Happy In The Haze Of A Drunken Hour?

There's nothing particularly unusual about idiotic acts at concerts, unfortunately, & Liverpool has seen more than its fair share of those (the Beastie Boys at the Royal Court in 87 immediately springs to mind).
However, the object thrown at Morrissey at the Echo Arena yesterday evening (conflicting reports describe it as either a bottle or a glass), resulting in the abrupt & premature end of the concert (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/08/morrissey-storms-off-liverpool & http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8349102.stm ) is indicative of an all-too common pattern at that venue; several incidents have occurred there with different acts & it seems to date from the venue's inception (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/07/brand-awareness.html ).
The Arena appears to be the only major indoor venue which allows the sale of alcohol during concerts. Its level of security & stewarding also leaves more than something to be desired; a friend of mine went to see Bob Dylan at the venue earlier this year & expressed both his amazement & exasperation at the ease with which people already the worse for wear could return to the bar time after time.
The management of the Arena have offered a limp statement, citing their faith in CCTV to identify the culprit. However, they, too, should accept culpability for last night's incident, in that they preside over a venue in which the standard rules of procedure are blithely suspended.
And what of the venue's sponsors, our old, beseiged friends on Oldham Hall Street? Well, to their credit, they did report the event on their website yesterday evening (some might say they had no option). However, it is telling that the guiding, emaciated hand of desperate PR ensured that both the news report & the follow-up story featuring reaction quotes appeared to imply that Morrissey was a bit of a wimp for not tolerating the odd missile or two (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/11/08/former-smiths-frontman-morrissey-leaves-liverpool-s-echo-arena-stage-after-being-hit-by-drink-thrown-from-crowd-100252-25116788/ & http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/11/08/morrissey-storms-off-liverpool-s-echo-arena-stage-after-being-hit-by-drink-fans-reactions-100252-25116893/ ).
Memo to the remaining hacks on Oldham Hall Street: it's called zero tolerance, it's of a piece with your manufactured "campaigns" & "crusades"; think ASBOs, guys, then you might get the message.

Sara's Sayings

With one apparent Oldham Hall Street insider commenting on Liverpool Confidential's treament of its travails that a meeting of staff was called on Friday evening to announce the end of the final salary pension scheme (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwEiNwEoKWy6IHqjNwB6IA ), attention has been paid to the role played by Sara Wilde, managing director of Trinity Mirror Regional North West and Wales. It's interesting to recall her words from September of last year when the last major round of job losses took place (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/09/closing-time.html ).
Does Ms Wilde's gift for bollockese know no bounds?

Will The Last Person Left On Oldham Hall Street Please Switch Off The Lights?

As I write, the rockets & fireworks soar & explode in the local night sky. There'll be a few more fireworks being ignited around Oldham Hall Street at the news that Trinity Mirror is seeking 17 editorial job losses at its Merseyside titles (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/05/trinity-mirror-axe-jobs-merseyside ).
The Guardian piece reports that Trinity Mirror "would seek to make the cuts....through voluntary redundancy where possible."
I like the "where possible" bit, don't you? It gives the impression that management on Oldham Hall Street are "flexible" & "reasonable", & that they hate having to do this. It's also nice to know that Sara Wilde, managing director of Trinity Mirror Regional North West and Wales, hasn't lost the ability to talk fluent management bollockese: "It is vital that we continue to make and take these difficult decisions and I believe these changes will ensure we have a viable, robust and thriving business which continues to provides jobs and media services to the communities we serve."
Not buying it? Nope, me neither. Nor, too, isthe NUJ branch on Oldham Hall Street, leading it to make noises unusual for the NUJ, ie., threaten industrial action (http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-publishing/unions-threaten-industrial-action-following-liverpool-cuts-200911056741/ ).
How-Do quotes NUJ assistant organiser Lawrence Shaw:
"The relentless cuts on Merseyside are damaging the quality of the papers and websites, and the local economy. They also lead to stress and other health and safety issues for the journalists left behind".
[You've only just noticed the declining quality of the paper & website, Lawrence?]
Hold The Front Page's take on the jobs bonfire alludes to the impending demise of the Daily Ghost (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/091104morejobs.shtml ):
"Although the company has not spelled out the nature of the changes in detail, it is understood that most of the job losses will be at the Liverpool Daily Post and will span a number of editorial functions."
What's more, here's another comment which encapsulates the concerns felt by staff, stating that "workers would be right to seek reassurances regarding their futures and a clear mapping-out of the company's long-term strategy."
Fine words, spoken by...the Oldham Echo in today's editorial about GM's decision to rescind the sale of its European operations to Magna & what it means for the Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2009/11/05/yes-general-motors-but-what-s-next-100252-25094567/ ).
Still, it's the right sentiment, isn't it? Pity Trinity Mirror doesn't practice what it preaches, eh?

Public Money To Pay For Port's Plan

Raising my head above the parapet in the Liverpool-Southampton port wars (& still nursing a broken heart after David Bartlett dropped the link to this blog on his Dale Street Blues site, oh, how fickle & thin-skinned they are on Oldham Hall Street, you can forget about that Christmas card this year, David!), I see that local Hampshire MP & prominent Lib Dem Chris Huhne has written to the European Competition Commissioner (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8335506.stm ).
As has been pointed out too many times for the liking of vested local interests, Southampton has a case for raising concerns about the cruise liner terminal. The BBC report that the government "must approve the plan because a £9m EU grant helped pay for Liverpool's £20m cruise liner terminal, whereas Southampton is commercially-funded."
Business being business, the notion that public money should subsidise nearly half the amount needed to fund such a development on the Mersey is risible. Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm no apologist for free market capitalism, but the inconvenient reality for the usual local suspects is that having established an operation under its own steam, so to speak, Southampton has every right to highlight this absurdity.
The report quotes Cllr Gary Millar, executive member on the city council for enterprise & tourism: "We believe that the creation of a full turnaround facility at Liverpool will benefit the cruise liner industry in the UK, as the city is uniquely positioned to attract business from outside of Europe.
"The application to the DfT [Department for Transport] has been made in response to calls from the industry and passengers and the city is keen to build on the success of the facility so far."
I recall Wayne pointing Cllr Millar out to me at the PR stunt for One Parked Here Without Our Say-So (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/08/hugs-from-mugs.html ). Pespiring visibly, Cllr Millar clasped a mobile in one hand while wearing what can be best described as a harrassed look on his face as the kids were bussed in for the photo-op; it's no surprise to observe that his attempts with syntax are as clumsy as his hamfisted PR technique.
The substance, if you can call it that, of Cllr Millar's puff-piece is more hole-ridden than Swiss cheese. Contending that a facility at Liverpool will "benefit the cruise liner industry in the UK" is arrant nonsense & an all too transparent bid to hoodwink a larger audience outside Merseyside. In addition, what's this garbage about Liverpool being "uniquely positioned" to capture & secure a non-Europen market? Is it merely because Liverpool is a westward-facing port? If so, you could make the same argument for Plymouth, Bristol, Cardiff or Glasgow.
It is of no surprise that Oldham Hall Street hasn't yet formulated a response to latest developments (still waiting for a press release to be issued by Peel Holdings, I suspect). However, if --or when-- it does, will it also mention that Chris Huhne was once a humble scribe for the Daily Ghost?

Result

A precedent has been set: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/30/councillors-resign-en-masse-blogger ).

150,000 Hits & Rising

I hadn't seen this goal since the night itself back in 1985 when my brother & I were part of a swaying, raucous, cascading Kop. Must have travelled a good ten feet down the old terrace when Molby's rocket hit the back of the net. Memories are made of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOkZOcMjBe4 .

Oldham Hall Street's Sage Advice

These are dark times for journalism. The web has pulverised beyond recognition what was once a secure business model; the dead tree press could once control not just the dissemination of news, but the news agenda itself. No more. Blogs (guilty, m'lud!), Facebook & Twitter have changed all that.
It's not exactly a bowl of cherries at the BBC either. Whilst the likes of the Daily Mail won't be happy until the Beeb ceases to exist & we have to rely on the likes of said rag & a Foxed Sky News, some of the Corporation's travails have been self-inflicted.
So who will step forward to dispense some words of wisdom to Auntie?
The Oldham Echo.
Yes, the Oldham Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2009/10/30/bbc-needs-to-concentrate-on-quality-not-ratings-100252-25047949/).
The editorial applauds the recent decision to cut the number of senior management staff & reduce the wage bill. It goes on helpfully:
"Now, we suggest, it's time for director general Mark Thompson to turn his attentions to the broadcaster's planning strategy.
"The ECHO still values the BBC as a trustworthy brand and reliable provider of news and information, but its role as a public service broadcaster needs to extend to providing more content which is simply not assessed on a commercial basis."
The Echo editorial refers to "reality" TV & the usual Saturday evening fodder, stating that the commercial & cable channels should produce such output, not the BBC. It concludes reproachfully:
"The BBC, through the licence fee, is provided with so much public money but, in return, it isn't providing the public with enough quality."
Ah, yes, quite right. Quality, that's the key consideration, isn't it?
Moreover, the Oldham Echo should be commended for highlighting the need for quality in the media; indeed, a case in point was provided by its editorial earlier this week which reminded us of the truly cerebral concerns we should think of: (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2009/10/26/katie-and-andre-it-s-too-much-100252-25012775/ ).
It may hearten the aesthetes & classicists on Oldham Hall Street to know that the Beeb's more considered & challenging output is gaining a new audience (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/29/radio-4-10-year-listener-high ).
It's nice to know that the Oldham Echo's "truth project" & "positivity programme", now a year old (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/jjonah-jamison-speaks-out.html ) are yielding a burgeoning consciousness of higher thoughts.
Of course, let us not forget that Oldham Hall Street once tried its hand at broadcasting via its Channel One network. It was a true beacon of public service broadcasting, focusing on those aspects of cultural discourse normally the preserve of Radios 3 & 4.
Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k6HycML1Tc .
Peerless, simply peerless.

Hotel Reservation

I rather suspect that when the weather improves in the spring of next year, another group hug may be called for down at the waterfront. Just a short carbuncle away from One Parked Here Without Our Say-So, the new Hilton Hotel is taking shape as the new addition to the waterfront's Botoxification. And, guess what, Oldham Hall Street is very much on board to ask the hard, searching questions that a news organisation should ask; their reporters will be on hand to buttonhole those behind this latest scene of civic disfigurement in Paxmanesque fashion.
Don't believe me, do you?
Thought not. OK, OK, here's the squalid reality, both the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo print pretty much the same PR blurb which seeks to convince the gullible that hotel rooms costing in excess of £800 per night lie at the heart of a city's, erm, renaissance (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/10/22/liverpool-s-history-is-threaded-through-new-hilton-hotel-92534-24987236/ & http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/10/22/liverpool-one-s-new-hilton-hotel-a-priceless-view-but-the-room-will-cost-you-859-a-night-100252-24988707/ ).
Featuring a small picture of the view afforded by the most expensive suite in the hotel, the Echo version swoons:
"This is the view that will cost visitors to Liverpool £859 a night.
"The Presidential Suite - described by Hilton Liverpool's general manager Marcus Magee as the hotel's 'piece de resistance' - will be the most expensive room in the city when the hotel opens its doors on November 17.
"Guests who want that extra luxury will be able to get an extra package that will include butler service and a provision of a top of the range car."
What immaculate timing, just perfect for the end of Liverpool's year of the environment (http://www.ourcityourplanet.org.uk/ ).
The PR piece, which would look just right in its natural habitat of glossy brochures, & which Wayne has already held up for some well-warranted derision (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/10/liverpool-hilton-opens.html ), goes on to enthuse brightly:
"The 215-room hotel, built on the site of the old Customs house and overlooking Chavasse Park, has been designed to reflect the city's trading and maritime history."
Ah, yes, the port's importance to the city, how could anyone forget that....which is why they've built the hotel on the site not just of the old Customs house (a real architectural gem long since sadly lost), but also the original dock system briefly uncovered by Channel 4's Time Team during The Big Dig. Oh, & could we finally dispense with the risible piece of fiction which contends that the small elevated patch of greenery adjacent to One Parked Here Without Our Say-So is Chavasse Park? Why? Because, you see, it isn't. Chavasse Park was bulldozed away & lost while Oldham Hall Street proclaimed a bright new dawn for the waterfront.
Think that's bad enough for squandering as well as misrepresenting the port's past?
Think again:
"The importance of cotton is captured in the Pima bar - named after the high-grade American cotton - with cotton displayed in glass wall panels. The lights also resemble cotton buds."
All involved in this farrago of deception, self-congratulation & sanitised local history seem to display a crass ignorance worthy of an aggressive ale-head in Concert Square at 3am.
The cotton trade was bound up with the slave trade. Fact. I wonder if the hotel will mention that? While the monstrosity that will be the new museum at the Pier Head appears to include a section holding all Scousers, past & present, responsible for the worst chapter in the port's history, the Hilton will go in entirely the opposite direction, lauding a trade which necessarily involved the enslavement of human beings (http://www.breakingthechains.co.uk/news.jsp?newsID=3 )
There may no longer be "six in a bed by the old Pier Head", as the "Liverpool Town" song put it, but the theme & pattern of missed chances & squalid circumstances still apply.

The Last Post?

With the Oldham Echo now established as a morning red-top, it's inevitable that its sickly sister the Daily Ghost, limping along on a horribly thin sub 10,000 circulation figure, will be coldly scrutinsed for its relevance & viability in the Trinity Mirror empire.

The word from many newsagents in the city is that they've been informed it won't be for this world much longer, an early 2010 closure being widely expected.

Anatomy Of A Meltdown

Given the company they keep & the contacts they have to maintain, financial journalists can speak fluent jargon without realising that they alienate most people. Credit, therefore, to Gillian Tett (http://www.ft.com/columnists/gilliantett ), assistant editor of the Financial Times, for delivering an account of the banking crisis which, if anything, engaged & involved her audience at the Bluecoat on Saturday afternoon.
Basing her account on her recently published book*, she related the tale as one of risk-taking gone mad, spurred on by a combination of hubris & denial on the part of a fairly small group of young bankers in the early 90s. Explaining in plain English the meaning of terms such as Credit Default Swaps & CDOs, Tett calmly, yet damningly laid bare the decisions taken over the course of a decade or more which ultimately led to last year's meltdown & what many would regard as socialism for the rich in the ensuing bail-outs.
Tett outlined three stages of the period when bankers were feted as masters of the universe: innovation (devising the "bundling" of debt to be shared & thus lessened for those concerned), perversion (the continuation of such practices in spite of the fact they couldn't continue) & disaster (when the banks on both sides of the Atlantic, with the exception of Lehman Brothers, looked to the taxpayer for relief, & got it, when the proverbial hit the fan).
In stark terms, Tett assessed the global outlook in the light of last year's crash & expressed her amazement when answering questions later that the issue of bankers' bonuses hadn't engendered anywhere near the same level of outrage caused by MP's expenses. She's spot-on; the expenses issue rightly remains a hot issue. However, what was & is being perpetrated on the world's markets affects the average person in a way which still hasn't been grasped.
Given her position at the FT, Tett was never going to present the sequence of events as a damning indictment of capitalism. That said, however, she did not demur when several in the audience raised the issues of accountability (or the complete absence of it), regulation & even nationalisation of the banks.
I look forward to reading the book.

* "Fool's Gold", Gillian Tett, published by Little, Brown, 2009.