Councillor abandons sinking Tories, scurries to Liberals
Carol Shaw, a local conservative councillor for thirteen years, has defected to the Liberal Democrats and is now backing Sarah Teather's campaign in the forthcoming Brent East by-election. In a letter to all voters in the constituency, she says "... under Iain Duncan Smith's weak leadership the Conservatives have become more divided and extreme... the Liberal Democrats are the only party that can beat Labour here in Brent.... Labour seems to have drifted to the right ..."
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Saturday, August 30, 2003
I like this Interview with Jonathan Miller. He hates continental philosophers. The last great one was Descartes, he says. "Heidegger is ghastly--he is like an elephant's fart."
The interviewer Shusha Guppy was adored in a previous life, not only by me, for her wonderful recordings simply as Shusha. Two of her albums are reissued on This is the Day, which is seldom far from my CD player. She is now the London editor of The Paris Review.
Ossian
The interviewer Shusha Guppy was adored in a previous life, not only by me, for her wonderful recordings simply as Shusha. Two of her albums are reissued on This is the Day, which is seldom far from my CD player. She is now the London editor of The Paris Review.
Ossian
Friday, August 29, 2003
Famous people from Willesden, a short series. No. 3
Jayaben Desai
Mrs Desai led the strikers at Grunwick in their epic two-year picket from 1976 to 1978. She had a colourful way with words, for example her parting shot to the boss when she led the walkout: "What you are running here is not a factory, it is a zoo. But in a zoo there are many types of animals. Some are monkeys who dance on your fingertips, others are lions who can bite your head off. We are the lions, Mr. Manager."
Ref:The Battles of Grunwick. Note: That page is no longer online. It has morphed into Grunwick Commemoration Discussion Board, which has a slideshow of superb pictures at the bottom (scroll down). It also contains a link to Moving Here (a short history of the strike).
Update Jan 2011: This post has been corrected as it incorrectly re-published a report from a local paper (I think, can't locate now) that Mrs Desai had passed away in 2003. In fact she lived till December 2010. Here is her obituary in the Guardian, written by union leader Jack Dromey and here is her page in Wikipedia. I am very sorry for the mistake and any distress that might have been caused. Ed.
Mrs Desai led the strikers at Grunwick in their epic two-year picket from 1976 to 1978. She had a colourful way with words, for example her parting shot to the boss when she led the walkout: "What you are running here is not a factory, it is a zoo. But in a zoo there are many types of animals. Some are monkeys who dance on your fingertips, others are lions who can bite your head off. We are the lions, Mr. Manager."
Ref:
Update Jan 2011: This post has been corrected as it incorrectly re-published a report from a local paper (I think, can't locate now) that Mrs Desai had passed away in 2003. In fact she lived till December 2010. Here is her obituary in the Guardian, written by union leader Jack Dromey and here is her page in Wikipedia. I am very sorry for the mistake and any distress that might have been caused. Ed.
Herald to sponsor candidate in Brent East by-election
The Herald candidate's priorities will be War, War, War. More resources will be found for bombing poor countries overseas, by selling off the NHS. We will also squeeze the council tax payers till their pips squeak to extract more money for the millions of beaureaucrats needed to measure the straightness of bananas and stop people parking in convenient spaces. We will ensure that most teachers are leaving the profession so that more money can be devoted to rises for MPs and huge pensions for defeated candidates at the next election, as well as pensions for life for ministers caught out in lies and financial fraud. We will encourage big business to invest in salaries for us as non-executive directors so that they can replace natural plants with sterile, proprietary variants, and encourage people to consider themselves ill and dependent on lifelong medications and other such innovative money-spinning schemes. We will give pensioners awards of the order of 75p so that we can give export grants for arms companies to flood the developing world with weapons, shackles, stun-guns etc in order to ensure that they are completely enervated and unable to get off their knees. We will guarantee to smirk and purr with satisfaction at our achievement of power, our ability to buy expensive wallpaper at £200 a roll, and we will also guarantee everyone we know a position of power in the legal system, so that when the time comes we can tell them what their verdicts in cases and inquiries should be. We will dispense with items such as a workable rail service, and instead invest in sending 45,000 troops, the entire navy and air force to Arabia to re-enact pageants and massacres from history on behalf of the Americans who desperately need our help in this their hour of bankruptcy. Remember the Falklands, after all, they nearly helped us that time - and they nearly didn't put import tariffs on our steel, and they nearly didn't pull out of the climate change treaty, and they nearly were about to support international justice via the ICC, if only for other countries. Considering all those things they nearly did, we believe that this country owes them every last penny we can scrape from our unduly sybaritic lifestyles in estates up and down the land to help them with their campaign of reprisals around the world. If we play our cards right, they might even still agree to base their nuclear defences here on the island of Britain - what a privilege! If you vote for the Herald candidate, you can be sure that the honour of having B52s loaded up with Cruise missiles and flying from runways here to destinations all over the world will not be jeopardised. That's what you will get if you vote for the Herald candidate.
Oh wait, there's no need. One of the candidates already offers the same commitments. Phew! We've saved our deposit.
Oh wait, there's no need. One of the candidates already offers the same commitments. Phew! We've saved our deposit.
Thursday, August 28, 2003
London blackout - update
"This is an unprecedented situation" - London Underground Spokesman. This power failure has struck during the evening rush hour. All power to the underground "third rail" is off over the whole network.
"Between 100,000 and 150,000 people trapped in trains underground." - Mayor Ken Livingstone. If there is no resumption of power soon, they are going to have to consider walking people from the trains along the tracks to stations. There is no indication of any foul play at this stage, just a failure of the National Grid.
"This is an unprecedented situation" - London Underground Spokesman. This power failure has struck during the evening rush hour. All power to the underground "third rail" is off over the whole network.
"Between 100,000 and 150,000 people trapped in trains underground." - Mayor Ken Livingstone. If there is no resumption of power soon, they are going to have to consider walking people from the trains along the tracks to stations. There is no indication of any foul play at this stage, just a failure of the National Grid.
Power cuts hit London
Power has gone off in the Underground and throughout parts of East London. According to reports it is due to a failure of part of the national grid. So if the Herald goes off the air, you'll know what happened. The cut coincides with the first rainfall for about a month. ("The wrong kind of rain?")
Power has gone off in the Underground and throughout parts of East London. According to reports it is due to a failure of part of the national grid. So if the Herald goes off the air, you'll know what happened. The cut coincides with the first rainfall for about a month. ("The wrong kind of rain?")
The Key *****
I promise I'll never touch another drop. I'm embarrassed by reports in secret websites known only to newspaper editors and top writers about my starstruck behaviour at a special screening last night. Here is the press pack about the new 3-part drama serial, to be broadcast on BBC2 in September: The Key. You can read it yourself and make up your own report, because my head is still not back to normal. I'm going to take the Father Matthew pledge, I swear, and become a Pioneer.
Full credit to the BBC for enabling this wonderful, life-affirming, re-invogorating production. Whatever we may have said about them in the Herald, they are still able to get some things very right.
Ed.
I promise I'll never touch another drop. I'm embarrassed by reports in secret websites known only to newspaper editors and top writers about my starstruck behaviour at a special screening last night. Here is the press pack about the new 3-part drama serial, to be broadcast on BBC2 in September: The Key. You can read it yourself and make up your own report, because my head is still not back to normal. I'm going to take the Father Matthew pledge, I swear, and become a Pioneer.
Full credit to the BBC for enabling this wonderful, life-affirming, re-invogorating production. Whatever we may have said about them in the Herald, they are still able to get some things very right.
Ed.
Books could be written about The Key, a new 3-part serial by Donna Franceschild. Having attended a special preview at BAFTA last night, I believe it will become a classic of television drama. In her introduction the author congratulated the BBC on supporting this project. Somebody from the BBC contacted the author by phone and asked if she would like to do a young girl coming of age story. She responded by saying something to the effect of, "How about if I do a three-part series covering the social and political background and the history of the 20th century, that explains the factors leading up to the story of the girl and her situation?" The producer said, "Ok, leave it with me." (That was the author's jocular paraphrase of the conversation.) The four years consisted of one year to get the go-ahead, one year of research, one year of writing, and one year of production.
The Key is a brilliant portrayal of the effects of politics on ordinary families, and the effect that ordinary people can have on policy when they stand "the gither." That is the accompaniment, the obligado, the orchestra (and there is a beautiful score played by the BBC Concert Orchestra) but the melody is the personal journey of Jessie, one of the two granddaughters, and her sister, played by Ronni Ancona who is about to become a New Labour MP, and in the process is put under pressure to quite literally betray her own grandmother and everything she stood for. Jessie is writing a story called The Key, about her grandmother, who always wore a key as a pendant on her neck. You'll have to watch BBC2 this September to find out why.
The Key (press release - pdf)
Ossian
The Key is a brilliant portrayal of the effects of politics on ordinary families, and the effect that ordinary people can have on policy when they stand "the gither." That is the accompaniment, the obligado, the orchestra (and there is a beautiful score played by the BBC Concert Orchestra) but the melody is the personal journey of Jessie, one of the two granddaughters, and her sister, played by Ronni Ancona who is about to become a New Labour MP, and in the process is put under pressure to quite literally betray her own grandmother and everything she stood for. Jessie is writing a story called The Key, about her grandmother, who always wore a key as a pendant on her neck. You'll have to watch BBC2 this September to find out why.
The Key (press release - pdf)
Ossian
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
There are two new poems by W. S. Merwin this month. I think these are wonderful. See what you think. I have never felt like linking any poems in the Atlantic Monthly until now.
To Smoke A poem by W. S. Merwin
To a Tortoiseshell Lyre A poem by W. S. Merwin
Ossian
To Smoke A poem by W. S. Merwin
To a Tortoiseshell Lyre A poem by W. S. Merwin
Ossian
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Breaking News
Sarah Teather the soon-to-be Brent East Liberal Democrat MP has offered to look into the issue that Feargal Mooney reported about speeding on All Souls Avenue. See her letter in the comments on this article.
The proprietor, Mr Woodward, is so guilt-ridden over calling Ms Teather by a heightist name that he has locked himself in his office with a bottle of Glenmorangie and won't listen to anyone. Unfortunately he has been rather "tired and emotional" lately and I'm sure will agree that some of his contributions have not been up to his own patrician standard. He has been a bit unlucky in his Equine Futures dealings. He had inside knowledge of a 50 to 1 ringer that was a cast iron plunger, but has been very hard on himself for putting it on a double with another nag that is still running.
By the way, I had the Labour candidate from Surrey here at my door today. He looked very businesslike in a dark suit. I asked if I could take his picture for this website, and he was quite agreeable at first. Then we had a little chat about how I used to vote Labour but won't be voting for them again (as long as Mr Blair is in charge - I forgot to tell him that bit.) When I said I would support the Liberals from now on, he started telling me all the things they had voted against. He even mentioned something about pensions. Nyahahah! Foot, shooting, ouch, left, ouch, right. Lucky he didn't start me on Iraq.
He started to quiz me about what sort of website it was. "I have to be so careful," he said, and ran away. Okay I just made that bit up, he didn't run away. Let's just say he shook hands and took his leave with alacrity. I imagine he is back in Surrey tonight in a state not unlike that of our Mr Woodward. I don't think the people who sent him here have any idea what this constituency is about. This was Ken Livingstone's constituency. Helloooo!
Ossian Lennon
In regard to the incident when a dog got run over on All Souls Avenue, I am not saying that the car was speeding. It had no chance to stop in time because the dog just darted out in front of it. But All Souls Avenue is a long straight road with dense housing along both sides, so it is quite a dangerous road I think. Thanks to Sarah Teather of Brent Liberal Democrats for taking an interest. (Feargal)
Sarah Teather the soon-to-be Brent East Liberal Democrat MP has offered to look into the issue that Feargal Mooney reported about speeding on All Souls Avenue. See her letter in the comments on this article.
The proprietor, Mr Woodward, is so guilt-ridden over calling Ms Teather by a heightist name that he has locked himself in his office with a bottle of Glenmorangie and won't listen to anyone. Unfortunately he has been rather "tired and emotional" lately and I'm sure will agree that some of his contributions have not been up to his own patrician standard. He has been a bit unlucky in his Equine Futures dealings. He had inside knowledge of a 50 to 1 ringer that was a cast iron plunger, but has been very hard on himself for putting it on a double with another nag that is still running.
By the way, I had the Labour candidate from Surrey here at my door today. He looked very businesslike in a dark suit. I asked if I could take his picture for this website, and he was quite agreeable at first. Then we had a little chat about how I used to vote Labour but won't be voting for them again (as long as Mr Blair is in charge - I forgot to tell him that bit.) When I said I would support the Liberals from now on, he started telling me all the things they had voted against. He even mentioned something about pensions. Nyahahah! Foot, shooting, ouch, left, ouch, right. Lucky he didn't start me on Iraq.
He started to quiz me about what sort of website it was. "I have to be so careful," he said, and ran away. Okay I just made that bit up, he didn't run away. Let's just say he shook hands and took his leave with alacrity. I imagine he is back in Surrey tonight in a state not unlike that of our Mr Woodward. I don't think the people who sent him here have any idea what this constituency is about. This was Ken Livingstone's constituency. Helloooo!
Ossian Lennon
In regard to the incident when a dog got run over on All Souls Avenue, I am not saying that the car was speeding. It had no chance to stop in time because the dog just darted out in front of it. But All Souls Avenue is a long straight road with dense housing along both sides, so it is quite a dangerous road I think. Thanks to Sarah Teather of Brent Liberal Democrats for taking an interest. (Feargal)
Monday, August 25, 2003
Uncle Rupert has been out and taken some pictures that convey something of the sense of today's Notting Hill Carnival, the biggest annual street party in Europe. Getting on for a million people tend to materialise in and around Notting Hill.
Cult ends in mass suicide - World Exclusive
by Feargal Mooney
All the members of the Thisian cult have committed suicide. In an echo of the Heaven's Gate story, this group had a virtual basis, using online message boards and websites to communicate. They were followers of a mysterious guru Chichi, and believed in cryptic scriptures written in a so-far indecipherable code. It is not clear if all the leaders are really dead, as there was no identification on any of the bodies. The group conducted financial dealings and presented a rather bland front to the public via their public website, which is currently displaying the suicide notes and last words of some of the members, updated shortly before the horrific discoveries at various locations from Los Angeles to Baltimore, and a college campus in Maryland. It is believed they drank poison. Police sources hinted that the doors of the premises where they were discovered may have been locked from the outside. "It was pitiful," said Sgt. O'Malley of Baltimore P.D. "Why did they have to take the children with them?"
by Feargal Mooney
All the members of the Thisian cult have committed suicide. In an echo of the Heaven's Gate story, this group had a virtual basis, using online message boards and websites to communicate. They were followers of a mysterious guru Chichi, and believed in cryptic scriptures written in a so-far indecipherable code. It is not clear if all the leaders are really dead, as there was no identification on any of the bodies. The group conducted financial dealings and presented a rather bland front to the public via their public website, which is currently displaying the suicide notes and last words of some of the members, updated shortly before the horrific discoveries at various locations from Los Angeles to Baltimore, and a college campus in Maryland. It is believed they drank poison. Police sources hinted that the doors of the premises where they were discovered may have been locked from the outside. "It was pitiful," said Sgt. O'Malley of Baltimore P.D. "Why did they have to take the children with them?"
Sunday, August 24, 2003
From the desk of Mrs Haverty
On behalf of Mrs Haverty Global Enterprises™ International
It's a nice how-do-you-do when I have worked my fingers to the bone here since I joined, and what thanks do I get? More shitey photographs from that shit-head Ossian. I might as well be talking to the wall. I will not stay where I'm not wanted. I'm only in the way here. You don't have to tell me, I can take a hint.
Copyright © Mrs Haverty Global Enterprises. All rights reserved.
The moral right of Mrs Haverty has been inserted. Beware!
On behalf of Mrs Haverty Global Enterprises™ International
It's a nice how-do-you-do when I have worked my fingers to the bone here since I joined, and what thanks do I get? More shitey photographs from that shit-head Ossian. I might as well be talking to the wall. I will not stay where I'm not wanted. I'm only in the way here. You don't have to tell me, I can take a hint.
Copyright © Mrs Haverty Global Enterprises. All rights reserved.
The moral right of Mrs Haverty has been inserted. Beware!
Image of Yogi Bear discovered on Mars
Willesden astronomers using a powerful optical telescope have discovered this amazing Yogi Bear like formation on the surface of Mars.
Science journals & all syndication enquiries welcome
This image was made possible by Mars currently passing closer to Earth than at any time since 56,000 B.C. Amateur astronomer Ossian Lennon was able to take this picture of its surface simply by zooming in with a paparazzo's telescopic lens on an ordinary camera. Ed.
Willesden astronomers using a powerful optical telescope have discovered this amazing Yogi Bear like formation on the surface of Mars.
Science journals & all syndication enquiries welcome
This image was made possible by Mars currently passing closer to Earth than at any time since 56,000 B.C. Amateur astronomer Ossian Lennon was able to take this picture of its surface simply by zooming in with a paparazzo's telescopic lens on an ordinary camera. Ed.
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Friday, August 22, 2003
Correction
In a recent article, we inadvertently referred to Charles Kennedy as a "Deputy Dawg lookalike." Of course we meant Droopy. Sorry for any distress caused to Deputy Dawg fans.
In a recent article, we inadvertently referred to Charles Kennedy as a "Deputy Dawg lookalike." Of course we meant Droopy. Sorry for any distress caused to Deputy Dawg fans.
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