Who Has Confidence in Jo Swinson?

So it seems that the chance to remove Boris Johnson from office and replace him with a caretaker unity government has fallen...all because of Jo Swinson.

You see, Swinson has an overwhelming contempt for Jeremy Corbyn. Unfortunately for Swinson, Corbyn is the leader of the opposition and so any caretaker government should have him at its head. Swinson can't stomach this because, arguably, she wants power for herself. But she doesn't seem to realise that she doesn't have the numbers. She may be getting MP's from other parties crossing the floor to join the Lib Dems, but these are not actually elected Lib Dem MP's. Therefore not only does Swinson have contempt for the official opposition, she also has extreme delusions of grandeur that her party, with her at the helm, ought to be in that role.

Swinson needs to realise that, if she loathes the idea of a Boris Johnson Brexit, she needs to put aside her hatred of Jeremy Corbyn and commit to a vote of no confidence in our so-called PM. But she won't do this, because in reality, her politics are more in keeping with the Conservative party that alleged PM leads.

Let's look at her voting record;

And incidentally, if Swinson hates Brexit so much and if the Lib Dems are, as she repeatedly says, the only real remain party out there, then where was she during the national day of protest at the prorogation of parliament?

That's right, she was on holiday.

Where was Jeremy Corbyn, a man she repeatedly claims is not interested in Brexit?

That's right, he was out there among the protesters, delivering impassioned speeches.

Perhaps we should be arguing for a vote of no confidence in Swinson and the Lib Dems too?

Lastly, I must point out that the photo of Swinson above comes from the excellent political blog Vox Political. I apologise for anyone who was physically sick as a result of the image. One to put atop the mantlepiece to keep the kiddies away eh?

I Stand With Naga

Words fail me as to why the BBC upheld a complaint about the BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty pointing out that Donald Fart, sorry Trump's comments that senators of colour should 'go back to places they came from' are racist. I am especially at a loss regarding their decision when you consider that the extremely biased, white political editor Laura Kuenssberg (ostensibly the Secretary of State for Propaganda) receives thousands of complaints on more than one occasion and yet the BBC defend her to the hilt.

If, like me you, stand with Naga, then please sign these petitions to get the BBC to reconsider their decision.

Here

Here

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Out On Blue Six: Matt Bianco

Disappointing edition of Top of the Pops from 1988 on BBC4 tonight. Seeing Peter Powell and 'Ooh' Gary Davies wearing shorts and labouring under the misapprehension that this is somehow funny (oh how I miss John Peel) was bad enough, but the 'live' performances were awful. On video, there were just two really good songs in this half hour (Tracy Chapman's Fast Car and Salt-N-Pepa's Push It) but both were cut short. Which left the only good tune on offer to surprisingly come from an outfit that one caller on Saturday Superstore once memorably described as a bunch of wankers; Matt Bianco and Don't Blame It On That Girl

I like that the frontman Mark Reilly (many presume that the singer's name was Matt Bianco, but that is the name of the group; Matt Bianco was meant to suggest a 1960s spy character, echoing their love of spymania from that era and their film/TV scores) looks like he's just stepped out of Expresso Bongo here - late '50s Soho coffee bars being their natural spiritual home.

And then, to round off a particularly disappointing evening's entertainment I watched the terminally boring spy film Red Joan and then The Mash Report which didn't feature the excellent Rachel Parris but did feature the loathsome little ball of greasy spunk that is right wing 'comedian' Geoff Norcott. Yuk.

End Transmission

#FuckBoris

Utterly disgusting display from the alleged PM tonight. If proroguing parliament wasn't about Brexit (yeah right) then how come the Tories are banging on about the supreme court blocking Brexit? FFS, at least Thatcher's mob were actually good at lying. 

But worse was to come. To sit and listen to the impassioned pleas to moderate his dangerous language from Paula Sherriff and Tracey Brabin, and then to dismiss the former with "I've never heard so much humbug in my life" and the later with the idea that the best way to honour their friend and colleague Jo Cox's memory is to "get Brexit done" is shameful, disgraceful, unfeeling and morally bankrupt. Jo Cox was murdered by a far right terrorist who condemned her in his tiny, sick mind as a traitor for her campaign to remain in the EU. Boris Johnson continues to call MP's who do not back his disastrous plan for a no deal Brexit 'traitors' who are intent on 'surrender'. There is a clear line here between his words and some very dangerous actions and he knows that is the case deep down, it's just that he doesn't care. How many people must die or come to harm to ensure that his dream of a hard Brexit and a subservient brown-nosing bromance with Trump comes true?

Every Tory MP who applauded their dictator tonight, every supporter out there who thinks he's standing up for them (he's really not you know) should hang their heads in everlasting shame. This man is sowing the seeds of division and hate across this land and breaking the law. Why? Because it suits him to. It is he and his privileged chums alone who will prosper from a No Deal Brexit not 'the people' they keep referencing who they actually care very, very little about. 

Putting it simply, this man was never a clown. He was never a bumbling oaf. He was never a bit of fun and he is certainly not some kind of champion against the establishment, because he is the establishment. he is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and he is a...

Out On Blue Six: The Clash

This suitably apt song is going out to our alleged Prime Minister, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, pictured above with his pet polecat Dominic Cummings. Sadly those aren't prison bars they're behind...not yet. 

End Transmission

Boris Johnson Must Go

And so it has been found that the alleged Prime Minister's suspension of parliament was unlawful. 

This is a huge victory for the democracy that hard brexiteers like Johnson falsely claimed leaving the EU was about returning to this country. But we need to go one further; we need to show that Boris Johnson's position is untenable. Please sign this petition demanding he resign now.

Out On Blue Six: The Timelords (aka The KLF)

This week's repeat of Top of the Pops had a rare treat at number one - Doctorin' The Tardis by The Timelords, once described by Pete Paphides as 'the one novelty record most people admit to liking' and by The Timelords themselves as 'probably the most nauseating record in the world'

All I know is that, as a kid sat in front of the TV in 1988, I loved it. And I still do now if I'm honest! It's pointed title (sending up the recent hit Doctorin' The House by Coldcut feat Yazz) mix of the Doctor Who theme tune, Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Parts 1 and 2, The Sweet's Blockbuster and football-style chanting was the perfect primer for what was to come with The KLF.

End Transmission

Theme Time: Edwin Astley - Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

It was fifty years ago this week that one of ITC's most enduring crime dramas Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) arrived on our screens.

Starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, private investigators who won't let a little thing like death get in the way of their business, whilst Annette Andre starred as Marty's widow, Jeanie.

Unlike much of its stablemates at ITC, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) was, by its very nature, fantastical, and yet at the same time much more down-to-earth in its downbeat depiction of the then swinging London. Perhaps it's that slightly more recognisably real world vibe that has ensured it hasn't dated as much as Department S or Jason King say, whilst the fact that Reeves and Mortimer remade it for two series in the early '00s proved that this was a show that the public still had a lot of time for. 

And then there's that theme tune. A wonderfully evocative, atmospheric track from ITC composer supremo Edwin Astley. It's the sonic equivalent of a tingle running down your spine.

BBC Bias: Sack Laura Kuenssberg

I've lost count of the amount of times I've written complaints to the BBC on their political bias and how they are effectively the Tory government's propaganda machine rather than a supposed impartial public service, but today they reached a new low. Laura Kuenssberg's decision to orchestrate a twitter dogpile on the worried father of a seriously ill newborn daughter because he had the audacity to confront our alleged Prime Minister about how his government is destroying the NHS is disgusting. There is NO excuse for attempting to add to this man's trauma by encouraging far right activists to troll him online.

And so what if that father votes Labour? His political affiliations do not matter here, what matters is he feels his baby is not being adequately treated and he has firsthand experience of seeing how the lack of government funding is a serious factor in the shortcomings of his daughter's treatment. Not being a Tory does not make his experience any less valid, and he was right to call out Johnson for his publicity stunt and we all saw this disgraceful dictator stupidly, blatantly lie on camera when he said that there was no press in attendance.

The irony today is that I can't complain about this to the BBC, because their complaints site is crashing under the weight of incoming missives from people who feel as disgusted by Kuenssberg's biased and dangerous behaviour as I am. Hopefully this will make the BBC realise that Kuenssberg's position is no longer tenable and that they need to rethink how they report politics to their audiences. A Labour government who will initiate Leveson 2 and overhaul the BBC cannot come quickly enough.

#SackLauraKuenssberg

Are You a Bovril Body?

They say that Marmite is a bit, well...Marmite; you either love it or hate it. Me? I'm actually ambivalent towards it and so I rather spoil their whole marketing campaign. It's nice enough, but a bit too salty. Nah, I'm a Bovril body. One of the Bovril Brigade. 

But, is it a drink or a spread?

Well, it's whatever you want it to be really.

I like it is a drink well enough, but I prefer getting the sachets rather than mixing it myself. For me though, you can't beat a bit of Bovril on toast or on a hot buttered crumpet. It's a great little addition to a spag bol too.

Wordless Wednesday: Cheers!

High Noon (1952)

"In the end, he must meet his chosen fate all by himself, his town’s doors and windows firmly locked against him. It is a story that still happens everywhere, every day" ~ Fred Zinnemann.

"...The beauty of High Noon is that its themes are universal. On the surface it may be a western, but its themes of conscience, fearlessness and a sense of both what is right and of duty – not just to the law, a cause, or even to others; but to yourself and how you wish to live and be perceived –  transcends the trappings of the genre to connect with audiences who perhaps would never consider themselves as horse opera aficionados. That High Noon has been uprooted from its old west setting time and again to effectively be remade or paid homage to in everything from the 1981 sci-fi actioner Outland to a 2010 episode of the Jimmy McGovern Manchester-set drama The Street starring Bob Hoskins, serves as a testimony to the strength and continuing relevance of the film’s human story of a man who feels compelled to fight rather than flee..."

Read my full review at The Geek Show

Out On Blue Six: Bas Jan

Suitable song for a Sunday in the middle of September conjuring as it does an image of a forlorn British seaside resort.

End Transmission

Silent Sunday: The Matchstick Man

Johnson's Coup Declared Illegal

Well colour me distinctly unsurprised, but Scotland's highest court, the Court of Sessions, has found that our alleged Prime Minister's prorogation was unlawful and "motivated by the improper purpose of stymying parliament"

Follow this link to both sign Another Europe is Possible's petition and to ask your MP to return to parliament now to hold this tinpot dictator to account.

Wordless Wednesday: Untitled Film Still #54

The Language of Boris Johnson

I feel compelled to write this post about the language our alleged Prime Minister Boris Johnson uses to deride his male rivals speak volumes. 

Whilst the term 'surrender bill' has rightly been condemned, I'm sorry to see that some of his other choices have been overlooked. In the last week alone Johnson has chosen to call the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, a 'big girl's blouse' in the Commons, whilst a leaked, handwritten note referred to former PM David Cameron as a 'girly swot'.

What does this language tell us? Well, it tells us exactly how little respect the twice-married, serial adulterer has for women. For these terms reveal to us that Johnson believes women are pretty poor and inferior beings. Worse, he believes that the patriarchal society he helps to prop up believes this to be the case too. 

Can the 32 million women who make up half of the UK's population prove him wrong by voting anyone but Conservative come the next election? I hope so. This sexist, overgrown schoolboy bully needs to learn a lesson. He needs to learn that words have repercussions. 

This is What a Hypocrite Looks Like

I mean, if you weren't convince that this perpetrator of austerity (which has been proven to impact upon women hardest of all) wasn't actually a feminist at all then her decision to award Geoffrey Boycott, a man with a conviction for punching a partner twenty-two times, a knighthood ought to remove you of any doubt that actually Theresa May is what a hypocrite looks like. 

That she followed up one of her last acts as PM, the introduction of a domestic abuse bill (a last ditch attempt to secure some kind of legacy) with an act of disgusting cronyism that affords a wifebeater a knighthood, along with her former advisors and staff Robbie Gibb, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, is utterly sickening and says all that we need to know about this Tory government. 

As for Boycott himself, well his words say it all really. On Radio 4's Today programme Martha Kearney began "The Chief Executive of Women's Aid has said -" to which he interrupted with "I don't give a toss about her, luv. It was 25 years ago" It's also worth remembering that Boycott once remarked that he would have to "black up" to receive a knighthood, arguing that they were handed out to West Indian cricketers "like confetti".  That is most emphatically not what a sporting hero looks like and it certainly shouldn't be what a knight of the realm (if we have to have them) looks like either.

Out On Blue Six: Justin Hayward

*Firstly apologies for the radio silence on this blog for the last week. I spent most of it planning for or standing in city centres waving placards around. All to preserve democracy you understand.

You hear a lot of stupid things on the TV news lately, but one that really got up my nose last week was when one of the presenters said something along the lines of "I love this time of year, autumn". 

No, no, no, NO! 

This is not autumn!

Autumn - this week apparently.

Autumn doesn't start the first week of September, it starts at the end of the month. What next? If we have a sunny day this week, will the proclaim it an Indian summer?! Of course, the conspiracy theorist in me can't help but think that this kind of comment, along with them now starting the football season in the middle of August is all some plan to condition us into thinking that summer ends much earlier, so they don't have to acknowledge the impact climate change has upon our seasons and weather. Pretty soon the summer months will be classified as May (when we seem to experience some of our hottest weather these days) to July, whilst autumn will commence sometime in mid August and last until October 1st when they'll announce that winter is upon us and shan't give up its icy grip until March. Spring will be approximately last for a fortnight in April. There, that'll keep the climate change deniers and governments of the world happy won't it?

But I guess the truth is that presenters of live TV often say stupid things just to fill the time. For that person, here's a suitable track... 

End Transmission

RIP Terrance Dicks

I am absolutely heartbroken to learn that Terrance Dicks has died at the age of 84.

It's not hyperbole to say that Terrance Dicks was the man responsible for my love of literature, and I'm sure I won't be the only person of a certain age to be saying that when paying tribute to him. Dicks may have served as script editor on Doctor Who from 1969 to 1975, and he may have written forty-five episodes of the show, and he may have written some original New Adventures and Missing Adventures novels in the '90s and beyond, but his lasting legacy lies in the fact that he penned some 60 odd Target novelisations of Doctor Who stories in the '70s and '80s, introducing children of that generation not only to many adventures that were broadcast long before they were born but also to the joys of reading. It's important to remember too that, in a time before VHS and DVD, these novels were the only way fans could experience these stories either again or for the first time, with Dicks' exceptional, deceptively simple prose style bringing them vividly to life. His contribution to the lives and happiness of so many generations cannot be adequately quantified, just as I haven't enough words to say thank you for opening up one of my most pleasurable, enriching past times way back when, as a little boy, I first took down one of his Target novels from the shelf of Sutton library.

RIP

Plus Size Bond Girls: September

James Bond in...Thunderthighs!

Silent Sunday: Out of the Mouths of Babes