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I thought I was alone in not giving a flying one about Lewis Hamilton's Formula One world title victory, but reading an article in The Times today it explored the lack of response from his home-town of Stevenage. No flags, no bunting, no open-topped celebration:
It's not like he's won X-Factor or something..." says Jo, a Stevenage-raised mum of two. "But really. If he had they'd have had a massive party here. It seems a bit low key.
Despite his media handlers and corporate sponsors seizing the opportunity, I wonder how ready the British public are ready fully to embrace UK Tax exile Lewis Hamilton as their next sporting hero?
No sooner had David Tennant allowed his intention to quit Doctor Who to slip from his mouth to gasps from the NTA audience at the Royal Albert Hall, than the rumour mills started the fevered speculation who his successor might be.
Amongst the runners and riders, apparently, are:
David Morrisey
is favourite with the bookies currently at 3-1. The 44-year old actor is set appear in this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special - whilst some are seizing on the episode's title The Next Doctor as a clue, surely the DW production team have not abandoned all subtlety!
Paterson Joseph
- another 44-year old actor. Could he be the first black actor to take on the role? He's doing well with the bookmakers
James Nesbitt
- also is much rumoured for the role, especially as the Northern Irish actor has starred in Jekyll, a series made by Stephen Moffat, the new helmer of Doctor Who
Billie Piper
- did David Tennant have his tongue firmly in his cheek when he suggested that the actress who played Rose Tyler in the series could somehow be the first woman to play the role?
Well nothing like a prediction to come back and haunt me...but I don't think it'll be any of them. I don't think they will mess with gender of the Time Lord so that rules out Dame Billie. I also don't think it will be any of the chaps being touted - it's a Saturday early evening show, aimed squarely at a family audience and if it is going to keep the kiddies on board, they are going to want a Doctor they can relate to.....and that means YOUNG!
Look at Merlin, and Robin Hood - both have noticably young leads!
And a younger actor will be able to keep up with a heavy production schedule.....so watch this space (and time)
To the outside world, the choice couldn't be simpler or more obvious: it has to Obama....hasn't it?
Except that the news coverage today suggests that McCain has narrowed the lead in the polls. Doesn't that send shivers? Should we brace ourselves for a replay of 2000 when the Democrats, confidently thinking they had it in the bag, sleepwalked to defeat.
Can you imagine the future under a McCain - Palin presidency. How many gaffes do we have to hear - the agreement/disagreement over 'racist Pennsylvania', calling a rally 'my fellow prisoners', wanting to fire the Chairman of an independent agency, thinking that Iraq borders Pakistan, and on - before it is fair to question if a 72-year old candidate may not be up to the stresses and strains of the Oval Office?
And consider his biggest mistake, the terrifying and unethical Sarah Palin, just a hearbeat away from leading the most powerful country in the world - someone who thinks that the theory of evolution is an opinion and thinks it should be put on a par with creationism, denies the evidence of global warming, and doesn't know if abortion clinic bombers are terrorists. Absolutely terrifiying!!!
But what worries me is watching British coverage of the US elections, when various vox pops ask the public why they are supporting their favoured candidate, followers of Obama articulate a variety of reasons. When it came to why people were supporting McCain, their answers were muddled, poorly expressed and had all the depth of bumper stickers. One scary bloke was queried why he was backing McCain, to which he chillingly uttered "Security" - the effort to venture those four syllables was visible as was his resentment to the fact that he had to provide a reason for his choice.
And that's the worrying bit. The victor will not be one which surely all reason dictates should win - it is up to an electorate many of whom will make a choice based on instinct and faith without recourse for thought.
Of course that it true for the UK electorate, but at least we pretty much only screw up our own country's future when we get it wrong - when America gets it wrong, we ALL pay!
And they say you should never go back....but "they" didn't miss Yazoo the first time round!
Today, the announcement was made that Alison M and Vince C were getting together for a Yazoo tour in June this year. That incredible fusion of the head/electro/cold with the heart/vocals/warmth was the sound that woke me up to music.
And the unlikeliness of their pairing spoke volumes to a teenager who increasingly felt he couldn't follow the life-blueprint expected of him.
And their awkwardness, the lack of finesse mirrored the isolation of growing up feeling 'different', an outsider, uncertain of a place in the world.
And yet, their songs were prickly and sad and moving and ripe with imagery and meaning that spoke volumes to an awakening soul.
Like a lot of others, I listened to the recordings of the Peel Sessions, the Dominion concert - I had my first and frankly only moment of piss-weak teenager rebellion, when Yazoo played Rooftops in Glasgow (an over-18 nightclub) and my parents wouldn't allow me (a 14-year old) to go by myself. The huff I pulled....
Yazoo was the starting point of exploring music: of course, the fascination with Alison's unique voice endured. But it was a moment in time that had just narrowly slipped out of my grasp - it was music that was always past-tense. Whilst I knew others had experienced Yazoo, I had only listened. In my room.
The Yazoo Reconnected tour is like a gift. The missing piece of a jigsaw, once believed to be always lost down the side of life's sofa. It is a precious thing to be given this chance.
Good Times indeed!
