... as that great old trouper used to sing; I wonder what happened to him?
Sorry it's been a while; so much to do, so little time. A precious afternoon off today (the whole 'reduced hours' thing isn't really working for me) and got some household chores out of the way before setling down to post an update. I say 'out of the way' - so far I've broken the washing machine and the hoover, only the iron remains in the same state as when I picked it up earlier today. Ach well ...
Did you watch it? Griffin? Seems almost everyone did - eight mllion viewers tuned in to Question Time last week, apparently. I must say the whole programme left me feeling very angry and frustrated - so much so that I found myself shouting and arguing with the TV! I do think the BBC was right to give Griffin a place on the programme - he's a democratically elected MEP, his party polled more than a million votes in the recent elections, etc, etc. But I thought the way the programme was staged was a disgrace.
The audience appeared hand-picked, with a far higher number of black people than is the norm (and I do watch Question Time regularly). Then there's the Panel - not one but two black people, one of them that rare species - a black Tory member of parliament. And Jack Straw, proud of his Jewish roots.
Then the questions - all seemingly targetted at Griffin, and when he attempted to answer he was drowned out in a torrent of abusive comments from both the audience and panel members. It certainly wasn't David Dimbleby's finest hour - I used to respect the man's ability to chair the show but not last week. He was disgraceful and I'm sure he'll be very disappointed about the way he handled the whole evening.
As for Griffin - mission accomplished, I fear. He got all the publicity he craved, he didn't have to answer the really difficult questions because of all the shouting over him and he could later (rightly) claim that he didn't get fair treatment on the programme. Britain believes in 'fair play' and loves an underdog, and fascist Griffin certainly came across as the victim of bullying that night. It's a real pity, because whe he was allowed to speak at any length he condemned himself and his party repeatedly. He looked nervous and shifty - quite understandably, perhaps - and he could and should have been allowed to hang himself. Not physically, of course, although that may have appeased some of those howling for his blood. Will his appearance on QT increase support for the BNP? I doubt it; you wouldn't go rushing out to vote BNP on this performance, although the 'establishment' parties didn't exactly cover themselves in glory either. Jack Straw was hopeless when dealing with the question on immigration - surely he should have expected that one, or did he think the whole show was simply a public execution?
The whole episode left me feeling very unsatisfied. It was a real chance to put the BNP under the microscope and expose their extreme policies, but it turned out to be very much a missed opportunity and Griffin and his supporters are likely to be the only winners out of this.
Last night former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was the sacrificial lamb - perhaps next week we'll have live badger-baiting instead!
On to more edifying subjects, however. What about the mighty Hibs? Third in the league and flying high, getting their just rewards (and no little praise) for some attacking football. Playing FOUR forwards, for goodness sake - Mixu would be spinning in his grave (if he was deid, you know what I mean ...) Both Celtic and Rangers are faltering and things are not going at all well through in the Wild West. Playing in Europe, moving to the English Premiership ... dream on, Ugly Sisters! Is it too much to hope for a shock on the cards in this season's SPL? Sadly, yes it is. The 'Big Two' will still be 1 and 2 come the end of the season, even if they had to buy every other team in Scotland to achieve it!
Anyway we can still dream, and Aberdeen tomorrow will provide a pretty fair test of how far we have improved this season.
A trip to the Jinglin Geordie last week found Caroline's Fantasy Football team around 40 points clear of the field - quite disturbing. Even more odd was the fact that my own 'Capless Hunts' are sitting pretty in sixth spot! I can only assume that the League statistician Mr Mark Turner was rat-arsed when he updated the latest results. Normality will be restored soon, I'm sure.
Work aside, what else have I been up to? It's been quite a week: a Quiz Night at the Unionist Club on Monday with Edinburgh's Blind Social Club. We won - hurrah! I think we had a distinct advantage in the picture round - only joking, chaps!
Forth Neighbourhood Partnership on Tuesday where racism was the main theme - surprisingly enough received front page coverage in Thursday's Evening News, too. Very sad to hear that the Scotsman's presses will roll for the last time at Newhaven this weekend. I was with The Scotsman when those presses were built - state of the art at tat time. Things are looking pretty bleak for my ex-colleagues with advertising and circulation dropping, and shares through the floor. The shift to printing in Glasgow could be the beginning of the end - a tragedy for the staff, and also for anyone who cares about the future of the media in Scotland.
Wednesday night saw the first meeting of our new community council in Drylaw - I say new, most of the faces are the same but we're almost at full strength. Office bearers remain the same, except for me - I've decided that I will definitely stand down as secretary this year, something I've threatened/promised to do for a while now. It really is time to let someone else take it on so that I can concentrate on some other things: 'Shipman - The Musical' is way behind schedule and my 'Pat the Drunken Plumber' screenplay is also slow to take shape! There's a wee role in a new Pilton Video film that will take some time towards the end of the year too, so it's definitely time to step aside. I'm choking back the tears ...
Talking about 'greetin'', we went to the King's last night to see the stage production of 'Kes'. Beautifully done, but for me no-one could ever replace the late Brian Glover as the Man Utd-loving sadist gym teacher.
Tonight it's a race night in aid of Spartans Community Football Academy, where I guess I will lose my shirt. Speaking of which, I must iron one - here's hoping the iron survives my latest assault.
Speak to you soon; doubtless older, wiser, poorer and more crumpled ...
This week's pic was taken up near Callendar. We've been up there the last couple of weekends - there and Glencoe - and the scenery's stunning in the autumn. Chin chin.
No comments:
Post a Comment