A GOOD DAY

I had a better day than I expected.
I got in the car to take the kids to school and the radio had been left on as usual. I heard Terry Wogan's voice and made a leap for the off switch as I cannot abide the man. I deliberately never listen to radio 2 before about 11am for fear of catching even two sentences in that dreadful, supercilious, condescending intonation he's made all his own. But as I reached for the knob he was reading out a message of condolence, I left it just a second - people seemed to be writing in talking about the end of an era and mentioning how he'd been on their radio since they were born... Could he be retiring???? I listened further - yes, Yes, YES! No longer will I need to decline morning appointments at my doctor so as to avoid the piped-in Wogan's breakfast show, no more silence in the mornings as I wash, tidy or iron. Yippee! I am one happy bunny.

STALKING ME?

Is BBC radio 2's lunchtime programme stalking me?

Today they are discussing:

• Google street view
• Debaptizing
• Ms versus Mrs

I'm away to check if they are reading my blog!

LONDON IS THE CENTRE OF THEIR UNIVERSE

Westminster, London Eye, Waterloo Station, West End
Originally uploaded by Luigi Rosa.

I was listening to radio 2 a couple of weeks ago, nothing new there. The travel report came on in the middle of Jeremyś show. Nothing new there either. Generally the travel report is of little interest to me as it tells me about broken down lorries on the M6 or M25, however this was a snowy and windy day so Sally-Traffic had news about everywhere. It was then that it hit me once again how London-centric the BBC news still is. It was lovely to hear her warn me of hazards I may encounter - because they had gone as far as getting Scottish news, however, being so full of their own self importance it hadn´t occurred to them to look up how to pronounce anything up here, they just take it for granted that they know, or they work it out from their own weird pronunciations - such as Greenwich. So I was warned of snow in Greenock, Arrochar and Forfar. The only problem was that her pronunciations were so off that while I understood but scoffed at her GRENock, and FOURfar I actually didn´t have a clue where aROACKa was until I drove through it last Saturday and suddenly realized that she must have meant Arrochar. Give me strength!

TIME TO GET THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE?

I was listening to good old Jeremy Vine as always today on my way to pick up Léon from nursery. The topic up for discussion was the paedophile hysteria that some parents seem to have when it comes to people photographing their kids. Now I don't mean child pornography - just simple parents in a group of other parents taking a photo of their kids playing football together for their school or whatever. More and more schools and the likes have banned parents from photographing their own child because, if they happen to catch another child, God forbid say their kid's best friend in the shot, then that child is somehow in danger. I am a parent and a photographer so I feel qualified to comment. If Marcel's pal's mum wants a photo of them playing football together not only would I not try to have her arrested, I would positively encourage her because that is the stuff childhood memories are made of. Anyone banning this isn´t protecting their child from abuse from a stranger, on the contrary, they are the ones harming their child - they are depriving that child of pleasant evenings 30 years from now mulling over an old pile of school photos with his own kids saying - I remember that day when we won at football, I remember that kid - he was a great mate etc. That is tantamount to child abuse in my book. Most cases of paedophilia sadly happen in the home, they are kids being attacked by family members, not strangers, and whether or not someone´s parent takes or doesn´t take a photo of you dressed in a football strip and covered in mud isn´t going to make any difference at all to your safety. So get a grip and stop ruining our kids' lives with this nonsense.
As a footnote, I have to tell you about the last call from Jeremy´s show - it was astounding. After many calls from irate parents who had had their cameras confiscated for photographing their kid playing football or performing in a school play, the last bloke to ring in had the best story. Peter someone, I think from down south. He had a 5 year old granddaughter who had just started ballet classes. She asked her old Gramps to come along to her dancing display. The kid´s mum and old Gramps turned up and were about to take their seats when the dancing teacher came in. She politely asked the mum who the old man was. She replied: my father in law - you know little Rachel's grandad. The teacher replied - we don´t have permission from the other parents to let someone who is not a parent watch the other little girls in their tutus, so I´m afraid you´ll have to stand behind a screen and simply listen to but not watch the little girls dance. How do you listen to a ballet display?? Now this man didn´t even have a camera - he wasn´t even allowed to watch little Rachel's classmates - so what was achieved there? Yes of course - sobbing, heartbroken little Rachel because Grandad was sent out, hurt and victimized Grandad behind a screen, and a class of parents and little girls who would more than likely not have given a damn whether or not little Rachel´s Grandad could see their tutus. This is an outrage. If this had been 30 years ago - my grandfather could have watched and photographed me and maybe today (on what would have been his 86th birthday) I would have looked back fondly on that photo and remembered childhood, ballet (not that I was much of a ballet dancer myself) and my old Gramps. What a sad, sad place we are making this world - and completely UNNECESSARILY.
Oh and finally I hope you like the photo above of Marcel playing football with his schoolfriends: Robert, Gordon, Duncan and Cameron, while being watched by his other friends Eleanor and Sarah!

ALZHEIMERS

I tend to listen to Jeremy Vine on my way home from work with Pudge these days, having finally accepted I am indeed old enough to listen to radio 2. His show usually discusses something topical - today for example it was the German incest case. Yesterday, amongst other things, he had on a very brave man, facing something I guess we all might face some day - Alzheimer's disease. He had written a letter to his family before he was no longer capable of doing so and had asked to read it to them on air. Having watched a dear relative slowly die from this ten years ago, I have to say it was truly moving. For those who missed it - both the transcript and the audio version are on Jeremy's website.

ONE FOR MARGARET?

I heard Cilla Black advertize this earlier today on radio 2. Oops, the first episode was on an hour ago, but never mind, there's a 'listen to the programme again' button on radio 2's webpage for anyone that way inclined. In fact it's a pity Maggie and mum didn't get a note of the crazy Danish family's phone number last week, as they strike me as the kind of nutters who might want to tune in, again and again, to this drivel!

HOW TO TELL THE NEXT OF KIN

I was listening to Radio 4 last night when an interesting discussion came on. The topic was a news announcement made on 11-11-06 on the BBC World Service about some soldiers killed on a boat in Iraq. A soldier's mother had written in complaining that because the names of the dead were withheld, this broadcast had unnecessarily panicked the families of all service personnel in Iraq. She offered 2 solutions: 1) The BBC should withhold such news until after the next of kin are told, 2) The names of the service personnel should be released with the broadcast as although that would upset those involved, it would instantly calm everyone else and those who were about to be told the worst were about to be told it anyway! Number 1 was instantly ruled out because another member of the global media would simply beat the BBC to releasing the news. That left 2.This brough back very personal memories to me of 1990. I was driving my brother through Glasgow having just put my parents on a plane to Malta to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. On the Radio Clyde news came the announcement that a pensioner was critically ill after a house fire in Glasgow, when the pensioner's name, William Buchanan, was said on air I nearly crashed the car. I had to stop and try to believe my ears. My grandfather had been critically injured in an accident and I was being told by the radio while at the wheel of a car. After visiting my grandfather in hospital, the realisation of what had happen hit me. I rang the radio station and went mad. I was told that they had tried to contact Granda's next of kin, dad, and been told he was abroad. Instead of contacting the next next of kin, myself, the information had been released to the radio. Believe me, it is not something you want to hear while driving a car.

ABSURD!

It's that time of the year again when all us boring Brits start looking forward to Bonfire night and fireworks displays and such like. When we celebrate Guy Fawkes night, we are celebrating an event which took place in 1605. To my utter amazement however I turned on the radio yesterday in time to hear the second half of a news story. Apparently after 401 years something new and astounding has been discovered. The newsreader was saying that because they had discovered that fires were dangerous!, the council (I unfortunately missed which particular bunch of numpties they were referring to) had refused to grant a licence for this year's bonfire, so instead they would set a fire under controlled conditions, film it and then on Bonfire night project the pictures of the burning fire onto a large white screen at the firework display. I wonder if the fireworks will be real or if they too will be created using torches and drums.

This world we live in truly is an absurd place!

WE LIVE IN A CRAZY WORLD

I was listening to PM on Radio 4 while cooking this evening. One news article caught my attention. I listened in disbelief - it was bad enough the crazy banned passenger thought it better to have a blind man drive than to break his own driving ban himself but the bit that amazed me most, not mentioned in the written article, was part of the punishment. Apparently he has been ordered to sit a driving test!!!! (I'll give you a minute to digest that and possibly reread in disbelief!) When asked if this was a wise punishment, the judge said his hands were tied - it was in the rules that the punishment for this type of driving offence (he was charged with driving with no insurance, licence or MOT) had to include making the offender sit a driving test. Surely in cases like this, when the offender has no eyes, the rules should sensibly be bent a little, no???