In the words of Daniel Powter, I need a blue sky holiday.
The good news is that we’ll be flying off for just that on Sunday. So this may be the last entry for a while.
Here’s to Croatia.
Blue sky holiday
Reply
Monthly Archives: May 2006
Freddie: small earthquake, no-one hurt
It wasn’t BBC Radio 5 Live’s greatest hour.
Victoria Derbyshire’s programme today featured a succession of cricket experts saying no-one could possibly think that former England coach David Lloyd had really criticised Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’ for enjoying life to the detriment of his cricket.
In which case, why talk about it?
What next? Airline experts talking about a plane crash that never happened?
Forget that early retirement
We’re going to have to work longer to pay for our retirement. That was the message from today’s Government white paper on pensions.
Labour accepted most of the Turner Commission’s proposals. True, the state pension age will rise quicker than Turner suggested and the restoration of the link between the state pension and earnings will be delayed. But one should give the Government credit for being bold.
No one will get rich on a state pension even after the earnings link is restored. Company and private pensions remain the key to a comfortable life after work – especially if you want to retire early.
Cherie’s shame
What possessed the woman? Cherie Blair’s decision to auction for Labour party funds a signed copy of the Hutton report into the death of Government scientist David Kelly was utterly crass.
It confirmed what we have long suspected: that Tony Blair’s inner circle are out of touch and out of control. To profit from the memory of an honourable man who took his own life is contemptible. How could the prime minister’s wife fail to recognise this?
Another bad day at the office?
You have to feel sorry for Home Secretary John Reid. Just a smidgen. For a millisecond.
He’s just been given the worst job in Government. (Mind, at the rate he gets through jobs it was only a matter of time.) His predecessor was fired after the immigration service released foreign criminals – including murderers and rapists – instead of deporting them. Reid promised to sort out the mess.
But just weeks after taking over, the new man was forced into a humiliating apology to MPs for giving duff information about foreign prisoners in Britain.
Just imagine how he must have felt when he discovered that the Home Office had done it again. And that he’d be the one eating humble pie. You can’t help wondering how blue the air was in Marsham Street when the Glaswegian hard man found out. Pity the poor messenger.
Passing of a great editor
He was a war hero and a brave newspaperman. Eric Mackay, who has died at the age of 83, was arguably the greatest editor of the Scotsman. He created a team that went on to win glittering prizes in Scottish and British journalism: Magnus Magnusson, Neal Ascherson, Gus MacDonald and James Naughtie.
He made his reputation with a series of exclusives – scoops in old-style newspaper language – exposing atrocities in Africa in the dying days of the British Empire. Fellow Scot and Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home begged him to relent. Mackay was outraged and redoubled his efforts.
As editor, Mackay steered the paper through the turbulent waters of 1970s Scottish politics, as nationalism and devolution unsettled the old certainties.
It’s hard to imagine Alec Mackay acting like today’s ego-driven, publicity-seeking editors. He trusted his journalists and executives to do their jobs. He was no control freak. As a result, the Scotsman achieved its highest ever circulation under his editorship – and his proteges scaled the heights.
Today’s editors could learn a lot from Eric Mackay.
Deadly dogfight
Tragedy merged with farce today as Greek and Turkish fighters collided over the Aegean.
We’re told that the two airforces regularly indulge in mock dogfights in disputed airspace.
It’s madness. Greece and Turkey are both members of NATO. Turkey has applied to join the EU. Yet they’re behaving like spoilt children. And today a pilot died as a result.
Watford hit the big time
Watford today won the most valuable club game in world football. Winning the Championship play off final against Leeds United in Cardiff secured their place in the Premiership – worth £40 million even if they survive just a season in the top flight.
Walking around Watford yesterday, it was hard to imagine the town sustaining Premiership soccer. But Adrian Boothroyd has achieved a miracle in his first season as a manager. You’d be foolish to right off his ability to establish Watford’s place in the sun. If Wigan can do it, why not Watford?
On today’s performance, they deserve their promotion.
It’s raining again!
Another day in drought-hit 
south east England!
PS – can we use our hosepipe again now?
Amazon’s forms are a pain
Amazon is one of my favourite websites. Aside from a disaster in 2001, it has delivered the goods every time – in record time.
But the site recently became far less user friendly.
All too often when navigating the site, you get an intensely irritating message on screen:
Warning: Page has Expired
The page you requested was created using information you submitted in a form. This page is no longer available. As a security precaution, Internet Explorer does not automatically resubmit your information for you.
I wouldn’t mind if it was a page with sensitive credit card info. But this screen of pain comes up when simply browsing the site.
It’s madness. Amazon, sort this stupidity or lose customers.
Ertblog 