A Presentation By David Rose At The Duke Of Wellington
David Rose is one of the most important people in the history of British television and film drama.
Tonight he gave a fascinating and insightful presentation of his work at the Duke of Wellington in the Balls Pond Road.
I remember him in some ways for the work he did in the 1960s with Z-Cars and Softly-Softly. Did Z-Cars and the music scene in Liverpool in some way influence me to go to University in that city? If it did, David is worth a big thank-you, as I’ve often said that Liverpool made me. I did of course meet C there, although she was fairly local to me in North London.
His later work for the BBC in the 1970s, was not something I remember very much, as it was the time, when we were bringing up the kids and working hard, so we didn’t watch television very much.
If David’s presentation turns up at a venue near you, it is very much worthwhile seeing.
I just wish, I’d seen more of the plays and films he has produced. Sadly, it would appear that copies don’t exist of all of them, due to the BBC’s policy of reusing videotapes.
Politicians Who Dye Their Hair
I can never understand, why people dye their hair!
I have a grey beard, but since going gluten-free, that seems as far as it got.
My late wife never dyed her hair and she was a natural dark blonde, with odd hairs of other colours, including grey and brown. Her hairdresser, who also cut mine at the time told me a funny story about her. He had just cut C’s hair and was preparing a very smart lady, who wanted her hair dyed a different colour. He asked her what colour she wanted and she said how about that, pointing to C. He had difficulty keeping a straight face as he told the lady it was totally natural.
My reason for this post is because I’ve just read this article about Chinese politicians dying their hair on the BBC’s web site. It shows how vain some of our leaders can get, especially as the previous Chinese leader had grey hair, as do many Chinese of my age you see in the UK.
I also remember seeing a speech by John Major, where he said he’d been accused of dying his hair, which of course he didn’t. I wrote about it here.
But we may accuse John Major of ,many things, but vanity is not one of them!
Profits Before Health In New York
It would appear from this story about banning the sale of large sizes of fizzy drinks in New York, that American lawyers are on the side of corporate profits and really can’t care about the obesity and health of the American people.
As someone, who is built like the Aldgate Sphinx, and has always been like that, I have never understood obesity and why people get that way. My father was the same and it looks like my son is too! At least we could share clothes, if we wanted!
Times When I’m Glad I Don’t Own A Car – 2
Last night was cold and we only got a few flurries of snow.
But my gas kept coming through the pipe and the electricity kept coming through the wires.
For most of the last forty years, the worry was could the gas tanker get through the snow to the remote houses I lived in, in Suffolk.
As I don’t drive any more, I wasn’t tempted to venture out in the snow towards Sussex.
I suspect some of those who did, are regretting their actions. After all, these days, there is no excuse not to know that bad weather in on the way.
I also wonder how many of those were commuting home from work. I’ve never understood why anybody commutes, as I’ve worked at home since 1970!
Is This The Next Antibiotic?
Read any paper or web site this morning and the doom-sayers are saying that growing resistance to antibiotics is a big risk to us all. Read about it here on the BBC web site.
The BBC News tonight did talk about a company called Phico. I looked at their web site and although I know little of pharmaceuticals, I do feel that this company may have the look of another success out of Cambridge.
Let’s hope that for everyone’s sake, they’ve got it right!
Note that, because of the backing of the Wellcome Trust, they shouldn’t be lacking in resources.
A History Of Syria With Dan Snow
I am watching this program on BBC2 as I write this and I’ve never seen a program that explains the tortuous history of the troubled country of Syria so well.
The program is being repeated tomorrow at 23:20 according to this page and is an absolute must see!
If you don’t see the program, your ideas about and solutions for Syria won’t be correct. Unless of course, you are someone who has studied the country and its history and problems for years.
It has been some time, since I’ve seen such an informative and well-made documentary on such a terrifying subject, that might boil over on all of us!
And to think that one of the causes of the current round of troubles in Syria, is the bad doctor, Bashar-al-Assad!
One phrase from Dan Snow summed up the mess.
The threads running through this conflict, mean there is no simple solution.
As he finishes the program, he does at least feel that there is some hope, because of the resilience and experience of the Syrian people.
I hope he’s right!
Checking Foreign Aid
There has been a lot of discussion in the last day or so about foreign aid and whether it is worth it.
A few years ago, I went to a presentation by a senior manager in Unicef.
They said, one of the biggest problem, was checking that aid was spent correctly. Ask the government if the £2million had been spent on say measles immunisation and you would get the answer the government wanted you to hear.
So Unicef always asked an independent organisation, such as a University to check. Even in some of the poorest and less academic countries, academic standards usually ensured that Unicef got an honest answer, they could trust.
The British government should use similar methods to check all aid is correctly spent on what it was intended.
Paying It All Back
Liverpool University has been good to me in many ways, so it is only right, when they ask me if I would mind being interviewed as part of their research into widowhood, I don’t say no.
Last week, I was interviewed by a student and as ever I found it rather a pleasant experience, which is probably better than paying for therapy.
I very much believe that we should all use our experience to help others and what better place to start than your old school or university. I can’t go back to my old school, as it no longer exists, so Liverpool University will have to put up with me.
In an ideal world, there would be a central database of research projects, that needed guinea pigs or experienced professionals to help fulfil the research.
A Useless Shopping Trip
This afternoon, I decided to go shopping to get some clothes from my holiday next week. I took the Overground to Stratford and walked into Eastfield.
It was not the most fulfilling of trips.
For a start, when I walked in, I thought I might like a tea or a cappuccino. Before the Olympics, I used to get this in the Starbucks by the station entrance, but since the Games, I’ve avoided it, as it only sells drinks in cardboard cups. These are for takeaways, not sitting in.
I then walked through to John Lewis and thought I’d see if there was a suitable coat. I need one with a large internal pocket on my left breast, that is big enough for my newspaper or my small Samsung Tab 2. Despite the attention of a very personable and professional sales assistant in an hijab, they couldn’t find anything, which fitted my requirements.
So it was on to Marks and Spencer, where I tried to get a second pair of cord trousers like those I was wearing. Despite having bought them only last week, I was again unlucky, as that style wasn’t stocked at Eastfield.
So I then retreated back to the Overground and came home.
That was a very unproductive shopping trip. I’ll try again in Oxford Street tomorrow. I should find the trousers, as they had quite a few pairs last week, there are a couple of Carluccio’s for some tea or coffee, but I doubt I’ll find the coat, as big pockets are so two years ago.
Nick “Loophole” Freeman On Chris Huhne
Nick Freeman aka Mr. Loophole has just pronounced on the Chris Huhne case on BBC Radio 5.
He said that in 2003, there was probably all sorts of errors in the summons and he could probably have got Huhne found not guilty.
You could say that he would say that wouldn’t he, but it does appear he usually gets his clients the result they want.
Perhaps, though Huhne didn’t want to employ a solicitor, who went to Uppingham School and whose father was in retail.
The Anonymous Widower 