Monthly Archives: January 2006

A survey says…

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by Bob Skinner

Did you know that in the past twelve months 1,652 graduates at fifteen British universities were engaged on research projects worth £1.5million?

And that between them they secured 132,000 column inches in newspapers and magazines, and 95 hours’ radio and television air time?

No? That’s not surprising as no-one has done the necessary research; I made up the figures.

I did so because of growing frustration at the amount of print columns and airtime given to research. Higher education establishments ranging from Oxbridge to the brash new universities born out of the old polytechnics are cashing in on the boom. And I mean cashing in; many of the research projects attract substantial funding from businesses, charities and political parties, usually to confirm the obvious or support the clients’ aims or products.

It would not be so bad if all this high brain power was concentrated on serious subjects, yielding information of tangible benefit, but sadly most of it is fly-by-night rubbish, useless information that is self evident to anyone who bothers to think.

Take the latest blockbuster research…on stress. This came up with the headline grabbing statistics that such diverse workers as firefighters and librarians have stressful jobs? Well, I never!

In just one day recently I counted six research inspired stories in The Times.

These included the suspect revelation that hairdressers are among the happiest workers, and the probably spurious revelation that after-school clubs might stunt young people’s emotional growth.

My frustration is fuelled by the time and money wasted by the researchers, and the gullibility of the media in falling for it – or their laziness in going for easy stories with eye catching headlines.

The ultimate in time and money wasting must go to the academics who, following extensive study, announced that the best way to reveal your losing numbers on lottery scratch cards was by a coin.

And what about discovering the best way to peel an orange? I think I read about that one, but if not it’s probably in the pipeline. Some of the research is aimed at disproving that earlier research, probably by another university, was wrong: the beer is good/bad for you argument.

There is danger, too, in believing statistics supplied on a plate like a ready meal. The latest that worries me is the claim that forests are a threat to our environment, emitting dangerous chemicals that could be adding to global warming.

Despite more detached comments that suggest that any harmful effects of toxin spewing forests are more than counter balanced by the fact that the value of forests has been accepted for centuries.

Which is true. Obviously, that calls for some more research.

A Sunday cycling tragedy

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The news was hard to take. A Sunday cycle ride overtaken by death. Four people, the youngest just 14, killed by a car on an icy road in North Wales. Crumpled bikes spread across the highway, their riders taken from the scene by ambulance.

Drivers and cyclists often trade insults. Bike riders complain that drivers pay far too little attention to other road users. Motorists claim that cyclists ignore the rules of the road. There’s truth on both side. But today’s tragedy sounds like a terrible, but genuine, accident. The kind the world accepted with a heavy heart before compensation culture set in.

So let’s not rush to blame, and instead think of those whose lives have been blighted for ever by a chance encounter on a Welsh road.

Stone the Crow, the dinosaurs are back

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The dinosaurs are back in town. The RMT rail union is about to bring London to a standstill again, inflicting misery on millions. Their bone-headed leader, Bob Crow, was sunning himself in Egypt when his militants tried to ruin the city’s new year celebrations. He’s dragged himself back from the pool to oversee the latest re-run of the 1970s.

A year ago, London Underground agreed a deal with the RMT that gave tube staff a 35 hours week and 52 days leave a year. Crow has now torn up that agreement, to create the usual new year strike chaos.

The gullible might swallow the union’s protest that they are fighting to maintain safety on the underground network. But that argument is nonsense: the underground is also facing wildcat action in support of a driver alleged to have broken a speed limit by 20mph.

Yet more evidence that Britain’s public services need urgent action to drag them into the 21st century. It’s time to break the power of the dinosaur unions once and for all.   

Goodbye, Charlie

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Charles Kennedy has bowed to the inevitable. He finally recognised that he could not continue as leader of the Liberal Democrats as his parliamentary colleagues indulged in open rebellion.

It seems indulgent to praise his bravery in making Thursday’s confession about his drinking problems when it was forced by imminent media exposure.  But it would take a heart of stone not to acknowledge how painful it must have been for him to speak out.

It’s hard to have any sympathy, however, for his colleagues. Their performance over the last few weeks has been contemptible. They didn’t have the guts to force the issue. Instead, they wrote letters they didn’t dare send, and whispered to journalists in the bars around Westminster. Heaven help us if they ever get a whiff of real power.

Time will tell how much damage the Liberal Democrats have sufferered because of the anti-Kennedy putsch. But voters hate parties in turmoil, as Labour and the Tories have discovered to their cost over the last 25 years. The Lib Dems are about to learn the lesson themselves.

1927 and all that

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Arsenal 2 – 1 Cardiff City

Dreams of a repeat of 1927 – when City beat Arsenal to take the FA Cup out of England for the only time – proved optimistic today.

The Invincibles of 2004 have become the Vulnerables of 2006. But on their last visit to Highbury, Cardiff can still take great pride in holding the Gunners to a one-goal advantage.

Who says entertaining is hard work?

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We enjoyed slaving away over a hot stove this Christmas and New Year. Thank you, Marks & Spencer!

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Remembering 7 July 2005

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It’s six months next Saturday since the London bombings. Here’s the email I sent friends about our experiences on that extraordinary day.
Just a quick note to reflect on today’s events. Thanks to all of you who asked after us.
Karen and I are both fine. Because of the collapse of the ‘Tesco Tunnel’ on the rail line at Gerrards Cross a week ago, we’ve been driving into London for the last week. Today, that proved very fortunate.
Sitting 36 storeys above Canary Wharf, I relied on exactly the same news reports as everyone else in Britain. In no way did we get any idea of being an eyewitness to dramatic and infamous events. We heard sirens throughout the morning as the police moved around London, but that was the only connection with the tragedy unfolding. The Thames estuary was cloaked by a sinister cloak of fog, adding to the sense of drama. 
Just after lunchtime, we took the decision to let everyone go home. (Until then, it made more sense to Image002 stay put, to avoid placing people at risk from other explosions as they made their way home.) As all underground and overground routes were closed, I made for the river bus from Canary Wharf. I was not surprised to see a huge queue but everyone waited patiently and calmly. By now, the fog had been replaced by summer sunshine.
Stewards guided people to the right boat: "London Bridge on the left, Westminster and Waterloo on your right!" In the aftermath of tragedy, London’s ability to adapt was inspiring and impressive. A series of river boats had been pressed into service. All were free. A Mississippi-style paddleboat made its way out into the river, enjoying its transformation from showboat to commuter transport. We made Image041 our stately progress upstream. A few people tried to get a drink at the bar, not realising that this was not a pleasure trip. Tower Bridge passed above us, with its London flags fluttering defiantly and proudly. The Millennium Bridge, once the unreliable, wobbly bridge, now carried homeward-bound walkers to safety. Finally, the London Eye and Houses of Parliament loomed above us as we made our way to shore.
The sun beat down as I made my way behind Downing Street and Whitehall towards the West End. I took the opportunity to jump on one of the first buses seen since mid morning, to speed my way to Wigmore Street. Everyone was calm and gave the impression of simply going about their everyday life.
I rejoined Karen at Wigmore Street and we drove off into the empty streets just before 6pm. We passed Edgware Road tube station, still cordoned off but otherwise calm. We had a Sunday-like drive out of central London through deserted streets.
For anyone who lived through the Blitz, this was just another terrible day, but hardly to be compared with what London survived 60 years ago. To those of us who experienced the IRA bombings of the 1930s, 70s, 80s or 90s. this was just another example of man’s ability to inflict evil on others in the name of religion. But for those who knew nothing of those terrors, this was a day like no other.
(I took the photos on my camera phone on the afternoon of Thursday 7 July 2005.)

It’s nice having an author in the family

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Don’t hold the front page! was the title. But the launch of Dad’s book did make news in 2005. Dont_hold_the_front_page_cover Published by Graffeg, it’s an amusing tale of Bob Skinner’s 60 years in the communications business. First, as a journalist on the Penarth Times and South Wales Argus. (Not to mention life as a ‘stringer’ for the national media and an early BBC Wales tv reporter.) Then as a public relations pioneer in local government and civic life in Wales and London.

The book tells how he bought porn on the rates, dodged the bullets in Northern Ireland during the troubled 1970s and helped the Pope enjoy a successful visit to Wales.

Bobs_book_launch_rob_snaps_bob_and_lorra Bob launched the publication of his book in the Washington Gallery in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, last September. It was a great night, with friends and family celebrating a unique talent. Lorraine Barrett, Welsh Assembly Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, and Captain Norman Lloyd-Edwards, Lord Lieutenant for Glamorgan, made a special effort to join us for the evening. 

You can buy Don’t hold the front page! in bookshops or on www.amazon.co.uk. Bobs_book_launch_023_1

London’s lost icon

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London’s most famous bus has turned its last wheel. The Routemaster, an icon for half a century, has given way to soul-less bendy buses. I still look up when I hear a bus in the distance, hoping that I’ll glimpse a real bus. Then I remember. Sad to think we’ll never again smile at the sight of a red bus on the streets of London.

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Christmas in Oxford Street, 2003: Routemasters reign

Let’s play Spotty Dog Game

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Dominic_043 Dominic, Auntie Karen and Uncle Rob had lots of fun today playing the Spotty Dog Game. Dominic won!