closest links are with East Coast American Democrats, but I doubt whether there will be overly hurried changes in the Iraq situation.

The attempted bringing-in of Ashdown was intriguing, but I think much of the negative publicity was actually created by the LibDems, who are desperate to see the back of him. The main problem I have with the LibDems is that so many of them, despite their 'nice' image, are exactly the opposite in reality. How can you really trust a party whose specialism is to produce lots of lies and claim credit for things they haven't done, who seem to have good progressive principles at national level, but locally are often on the populist Right, and who support PR but when it comes to its obvious outcome - coalition - don't want to get their hands dirty?

But Labour still don't inspire. Patricia Hewitt and Ruth Kelly really have got to go - with so many good women MP's, why are these two in the cabinet? Actually, why is Ruth 'Opus Dei' Kelly in the Labour party at all? And I'd be hard pushed to say exactly what I think the core of the Brown agenda is going to be.

I await with interest.

or perhaps this one?

My view on the London Olympics

And a few thoughts

Its been ages since I posted (again) largely because most of the last month appears to have been taken up marking coursework - with another few weeks to go.

So, a few musings

Lets start with politics. David Cameron is certainly proving to be Blair-lite in more ways than one. Both in terms of image and his determination to place his party in the centre. But the reactyion of the Right-wing to his decision to no longer promote grammar schools was a sign that not all are convinced, any more than Labour became utterly Blairite

Having said that, many non-Blairites left the party, along with people like me who would have classed themselves as Blairites until we realised that meant embracing neocon foreign policy. I received a letter inviting me to rejoin the party, but I don't know. Thing is, we have been moved into another constituency and there is no way I would ever vote for the sitting Labour MP there, under any circumstances, so until he departs through death or resignation, it seems a bit pointless to get involved again. If Simon Hughes had become LibDem leader then they may have embraced the sort of liberal-left ideas I believe in, but Campbell makes Brown look exciting

The papers have been full of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.Its a sad situation, but I don't feel at all easy with the creation of the media circus surrounding it. If the child had been the black offspring of a single mum from Middlesbrough I somehow think that the reaction would have not been the same.Its this sense of vicarious grief - I find it unappealing to say the least. I don;t feel any sense of grief because I do not know the people involved

Evil

Says it all, really.

Thank goodness that such fringe, lunatic harmful nonsense is marginalised and unimportant in the UK

But they must always be actively opposed. We cannot afford to become complacent.

So, my full review of the Big Night!

First, the contest was very well produced and staged - couldn't be faulted.

The songs were more of a mixed bag.

BOSNIA - a drifting and ethereal ballad, but I didn't think as strong as last years Bosnian entry.

SPAIN - Boy band D'Nash were easy on the ear, particularly the blond one with the pecs, and its a stirring song. I thought this should have done better than it did

BELARUS - The voice was missing here. Its a catchy modern pop song, but the singing was reedy, and someone should advise him that one needs to put one's arms fully under the sunbed (or rub the fake tan in more efficiently). This was overrated and did better than it deserved

IRELAND - This was one of my pre-contest favourites and its still one I will play for personal pleasure, but the performance didn't work. Lead singer Cathy veered offkey, and the staging just didn't work - in a cosy pub this would have been fine but it just looked wrong somehow

FINLAND - Loud rock. Next.

MACEDONIA - This came over very well, the singing was strong and she performed it well. Not a worldbeating song though the instumentation was striking

SLOVENIA - The first visit to the world of Popera , this was tipped as a victor by some. I didn't share their enthusiasm - thought it was an overblown bore. It sounded a bit like one of those patriotic songs on the old communist newsreels

HUNGARY - Excellent stuff - though the performance wasn't quite as strong as in the semi. Still a brave and ambitious piece of music, great voice and fab song. real music!

LITHUANIA - Cool and classy, too much so for an event which requires some immediacy, but an excellent entry which should have done a lot better

GREECE - A British singer, and not exactly the most polished performance of the night, but he looked as if he was enjoying himself. Ricky Martin should sue - and what about those jim-jams he was wearing?? Jolly stuff!

GEORGIA - As a total contrast, this one was far from conventional ... fantastic stuff from a singer whose voice I loved from first listen. Great debut from Georgia and I think it should have done better than it did Musically, think Bjork or Kate Bush.

SWEDEN - Just ghastly. Glam-rock which rips off at least two 70's examples

FRANCE - They were wearing pink. Very pink. This simply sounds more bizarre each time I hear it. Its French. Very French, and probably very clever, but I didn't like it

LATVIA - I thought this might have been a front-runner, and certainly it was very professional but clearly it failed to make the impact of the semi. Ballad popera this time

RUSSIA - one of the most contemporary entries, very Pussycat Dollski. Can't remember a thing about it though - sums up a lot of modern pop music all told. Boring.

GERMANY - Cool, cool - but unfortunately, german and jazz don't really make great bedfellows. I liked this a lot but its certainly for a niche market

SERBIA - The winner, and i think well deserved. A big ballad, an unconventional singer, a simple performance - the sort of thing which people would say would never win under televoting. I'm glad it did.

UKRAINE - The crazy song of the night - think obviously male drag queen in Bacofoil singing a cod-cossack chant in german. Bizarre. I'm not really keen on joke entries. This waqs mildly amusing but I'm relieved it didn't win

UK - Oh dear. This was all very british - much like daz last year. All very cliched with double entendres and airline props, but no-one could do anything with a song as appalling as this. OK, its camp cheese and doesn't pretend to be anything else but that doesn't mean I have to like it

ROMANIA - The third novelty song in the night. This was like an outtake from Borat

BULGARIA - Percussion rules. Strangely haunting although there's no tune to speak of - but does create a certain mood

TURKEY - Another contemporary song, and this was about the best of that style. he seemed to be having microphone problems at the start but recovered well. Memorable chorus, not surprised it got 12 from the UK

ARMENIA - Lovely ballad sung extremely well by a very handsome singer! I always thought this would do well - I thought a charming song. Very professional.

MOLDOVA - Upbeat rock - don't like it.

Me on the ESC! Link to Radio 5

www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/programmes/#r

Go down to the Richard Bacon show, its todays show, and go forward 2hrs 38 minutes on the player.....

Sorry, Scoochers, you will not like what I have to say!

so...the semi final....

Bulgaria - This isn't very accessible, but I like the way they got away with playing the percussion live. I thought it was effective and haunting and I'm pleased it made it

Israel - Sorry, I find this offensive in every way. The worst in the semi - dodgy lyric, tuneless and not in the least funny

Cyprus - Tired, derivative disco-pop, and I think her voice was average at best. This years Kate Ryan

Belarus - This was well staged. He missed a few notes but he is an appealing performer. I can't say it does a lot for me but I can see the appeal

Iceland - he can certainly sing, but this sort of stadium rock simply isn't what I like to listen to

Georgia - I was seriously worried about this - such a difficult song to sing, but I thought she was awesome. This is really ambitious stuff and its been in my top 5 since the outset. probably still too non-commercial to win, but in terms of musical quality this has it in spades

Montenegro - One of many rock songs tonight, only one of which made it. He performed this well but song wise its bland and forgettable

Switzerland - What is it about Swiss acts? This was as inept at Piero, It had a real 'amateur dramatics at the village hall' feel to it - the singing was appalling. Why didn't they get a couple of singers who could have sung this well - because it actually needed good singers to work, with all the high notes.

Moldova - Not my sort of music but well performed and competent. The only rock-influenced song to make it

Netherlands - She gave it her all, but there's only so much you can do with a song which really didn't get anywhere. Almost any other song would have been better from the new album - I think she should have gone with one of the ballads.

Albania - Very professional performance but absolutely no discernible melody

Denmark - I thought this probably would qualify but this wasn't schlager's year - and that can only be a good thing. Its all been done before: musically, this was back to gay disco 80's style and whilst catchy enough, essentially very insubstantial.

Croatia - The female singer was very off-key throughout and the song didn't get anywhere - bottom 5 I'd say

Poland - This deserved to qualify. Really well performed and effective, but perhaps the song was just a bit too messy.

Serbia - Wonderful voice, I liked the intriguing staging, and this was really an obvious qualifier

Czech republic - I really can't comment fairly. This sort of music just isn't what I can bear to listen to, full stop

Portugal - This was nice and I thought she sung it very well. Somehow, though, it lacked that extra bit of impact - i didn't vote for it, even though I like it, which speaks volumes

FYROM - I like the instrumentation and she sung it flawlessly. Very deserved qualifier

Norway - I hate this. Its everything wrong with Scandi-Eurovision in three minutes. A clinical, cynical attempt to 'do Latin' - about as Latino as dried elk salami and about as appealing. Trash and I'm delighted it didn't qualify.

Malta - This was just too busy, too messy. Olivia was OK but I just found it a pain on the ears. Now, can we have one of those lovely Disney ballads and a top 10 place next year, please?

Andorra - I think it was the singing wot dun it. It was young and fresh, but the lead singer went badly off key frequently. I can't think of any other obvious reasons for it not getting there

Hungary - Along with Georgia, I had placed this in the 'classy but too good' category. This was splendid - so simple, and I love the voice. Very contemporary, I can imagine this being played on UK radio next to Amy Winehouse.

Estonia - Just very, very dull. She sang it well, though

Belgium - I loved this as its so mush the sort of music I love - but the singing was all over the place . He couldn't seem to decide whether to sing normal key or falsetto. Groovy stuff and I would have liked to see it qualify but i wasn't all that surprised when it didn't

Slovenia - This was surprisingly effective, visually - but i still don't think that the blend of opera and disco works

Turkey - Restrained performance, but I think it was an obvious qualifier. Again, very contemporary, although I thought the staging was at odds with the style of the song

Austria - The verses were good, and he looked fine, but the chorus led us to loud rock category again and I think that ruined it for me. I just don't like rock.

Latvia - I really liked this on the night. The singing was just so good and it came over as so uplifting and anthemic - its now in my top 10!

So, for all the whingers. On the whole the BEST SONGS MADE IT. And its good to see Hungary and Georgia through with songs which are not commercial and which are musically more ambitious.

My Eurovision review

The semi...

Bulgaria
A number of 'mood music' pieces in the contest. This one is rhythmic, with a lot of electronics and the vocal used more as part of the whole than following a melody. Its haunting but I'm not sure if it will be remembered after 28 songs have passed by.

Israel
The incongruity of these lyrics has not been missed. One can only hope for a much deserved 0 points and perhaps a Lebanese entry instead next year? It couldn't be worse than this. Garbage.

Cyprus
This has been a fan fave since the outset, but it leaves me totally cold. Sung in French, its a very boring and predictable disco track. I hope it will go the same way as Kate Ryan and Xandee who have entered similar tedium and have not done well. The worst Cypriot entry for many years.

Belarus
Well...if you can't beat 'em, copy 'em. This is a thinly disguised copy of last years Russian entry only its not such a good song and he doesn't have such a good voice. And you wouldn't want him to come and do the plumbing. Uninspiring

Iceland
This is one of those stadium rock type ballads. I don't like the lead singer's voice and its all a bit overblown and lugubrious. Not a bad song, but the way its presented is another matter.

Georgia
Their national final saw the singer dressed in something resembling a blancmange. Musically, this is one of the most unusual entries . Think a Caucasian Bjork. I think this is brilliant but to try and describe what this actually sounds like isn't easy. Love the voice and the whole dramatic feel of this. If this doesn't qualify there's no justice!

Montenegro
Another very loud rock song. Largely tuneless and unremarkable. Dated, too.

Switzerland
The opening is OK but then it turns into another slightly silly entry. If it wasn't about vampires, would it be remembered? I doubt it. Also, it reminds me of something else although I can't put my finger on what. Take On Me?However, musically, its not as bad as i thought it might be...

Moldova
Another rock-influenced entry - of which there are a few this year. This actually isn't bad - I like the verses, but the chorus and the choppy guitars spoil it for me.

Netherlands
Edsilia is a great singer and she will sing this well - but there's only so much you can do with a turkey of a song like this one. It screams 'average'. A pity - as she could have pit in anything else from her album and it would have been better.

Albania.
This is a curious song. The latest version is certainly more acceptable than the original, but its still a doomy, deathly slow ballad with little in the way of a tune. I often like depressing Balkan ballads but this isn't a good example. It hasn't really been improved by a translation into English. Given the quality of the semi its actually in my top 10 nonetheless...

Denmark
This is the sort of music I recall from gay clubs in the 1980's. Old-fashioned hi-NRG. Very dated, but its catchy and cheerful and in a semi with so much which is simply forgettable, I'd imagine it will qualify. Very memorable chorus.

Croatia
Midtempo rock : forgettable and boring. Hard to say very much more.

Poland
A bit of a surprise from Poland - this is a reasonably authentic stab at a contemporary R&B/dance track - think Beyonce - and although its three songs in one, their performance was really impressive in their NF. Might qualify as it is that bit different.

Serbia
One day - I hope - a ballad will win again, and this just might be the one. This is great stuff - dramatic with a real tune! My third joint favourite.


Czech Republic
Their first entry. Its heavy rock. Lordi without the masks. I find it hard to comment. I hate heavy rock

Portugal
This is the best Latin in this years contest - its really cute and sweet, and deserves to qualify. I really like the use of the brass instruments in the chorus. Good stuff!

FYROM
Dramatic stuff with a big chorus and slightly syncopated rhythm - again more of a mood music piece than anything else. Well sung and has a slinky feel about the verse which the chorus rather loses - shame. Still a good entry.

Norway
This years attempt by Scandis to do Latin belongs to Norway. This is Latin done cabaret schlager style. As erzatz as you can imagine, down to the castanets. One way trip to next years semi, I trust. Dire.

Malta
Olivia Lewis has been trying for so long, that its a real shame that she has to enter with this cacophonous mess of a song. Pure earache from start to finish.

Andorra
So we have the Andorran version of Blink or Busted. I just don't like this sort of music. Its very loud and fast and has huge Jemini potential for a lousy performance. Cheap and derivative

Hungary
Good to see a country entering something genuinely good which would stand up musically outside the contest. This is a bluesy, soulful ballad in the Amy Winehouse mould and with a good performance, could do well (particularly given the pace of the semi entrants - this is one of the few ballads)

Estonia
See Croatia. I can't believe that such a nothing piece of averageness will get anything more than a handful of votes. Might even get the big 0. Just such a non-event.

Belgium
I love this! Its very much like a late 70's soul/R&B groove - think Heatwave, or Earth Wind and Fire. Not a great song, but nice to have a bit of this style of music in the contest, and I hope it makes the Final.

Slovenia
Opera meets disco. Bizarre combination and personally I don't think it works

Turkey
This could do must better than predicted. he's a good singer and although its not a great song, the chorus is memorable. A definite qualifier I'd say. Style wise, Justin Timberlake all the way.

Austria
After a year sitting out the contest, Austria's returnee is a Pop Idol loser singing a loud and tedious piece of guitar led pop-rock. This is the sort of thing i don;t listen to radio 1 to avoid. Horrible.

Latvia
The semi will end on this pseudo-operatic note. I think its an almost certain qualifier and certainly its very well sung, but there's just something about it which is all a bit smug and 'heard it before'



Finalists....

Bosnia and Herzegovina
This years opening song is a slow, moody, atmospheric song in the style popularised by Lane Moje and its successors. Very good singer and this will definitely pick up a clutch of Eastern votes. I think its classy and I like the musical arrangement.

Spain
A very visually appealing boy-band (fit lead singer!) and this is the best Spanish entry for years. Catchy and upbeat, but their singing style is actually very cool and that gives it a restrained feel. Like this a lot.

Ireland
This is my joint favourite. Dervish sing Irish folk music, and this is an anthemic example with a rousing chorus. If this is your bag, then you will like it - everyone I know who likes Irish music loves this, but again, its not everyone's kind of music. But its certainly mine!

Finland
The hosts have chosen a deep-voiced female singer who sounds and looks like a Gothic drag queen. The song is another one of those boring rock guitar led items which would encourage me to retune the radio. Hate it.

Lithuania
My other favourite. Its this years 'quiet song' - a gentle. drifting jazz-influenced ballad which is simply too classy for today's Eurovision. Still, at least it gives us something which will definitely be worth listening to in the Final, and the quiet songs haven't done badly in recent years (think Latvia 2005). This is the sort of music I'd listen to outside the Contest.

Greece
Ricky Martin lives - oh, that vida loca. Shameful rip off, but its jolly enough and he has snake-hips!

Sweden
I cannot express how much I hate this ghastly, revolting piece of crap. I mean, why the hell does anyone want to sound like the Sweet? Weren't they bad enough first time round? If there was any justice then this and the UK would be propping up the rest with a double zero.

France
Well, its different. Its a joke entry, I assume. I really don't like it at all. Its very 'French' but is it supposed to be parody or what? Hard to describe

Russia
Again Russia have entered one of the most commercial and contemporary songs. The problem is that this really doesn't do much for me - but then why should it as its aimed at 15 year olds? Could do very well but I wouldn't choose to listen to it again.

Germany
Germany goes jazz again - but this time its swing. having seen the singer, he is an outstandingly good performer and will certainly sell the song well. The more I hear this, the more I like it, but it is jazz, and not everyone likes jazz.....

Ukraine
This isn't music as such but actually this is quite funny. Put it like this - anything to take votes away from the UK is fine by me. If it wins that's another matter.

UK
NUL POINTS! The worst song in the contest - along with Sweden. Pathetic turd of a song for brain dead queens and babies.

Romania
Novelty song, with an interesting draw alongside two others. I haven't heard it since its selection, and it doesn't sound as bad as I remembered, but still doesn't do much for me

Armenia
A surprisingly 'straight' ballad without much hint of Eastern flavour. In a contest with so few ballads this could do well. On record, one of the best singers in the contest and its a wistful tune. One of the songs which immediately makes one wish for the return of the orchestra

Texas

Been back a week now and still haven't written anything about Texas....

We decided that we wanted to see parts of America that weren't on the coasts, so headed for 10 days in Texas, hiring a car and spending time in Houston, Austin and San Antonio, with some drives out to the country.

Each of the cities are very different. Houston is business-centred with a fair bit of old oil money splashing about, Austin is laid-back and studenty, and San Antonio is very Mexican. All three had plenty to offer and lots to see, and in such a short visit we couldn't do everything.

Some observations
1. Texas really is very big. So are the buildings, and the people. It was nice to feel relatively slim!
2. Not everyone in Texas is a right-wing Republican. OK, most are, but not in Austin, and both San Antonio and Houston have a Democratic presence as well.
3. There are places in Texas which really are a lot like the places you see on the Western movies
4. Texas has a very strong independent identity, as strong as the American one, certainly
5. The food portions are vast. See 1.
6. The Space centre in Houston is fantabulosa. They dress their staff up in pastel blue indoor space suits similar to those worn by astronauts. making a young man who must have weighted 30 stone is tantamount to cruelty. See 1 and definitely 5.
7. Best places we ate in each city - Houston, either Mark's American Cuisine or Brennan's. Austin - go to the Salt Lick barbecue or the Texas Chili Parlour. Not a fine dining city. San Antonio, the wonderful Le reve
8. We enjoyed out day out in the Hill Country around Fredericksburg. Some very good wineries in Texas ( did you know Texas made wine?) 80% of people there voted for Bush.
9. We visited an underground cave where one of the young men working there - about 19, I'd say - told us he had never been outside Texas and had been no further than Houston - once! This is an hour or so from the Mexican border!
10. Best museum - Austin's Texas State History museum. First class.
11. Best place we stayed - the Hotel Icon in Houston was excellent.

Local elections

I sent this letter to the local rag this morning - any comments?

My voting card arrived this morning. If this were a national election, I would be amongst the many that see nothing at all to inspire or excite amongst any of the main parties

This being a local election, however, local issues should be the focus on the decisions we have to make. I would, thus, propose three questions to all of the candidates:

1. Given that the matters over which local government has any real influence over have been drastically reduced, and the actual political decisions are made by a small coterie of councillors – the ‘cabinet’ – what is the purpose of so many additional councillors? Their role appears to be little more than an unqualified low-level welfare service, sorting out management failures of the council, given that they have no real political role any longer. Could we not manage with many less councillors given that no party is suggesting a return to direct service provision?

2. Would not a properly funded, trained, and independent Ombudsman service which operated locally be a more effective way of sorting out these problems? I accept that many councillors – including those in this ward – work hard and are sincere and genuine people – but its their actual role which I question, now that they have no political ‘say’ any longer unless a Cabinet member.

3. Given that Sefton Council has no overall majority and no party is principled enough to walk away from power, what we have is essentially an officer-run authority with an all-party coalition cabinet. Why, then, so much inter-party bickering in election literature when the decisions being criticised are the responsibility of all three parties?

I will be interested to receive any responses – my vote is up for grabs!

Forget nice....

So now we have that disgusting little worm, the Bishop of Hereford, Anthony Priddis, deciding to interrogate and turn down a gay man for a post as a youth officer.

Why, for goodness sake, can't people see just what a waste of time the institutional church is? There is no point in being part of something which is oppressive and has a homophobic message - its just not good for you! Would a black person join the BNP?

I find myself in a difficult position on one level. I can see nothing worthwhile in the Church, and ever more, see humanism as more appealing than Christianity. Yet the latter has been a large part of my own life and identity for quite a while....and I know there are things I still find attractive about the Christian message.

I'm going to do some proper reading about humanism and atheism. In the meantime, the fence will have to do, although its not terribly comfortable...

OK, I'll try to be nice

Fluffy bunny-dom was never my thing, but I seem to have given people the impression that I make Marcus Brigstocke look like a happy, cheerful person, so I will try very hard NOT to appear furious in today's post.

But WHAT THE HELL am I meant to say about Scooch? I mean, come on?? This utterly talentless troop of jokers win our ESC selection with an act that's already been tried, a song so mindless that a two year old could have written it, and to cap it all the BBC cock up the broadcast. You couldn't make it up.

As for the Budget, I never feel I have a lot to say. Our joint earnings put us well into the higher earner bracket and I tend to think that we will never really be affected by any Budget. Is that right? Theoretically, no, but its not going to change - because no party can win an election on the votes of the poor.

Sexual Orientation Regulations passed in Parliament

Excellent news - the Sexual orientation regulations have been passed and become law in April.

As you can imagine, the conservative Christians are absolutely apoplectic about it. They simply don't get that things have moved on and that their ludicrous beliefs and prejudices no longer mean much to the vast majority of people. It was amusing to note that the issue was hardly covered on the news at all once the decision had been made - to listen to that lot you would think the world had ended.

Naturally, Vatican plc are still whingeing on about keeping their adoption agencies open and how they may have to close. Well, they have a simple choice. They stop discriminating. Or they close. No problem there. They wouldn't be missed, anyway - plenty of other agencies could take on their role.

The other piece of interesting church related news is that the American Episcopal Church has told Williams the Spineless to get stuffed and that they wonlt be playing his little game. Its about time someone in the church actually displayed a bit of principle - now, where are the so-called liberal Bishops in the UK, who should be speaking out in favour of the US stance and making it clear that they stand with them, not with Nigeria and puppy-dog Williams the Coward.

Changing Attitude seem to have gone very quiet, too - perhaps because they recognise their strategy has failed and they too are going to have to make some hard choices.

Ist anniversary

We celebrated our first official anniversary the weekend before last - returning to the boutique hotel where we had the ceremony for a meal. We were offered free champagne and it was a lovely evening. Its good that we are now recognised. A lot of people have askewd me if it feels any different now its official. i suppose the answer is, not really, as we were always committed to each other in any case, but its good to know that we aren't second class citizens any longer. As I recall US comedian Scott Capurro say - closets are for clothes.

The Goods and Services regulations have been announced and are broadly as expected. The religious homophobes will be allowed to discriminate within their temples of prejudice, but as i don;t frequent them any longer, that's not a problem.

Funny how these things work out.I think there's a typical pattern
1. Government announces gay rights legal reforms to bring equality for gay and lesbian people
2. Conservative Christian groups oppose changes, usually saying that they 'do not support discrimination' in the case of the more wishy-washy of them. Various outlandish suggestions are made as to the outcomes of this legislation
3. Government passes the legal changes
4. The world carries on, and none of the outcomes follow through
5. Everyone else gets on with life and conservative Christians continue to fulminate. Only their words appear ever more hollow and hysterical because few care about their obsessions.

I'm sure this will be the same.

The ESC is still to choose just two songs, one of which is the UK> When thats chosen I will probably put together a review of the contest again.

Seems as if the political parties are falling over themselves to be greener than thou. But isn't it the classic NIMBY issue? Just about any suggestion which actually involves any sacrifice - road pricing, for example - will be met with a cry of protest. Being green costs, and I'm not convinced that people really want to pay.

I'm really going to make an effort to blog more often.I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't talk about work - nothing more boring than blogs which moan about their workplace - but I realise this has meant a scanty number of posts since I've never got into a pattern of regular blogging. Today ; we went over to Harrogate to see a friend of David's and his wife who are soon to be spending two years on the Falkland Islands. Certainly not doing things by halves. I'm sure it will be an adventure, but I'm not sure I could handle the isolation or lack of privacy.

Its that season again....

Eurovision season, of course!

I am preparing to write full reviews of all the songs in time, but so far this year, it is proving to be a little strange. There have been some good songs selected over the past few days, but there are also some absolute horrors. Most of all Israel's entry. Supposedly a satire, but how can Israel of all countries satirise nuclear weaponry??

As for the UK, we have six songs to choose from, three are good, two OK- and one diabolical.

The latest from the Church

I hate to say 'I told you so'

But I did.

It has been obvious to me that the Church is deeply and thoroughly homophobic. It is no good trying to make excuses or trying to pretend that things are any different.

What we now have is a simple choice. Either you can support gay and lesbian equality. Or you can leave the church. But trying to do both together is simply giving succour to an organisation which has had chances to change but has resolutely resisted such change.

The other question which i think requires attention is, quite simply, does Christianity really add up? Or has its good points been fatally and permanently outweighed by its prejudices?

First blog of the year

I'm really not doing too well at this, am I?

Anyway, a few thoughts.

Let's start with vomiting. By all accounts it is regarded as the world's most unpleasant sound.

Clearly, those who cited that example must be regular churchgoers, for the sound of vomit is the only think which comes to mind in listening to their latest garbage

We have the arrant hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church, Vatican plc, who deliberately covered up child abuse,pretending to have a position relating to 'morality' regarding adoption.The Catholic Church shouldn't be allowed any where near children . In addition, I do not believe that any self-respecting gay person should want to do anything with the Catholic church other than copiously vomit at its sheer evil and hypocrisy.

As for Rowan Williams. Well, what a pathetic specimen he is.This is the man who used to live next door to a gay couple, one a priest, bringing up a child with severe learning difficulties. This is also the man willing to sacrifice his friend because of institutional homophobia.

Williams, there is no-one in the world I despise more than you. You have no principles, you are a windbag who writes impressive looking, meaningless garbage. But you have nothing worth saying, and you are quite incapable of offering any sort of inspiration or leadership. Do us all a favour and piss off, eh?

I shall never return to the church until it splits and discards the nonsense it promulgates to the unthinking and deluded. No, lets be honest. I'm not going back to the church. I'm better off without it

Last Rites

I really should give Last Rites a plug.

Its about the best book I have read about the sad and sorry institution called the Church of England in the last few years.

I won't spoil it for you, but have a look at http://www.LastRites.co.uk

The most loathsome bishop in the Church of England hates it - a so-called progressive who thinks he is left-wing but justifies church homophobia to the hilt. The sort of sickening bastard which makes me glad that I will this year, and in future years, be having a church-free Christmas! So, if he hates the book, then it must be good....

The Royal Mail

Its interesting that this utterly inept organisation has so far, managed to avoid privatisation....yet surely this is one service that is crying out for some competition?

I'm awaiting a parcel. It hasn't as yet, arrived. Yet I can't phone my local delivery office to enquire, because the wankers at the so-called 'Customer service' section can't give me their number, because THEY have to sort it out. But of course, as they are not based locally, how are they to know if it has arrived or not? Everyone knows that the card system this organisation operates doesn't work, but essentially unless you keep the number to hand you have to go round the office to enquire.

That's customer service for you....

Vincent Nichols - bugger off back to Italy and take the rest of your squalid church with you

So, now we have Catholic Gauleiter Nichols threatening to withdraw co-operation from joint projects.

As someone who thinks that scvhools, adoption agencies, and frankly, british society, would be far better without the vile and disgusting influence of the Catholic Church, this can only be welcomed.

What an institution. Criticising consenting gay couples when half its priests are shagging schoolkids, have a history of abuse of everyone from single mothers to schoolboys, trying to prevent people from deciding when they wish to die, preventing women from controlling their own fertility - and we actually think this is a suitable organisation to be allowed to run anything?

The sooner the Catholic church in Britain breathes its last, the better for all of us

Rowan Williams - foot in mouth once again - and other thoughts

So now Williams gives an interview with the catholic herald which, naturally, he claims is misquotes. That may be the case. But why is this happening once again? Could it be that Williams (other than being a spineless, disloyal, pathetic , hypocritical irrelevance?) simply has neither media nor political skills, and is utterly incapable of doing anything other than providing vague, opaque soundbites that are clearly meant to mean exactly the opposite to how they read to everyone else?

As time moves on, I become ever more detached from organised religion of any description. I still go along to Quaker meeting, sometimes, but even there the spectre of those who cannot resist telling others what they should do, how they should think, what they should believe.

I have come to the conclusion that churches simply attract bossy people and that religion appears to be largely about policing of others.

Yes, this blog does still exist....

And my excuse is that I have a new job.
Which I am enjoying. I don't talk about work on this blog as a matter of principle but it is going well.

So...what to say

Gormley's Iron Men. I live in the Crosby area, and there is currently a local controversy with regard to the future of a public art installation currently on the beach - Another Place.
http://www.visitliverpool.com/site/product-p76741 for more details.

The short-sighted philistines who run Sefton Council - in particular the Tory group and PPC for Sefton Central Debi Jones (who is actually OK other than her politics) and some renegade LibDems of the 'we're working class, you know' variety, have voted not to give planning permission for its permanent place on the beach. It is a ludicrous decision. There is huge potential here - Crosby beach and marina is sorely needing renovation and needs a focus point. With the upcoming Capital of Culture in Liverpool, it is imperative that these statues remain here. Please write to Graham Haywood, chief executive of Sefton Council, graham.haywood@sefton.gov.uk and say so. They have a stay of execution until March as there is an appeal.

Political musings....

The LibDems conference this week, some of which I have watched. A sense of a lack of excitement and vision, or at least one which does not suggest that there is anything very different about the LD's from any other party.

Something does need to break this obsession with trying to gain as many voters as possible hence the lack of choice. Clare Short is right - we need electoral reform and I think only a hung parliament could offer that. Assuming people bother to vote next time....I think you would be very hard pushed to know what party most politicians belong to . They use the same soundbites, have the same essential message. There's nothing to inspire.

South Africa

Rather belated, but we spent 10 days in South Africa (Cape Town) and its about time I blogged about it.

Its a fascinating place. Cape Town itself has often been described as thinking of itself as a European city and certainly on one level it is less overtly African than other major African cities - the population is historically more diverse, for a start.

What immediately struck me was that in essense, apartheid still exists, in a practical sense if not in actuality as a political system. For example, restaurants appeared to be frequented only by white people. And recognising the still vast economic differences is at least one explanation. The sheer size of some of the townships, and the fact that much of them, particularly the largest, still consist of 'informal' housing - essentially shacks constructed from corrugated iron, board, and so on - emphasises this difference. Just a mile or two up the road are mansions costing millions. I know there are these diferences in London, but they seem all the more extreme, all the more stark.

What any government can do is limited, I suppose - or at least, it may take time, a long time, and when we visited a township with our excellent guide Duncan, local people did seem to have a sense of optimism. There is certainly a genuine sense of community on the townships, and I couldn't help but think that the design of the new 'pathway' housing will not facilitate this and appears to be more on the lines of the low level blocks of flats being torn down all over Britain.

Racism is still all too apparent, as is the assumption that because we are white, we would agree with them. Two particular occassions - at a crocodile farm where the owner launched into a racist rant, even using the word 'kaffir' (did you know that the only problem with apartheid was giving it a name - it would have been fine if they had just done it!), and in a supermarket of all places. Thats not going to disappear overnight either.

The city itself is remarkably beautiful, no doubt about that. We did the expected Table Mountain visit, and the views really are amazing. We also went to Robben island which was interesting but perhaps somewhat disorganised. The Robben Island Museum are building a new craft to take people to the island but have cancelled their existing contract before the new boat is available and replaced them, temporarily, with the old apartheid era boats which used to take the prisoners over to the island. Of historical provenance, yes, but not a comfoprtable ride to put it mildly, and they are still trying to run the old schedules on boats which are far slower. Daft.

Other things we did - travelled down to Constantia and halfway to Cape Point, where we saw penguins oin Boulders beach, and over to Hermanus for some whale watching - yes, they were more than in abundance. We went on a day safari which included rhinos, zebras, wildebeestes and so on...

Its certainly a foodie city. Great food everywhere we tried, and the exchange rate makes it a very cheap holiday once you have got there.

And the hotel must get a mention. The Cape Heritage Hotel in the city centre is a gem.

Great post about Williams the Spineless

Thanks to Dora in Texas for this - I hope she doesn'tmind my reproducing it

I have my own term for him. The Archmushworm of Canterbury. Spineless is putting it mildly. You have to be capable of actual definitive views before the concept of a spine even applies. The Archbishop of Canterbury reminds me of the overgrown flea larvae that infested my room one hot summer when my cat was ill. If you squashed them, they turned out to be completely made of flea excrement. They had no actual substance.

I'm not very good at this....

So, what have we been up to since the last missive?

A week in France.Now, that was very enjoyable. We travelled down to Normandy, the heart of the Pays d'Auge, and rented a cottage for a week, spending the days travelling round the region, eating very good lunches and chilling out. The evenings we spent at the cottage again chilling out. Very pleasant.
Normandy still keeps largely to traditional French hours - two hours for lunch - even the supermarket shut for 2 hours in the local town. The food was good, of course, particularly the cheese. And we did plenty of stocking up on wine, local cider and poire, and so on.

Dropped in to see some friends on the way back - who now run THE LANGTONS GUEST HOUSE in Eastbourne. If you're looking for somewhere to stay on the south coast, it is recommended (Anne's breakfasts are excellent!) http://www.thelangtons.net/ is the website

I'm still on the search for more work for the forthcoming academic year - really, all I want is a 0.5 permanent post somewhere within travelling distance. You wouldn'tthink it would be THAT difficult, would you?

Its one way to make a living....

Exam marking. Lots of it, hence not many blog entries.

Dorothy took her first wander out of the house today - Mum came down and we had a barbecue so we thought we would try her out in the back garden, which seemed to go well enough.

Some thoughts on items in the news.
Blair and Buying honours. Its always gone on. The Tories certainly don't want the police digging about in their records either. There are two answers. First, much lower caps on total spending along with, if needs be, more regulation of the press in terms of their bias. Second, state funding of political parties. democracy needs to be paid for, not bought by a few rich men.

As for the Middle east. Israel's disproportionate response backed up by Bush has made me wonder whether there really is any possibility of peace, and further convinces me that running foreign policy on the basis of either religious destiny or collective guilt is not a good idea. if the Jews wanted a homeland, it shoud not have been at the expense of the inhabitants of that country, and not in the middle of hostile territory.
A two state solution is still the ideal. But can israel live alongside anyone without getting its own way on absolutely everything? Doesn't appear to be the case.

Oh, and films. Forgot to mention films

I've seen three in the past couple of days

1. Confetti. Charming low-budget mockumentary about three weddings. If you like Best in Show or A Mighty Wind, this is a UK equivalent and most entertaining. The gay (but of course!) wedding planners are great, and topically they decide to get hitched at the end of the film

2. Friends with Money. One of those US independednts where nothing ever happens, but the characters are engrossing and convincing

3. Wah-Wah. Stunning Swaziland scenery and a charming throwback to a coming-of-age in the dying days of colonial control

I'd recommend them all

11th Commandment. Thou shalt not neglect one's blog

Only when you are drowning in marking it isn't always something one looks forward to...still....

Dorothy is proving to be a sweetie albeit a very mischievous one - she seems to like eating fish most of all and a draw or cupboard cannot be open without her entering it. Think it will be time for her to start to explore the great outdoors before too long.

Some opinions, I think.

First, PPI Forums and their future. I have sat on our local Forum for the past 18 months or so. Its OK, a bit toothless, but does manage to ask some questions. I went to a meeting in Manchester which ... well, here's the report I have produced. Speaks for itself. Along with effective privatisation of the NHS it doesn't bode well.

The Future of PPI Forums – consultation held at City of Manchester Stadium, 4/7/06

This was one of a series of consultation meetings held both to inform PPI Forum members of the proposed changes to Forums given the future demise of CPPIH, and to gauge our views.

Conveniently, the Government had delayed the announcement of the changes to a time after most of the meetings had taken place, but given that the changes had been leaked to the press, there is reason to believe that the outlined changes are accurate

These are:
* Given the Government’s decision to abandon ‘arms-length’ bodies, CPPIH, despite its recent establishment, is no longer within boundaries of Government policy
* PPI Forums are likely to be abolished in June 2007 along with CPPIH. However, PALS and ICAS are to continue.
* PPI Forums are likely to be replaced with local ‘health involvement networks’ which will have input from local organisations as well as individuals, hence diluting the ‘patient’ element of PPI Forums. Membership details appear scanty and imprecise and questions such as whether membership would be static or fluid dependent upon the issues being discussed, or the relative rights and influence of individuals as opposed to organisations appear to be topics for further discussion. There appears to be a recognition that the skills and expertise of current forum members should not be lost but no precise plans as to how these are likely to be maintained
* No satisfactory distinguishing was made between the role of these new networks and the existing strategic role of the Health Overview and Scrutiny committees of local authorities
* Similarly, there appears to be no clear description of their powers and no indication that they will have statutory force
* It appears likely that Local Authorities may be given the funding responsibility but that arrangements will be made with the VCS who will support and service the networks. It appears likely that Networks will be coterminous with local authorities and will have far more explicit ties with them – again raising the question of the differentiation between these networks, and the overview and scrutiny function. There is also no clear intention for the future of PPI within the specialist functions eg mental health

The likely ‘spin’ placed on these proposals will emphasise the centrality of patient and public involvement to Government strategies, perhaps as part of their ‘localism’ theme which stresses the importance of local people and organisations championing local issues. A briefing paper is likely to be in the pipeline which will pull together some of the achievements made so far. Both the benefits of wider membership and greater allocated resources are expected to be part of the ‘spin’

There is awareness of the possibility of a ‘gap’ between the end of PPI Forums and the establishment of the new Networks but no firm proposals as to how this will be dealt with.

CPPIH are planning an event in October where Forum members will be able to meet and discuss the issues with their MP’s.

Perspective of Forum members present

There was a considerable amount of agreement expressed by the Forum members present at the meeting. Some of the key points are outlined below

* It is vital that PPI functions remain independent, particularly from the influence of local authorities, political parties and large, well-funded organisations.
* There was little enthusiasm for the presence of organisations within the new networks as it was felt strongly that they could all too easily be effectively colonised by professional paid staff representing large single-issue, sectional voluntary organisations, marginalizing individual and patient representation. It was felt that if there had to be organisational representation, this should consist entirely of unpaid volunteers and that representation should not be able to be done in paid work time, by paid professionals. The priority of community not sectional interest was emphasised, and it was suggested that group membership needed to be regularly rotated to avoid this danger.
* The current range of powers needed to be retained and strengthened – the proposals indicate that key powers such as that of inspection will no longer exist. This was strongly opposed.
* Concern was expressed over the lack of provision for specialist trusts, whose concerns and priorities are likely to be lost in a more generalist local network
* There needs to be an assurance of continuity between the planned closure of Forums and establishment of networks, without a ‘gap’ between the two.
* There was a recognition that networks would need to retain a high level of support, training, and so on, and that this could be assisted by a more formal, independent, national voice of PPI networks where sharing of good practice could take place.
* Finally, there was an awareness that reinvention of the wheel was NOT required and that it was important not to lose the skills and knowledge of members, although it was also recognised that many may not wish to remain involved given the nature of the proposals.

I am concerned that the proposals as they stand appear to be poorly thought out and conceived, and far from widening involvement, are likely to deliberately marginalize the involvement of the grass-roots patient voice, to the benefit of organisations. Should paid voluntary sector staff be allowed to sit on the new Networks, I would forecast that they will become largely professional-dominated and are likely to merge with the Overview and Scrutiny function of the local authority, given that they will hold the purse-strings and are unlikely to want to duplicate existing strategic scrutiny. In the process, the strength of forums – their ability to raise concerns about ground-level experiences of the NHS, will be lost

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

We seem to be in the curious situation where the Conservative party is sounding slightly more left wing than the Government. They are less enthusiastic about nuclear power. Cameron's speech about young people made sense - certainly more than anything stated by that jackbooted thug Reid. Ex CP of course, and doesn't it show. Authoritarianism at its worse, and when attached to the right-wing ideas of New Labour, guess what you get - right-wing populist Daily Excess style Toryism, only with a Glasgow accent.
Last Friday we went to hear Jane Kennedy speak about the NHS. She resigned from her post recently. Well, not exactly. Truth is Blair wanted to shift her to the defence ministry and she didn't fancy it - but I didn'tfind what she had to say of much inspiration. She appears to be opposed to some of the privatisation within the primary care sector but thats only a small part of whats going on - David asked a question about dentistry which she made no attempt to answer.

I voted Labour, for an MP who I don't like much, at the last election. I did so ONLY because I feared Howard. I don't fear Cameron in the same way. Next time the Boundary Commission has shifted us into a safe Labour seat - if the current MP is the candidate then I won't be voting Labour under any circumstances in any case, but at present they are giving me no positive reasons to do so.
Lets see - we are still in Iraq, still slavering at Bush's every word, still supporting renewal of Trident and nuclear power, still allowing private companies to run schools and hospitals, the list goes on.
If Tory policies are what we are going to get, maybe the Tories are the best people to implement them?

A new member of the family. Welcome Dorothy!

We have a new baby.

She is a seven-month old tortoiseshell who we have named Dorothy, because she is going to have a lot of friends.

I had forgotten just how energetic a young cat can be. Particularly in her mad half hours where she tears around the house like a whirling dervish...

So dip me with chocolate, and throw me to the lesbians

Yes, we had our Jerry Springer Moment lastSaturday, and very wonderfulit was too.

Clashed with the first Ing-ger-lund game so not a full house, but awfully brilliant noneltheless

Oh, and there were three or four protestors outside , one of whom delightfully informed me, when I expressed my disinterest in his rant, that I would do so when I ended up in hell. Now, stupid morons who believe there really is a hell simply aren't worth taking seriously, but it was rather pleasant telling him exactly where he and his god could go fuck themselves. Oh, and they were distributing Chick tracts as well. Pathetic, deluded wankers.

Advance news for freedom lovers...JSTO is coming!

Yes, here in Liverpool we are delighted to have Jerry Springer- the Opera at the Empire in the near future.

Go and see it if you have the chance.

Reasons are:

1. Its excellent - very amusing and well put together

2. It is important that those of us who do not believe that right wing religionism should have any right to censor our choice of entertainment support this production

3. It will upset right wing evangelical nutters and hopefully offer some opportunity for counter-heckling [There's one born (again) every minute!]

Films, more RC bilge, and Trumpet

Excellent films seen this week - 20 Centimetres, and Time to Leave. Spanish and French respectively, and good examples of the creativity of independent European production as opposed to Hollywood predictability.

Vatican plc have kicked off about the Da Vinci Code. I have no interest in seeing this film which sounds about as much fun as watching paint dry, but isn't it just so predictable that Gauleiter Ratfinger starts getting on his high horse again - he is in Poland this weekend, whose neo-fascist far-right government should suit a former member of the Hitler Youth.

Went over to Manchester yesterday - we sampled a new (ish) Indian restaurant, very good, very authentic (EastzEast) and went to see a stage production of jackie Kay's wonderful book Trumpet, inspired by the life of Billy Tipton, the jazz musician who was female but lived life as a man, unbeknown to all until his death. In hindsight its interesting ; was it simply because of the sexism of the jazz world? Or was it because of inability to live as a lesbian, or the lack of understanding of transsexualism at the time? No-one will ever know.

HARD...ROCK...HALLELUJAH!!

Well, what a contest...here's my verdict

Switzerland - still love this though it didn't do very well. Well sung, charming anthemic ballad, very typical easy-listening harmony stuff, but then I like that!

Moldova - The stage presentation was a bit messy but its not a bad song, catchy and quite appealing.

Israel - What happened? At last a soul ballad in the contest, and Eddie just didn't cut the mustard - the backing singersd did their best to add some gospelly 'whooping up' but this needed a clear and strong lead vocal - for some reason he sounded strained and missed some of the high notes.

Latvia - This was never goping to win, too specialist, but it was a fine example of accapella singing with a jazz feel. Remains a favourite of mine

Norway - Very ethereal, all in white, perfectly sung and performed. Thought it would do better but perhaps the success of Bosnia meant it lost out as the two songs were quite similar in 'feel' and presentation

Spain - This got nowhere. There is so much good Spanish pop music around, particularly the ballads, and they put this in? Just drifts along getting nowhere and the sub-Bananarama unison singing didn't impress

Malta - Fabrizio was obviously having an off day. Painfully out of tune and it all sounded very 'end of the party karaoke' all told. I don't hate it by any means but wasn't surprised that it came last.

Germany - Now, this was something of a surprise. One of the best singers in the contest and a jaunty country song - maybe its back to the failure of strongly American styles to do well in the contest?

Denmark - A song about the twist with a breakdancer, one of my least favourite songs of the night. Couldn't wait for it to end.

Russia - Loved this. Pretty boy-band-handsome singer with a gorgeous incisive voice, just loved the way he sang 'broken glass' - and an energetic performance. One of the best of the night

FYROM - Dull and she didn't sound particularly in tune

Romania - What a voice! My favourite of the uptempo entries and it deserved to do as well as it did - good song, excellent singing, just good dance pop music

Bosnia - A beautiful piece of music, drifts along, instrumentation which sends a shiver up the spine. Again, deserved to do so well - would have loved to see them win but think their time will yet come

Lithuania - I just didn't find this funny and whilst they were clearly proficient, a novelty entry doesn't really work unless you find it funny.

UK - Coming straight after another novelty entry didn't really work, and a lot of people have said that the whole thing did come over as rather dodgy/pervy. Maybe it fell between two stools - not really serious rap (so no votes from France) , not novelty enough? Given how few female ballads, we should have sent Kym Marsh!

Greece - This was certainly the power ballad of the night - well opver the top, but it worked. She is a fine singer, no doubt about that.

Finland - What can I say? I'm very pleased for the Finns - to win after 44 years - and I think it won;t do the contest any harm. But I will never be a rock fan and this just isn't my kind of music.

Ukraine - This sounded like last years winner speeded up. Good singer, but didn't do a thing for me.

France - Beautiful song, but she was so painfully nervous every note sounded thin and strangulated, not a bit like the mellow, creamy voice on the CD. A shame - this was never going to win, but I couldn't help but think how Natasha St.Pierre or Lara Fabian could have made this something really special

Croatia - Gypsy-ethnic stuff, thought it was dire

Ireland - Pure professionalism from start to finish. Its a memorable little song but its no You Raise Me Up - still, Ireland are straight through to the final next year - wonder if Ronan will have a go?

Sweden - If there was one thing that cheered me up this year, it was that this derivative, safe, over-sung, boring schlager didn't win. 19 places too high in my book....

Turkey - This was so cool. I'm not usually a great fan of this sort of stuff but how Ukraine could have qualified whilst this didn't....a really good performance , unusual song, the most contemporary thing in the contest along with russia. Oh, and the dancers. Phew!

Armenia - He seemed to have gained in confidence and although I don't rate the song, it was a very impressive performance - and good to see a new country get through on their first try.

Eurovision semi....

So, the semi is over, and at least some of my favourites got through this year

My verdict

Armenia - thought this was a fairly typical ethno-pop song, sung not very well, and a surprise qualifier

Bulgaria - this was never going to qualify, just too moody and left-field for Eurovision. Think Bulgaria may have to try something a bit more mainstream in future - but I still loved it!

Slovenia - pretty boy, good performance but very ordinary, dated disco song

Andorra - poorly presented, could have been sung better too, but by no means the catastrophe promised in the blogs of the rehearsals. With the right singer this could have qualified

Belarus - dire in every way. Chris and Holger, go and open that language school and teach them how to sing...sad thing is there were two excellent songs in the belarussian final, but the Mafia chose this one

Albania - This was a charming performance of quite a sweet song, but not one of the most obvious ethnic songs and just got lost in the rush

Belgium - this was tacky in the extreme, a poor song poorly song, which richly deserved not to qualify. The choreography was particularly awful

Ireland - Oh, croon for me Brian! Great to see Ireland back in the Final with a memorable song, and I think a good chance of doing well. Delightful

Cyprus - The travesty of the night was the failure of this very accomplished performance to qualify. It seems that the American-influenced divas never do so well, thinking of Glennis last year, Still, my three other favourites made it

Monaco - Memories of Sophie Carle singing Harry belafonte. It didn't work

FYROM - This didn't do much for me, but it was well performed. But I still can't remember it. At all.

Poland - This didn't work. Too messy, too many languages, the rap didn't sound right. I don't dislike it but I wasn't surprised that it didn't qualify

Russia - very decorative - wouldn't mind a Russian plumber who looked like him. Great song. And I love his incisive voice - the way he sings 'glass' - this is classy stuff.

Turkey - This sounded excellent and really deserved its success.Not the sort of music i would listen to all that often, but sounds so contemporary and cool - I like it

Ukraine - Again, a good performance, but not to my taste

Finland - An unsurprising qualifier as the only rock entry and i think it will do respectably enough. I'm not convinced it comes over as quite the extravaganza on the TV though

Netherlands - Worst song of the night, competently performed, but I didn't like it

Lithuania - I don't really get it. But they were very competent and i suppose one novelty song had to get through

Portugal - They tried! All very retro, but again this was never likely to qualify. Some of the other stuff the girls have done was far better. Fado next year - about time Portugal tried something ethnic

Sweden - Dull as ditchwater, oversung 90's pop which simply wouldn't exist outside Eurovision

Estonia - Abba soundalike, well performed but nothing special

Bosnia & Herzegovina - well, ios it Sarajevo 2007? Don't rule it out. This is professional, relaxed and with drifting, ethereal instrumentation - I think its a strong contender if its at last, time for a ballad winner

Iceland - The joke's on them. Tasteless drivel - now if they had decided to put a proper song in this year and selected Regina Osk, they would be in the Final. Never were boos more deserved.

So, three from the semi I really like got through, and one I like, and there are plenty of good songs in the Final.

R I P Barnaby

Our old cat died today. We noticed that he didn't seem too well on Saturday, and on Sunday and Monday he seemed to go further downhill, not eating or drinking. As he was an old cat, we realised that the inevitable was coming and as we didn't want to see him starve to death thought we had better go to the vet - fearing the inevitable.

We both stroked and petted him for half an hour or so, then put him in his box. I felt sad, and had hoped that he could die at home naturally if at all possible. Just before we left the house, he died peacefully.

We have now buried him in the garden, and we have planted a cherry tree to remember him by

Sweet dreams Barnaby

More Christian homophobia

So, turns out that the mealy-mouthed fascist at the top of the British branch of Vatican plc sacked a press adviser once he found out he was gay.

Whilst one must ask why anyone with any sense at all, gay or otherwise, would want any sort of link with the Catholic church, thia again shows the deep and unremmiting homophobia of these people, and gives yet another reason why Ruth Kelly should neither be equalkity minister, or in my view, a Labour MP.

Equality and Catholicism don't go together. Simple as that. Its an inherently bigoted ideology. It needs to be opposed.

The right to die and the misguided naivety of traditional Christianity

As expected, the Joffe Bill was defeated in the Lords. But the time will come where the clamour for legal, rather than undercover, dignity in death will come.

However, we first have to remove and undermine the influence of the harmful dogmas of Christianity. Over the past three months I have realised that I am no longer anu sort of conventional Christian, and that society would be infinitely better without the pernicious influence of the mainstream Church and its warped 'morality'. Humanism has infinitely more to offer, a religious humanism which is able to draw from that which is good in Christianity, whilst discarding the nonsense and the will to control which is the inevitable outcome of believing in a creator, directive, intervening God who we are somehow 'responsible' to and who wishes us to 'worship' as a person. God is a human creation. We can create a God of inclusivity and worth, or we can worship the Church Christian god of control and superstitious mumbo-jumbo

Its nonsense, dangerous, damaging nonsense too.

People should have the choice to determine their own death. There is no benefit in lauding life at all costs - if we remove people's freedom to choose one way or another, we demen humanity.

I shall be joining http://www.dignityindying.org.uk/

Ruth Kelly ; 'equality'minister - who's having a laugh?

I have commented before on Ruth kelly, the Tory/Opus Dei inflitrator into the Labour party, who, thankfully, with the smallest of swings will be out of parliament next time, free to continue to breed profligately as her religion suggests. I hope she has time to fit in the flagellation.

What she is not suited for is the role of equalities minister.

RUTH KELLY IS A HOMOPHOBE.

She has voted against or abstained in every single gay rights vote in parliament. This is logical because it follows her exreme Catholic conservatism. However, it means she is not suited to this role.

She is also a liar, as she claimed that some of the issues she voted against were conscience votes - which they were not.

In any case, she will simply make it appear that the Government is not committed to equality - on the whole, they are. She ended up in this job because of the disastrous hash she made of her education brief.

Basically, she shouldn't be a Labour MP anyway. What the hell is a right wing supporter of a neo-Nazi secret society within a right wing religion doing as a Labour cabinet minister? Kelly must go and if she doesn't, then yet more Labour votes will be lost.

The Euston Manifesto

Even though I am and remain against the iraq war, I find much that I can agree with in this statement.

It appears to me that there is a basic truth which some on the left have forgotten in an attempt to be relativist - that fundamentalist religious regimes are not compatible with liberal democracy, and that when it comes down to it, Western values and principles are worth preserving.

Of course, the outcome of the Iraq war is no doubt another Islamic regime.....what we should be promoting is secular liberal governance, not excusing the inexcusable, whether that ne illegal wars or fundamentalist regimes.

Political games

So, as all governments find, life gets tough when you have been in power for a long time.

The three beleaguered.
Patricia Hewitt. She suffers from the same problem as Virginia Bottomley when a Tory health minister - unsufferably posh and prig. One can just imagine her towering over the bed, wagging finger on overtime, with that Victoria-Wood-posh-lady voice making one think of the pleasures of strangulation. However, the reality is that the problems are largely local management - seems that Government can't win. It decentralises and then is blamed for the problems, it manages from the centre and is accused of centralisation.

Charles Clarke. Certain level of incompetence here - but, again, the Home Office has been fraught with problems for years, largely because of the size and agenda of that department. Quite why there should be any complication at all in ensuring that all foreign nationals to be released are referred to the authorities is beyond me. It can't be that complicated, surely? The prisons themselves must know who is being released and where they come from? Think his days are numbered in this job.

John Prescott. I thought the vision of John Major having an affair was unlikely - but John Prescott? To me, people having affairs is trrelevant. I don't care about it.

Despite all this, I think I will be voting Labour in the local elections. The LibDems have done a disappearing act since the demise of our local councillor to alcoholism and disqualification, and I don't vote Tory.

The Cure for Information Overload

So important in today's Internet-led society -follow the link above for some ideas.

New York, New York, so good they named it twice....

Just back from NYC, and still jetlagged (why is sleep such an impossibility on planes?)

What a great city New York is. It really is unique and special although on return I feel like I need a holiday to recover such is the sheer pace of activity there.

What did we do this time?
Went to two small-scale shows - Confessions of a Mormon Boy, and Based on a Totally True Story. Both of which were chosen as they will probably never be seen in the UK. And both very enjoyable.

Art-wise, we went to the Whitney where they were showing their Biennial - so lots of new and creative stuff- and the Guggenheim, where there was a David Smith exhibition.

Took a trip out to the wineries in Long Island and made some purchases - its delightful out there, very amall-town America, wooden houses and so on.

Paid a visit to the MCC as well, where Troy Perry was the guest preacher. Interesting to see the unfettered pentecostal preaching style transported to a pro-gay church setting - and they have some very good social programs as well.

... and the final

Switzerland
Most fans hate this, but I think its wonderful. Pure easy-listening, but done so well - theres nothing at all I dislike about it and I think it will be an excellent opening song, given that it has anthemic qualities and six experienced professional singers.

Moldova
This is interesting and a bit daring - probably the most contemporary song in the contest. I don't love it but there's a lot worse on offer, and the live version I have heard sounds very professional

Israel
This is my sort of music, so I'm biased. First time I heard this, it took me back to the 1980's and the sweet soul of the Stylistics, Blue Magic and the Detroit Spinners. Certainly in my top 5. But the dual language really doesn't work as well with this song.

Latvia
This is ambitious stuff too. Again, your verdict will depend on whether accapella vocal jazz appeals - I think this is technically perfect, and is very much the sort of music I would listen to outside ESC. This will certainly get a televote from me but how well it will do is anyone's guess. A stunning performance and it could surprise many

Norway
The first 5 songs include 4 of my favourites. This is glorious folky-celtic stuff which I love.

Spain
After last years lack of success with the Ketchup Grannies, I didn't think Spain would be daft enough to gofor the real thing. Spain used to be one of my favourite countries but in recent years they seem to have declined rapidly - this is better than last years but then what wouldn't be? Not good. And I think definite Jemini potential for a live 'performance'

Malta
Fabrizio is a handsome young man and this is a nice enough song, but I think Malta's strength is in the ballads. This should do well enough, though - but I want Chiara to make it third time lucky!

Germany
Very professional and well sung, but somehow it lacks something - I think its the song,its just nothing special.

Denmark
Dire. The Danish final was no great shakes, but this was the worst on offer - its been in my bottom 5 since the beginning and I see no reson to move it!

Romania
I'm a ballad man at heart, but this is the best disco song ESC has had to offer for quite some time. Its an uplifting and memorable song, but best of all is the singer's superb voice. A good performance and we could well be off to Bucharest next year

United Kingdom
When I first heard this, I thought - no - white boy rap - but really, this should be viewed as a fun novelty song with a catchy chorus. The MYMU performance certainly won him that contest,and at least this year the UK entrant sounds nothing like anything else

Greece
Anna Vissi is a great singer, and this is a strong ballad, though perhaps it lacks that light and shade which the best ballads have in abundance. This is pure power ballad all the way.

France
Who knows? I'm hoping for something good.

Croatia
Again another permanent resident of my bottom 5. This makes Ruslana sound pleasant. Just a tuneless noise

Eurovision - my vedict on the semi-final

01. Armenia
This doesn't do much for me. Style-wise its very much in the ethnic/Turkish mode, I can imagine it in the background at Manchester's Armenian Taverna. Its pleasant enough but all too formulaic and predictable. If you like this sort of music it may appealp, but I don't.

02. Bulgaria
I loved Bulgaria's debut last year and this is also impressive. Its an intense ballad which builds and builds, with a singer who really 'lets go'. The more I hear this, the more I like it. But it certainly isn't very immediate, although musically,its a cut above the rest - very classy

03. Slovenia
A pretty boy singing a very inconsequential piece of disco fluff. Harmless enough, but wouldn't bother me if I never heard it again

04. Andorra
Reminding me of Sam Brown, this is a bluesy and soulful ballad with balls. Catalan is not, sadly, the prettiest language in the world but this remains a a good song

05. Belarus
Ohdear. Iloved the first Belarussian entry, quirky as it was. This is aimply a tuneless noise. Horrible

06. Albania
Certainly ethnic in flavour,with much the same in the way of backing instrumentation as Armenia, but this does have a certain charm, largely because of the singer and chorus

07. Belgium
The sort of song that simply wouldn't be heard outside the contest - this epitomises what outsiders think ESC is all about. Thankfully, it isn't. Its bland, tedious stuff sung by a bottle blonde with a weak, reedy voice. Dire.

08. Ireland
This is one of the songs which I remembered after one listen, and the new version has improved it considerably. Its a sweet, wistful ballad, professionally sung by a real singer.

09. Cyprus
Broadway calling. I remember a musical called Dreamgirls, about the Supremes, which featured a singer called Jennifer Holliday. This one could have come from the soundtrack. Its a real show tune, and I think most people will either love it or hate it. Of course, I love it, largely because divas singing histrionic overblown ballads will always have a place in my heart...

10. Monaco
This is so uplifting! Its nothing special, a cheery little calypso song, with a cute vocal, but it does have a sense of optimism and fun in a way that none of the supposedly uplifting schlagers ever could have.

11. FYR Macedonia
See Armenia - only I just don'tlike this one. Last year FYROM's entry was a real grower, but I can't see this one ever appealing more than it does now - which is, not a lot.

12. Poland
I still haven't seen the NF performance which I gather was poor. This group delivered the best performance of 2003,and whilst this is a very different style of song,I think its very good pop music, with the mix of voices working effectively

13. Russia
I've only just listened to adecent quality copy of this one, and yes,its very strong indeed. A contemporary ballad, its a pity that the accent is a bit too heavily Eastern European for what is a very 'American' song

14.Turkey
Back to the ethnic beats, and again, much the same comments apply. The problem is that I really don't like this sort of music much. This one is curiously dated, mixing what sounds like late 70's disco with the more ethnic sound, but I don't think it works.

15. Ukraine
Very fast, loud, tuneless. Again, not something I would ever choose to listen to. Horrible

16. Finland
A heavy metal loving work colleague of mine was raving to me about this today. I can't give a reasoned opinion because this is just the sort of music I hate. It may be very good of its genre, but...

17. Netherlands
The Dutch final was the only one I watched where I didn't really like anything at all on offer, but that doesn't explain how such a tuneless mess ended up being selected.

18. Lithuania
The most obviously 'joke' emtry of the night - this isn't really a song at all. After the last four entries it comes as something of a light relief but its not really very funny.

19. Portugal
I should hate this. Its a sort of Motown-meets-Abba (in terms of the song, not the style) which wasn't sung very well in the Portuguese NF. But that chorus IS catchy. Personally, I think it needs to be more of the Motown, and more obviously retro, I do like it, but goodness knows why!

20. Sweden
Entirely without any redeeming features,this tired, predictable, dirge epitomises the blandness of Swedisn music. For once, something actually got to the MF final that was worth listening to, but they chose the Poison Dwarf again.

21. Estonia
Ordinary. Its still better than the predecessor, but its very much in that sub-Abba, schlager mould.

22. Bosnia and Herzegovina
At last, something good. This is a classy, ethereal ballad which will come as something of a relief after so many upbeat songs.

23. Iceland
I just don;t get this. Its not in the least funny, and whilst she may think she looks like Cyndi Lauper, the difference was that she had a voice worth listening to, unlike Cheese Grater Silv. A dire end to a generally poor qualifier.

So. if I had to choose the qualifiers it would be:
Bulgaria
Andorra
Albania
Ireland
Cyprus
Monaco
Poland
Russia
Portugal
Bosnia-Herzegovina

Memo to self ;thou shalt not ignore one's blog....

Check this out - very funny

http://www.starz.com/features/brokebackmountain/index.html

Merseymike gets married!

Thanks to the Civil Partnership Act , after 14 years together, I married my partner David last Friday. It was a wonderful day - everything went so well, we really couldn't have asked for anything better.

Thanks to the staff at Liverpool Register office, and the Racquet Club, where we held our reception. And to all our friends and family who attended, and those who couldn't make it.

Eurovision latest....

Some more selections...

Iceland have gone with a joke entry that unfortunately isn't in the least funny and is musically horrible. i didn't think anything could be worse than the danish entry, but this is.

Belgium have opted for formulaic disco-kiddy-pop sung badly

Better news from ireland - a fine ballad from Bryan Kennedy.

And Switzerland have an excellent, uplifting harmony ballad which I think will do very well indeed.

Hoping for Annette to be selected for Cyprus tomorrow evening