In the wake of the Matthew Street fiasco, it was inevitable that some changes, however cosmetic, would take place at the Culture Company.
Yet the brief handed to Phil Redmond (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2167770,00.html ) seems to be a case of Harborrow et al throwing in the towel last week. The Guardian related that Redmond "hoped to give the programme more of a 'Liverpool-Scouse edge' by examining the city's Irish heritage and providing a 'cultural clearing project', where arts groups who made submissions for 2008 and felt they were ignored can resubmit their ideas. He also spoke of the open culture initiative, which will encourage people to engage in activities: 'I want people to know they don't have to have culture done to them--they can take part.'"
Redmond's words are welcome, but they come at the eleventh hour. Whatever takes shape in less than three months, the damage will have been done. The top-down approach of the Culture Company, though understandable in some respects [assigning as much importance to the RLPO as pop acts], was never going to enthuse those for whom 2008 could have formed part of a cultural & artistic learning curve.
[It's the sort of notion which usually draws snorts of derision, but there shouldn't be any barriers to a kid in Norris Green persuing an interest and/or career in classical music.]
In addition to Redmond's appointment, the board of the Liverpool Culture Company has been reduced in number from 25 to 6, a move which confirms the widespread suspicion that those nominally in charge under the Harborrow regime had the life of Riley.
Some of Redmond's suggestions are a little fanciful at this late stage (a "Liverpool song" to rival "Maggie May", "In My Liverpool Home", etc. in the city's affections & act as a contemporary anthem).
In a damning critique of the old regime, Redmond added, "The existing board system was bureaucratic, unwieldy and slow and it is time to move forward with a new slimmer board. It will mean I can pick up a telephone and we can make instant decisions rather than waiting for board meetings. We have gone from debating to delivering the programme.'"
That final sentence should make Harborrow, Bradley et al cringe in embarrassment.
There was also a nod to the city's outskirts, hitherto excluded from the 2008 events; Redmond made a point of mentioning Croxteth & Norris Green in this context, its significance in the wake of Rhys Jones' murder clear to all.
Drummond Bone, effectively ousted as Chairman of the Culture Company, put out a suitably sugared piece of PR bullshit, expressing support for Redmond & even agreeing with the reduction in the board's size. He said that "an appropriate structure" is needed for next year. Bit late with that one, mate!
Most of the programme already unveiled for 2008 does the job for the city, a mix of popular & "high" culture striking a fair balance.
Sticking out like a Sun reader on the Kop, however, is the WAG's fashion show in June,2008. Culture? My arse!
It may seem that I think Redmond is the ideal man for the job. I don't endorse the guy. Nor, however, do I dismiss him. After the farce of the last two months, a change was badly needed. Moreover, Redmond's track record in TV drama demonstrates his creative as well as administrative abilities; "Brookside" was never my sort of thing, but it was successfully produced, & it was popular.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Lee Forde's Departure
First things first, a look back at Lee Forde's departure from the Liverpool Culture Company.
According to Liverpool Confidential, in an interview with Forde at the end of last month (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?sessions=IpqiNwB6IwTjNwB6IaqiNwA ), Forde is persuing a claim of constructive dismissal against the Culture Company. It continues, "Mr Forde, who handed in his notice three months before [LC's italics] the Matthew Street Festival fiasco, says months of frustration, caused by a lack of resources and decision making from bosses at the beleaguered Liverpool Culture Company, left him with no option but to quit."
Forde also claims that there was no increase in budget or personnel for 2007 and 2008 despite an increase in workload.
If those aren't grounds for a constructive dismissal case to be heard in court, I don't know what are.
According to Liverpool Confidential, in an interview with Forde at the end of last month (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?sessions=IpqiNwB6IwTjNwB6IaqiNwA ), Forde is persuing a claim of constructive dismissal against the Culture Company. It continues, "Mr Forde, who handed in his notice three months before [LC's italics] the Matthew Street Festival fiasco, says months of frustration, caused by a lack of resources and decision making from bosses at the beleaguered Liverpool Culture Company, left him with no option but to quit."
Forde also claims that there was no increase in budget or personnel for 2007 and 2008 despite an increase in workload.
If those aren't grounds for a constructive dismissal case to be heard in court, I don't know what are.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Time To Turn The Tables
Normal cyberspace access appears to have returned (thanks, Branson, now about your shameless decision to release "Tubular Bells"...).
Meanwhile, deeep down in the subterranean swamp which is the abode of "family" campaigners (stoutly praised by moralistic MPs over the years who have been so keen on families themselves that they've had two or three), a loathesome stirring is afoot.
As Hugh Muir relates in today's Guardian diary (http://www.guardian.co.uk/diary/story/0,,2168854,00.html ), "Yesterday activists from the Life League stepped up their anti-abortion campaigning by publishing on their website and circulating by email the addresses and private telephone numbers of the directors of Amnesty International. The charity's crime has been to change its neutral stance, in favour to supporting access to abortion for women in cases of rape, incest or violence, or where the pregnancy jeopardises a mother's life or health. Campaigners are urged to 'contact' the directors to 'politely tell them what you think regarding the recent decision'."
As Muir goes on to point out, the views of the Life League (love the alliteration, must have been after a weekend's brainstorming) warrant a little more attention. Keen to show that theirs is post-Millennial thinking (think 1000 AD, though, not the Y2K razzamatazz of seven years back), contraception degrades western society, homosexuality is deviant, sex education is a no-no & state schools encourage children to be sexually aggressive libertines, indulging in competitive copulation, the like of which is sure to keep Durex in business for years to come (I paraphrase).
Muir takes his cue from the Life League's apparent enthusiasm for open & honest communication:
"You may agree or disagree with any of these positions, and in keeping with the spirit of the times resolve to 'politely' share your views with the Life League. 'Contact' them at Trafalgar House, 11 Waterloo Place, Piccadilly, London, SW1Y 4AU. The published telephone number is 0870 240 3158. The mobile is 07977 195577."
Declared interest time: I'm a member of Amnesty, as well as an atheist who rejected Catholic strictures at the age of 17. Since when I've lived a life of left-wing, atheistic, sexually deviant (still single, no kids) debauchery, & I don't take kindly to a rag-bag of sexually repressed, tunnel-visioned, cripplingly bigoted Christian Taliban cretins trying to harass & intimidate the leaders of an organisation which I support.
Go on, do the decent thing: drop 'em a line, "politely", of course, to let them know what you think of their organisation. I'll certainly be giving them a polite call.
Meanwhile, deeep down in the subterranean swamp which is the abode of "family" campaigners (stoutly praised by moralistic MPs over the years who have been so keen on families themselves that they've had two or three), a loathesome stirring is afoot.
As Hugh Muir relates in today's Guardian diary (http://www.guardian.co.uk/diary/story/0,,2168854,00.html ), "Yesterday activists from the Life League stepped up their anti-abortion campaigning by publishing on their website and circulating by email the addresses and private telephone numbers of the directors of Amnesty International. The charity's crime has been to change its neutral stance, in favour to supporting access to abortion for women in cases of rape, incest or violence, or where the pregnancy jeopardises a mother's life or health. Campaigners are urged to 'contact' the directors to 'politely tell them what you think regarding the recent decision'."
As Muir goes on to point out, the views of the Life League (love the alliteration, must have been after a weekend's brainstorming) warrant a little more attention. Keen to show that theirs is post-Millennial thinking (think 1000 AD, though, not the Y2K razzamatazz of seven years back), contraception degrades western society, homosexuality is deviant, sex education is a no-no & state schools encourage children to be sexually aggressive libertines, indulging in competitive copulation, the like of which is sure to keep Durex in business for years to come (I paraphrase).
Muir takes his cue from the Life League's apparent enthusiasm for open & honest communication:
"You may agree or disagree with any of these positions, and in keeping with the spirit of the times resolve to 'politely' share your views with the Life League. 'Contact' them at Trafalgar House, 11 Waterloo Place, Piccadilly, London, SW1Y 4AU. The published telephone number is 0870 240 3158. The mobile is 07977 195577."
Declared interest time: I'm a member of Amnesty, as well as an atheist who rejected Catholic strictures at the age of 17. Since when I've lived a life of left-wing, atheistic, sexually deviant (still single, no kids) debauchery, & I don't take kindly to a rag-bag of sexually repressed, tunnel-visioned, cripplingly bigoted Christian Taliban cretins trying to harass & intimidate the leaders of an organisation which I support.
Go on, do the decent thing: drop 'em a line, "politely", of course, to let them know what you think of their organisation. I'll certainly be giving them a polite call.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
An Enforced Break From Cyberspace
There's a lot to deal with, including the welcome return of the Liverpool Subculture blog & the recent civic shennanigans as 2008 starts to go down as the most wasted opportunity on Merseyside since the post-war redevelopment of the region. All those & more will be highlighted soon.
But first, a bollocking for my ISP, Virgin Media, for delivering a substandard internet service over the last fortnight. Not just that, they kept me waiting on a premium rate line (25p per minute, plus a 10p connection charge) on at least eight occasions over that period. Initially, I assumed it was a slow connection issue affecting the network. Then I realised that a local area cable had been unplugged. Getting Virgin Media to acknowledge this & reimburse me for the cost of the phone calls has been both exasperating & enraging. Great work, Branson, another fuck-up by your motley set-up & I'll be decamping to BT. OK?
But first, a bollocking for my ISP, Virgin Media, for delivering a substandard internet service over the last fortnight. Not just that, they kept me waiting on a premium rate line (25p per minute, plus a 10p connection charge) on at least eight occasions over that period. Initially, I assumed it was a slow connection issue affecting the network. Then I realised that a local area cable had been unplugged. Getting Virgin Media to acknowledge this & reimburse me for the cost of the phone calls has been both exasperating & enraging. Great work, Branson, another fuck-up by your motley set-up & I'll be decamping to BT. OK?
Friday, August 31, 2007
The Boss Is Back
On an altogether lighter note, here's a sneak preview of Springsteen's new album with the E Street Band (the guy reminds me of everything that is noble & inspiring about America):http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Music/Audio/2007/08/28/RadioNowhere.mp3 .
An Emotional Return
As well as the reception accorded to the Jones family on Tuesday, I was intrigued to see how much had changed about the match-going experience. Travelling there hadn't. Getting off the train at Bankhall, I walked the rest of the way with many others. Even as I approached Walton Breck Road, the old pubs were heaving, despite the smoking ban. There was still the dubious aroma of the hot dog stands, the hearty laughter of rotund individuals in replica shirts outside the Salisbury pub & the wide-eyed wonder of small children as they looked around.Inside the ground, little had changed The sausage rolls were as greasy (& overpriced) as ever. It was only when I looked at the Kop that it hit me. Last time I'd been there, the old terrace still stood. Now, an expanse of seats occupied that space. It seemed surreal, I had to gaze at it for a few moments to take it in. Of course, I'd seen it countless times on TV. However, seeing it for myself made me recall childhood memories; my late father took me on to the Kop when I was 18 months' old.
I don't think it's going to be a trend, but I'll be back there tomorow for the league game against Derby County.
The Fall Out Continues
It was grimly ironic that the first game at Anfield I attended after a 14 year gap should be remembered for the support that was shown for the family of Rhys Jones. I recall the playing of "You'll Never Walk Alone" at a Goodison derby not long after Hillsborough. The playing of the Z-Cars theme ("Johnny Todd") at Anfield on Tuesday was met with respectful silence (credit, here, to the travelling Tolouse supporters who were briefly informed of the circumstances by an interpreter over the PA system).
The tune was immediately followed by "You'll Never Walk Alone". On this occasion, however, the crowd's rendition was aimed at the Jones family. Sung more as a secular hymn than as a football song, it carried a raw emotion & poingnancy not felt since Hillsborough.
Meanwhile, more arrests have been made (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6970107.stm ), although most of those arrested over the last week have been released on bail. There is news this morning of another four arrests made last night.
This week's New Statesman dropped through my letterbox this morning. Casually leafing through the pages, I was suddenly struck by a piece written by its political editor, Martin Bright (http://newstatesman.com/200708300009 ).
It puts the Croxteth murder in a wider historical context, laying the blame for the increase in gun crime on Merseyside on a hitherto unlikely source: Michael Howard. Yes, the man who told a gleeful hang 'em & flog 'em Tory conference, "Prison works!" was Home Secretary in 1996 when he agreed to award a royal pardon to two well known Liverpool gangsters, John Haase & Peter Bennett.
The kernel of Bright's piece is worth quoting at length;
"In three months at the beginning of 1994, over a hundred weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were discovered after tip-offs from informants. According th 'Powder Wars', a chilling account of the Liverpool underworld in the 1990s by the Sunday Mirror's Graham Johnson, these were not just the handguns and sawn-off shotgus that had always been available to British small-time gangsters, but an armoury more suited to a Balkan warlord. They included Uzi sub-machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and even an elephant gun. At the time, the police didn't question the fact that no one was ever found at the scene of the caches: usually abandoned cars or empty houses. The seizures ere hailed as a triumph in the war against violent crime.
"In fact, police now believe that the arms caches were an elaborate scam carried out by Haase and Bennett to secure thir early release from prison. If that is the case, far from marking a victory for the forces of law and order, the seizures reinforced Liverpool's gun culture by allowing those involved in the scam to operate with virtual impunity in the years that followed.......Following information passed to him by Customs and Excise, the trial judge wrote to the Conservative home secretary, Michael Howard, asking for a royal pardon. When this was granted in July 1996, Howard justified his decision by saying the information provided by Haase and Bennett 'had proved to offer quite enormous and unique assistance to the law-enforcement agencies'."
Bright notes grimly that Haase & Bennett's testimonies "had led to no major arrests."
I suspect that Howard will be "unavailable" for media interviews over the next few days.
The tune was immediately followed by "You'll Never Walk Alone". On this occasion, however, the crowd's rendition was aimed at the Jones family. Sung more as a secular hymn than as a football song, it carried a raw emotion & poingnancy not felt since Hillsborough.
Meanwhile, more arrests have been made (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6970107.stm ), although most of those arrested over the last week have been released on bail. There is news this morning of another four arrests made last night.
This week's New Statesman dropped through my letterbox this morning. Casually leafing through the pages, I was suddenly struck by a piece written by its political editor, Martin Bright (http://newstatesman.com/200708300009 ).
It puts the Croxteth murder in a wider historical context, laying the blame for the increase in gun crime on Merseyside on a hitherto unlikely source: Michael Howard. Yes, the man who told a gleeful hang 'em & flog 'em Tory conference, "Prison works!" was Home Secretary in 1996 when he agreed to award a royal pardon to two well known Liverpool gangsters, John Haase & Peter Bennett.
The kernel of Bright's piece is worth quoting at length;
"In three months at the beginning of 1994, over a hundred weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were discovered after tip-offs from informants. According th 'Powder Wars', a chilling account of the Liverpool underworld in the 1990s by the Sunday Mirror's Graham Johnson, these were not just the handguns and sawn-off shotgus that had always been available to British small-time gangsters, but an armoury more suited to a Balkan warlord. They included Uzi sub-machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and even an elephant gun. At the time, the police didn't question the fact that no one was ever found at the scene of the caches: usually abandoned cars or empty houses. The seizures ere hailed as a triumph in the war against violent crime.
"In fact, police now believe that the arms caches were an elaborate scam carried out by Haase and Bennett to secure thir early release from prison. If that is the case, far from marking a victory for the forces of law and order, the seizures reinforced Liverpool's gun culture by allowing those involved in the scam to operate with virtual impunity in the years that followed.......Following information passed to him by Customs and Excise, the trial judge wrote to the Conservative home secretary, Michael Howard, asking for a royal pardon. When this was granted in July 1996, Howard justified his decision by saying the information provided by Haase and Bennett 'had proved to offer quite enormous and unique assistance to the law-enforcement agencies'."
Bright notes grimly that Haase & Bennett's testimonies "had led to no major arrests."
I suspect that Howard will be "unavailable" for media interviews over the next few days.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Just Like Old Times
After a gap of 14 years I'll be going to Anfield tonight for the Liverpool v Tolouse European tie. It'll feel strange, particularly as I'll be seated just ten yards from my old seat.Incidentally, the link for Tony Barrett's blog is: http://www.tonybarrett.merseyblogs.co.uk/ .
Happy Birthday?
Given the murder of Rhys Jones in Croxteth last week, it seems almost obscene to hear of the 800th anniversary festivities in the city centre. The city council's moral compass seems seriously skewed.
Saturday's Guardian drew attention to the fued beween gangs from Croxteth & Norris Green:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,2155993,00.html .
The funeral of Liam "Smigger" Smith, a particularly odious individual who won't be missed, seems to have been a Soprano-style spectacle:
"His funeral last September saw scores of shops and businesses on the estate close for the day amid fears that they would be attacked if they failed to show sufficient 'respect'. Even at St Theresa's, the infants' school next door to the church where the funeral was held, children were prevented from playing outside, according to the local newspaper."
Elsewhere in the Guardian that day was an account of gang warfare, and the subculture which accompanies it, from a low-life piece of scum from the Norris Green gang (http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,2156010.html ):
"I just stay in bed till about 2pm. Then I sit arond and smoke weed. Sometimes we do beak [cocaine] or garys [ecstasy or MDMA] but I don't do that on the street because your jaw swings like fuck and you would need a good kip half the time. I do it every weekend though and it's fucking great. I'm being good tonight. I'll have a Bud and a smoke."
Euan Ferguson penned a sympathetic, yet brutally honest appraisal of the nighbouring areas in the Observer (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,2156448,00.html ).
With the city in a jittery mood, the atmosphere wasn't helped by a shooting in Tuebrook on Saturday evening, although it was said to be unrelated to the Croxteth case (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6964597.stm ).
One piece of cheering information emerged this morning. After the reception & applause for Rhys' family at Goodison Park on Saturday, Liverpool FC announced that the Z-Cars theme, or "Johnny Todd", a tune always played to herald the Everton team taking the pitch at home games, will precede the normal airing of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Rhys' parents will also be at Anfield tonight. I'm sure every Red present, myself included, will show their support for them at this time. It was originally suggested by Tony Barrett in his LFC blog on the Liverpool Echo website the other day. Apart from a few grumbles by blinkered idiots, there was strong support for it in the comments posted. Cheers, Tony, the blue half of Merseyside will remember this, I'm sure.
An unrelated item of good news: the Liverpool SubCulture blog is up & running again. I'll return to this presently.
Saturday's Guardian drew attention to the fued beween gangs from Croxteth & Norris Green:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,2155993,00.html .
The funeral of Liam "Smigger" Smith, a particularly odious individual who won't be missed, seems to have been a Soprano-style spectacle:
"His funeral last September saw scores of shops and businesses on the estate close for the day amid fears that they would be attacked if they failed to show sufficient 'respect'. Even at St Theresa's, the infants' school next door to the church where the funeral was held, children were prevented from playing outside, according to the local newspaper."
Elsewhere in the Guardian that day was an account of gang warfare, and the subculture which accompanies it, from a low-life piece of scum from the Norris Green gang (http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,2156010.html ):
"I just stay in bed till about 2pm. Then I sit arond and smoke weed. Sometimes we do beak [cocaine] or garys [ecstasy or MDMA] but I don't do that on the street because your jaw swings like fuck and you would need a good kip half the time. I do it every weekend though and it's fucking great. I'm being good tonight. I'll have a Bud and a smoke."
Euan Ferguson penned a sympathetic, yet brutally honest appraisal of the nighbouring areas in the Observer (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,2156448,00.html ).
With the city in a jittery mood, the atmosphere wasn't helped by a shooting in Tuebrook on Saturday evening, although it was said to be unrelated to the Croxteth case (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6964597.stm ).
One piece of cheering information emerged this morning. After the reception & applause for Rhys' family at Goodison Park on Saturday, Liverpool FC announced that the Z-Cars theme, or "Johnny Todd", a tune always played to herald the Everton team taking the pitch at home games, will precede the normal airing of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Rhys' parents will also be at Anfield tonight. I'm sure every Red present, myself included, will show their support for them at this time. It was originally suggested by Tony Barrett in his LFC blog on the Liverpool Echo website the other day. Apart from a few grumbles by blinkered idiots, there was strong support for it in the comments posted. Cheers, Tony, the blue half of Merseyside will remember this, I'm sure.
An unrelated item of good news: the Liverpool SubCulture blog is up & running again. I'll return to this presently.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Croxteth Shootings
I was going to return to the farce surrounding the Matthew Street festival, with the latest war of words between Jason Harborrow & Warren Bradley. However, local thoughts are dominated by the murder of 11 year old Rhys Jones in Croxteth a little over 24 hours ago.
There is much to note about the area where it happened, the issue of gun crime, parental responsiblity (or lack of it) & other related topics. The police investigation has so far resulted in the arrest of two teenagers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6959761.stm ) .
As I heard the chilling details of the case on BBC Radio Merseyside this morning, two things struck me. Firstly, the parallels with the James Bulger case, not in the context & detail of the murder, of course, but the horrendous phenomenon of a child being killed by slightly older children. Secondly, I was reminded of a story on the Liverpool Times website last June (http://www.liverpooltimes.net/2007/06/11/gun-crime-in-knowsley/#more-647 ), which could now be seen as disturbingly prophetic.
Croxteth has long had problems with teenage gangs. In recent months the rivalry between gangs from Croxteth & Gillmoss has resulted in shootings, one of which claimed a fatality. The unspoken view from the police & local media was that as long as one gang of thugs was killing another gang of thugs, who cared? Now, however, it's different. An innocent 11 year old has been caught in the crossfire. The national & international media are all leading with the case. Warren Bradley, already under microscopic scrutiny after Matthew Street, now finds journalists from London comparing Liverpool's gun crimes to Manchester's, just three months before the city hits 2008. Hence his call today for a summit of civic leaders from all parts of the UK with the Home Secretary to address the issues of gun crime, teenage gangs, juvenile offending & anti-social behaviour.
As well as the continued media coverage of the case, I'm expecting someone, somewhere, to pen a Kelvin MacKenzie/Spectator libel on the city before the weekend.
There is much to note about the area where it happened, the issue of gun crime, parental responsiblity (or lack of it) & other related topics. The police investigation has so far resulted in the arrest of two teenagers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6959761.stm ) .
As I heard the chilling details of the case on BBC Radio Merseyside this morning, two things struck me. Firstly, the parallels with the James Bulger case, not in the context & detail of the murder, of course, but the horrendous phenomenon of a child being killed by slightly older children. Secondly, I was reminded of a story on the Liverpool Times website last June (http://www.liverpooltimes.net/2007/06/11/gun-crime-in-knowsley/#more-647 ), which could now be seen as disturbingly prophetic.
Croxteth has long had problems with teenage gangs. In recent months the rivalry between gangs from Croxteth & Gillmoss has resulted in shootings, one of which claimed a fatality. The unspoken view from the police & local media was that as long as one gang of thugs was killing another gang of thugs, who cared? Now, however, it's different. An innocent 11 year old has been caught in the crossfire. The national & international media are all leading with the case. Warren Bradley, already under microscopic scrutiny after Matthew Street, now finds journalists from London comparing Liverpool's gun crimes to Manchester's, just three months before the city hits 2008. Hence his call today for a summit of civic leaders from all parts of the UK with the Home Secretary to address the issues of gun crime, teenage gangs, juvenile offending & anti-social behaviour.
As well as the continued media coverage of the case, I'm expecting someone, somewhere, to pen a Kelvin MacKenzie/Spectator libel on the city before the weekend.
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Spirit Of Charlie Caroli Lives On
Somewhere, a circus is missing one of its clowns. Answers to the name of Rob Styles.Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Scouse Shakespeare
After that last post it's necessary to remind myself of the best that Merseyside's cultural life has to offer. The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival begins on 16th August & runs until 8th September. It opens with Macbeth in the city's suitably Gothic Anglican Cathedral. It looks lke being a main cultural highlight of the year. Check out the promising trailer on the website, Liverpool has rarely looked so spectral (http://www.theliverpoolshakespearefestival.co.uk/ ).
All The Lonely People
There's a bizarre & tragic tale in today's Guardian of a woman named Olivia Trevelyan- Thomson, a London woman, regarded as "an articulate, eccentric Beatles fan whose move to the city of her heroes turned into a nightmare." (http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,2143320,00.html ).
She moved to the Kensington area, one of the most socially blighted part of Liverpool, despite its close proximity to the city centre. It is a world away from its namesake in central London. Olivia had had mental health problems while living in London. However, she was given a Housing Association flat in the area, effectively dumped in a place she didn't know & at the mercy of the locals, most of whom soon spotted her eccentric ways.
[To go around a deprived area of Liverpool, sprinkling platitudes & truisms based on Beatle lyrics is a recipe for attention, much of it negative & hostile.]
The article essays the administrative errors & general inattention of housing & social services bodies in London & Liverpool; information was not passed on to relevant agencies & bureaucratic inertia was tolerated.
However, what also emerges from the piece is a less than flattering portrayal of Liverpool & the residents of Kensington.
Olivia Trevelyan-Thomson was found dead in her Kensington flat in December 2006. She had died of hypothermia. She was 54.
Anyone still upset about Matthew Street?
She moved to the Kensington area, one of the most socially blighted part of Liverpool, despite its close proximity to the city centre. It is a world away from its namesake in central London. Olivia had had mental health problems while living in London. However, she was given a Housing Association flat in the area, effectively dumped in a place she didn't know & at the mercy of the locals, most of whom soon spotted her eccentric ways.
[To go around a deprived area of Liverpool, sprinkling platitudes & truisms based on Beatle lyrics is a recipe for attention, much of it negative & hostile.]
The article essays the administrative errors & general inattention of housing & social services bodies in London & Liverpool; information was not passed on to relevant agencies & bureaucratic inertia was tolerated.
However, what also emerges from the piece is a less than flattering portrayal of Liverpool & the residents of Kensington.
Olivia Trevelyan-Thomson was found dead in her Kensington flat in December 2006. She had died of hypothermia. She was 54.
Anyone still upset about Matthew Street?
Bursting The Ballon Of Delusion
What with the debacle surrounding Matthew Street this month, it was left to the normally cheerleading local media to put the boot in when the body was prone. The Liverpool Daily Post kicked off the new business week by, well, kicking civic vanity just a little bit more: http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/business/business-local/2007/08/06/investment-fails-to-lift-merseyside-s-prosperity-64375-19576096/ .
Peter Kilfoyle, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, is an erstwhile political foe of mine. He would have loved to have expelled me from the Labour Party in the early 90s, but I denied him that honour by leaving the sinking ship of my own accord.
However, his comments in the article ironically echo my own observations about the changing face of the region, & how some areas are changing more than others:
"Capital of Culture, as it stands, is not going to have any real impact on the problems that have dogged Merseyside for decades.
"The area needs a sustained period of investment, not just for one year, and the few years running up to it......
"But what is also worrying is the inequality within Merseyside itself. For example, the north-south divide in Liverpool. South Liverpool's prosperity is way beyond that of North Liverpool in terms of growth, employment and health. This needs addressing urgently."
Ah, yes, Peter, but you know as well as I do that there's as much chance of it being addressed "urgently" as there is of your beloved Everton FC winning the Premiership.
There's always been a qualitative difference between the north & south parts of Liverpool. However, the last decade or so has seen the south pulling away from the north; house prices are at least twice as much in the south. School league tables show that a child has a statistically better chance of educational attainment & progress on to university in the south. There is no shortage of amenities in areas like Aigburth, Mossley Hill & Woolton. Sefton Park & the adjacent Lark Lane offer recreational facilities & restaurants the like of which are completely unknown in Kirkdale, Croxteth & Bootle.
There are other factors not all of them economic. South Liverpool is far more racially diverse than North Liverpool (the Toxteth riots were not "race riots", Anthony Walker was murdered in a predominantly white part of Merseyside) .
Yet the reality is that while parts of South Liverpool are on the tourist trail (all four Beatles grew up in the south part, Penny Lane & Strawberry Fields nursing home are nearby, Speke Hall, John Lennon airport, etc.), North Liverpool's only points of interest to tourists are Anfied & Goodison Park. Socially & economically, the north side of the city still bears visible scars of the last three decades. As far as I can see, that isn't going to be rectified in the forseeable future.
Peter Kilfoyle, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, is an erstwhile political foe of mine. He would have loved to have expelled me from the Labour Party in the early 90s, but I denied him that honour by leaving the sinking ship of my own accord.
However, his comments in the article ironically echo my own observations about the changing face of the region, & how some areas are changing more than others:
"Capital of Culture, as it stands, is not going to have any real impact on the problems that have dogged Merseyside for decades.
"The area needs a sustained period of investment, not just for one year, and the few years running up to it......
"But what is also worrying is the inequality within Merseyside itself. For example, the north-south divide in Liverpool. South Liverpool's prosperity is way beyond that of North Liverpool in terms of growth, employment and health. This needs addressing urgently."
Ah, yes, Peter, but you know as well as I do that there's as much chance of it being addressed "urgently" as there is of your beloved Everton FC winning the Premiership.
There's always been a qualitative difference between the north & south parts of Liverpool. However, the last decade or so has seen the south pulling away from the north; house prices are at least twice as much in the south. School league tables show that a child has a statistically better chance of educational attainment & progress on to university in the south. There is no shortage of amenities in areas like Aigburth, Mossley Hill & Woolton. Sefton Park & the adjacent Lark Lane offer recreational facilities & restaurants the like of which are completely unknown in Kirkdale, Croxteth & Bootle.
There are other factors not all of them economic. South Liverpool is far more racially diverse than North Liverpool (the Toxteth riots were not "race riots", Anthony Walker was murdered in a predominantly white part of Merseyside) .
Yet the reality is that while parts of South Liverpool are on the tourist trail (all four Beatles grew up in the south part, Penny Lane & Strawberry Fields nursing home are nearby, Speke Hall, John Lennon airport, etc.), North Liverpool's only points of interest to tourists are Anfied & Goodison Park. Socially & economically, the north side of the city still bears visible scars of the last three decades. As far as I can see, that isn't going to be rectified in the forseeable future.
Cyberspace Solidarity?
Although the influence & persistence of bloggers is now recognised on both sides of the Atlantic (next years US election may well be decided by the bloggers' input rather than Wall Street Journal or NYT op-eds), I'm pretty dismissive of a bloggers' union (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/05/is-blogging-ready-for-a-unionized-workforce/ ).No picket line? No brazier? Where's the sad-looking kid clutching unsold copies of "Socialist Worker"? Forget it, brothers & sisters!
Yea, A Daniel Come To Judgement!
Before being consumed with all things Matthw Street last week, my senses were pulsating with a brlliantly elucidating article in the New Statesman the previous week by Sholto Byrnes (http://wwwnewstatesman.com/200707260039 ).
We live in an age when advertisers, programme controllers & marketing agencies see the working class as an amorphous sump of chavdom, wedded to reality TV, hostile to reading & chronically addicted to heedless hedonism. Against this depressing backdrop, Byrnes points out that the term elitism has right wing connotations, not least among liberals & socialists.
To which Byrnes responds: "Well, I am an elitist. And so, I suspect, are you. It is elitism that allows us to set yardsticks by which to measure merit, be it in art, music, education or any other field of endeavour. Elitism allows us to proclaim with confidence that Geoffrey Chaucer was a greater writer than Jeffrey Archer, that Shostakovich was a superior musician to Shakira, and that Ronaldo's most pyrotechnial diplays are still of a lower cultural order than any page of any novel by Philip Roth."
Bynes is cogent &, yes, accessible in his case for rehabilitating elitism after its intellectual abduction by the Right. It's a pity, therefore, that last week's New Statesman didn't pick up on the case Byrnes made. Indeed, none of the letters published in its print edition mention it.
We live in an age when advertisers, programme controllers & marketing agencies see the working class as an amorphous sump of chavdom, wedded to reality TV, hostile to reading & chronically addicted to heedless hedonism. Against this depressing backdrop, Byrnes points out that the term elitism has right wing connotations, not least among liberals & socialists.
To which Byrnes responds: "Well, I am an elitist. And so, I suspect, are you. It is elitism that allows us to set yardsticks by which to measure merit, be it in art, music, education or any other field of endeavour. Elitism allows us to proclaim with confidence that Geoffrey Chaucer was a greater writer than Jeffrey Archer, that Shostakovich was a superior musician to Shakira, and that Ronaldo's most pyrotechnial diplays are still of a lower cultural order than any page of any novel by Philip Roth."
Bynes is cogent &, yes, accessible in his case for rehabilitating elitism after its intellectual abduction by the Right. It's a pity, therefore, that last week's New Statesman didn't pick up on the case Byrnes made. Indeed, none of the letters published in its print edition mention it.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Civic Chaos In Toytown
Ringo: "Er, what are we doing here?Paul: "We're occupying the main stage for this year's Matthew Street Festival."
The normal pace of political life on Merseyside would shame a sloth. However, the last 48 hours have seen well fed, well paid bureaucrats sweating in their designer attire as they do their headless chicken routine. The dash to cover their own backs has been matched only by the amount of exercise their arms have had as the finger-pointing assumes Olympian status. Normally, the arm exercises are confined to the bars around Dale Street & Castle Street.
This morning's Liverpool Daily Post is in bullish mood as a city's already shop-soiled reputation is paraded for wider ridicule (BBC Radio 4's Today programme even ran a piece, asking, not unreasonably, if this is the outcome of events for Liverpool's 800th anniversary, what awaits the city next year). The Post quotes leading figures/suspects (delete as appropriate) as saying that the show will go on: http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/08/04/beatles-festival-will-go-ahead-vows-council-64375-19568775/ .
It's interesting to read into the piece, however, & find that the festival will not go ahead in the same format as previous years:
"Moves to salvage the festival event around the Cavern Quarter were still taking place last night, and will continue throughout the weekend."
The Post article backtracked a little further when it conceded:
"The rescue package will see a modified festival seized from the grip of the Liverpool Culture Company and handled instead by a hand-picked team under the control of the city council."
Health and Safety issues, the ostensible cause of the cancellation, are to be "overcome", yet the piece is vague on this. It also reports that the children's fun fair, previously situated around the South John Street area, will "be relocated to a nearby park to ensure their safety."
There is no "nearby park" in the city centre. The last remaining piece of greenery in the middle of town, Chavasse Park, has long gone, thanks to the Big Dig.
According to the Post, Jason Harborrow, chief executive of the Liverpool Culture Company, & who "earns" £150,000 per annum, "told councillors that he was devastated by the decision, and spoke of how Culture Company staff had worked tirelessly to make sure the event would be a success."
If this counts as success, I'm glad he isn't managing Liverpool FC.
I recall attending a public meeting at St George's Hall late last year at which Harborrow played the role of Little Sir Echo to Professor Drummond Bone, the then chairman of the Culture Company, his bumptious demeanour annoying the audience.
Where the Liverpool Daily Post dared to venture, its sister organ, the Liverpool Echo, boldly strides on in the PR/bullshit morass. This afternoon's edition claims that Warren Bradley, the city council leader, last night proposed a deal which "could see some of the outdoor stages rescued." (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/08/04/plan-to-save-outdoor-stages-100252-19568709/ ).
The key word here being "could". In other words, it's all still a reaction to Wednesday evening news rather than a clear plan to respond to it.
Again,there is ambiguous wording in the Echo piece, which is typical of local papers when they fly a kite for local projects which never take off:
"Police were this weekend looking at proposed sites including St. George's Plateau, William Brown Street, Dale Street and Castle Street."
Catherine Jones' Echo report goes on to offer a hint that the "plan" is, at best, a long shot, & that the careers of certain politicians in Liverpool are on the line:
"Cllr. Bradley said: 'The police have gone away over the weekend to have a look at the sites we've proposed. Logistically, I can't see why we couldn't use all the sites we've suggested.
'But we will have to go through the traffic movement and emergency planning. It's critical to do a risk assessment.'
Merseyside police last night declined to comment on the festival.
Cllr. Bradley added: 'I'm willing to talk to anybody to deliver the Matthew Street Festival. It's synonymous with outdoor stages.'"
That final comment betrays the sudden heat Cllr. Bradley is facing, the level of which is higher than that in the Canary Isles where he is currently on holiday.
It's worth noting, en passant, that Bradley was already facing questions about his leadership after the decision of Everton Football Club to move to Kirkby. Bradley had claimed that the city council had offered the club three possible sites for a new stadium within the cty boundaries. Responding to Everton's preference for Kirkby, Bradley, an avid Evertonian, was quoted as saying that it was a move to "a cowshed in a small town".
How to win friends & influence people, indeed.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
City Of Culture? We're Having A Laugh!
I wasn't entirely surprised by today's announcement by the Liverpool Culture Company (www.liverpool08.com/ ) that this year's Matthew Street Festival has been cancelled, less than a month before it was due to take place (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6927448.stm ).The city centre is currently in the throes of the "Big Dig" & the waterfront area (Pier Head) faces major building work as the Leeds to Lverpool canal is extended to the area as one of the developments for 2008. Last year's festival took place against the backdrop of the construction upheaval in its infancy. Road closures, building sites & diversions meant that it wasn't the smoothest Matthew Street Festival. Today's statement cited health & safety as the major concern.
However, the timing of the decision couldn't be worse. With the festival a little under three weeks away, it leaves no time for a Plan B (Sefton Park has been mooted as an overspill site, but it's surely too late to arrange that).
Amazingly, there was still no word of the cancellation on the Culture Company website this evening (these people are supposed to be among the best in the marketing business, but communication is an alien term to them).
The leader of the city council, Warren Bradley, was quick to distance himself from the decision (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6928466.stm ), saying he was "adamant" that the festival could still take place. Optimism or covering your back, what do you think?
Liverpool Confidential's take on the story has an interesting twist:
"The council, in a statement, says: 'Staff worked right to the 11th hour to try and produce a workable plan which could accomodate the festival in the city centre.'
"Eleventh hour indeed. Just yesterday a tender document went out for PA and lighting companies to pitch for the festival, taking place in under four weeks time, with a deadline of today."
(http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwEiNw7jJaqiNwF6IHqi&realname= Matthew Street cancelled ).
Given that the city council & the Culture Company were supposed to be working in tandem, such chaos & disarray beggars belief.
Where's the Liverpool Subculture blog at a time like this? Well, "Tony Parrish" turns up on the comments section of the Liverpool Confidential webpage. His thoughts merit quoting at length:
"This almost makes me want to start the blog up again, so that I could tear these incompetent bastards apart. Heads SHOULD roll....The point is that this has been cancelled because of the money they have wasted on fools and fakes from outside. They have hired the outside consultants in at the lat minute to give the impression of independence, but they have stitched this decision up because they haven't got the dosh to run Matthew St. The Big Dig is not something new, nor is the Pier Head work=so they must therefore be monumentally incompetent for not realising months ago what the problems were."
He conludes by calling for action in stirring prose:
"They [The Culture Company] have thrown away the opportunity to make 2008 a defining moment in Liverpool's history and a genuine life-changing experience for Liverpool people. Tossers, they deserve all the aggro they will now undoubtedly get....Start a blog. Create a campaign. Organise and agitate. The city really deserves better than these shysters. HEADS MUST ROLL...."
Well said, Tony, but this is the time to resurrect your own blog.
My own reservations about the Matthew Street Festival (too many "tribute" bands, not enough contemporary Liverpool acts & the need to make it a modern music festival which takes the Beatles' legacy as a starting point in highlighting today's scene) have been made more than once to various figures in today's Liverpool's music scene. However, this news makes me realise just how strong a brand (& for once I don't blanche from using a marketing term) the Matthew Street Festival actually is. I've mentioned it in emails to acquaintances across the Atlantic. I owe it to them to highlight the farce which has culminated in today's news.
I read the news today, oh boy indeed.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
To Blog Or Not To Blog
I've been mulling over the thoughts of Andrew Keen (http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,,2130793,00.html ) & still can't get a handle on where he's coming from. Keen has recently written a book, "The Cult of the Amateur", in which he argues that bloggers & the Web generally have dumbed down debate & has effectively coarsened discourse via messageboards, blogs, etc.
The phrase that comes to mind when digesting Keen's tract (ironically, Keen is himself a blogger with his own podcast, AfterTV.com ) is trowing the baby out with the bathwater. I'm not going to defend everything on the web, that would be ludicrous. However, a central concern of Keen is that the blogosphere has replaced the mainstream media. If that's the case -& it applies more to the US than Europe-, it has more to do with the MSM's weaknesses. The main news networks in the US have been guilty of distorting or even ignoring major stories.
According to the Guardian article, Keen disputes the suspicion that his stance is deliberately provocative so as to attract attention. He does so, however, with comments which have, predictably, kept said bloggers busy since he made them a week and a half ago:
"I don't know if it necessarily sells books..because I don't think bloggers read."
This guy sure likes an argument.
The phrase that comes to mind when digesting Keen's tract (ironically, Keen is himself a blogger with his own podcast, AfterTV.com ) is trowing the baby out with the bathwater. I'm not going to defend everything on the web, that would be ludicrous. However, a central concern of Keen is that the blogosphere has replaced the mainstream media. If that's the case -& it applies more to the US than Europe-, it has more to do with the MSM's weaknesses. The main news networks in the US have been guilty of distorting or even ignoring major stories.
According to the Guardian article, Keen disputes the suspicion that his stance is deliberately provocative so as to attract attention. He does so, however, with comments which have, predictably, kept said bloggers busy since he made them a week and a half ago:
"I don't know if it necessarily sells books..because I don't think bloggers read."
This guy sure likes an argument.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Corrected Link
The link I gave for the story about Liverpool's economic & business prospects was incomplete. Here it is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6281876.stm .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6281876.stm .
Playing Catch Up
Away from all the hype & bullshit surrounding 2008, the cold, dispassionate view of the city & the region remains distinctly unimpressed.
The week began with a report by the Centre for Cities thinktank, noting that Liverpool remained in the slipstream of other UK cities (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/englad/merseyside/6281876.stm ).
Nothing surprising in the list of leaders, the usual spots in the south of England (Reading leading the way, with Bristol, Southampton & Cambridge also up there). York, however, seems to get in the leading pack, largely, I suspect due to its tourist appeal; Liverpool can draw in the Americans & Japanese through the Beatles, but York's Viking heritage gives it the edge in this regard.
The director of the think tank, Dermot Finch, is quoted in the report as commenting that "lagging cities like Sunderland & Liverpool are struggling to catch up & will need to focus on expanding their business & employment base".
Yet the reality is that this base is being overlooked by civic & commerce figures, as 2008 is increasingly revealed to be little more than a glorified orgy of parochialism, & that the scale & organisation of the events will correspond to that limited outlook.
A long overlooked aspect of the city's development as a port is its cosmopolitan character; Liverpool had an internationalist outlook & mindset primarily through the maritime trade which the Mersey afforded. Of course, a large part of this was due to the slave trade (which effectively made the port), but there were also many who willingly sailed into Liverpool for their own reasons.
Predictably, the response from the city fathers, to give them a wholly unwarranted appellation, was to pour scorn on the report. Quoting selective figures about unemployment & economic growth, as well as making bullish noises about general prospects, city council leader Warren Brdley trumpeted, "Today Liverpool's outlook has never been brighter"
Hmm...
A relatively quick online search documents the city's decline in population:
1900: 685,000. 1937: 867,000. 1961: 745,000. 1971: 610,000. 1981: 510,000. 1991:476,000. 2001: 439,000.
Allowing for the impact of the Second World War on the city's population & the post-war growth of so-called New Towns (Kirkby, Skelmersdale, etc.), as well as the posible unreliability of the earlier census figures, the statistics still present a stark picture. If extrapolated on to a graph, it would resemble a steepling, perhaps even vertiginous, descent worthy of a Tour de France course.
Yes, there has been a major increase in the number of people living in the city centre over the last decade. However, that may not be sufficient to halt a further decline for the city as a whole when the 2011 census is taken.
Today's Guardian contains news of Tony Blair's culture shock at normal life (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/tonyblair/story/0,,2125661,00.html ) .
Two separate paragraphs from the article are pure gold. Firstly, we are informed:
"Stopping at red traffic lights, it seems, is taking some getting used to. So is using a mobile phone, which Mr Blair confessed he had no idea how to use until leaving office last month."
Secondly, the article relates:
"Mr Blair said he was still confused every time his driver [his driver?!] stopped at a red traffic light-because as PM he had been used to going straight through them."
No doubt he employed the same approach with his own cabinet, particularly with regard to following the US into Iraq. It does, however, raise a thought. If Blair is a hapless returnee to the real world after so many years, how will Bush cope?
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Cursing Over Cornflakes
I don't normally listen to BBC Radio Merseyside. Much of its output warrants the euphemism, cheap and cheerful, or downmarket, if I'm being truly candid. Its daytime presenters, Roger Phillips notwithstanding, depressingly live down to Scouse stereotypes.
However, last week's outburst by Simon O'Brien, broadcast during the station's breakfast show ("Fuck the government, fuck the planners!") provided some entertainment.
The affair is highlighted on the Liverpool Confidential website:
http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?sessionx=IpqiNwEiI0qjNwB6IA&realname=Not Strictly Confidential That Simon OBrien tape and more .
A recording of the comments by O'Brien is available at http://www.how-do.co.uk/.
It raises an interesting point, however, regarding the regeneration, if you can call it that, of the city's Edge Lane area (the topic being discussed by O'Brien and Phillips in their exchange), as the residents in the area are being offered £66,000 each for the demolition of their properties. With house prices in the city rising exponentially because of 2008, etc., such a sum of money probably won't be sufficient for other properties in the same area, let alone any other part of Liverpool.
It is in this context that O'Brien's colourful observation is, perhaps, understandable.
On the same webpage there is sad news of the demise of the Liverpool Subculture blog. I had been denied access to the blog (by Blogger, thanks, guys ) over the last couple of weeks, so the news didn't come as a complete shock.
According to Liverpool Confidential, "Tony Parrish", the blog author, "tells Confidential, by alias email, that the experience of running the often scurrilous and controversial blogs, authored anonymously, 'made me care even more about the city because I have seen the best from people. It has also been pretty amazing to have witnessed such a fantastic spirit from complete strangers in the blogosphere'."
Today's news is, of course, dominated by the attempted attacks in London on Friday & yesterday's attack at Glasgow Airport. There have also been police raids in the south end of Liverpool, one in Toxteth, as yet unspecified, & one in the Penny Lane area. I know the latter quite well. Its population has a preponderence of students, making it a transitory sort of place, ideal, come to think of it, for anyone with something to hide to do whatever without attracting too much neighbourly suspicion.
However, last week's outburst by Simon O'Brien, broadcast during the station's breakfast show ("Fuck the government, fuck the planners!") provided some entertainment.
The affair is highlighted on the Liverpool Confidential website:
http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?sessionx=IpqiNwEiI0qjNwB6IA&realname=Not Strictly Confidential That Simon OBrien tape and more .
A recording of the comments by O'Brien is available at http://www.how-do.co.uk/.
It raises an interesting point, however, regarding the regeneration, if you can call it that, of the city's Edge Lane area (the topic being discussed by O'Brien and Phillips in their exchange), as the residents in the area are being offered £66,000 each for the demolition of their properties. With house prices in the city rising exponentially because of 2008, etc., such a sum of money probably won't be sufficient for other properties in the same area, let alone any other part of Liverpool.
It is in this context that O'Brien's colourful observation is, perhaps, understandable.
On the same webpage there is sad news of the demise of the Liverpool Subculture blog. I had been denied access to the blog (by Blogger, thanks, guys ) over the last couple of weeks, so the news didn't come as a complete shock.
According to Liverpool Confidential, "Tony Parrish", the blog author, "tells Confidential, by alias email, that the experience of running the often scurrilous and controversial blogs, authored anonymously, 'made me care even more about the city because I have seen the best from people. It has also been pretty amazing to have witnessed such a fantastic spirit from complete strangers in the blogosphere'."
Today's news is, of course, dominated by the attempted attacks in London on Friday & yesterday's attack at Glasgow Airport. There have also been police raids in the south end of Liverpool, one in Toxteth, as yet unspecified, & one in the Penny Lane area. I know the latter quite well. Its population has a preponderence of students, making it a transitory sort of place, ideal, come to think of it, for anyone with something to hide to do whatever without attracting too much neighbourly suspicion.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Then The Second Wheel Blew Out
Hot on the heels, to use a tabloid phrase, of Anderson's departure from the Culture Board, the head of events for 2008, Lee Forde handed in his notice (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6749217.stm ).
Almost a week after Forde's resignation both he & the Culture Company remain tight-lipped about it. Well, almost tight-lipped. According to the BBC report, "The Culture Company has issued a statement confirming his resignation, saying it would like to thank him and wish him well for the future."
That's the sort of thing which would have fitted in to a Politbureau missive when the Berlin Wall still stood. Nowadays it's the default bollockese which emanates from many a boardroom when the PR machine hasn't got going.
The financial cost of 2008 is only now coming under the spotlight. Joe Anderson referred to it as he bade the Culture Company a less than fond farewell. The sobering reality, in stark contrast to that intoxicating morning in 2003, is that there is a £22m shortfall in Liverpool City Council's fund for 2008. One contentious option for the council, first discussed at a council meeting last Wednesday, is that the city raise the £22m by borrowing the sum over five years. However, this option will not be available if the government doesn't agree to a change in rules to allow this funding plan.
Both Joe Anderson & present council leader, Warren Bradley hope to meet Gordon Brown & pitch their case. From what I've heard, however, Brown is in no hurry to approve the plan, even though it involves no new treasury cash. His thinking is that since the Lib-Dems have been held power in Liverpool for the last decade or so, they should take the hit in any political fall-out over the 2008 shambles.
Once Upon A Time, It All Seemed So Simple
Remember this moment, folks? That morning in the bar area of Liverpool's Empire Theatre in 2003 when the assorted local civic worthies & their business pals glugged back the champers at a ridiculously early hour to celebrate the Capital of Culture Award?Even then, there were conflicting spins being put on the accolade. The Liverpool Echo, & to a lesser degree, BBC Radio Merseyside, not so much inferred as trumpeted the award as the catalyst for the economic & social transformation of the entire Merseyside region. The local Chamber of Commerce, intoxicated by the champers & heady rhetoric that day, augmented this guff.
There were, however, more sober voices. Those whose input was considered key to the cultural projects (local artists, musicians, theatre staff, etc.) questioned whether what was, after all, a series of cultural projects over twelve months in the city was tantamount to an entire region's renaissance.
The councillors, however, were bullish & hyperbolic in their booze-fuelled euphoria. Mike Storey, the then leader of Liverpool City Council, declared, "It's like the Beatles reforming, Liverpool winning the European Cup & Everton winning the Premiership all on the same day!"
At that point someone should have instructed Cllr Storey to go & lie down in a darkened room.
Well, with just six months remaining before 2008 arrives, the wheels are beginning to fall of the Capital of Culture juggernaut.
The first wheel came spinning away last week with the resignation of Joe Anderson, the city's Labour leader, from the Capital of Culture board (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=labour-leader-quits-08- ).
According to the article, Anderson's criticisms are pretty damning:
"In a hard-hitting attack he said the Culture Board and the Culture Company were:
FAILING to engage communities and real people.
FAILING to provide a 2008 events programme that excited people.
FAILING to provide a worthwhile legacy for the city and missing the chance to kick-start creative industries."
Anderson particularly hit home with his comment, "People are constantly complaining about over emphasis on city-centre investment and when you visit parts of Speke and see the dereliction there it really hits home."
I have been critical of local politicos such as Anderson, seeing them as willing accomplices in the hype & bluster from the Culture Company (http://liverpool08.com/ ). However, Anderson, to his credit, blew away some myths about 2008. On the major developments in the city centre he said, "The renaissance is real but it was begun byEuropean Objective One funding and maintained by government grants."
The Liverpool Echo piece noted that Anderson "believed the culture board was guilty of building up unreasonable expectations about the festival from the word go."
Thursday, June 14, 2007
On The Banks Of The Merseysippi
I saw Allen Toussaint & the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall on Tuesday evening. As well as being a stirring musical event, it was also rich in political symbolism. Both Toussaint, elegantly dapper as he carressed the piano, & the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a joyous, riotous eruption of musical virtuosity, represent the music (& by extension spirit) of New Orleans. They acknowledged the heavy toll taken by Katrina, but declared that the music was leading the city's cultural re-emergence. One member of the Jazz Band commented that the reception they received on this side of the Atlantic was warmer than the one accorded them by Washington's power player &, in particular, their Commander-In-Chief. He seemed taken aback by the sustained applause this remark merited.
Allen Toussaint can be heard here in an interview with the WNYC Public Radio programme "Soundcheck", barely a month after Katrina struck:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2005/09/07 .
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band have done a video in which they lovingly apply the Big Easy treatment to the old Kinks' song, "Complicated Life":
http://www.preservationhall.com/video/index.htm .
Allen Toussaint can be heard here in an interview with the WNYC Public Radio programme "Soundcheck", barely a month after Katrina struck:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2005/09/07 .
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band have done a video in which they lovingly apply the Big Easy treatment to the old Kinks' song, "Complicated Life":
http://www.preservationhall.com/video/index.htm .
Pithy, But Precise
Trust Steve Bell to come up with the perfect take on Blair's self-pitying whine on Tuesday:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/stevebell/0,,2101767,00.html .
http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/stevebell/0,,2101767,00.html .
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (never thought I'd quote Elton John)
There were a few nuggets of self-pity & poor-little-me mumblings from Tony Blair yesterday (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/tonyblair/story/0,,2101076.00.html ):
"Speaking at a meeting for journalists at Reuters in London, [Blair] added, 'The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever, hunts in a pack.
'In these modes, it is like a feral beast just tearing people and reputations to bits. But no-one dares miss out.'"
Blair said he was not complaining unduly: "It is not a whinge about how unfair it all is".
Oh, yeah?
New Labour has been devastatingly effective at "spin", so was amusing to find Blair commenting, "Comment is a perfectly respectable part of journalism. But it is supposed to be separate."
The report went on, "Acknowledging his part in courting right wing media barons in the early days of his leadership, Mr Blair added, 'In the early days Murdoch was incredibly hostile to Labour and it was important to take that away.'"
At what cost, Tony?
Oh yes, nearly forgot: Iraq? Nope, no second thoughts.
"Speaking at a meeting for journalists at Reuters in London, [Blair] added, 'The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever, hunts in a pack.
'In these modes, it is like a feral beast just tearing people and reputations to bits. But no-one dares miss out.'"
Blair said he was not complaining unduly: "It is not a whinge about how unfair it all is".
Oh, yeah?
New Labour has been devastatingly effective at "spin", so was amusing to find Blair commenting, "Comment is a perfectly respectable part of journalism. But it is supposed to be separate."
The report went on, "Acknowledging his part in courting right wing media barons in the early days of his leadership, Mr Blair added, 'In the early days Murdoch was incredibly hostile to Labour and it was important to take that away.'"
At what cost, Tony?
Oh yes, nearly forgot: Iraq? Nope, no second thoughts.
More Junkmail In The Post
Accompanying my trade union journal in the post the other day was a plain white envelope addressed to me. I opened it & was shocked to find a ballot form for Labour's deputy leadership election. Seems that because my union pays the political levy I have a voice. Ha! Who would've thought back in 92, when I left the party as a full member before the bastards could kick me out, I would one day be asked to vote for the most boring & depressing political election since Enver Hoxha was in his prime in Albania.
The Candidate booklet, hilariously subtitled, "the future for Britain" contains a couple of gems. An introduction from my union's General Secretary concludes, "As you vote in this important election for a new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, why not join the Labour Party, and help us to secure a fourth term Labour government."
Thanks, but I think I'll pass on that one.
There's a message from Gordon Brown, Washington's next bag-carrier, sorry, ally in the War On Terror (copyright, Dubya). Brown rhapsodises, "As a teenager I chose this party because of its values--values that I grew up with--and I am honoured that this party has chosen me."
Hmm, values, eh, Gordon? Those would be values behind PFI, faith schools, donations from corrupt businessmen & sychophancy to Rupert Murdoch. I've checked the dozen or so paragraphs of purple prose, nay, Olympian oratory from Gordon a few times now. So it must have been an error at the printers that there is no mention of Iraq. Bloody workers!
As for the candidates for the political equivalent of fluffers on a porn set, Hilary Benn declares that he wants "a country that acts on its concern about poverty and injustice, whether at home or in Africa". Just the UK & Africa, Hilary? What would your dad say about that? Comically, he says he also wants "a world that puts justice at the heart of our foreign policy". Evidently, that line went to the printers before the latest BAE/Saudi arms bribery scandal. Any mention of Iraq, by the way? Erm, nope.
Hazel Blears, nicely dubbed Mrs Pepperpot by Kevin Maguire in his New Statesman column, predictably comes up with cliches. Blears trills, "Yes, I'm a loyalist--to Labour and our members."
Not, presumably, those members who have left in disgust over the last decade, meaning that party membership has more than halved since 1997; the figure for that year were at 407,000, & the figure for last month stood at 177,000 (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,2101211,00.html ).
Jon Cruddas, dismissed by many as the no-hoper, does, at least, nod towards reality. He states, "While proudly proclaiming what we have got right, we must have the honesty to accept what has gone wrong and learn the lessons."
Aha, yes, he does mention Iraq, albeit fleetingly.
It is only when checking those MPs who back his nomination that I get a nasty jolt. My own MP, Joe Benton, has put his name to Cruddas' candidacy. Benton, one of the easy lump of lobby fodder to slavishly follow the New Labour line. His speeches in the Commons have tended to stress his Christian faith, the implication being that there is no real effective secular version of ethical awareness. As an atheist I find that deeply offensive. His views & voting record on abortion & gay rights also belong to the Victorian era.
The remaining candidates, Peter Hain, Harriet Harman & Alan Johnson, don't scare the horses with their addresses. Hain does state that he believes in "a progressive internationalist foreign policy", something which may evoke hollow laughter from Brown's entourage as they prepare to deliver their credentials to Washington.
The Candidate booklet, hilariously subtitled, "the future for Britain" contains a couple of gems. An introduction from my union's General Secretary concludes, "As you vote in this important election for a new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, why not join the Labour Party, and help us to secure a fourth term Labour government."
Thanks, but I think I'll pass on that one.
There's a message from Gordon Brown, Washington's next bag-carrier, sorry, ally in the War On Terror (copyright, Dubya). Brown rhapsodises, "As a teenager I chose this party because of its values--values that I grew up with--and I am honoured that this party has chosen me."
Hmm, values, eh, Gordon? Those would be values behind PFI, faith schools, donations from corrupt businessmen & sychophancy to Rupert Murdoch. I've checked the dozen or so paragraphs of purple prose, nay, Olympian oratory from Gordon a few times now. So it must have been an error at the printers that there is no mention of Iraq. Bloody workers!
As for the candidates for the political equivalent of fluffers on a porn set, Hilary Benn declares that he wants "a country that acts on its concern about poverty and injustice, whether at home or in Africa". Just the UK & Africa, Hilary? What would your dad say about that? Comically, he says he also wants "a world that puts justice at the heart of our foreign policy". Evidently, that line went to the printers before the latest BAE/Saudi arms bribery scandal. Any mention of Iraq, by the way? Erm, nope.
Hazel Blears, nicely dubbed Mrs Pepperpot by Kevin Maguire in his New Statesman column, predictably comes up with cliches. Blears trills, "Yes, I'm a loyalist--to Labour and our members."
Not, presumably, those members who have left in disgust over the last decade, meaning that party membership has more than halved since 1997; the figure for that year were at 407,000, & the figure for last month stood at 177,000 (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,2101211,00.html ).
Jon Cruddas, dismissed by many as the no-hoper, does, at least, nod towards reality. He states, "While proudly proclaiming what we have got right, we must have the honesty to accept what has gone wrong and learn the lessons."
Aha, yes, he does mention Iraq, albeit fleetingly.
It is only when checking those MPs who back his nomination that I get a nasty jolt. My own MP, Joe Benton, has put his name to Cruddas' candidacy. Benton, one of the easy lump of lobby fodder to slavishly follow the New Labour line. His speeches in the Commons have tended to stress his Christian faith, the implication being that there is no real effective secular version of ethical awareness. As an atheist I find that deeply offensive. His views & voting record on abortion & gay rights also belong to the Victorian era.
The remaining candidates, Peter Hain, Harriet Harman & Alan Johnson, don't scare the horses with their addresses. Hain does state that he believes in "a progressive internationalist foreign policy", something which may evoke hollow laughter from Brown's entourage as they prepare to deliver their credentials to Washington.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
White House & Whitewash
First of all, I must mention Connie Lawn, a senior White House correspondent who I first noticed on a BBC Newsnight interview a couple of years ago. Her comments made a refreshing change from the usual roster of neo-cons the programme was beginning to rely on. I emailed Connie, congratulating her for breaching what had become a neo-con stronghold. Since then I've emailed Connie a few stories from this side of the pond which might be of relevance to her brief. Connie files reports for various media outlets, but has asked me to spread the word, so to speak, on her despatches. Consider it done, Connie, the word has gone out.
Connie is also a keen skier & I was delighted to come across this piece from Christmas 2003:
http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=255&mode=headlines .
Connie didn't quite succeed in her attempts to get Dubya on a ski slope. What a pity; there could have been a great big tree to greet him on the way down.
The ramifications of the Athens affair continue. Liverpool FC's chief executive, Rick Parry, returned to the fray yesterday (http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2095001,00.html ).
Parry noted, "The shortcomings in the management of the situation in Athens were apparent to anyone who was there...These latest comments from Uefa should not deflect attention from that reality."
He went on to say, "We produced a report for Uefa a week beforehand predicting, sadly, all of the things that did go wrong. They knew and we knew that thousands of fans would travel without tickets and we stressed the need for a proper check at the outer cordon."
Earlier in the Guardian article, William Gaillard, Uefa's director of communications (a job title which is becoming more of a misnomer by the day), was quoted thus, "What other set of fans steal tickets from their fellow supporters or out of the hands of children?...We know who caused most of the trouble in Athens."
Whilst condemning those "fans" who stole tickets, got in with forgeries or simply forced their way in, I suspect that Gaillard's emotive point about children will turn out to be every bit as apocryphal as Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.
It didn't take long for one of the threads on the Guardian's sportsblog to run with the latest exchanges:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/06/04liverpool_v_uefa_whos_to_blame.html .
One of the club's new owners, Bill Hicks, threw his lot into the ring this morning, calling Gaillard a "clown". I'm not sure that such a jibe, coming from a guy who by his own admission is still new to "soccer", helps Liverpool's cause. Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn met the Uefa President, Michel Platini today & all the usual diplomatic phrases were trotted out in the press release. What was actually said &, more importantly, decided, is still to be made clear.
Connie is also a keen skier & I was delighted to come across this piece from Christmas 2003:
http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=255&mode=headlines .
Connie didn't quite succeed in her attempts to get Dubya on a ski slope. What a pity; there could have been a great big tree to greet him on the way down.
The ramifications of the Athens affair continue. Liverpool FC's chief executive, Rick Parry, returned to the fray yesterday (http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2095001,00.html ).
Parry noted, "The shortcomings in the management of the situation in Athens were apparent to anyone who was there...These latest comments from Uefa should not deflect attention from that reality."
He went on to say, "We produced a report for Uefa a week beforehand predicting, sadly, all of the things that did go wrong. They knew and we knew that thousands of fans would travel without tickets and we stressed the need for a proper check at the outer cordon."
Earlier in the Guardian article, William Gaillard, Uefa's director of communications (a job title which is becoming more of a misnomer by the day), was quoted thus, "What other set of fans steal tickets from their fellow supporters or out of the hands of children?...We know who caused most of the trouble in Athens."
Whilst condemning those "fans" who stole tickets, got in with forgeries or simply forced their way in, I suspect that Gaillard's emotive point about children will turn out to be every bit as apocryphal as Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.
It didn't take long for one of the threads on the Guardian's sportsblog to run with the latest exchanges:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/06/04liverpool_v_uefa_whos_to_blame.html .
One of the club's new owners, Bill Hicks, threw his lot into the ring this morning, calling Gaillard a "clown". I'm not sure that such a jibe, coming from a guy who by his own admission is still new to "soccer", helps Liverpool's cause. Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn met the Uefa President, Michel Platini today & all the usual diplomatic phrases were trotted out in the press release. What was actually said &, more importantly, decided, is still to be made clear.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Athens Fall Out (cont.)
At least one of the local blogs has begun to give the lie to the more self-justifying & brazen defence of what happened outside the stadium in Athens last week.
The Liverpool Times (http://www.liverpooltimes.net/ ) is trenchant in its verdict on events. It asserts, "Despite the talk about 'thieving Scousers' being one which most of us hate, some fans (or people who bought a Liverpool shirt) are out there handing headlines to the gutter press. The thieves were seen openly snatching tickets off their own fans. The lads going over to rob these days are not your 'likeable scally' [sic]. Many are prepared to use mob violence here in the streets of Liverpool & they will export this violence & general lack of manners abroad if given half a chance."
Meanwhile, it's worth repeating Rick Parry's now embarrasing words:
"We have told Uefa there will be 40,000 Liverpool fans in the ground by hook or by crook [my italics]. So wouldn't it be better to give us the tickets & let us distribute them fairly without fans having to go to extreme methods? Our pleas fell on deaf ears."
Viewed in retrospect, Parry's words come across less as a plea for reason & more as the sort of thing Tony Soprano might muster when trying to be subtle.
Another interesting local blog to note:
"Gossip Mongers" (http://subculturegossip.blogspot.com/ ). Its strap line declares with relish that it contains "All the stuff that is just not fit to print in the Echo".
The Liverpool Times (http://www.liverpooltimes.net/ ) is trenchant in its verdict on events. It asserts, "Despite the talk about 'thieving Scousers' being one which most of us hate, some fans (or people who bought a Liverpool shirt) are out there handing headlines to the gutter press. The thieves were seen openly snatching tickets off their own fans. The lads going over to rob these days are not your 'likeable scally' [sic]. Many are prepared to use mob violence here in the streets of Liverpool & they will export this violence & general lack of manners abroad if given half a chance."
Meanwhile, it's worth repeating Rick Parry's now embarrasing words:
"We have told Uefa there will be 40,000 Liverpool fans in the ground by hook or by crook [my italics]. So wouldn't it be better to give us the tickets & let us distribute them fairly without fans having to go to extreme methods? Our pleas fell on deaf ears."
Viewed in retrospect, Parry's words come across less as a plea for reason & more as the sort of thing Tony Soprano might muster when trying to be subtle.
Another interesting local blog to note:
"Gossip Mongers" (http://subculturegossip.blogspot.com/ ). Its strap line declares with relish that it contains "All the stuff that is just not fit to print in the Echo".
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Athens Aftermath
It wasn't until Thursday morning that solid details began to emerge about the chaotic scenes outside Athens' Olympic Stadium the previous evening. I'd been oblivious to it all as I nursed a sore head & a sense of disappointment at the result. However, late Thursday morning changed all that & the initial reports gave a flavour of what had transpired:
http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague200607/story/0,,2087123,00.html .
By Friday the Liverpool Echo was eagerly running with the story. Its take on events was predictably partisan:
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_headline=your-final-warning% .
However, the piece did quote Dr Rogan Taylor, a leading light in the Football Supporters Association after Hillsborough, & now a director of the football industry group at Liverpool University. Taylor was commendably even-handed in his analysis:
"Clubs have pressed too hard to squeeze the maximum amount of money from the sponsors. They have to instruct Uefa to do sponsorship deals which bring in less money & reduce the number of tickets to corporate businesses.
Fans must also recognise that if you get in without a ticket by being smart, it maybe deprives a dad & a daughter with tickets of their own."
Friday also saw the serious press sinking their teeth into an irresistible story. The Guardian sports weblog carried a piece by Gregg Roughley, a Liverpool fan who witnessed the scenes outside the stadium:
http://blogs.football.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/05/25/uefa_needs_to_buck_its_ideas_u.html .
Roughley was eager to dissociate himself from the antics of those idiots who had tried to gain access, in Rick Parry's now unfortunate phrase, by hook or by crook.
Roughley asserted: "The behaviour of some Liverpool fans was certainly not beyond reproach, but they were given the opportunity by the inept Greek authorities & woefully ill-equipped stadium facilities deemed suitable by Uefa."
He pointed out that the so-called fanzone showed "no sign of fan-themed events taking place: no music, no drink (alcoholic or soft) & nothing remotely fun."
"In the ground, about 300 seats behind the goal where Liverpool supporters were housed remained empty for the entire match. Of those fans who did show up to take their seats in the second half, many were suffering sickness after being sprayed with tear gas, while others sat discosolately with their heads in their hands after being beaten by Greek police officers."
Roughley also noted: "Many ticketless Liverpool fans travelled to Cardiff for last year's FA Cup final after tickets had been stolen prior to the match, but the high standard of planning & organisation by police & stewards ensured that the day passed over without any major problems."
The Sun "newspaper" jumped on the issue with this opportunistic piece:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007240105,00.html .
Yes, the rag that gave us "The Truth" pathetically tried to boost its pygmy circulation figures on Merseyside. [Before Hillsborough Murdoch's rag was selling 57,000 copies a day on Merseyside. After its infamous edition which accused Liverpool supporters of looting dead bodies & urinating on first aid staff, that figure slumped to 12,000. It has not risen significantly since.]
However, blame is clearly apportioned by Paul Wilson in today's Observer:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,2089019.00.html .
Wilson's piece begins: "Call me hard-hearted, if you like, but I found my initial sympathy for all the ticket-holding Liverpool fans tear-gassed & clobbered by Athens police evaporating at the airport the following day, on encountering scally after scally bragging about getting into the European Cup final for nothing."
Quite why Wilson should lump in the genuine ticket-holding fans with the feckless scum isn't explained in the piece.
Later in the article Wilson asserts: "Liverpool followers need no history lessons on why all-seater stadiums came about in the first place, & now they are here it does not take a genius to work out that the seats occupied by people without tickets must be at the expense of people who paid for them."
Augmenting this trend of thought is Patrick Barclay in today's Sunday Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/05/27/sfnpb127.xml .
Barclay draws attention to an interview with "a pair of middle-aged drunken nitwits" on Greek TV. Asked why they had turned up in Athens without tickets, one of them replied:"'We're going to wait until the game's about to start, & then we're going to storm the stadium.'"
Barclay continues: "My stomach turned, as would that of anyone who experienced (even from a merciful distance) the horrific events of the crush at Hillsborough 18 years ago. But this turned out to be more than just a bad joke. In grotesque retrospect, indeed, it can be seen as a statement of intent."
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Post pending
I've been collating observations & eye-witness accounts of the events outside the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Wednesday evening. More to come.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
With Hope In Their Hearts
Text messages have been exchanged with those in Athens. None of the texts contain what might be called information. Rather, they're replete with truisms & cliches. They're simply delighted to be there, ticket or no ticket.
However, the allocation issue is to the fore with the mainstream media:
So far, there's been only one reported instance of matters descending into stupidity:
This final isn't just a local football isue, it's become a civic issue. As with all the previous European finals, those who profess no interest in football (a rather select group, it must be said) & (some) of those who support Everton will be watching on TV.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Thumbing Through The Dictionary
I found myself at work today (a swap with a colleague on the other shift so I can view Wednesday's final in the pub) & saw the word "pusillanimous" on the board. I asked why it had been written & was told it was just one of those "look up a word for the week" exercises. Immediately, however, I had the word association & mental image fixed.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Hellenic Happenings
Travel arrangements for Greece have been organised by those fortunate enough to go. As for the rest of us, TV will have to suffice. Time was when the big question was, "Have you got a ticket to spare?"
This time around, it's taken for granted that at least three-quarters of those going will be ticketless. If they can't get tickets when they arrive in Greece, they'll be happy to watch the match on the huge TV screens that have been erected in the centre of Athens. Some friends of mine have managed to get tickets, & they'll also be using the trip as an excuse for a week's holiday some 200 miles from the Greek capital. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
A lot has been written & said about the ticket allocation. Yes, it is unfair, insufficient & arbitrary (one of my friends got his ticket from a contact who works for one of UEFA's sponsors), but it has always been the case with major football finals. I know from personal experience when I was part of the great scramble for the treasured items during the 70s & 80s.
It's something of a cliche to mock judges as remote, aloof & out-of-touch figures, but they don't do themselves any favours with their occasional questions. One judge in the 1960s was quoted as asking in all ignorance, "Who are the Beatles?". Here's the latest in the long line of memorable questions:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1805663.ece .
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
A River Runs Through It
Liverpool's Pier Head landing stage has lain in the murky Mersey for some time now. Poor weather caused the entire structure to detach from its moorings in March of last year. Heavy rain & gale force conditions forced it into the water. That was unfortunate. What followed next was farcical. The Mersey Docks & Harbour Company, who are responsible for the Pier Head area as well as the wider waterfront, sat on their hands & left the landing stage in its watery state. Ferry crossings were affected with the boats using the same berth as that used by vessels bound for the Isle of Man. Last year the Liverpool Culture Company (http://www.liverpool08.com/ ) appealed to the MDHC to rescue & repair the structure in time for the annual Matthew Street Festival at the end of August. The blindingly obvious point was made not just by the LCC but anyone with half a brain & a civic consciousness that a submerged landing stage wouldn't look very good to the many tourists about to descend on the city for the annual Beatlefest. Given that there were to be two stages at the Pier Head itself, it seemed ludicrous to have such a well-known feature of the local waterfront under water. The MDHC displayed all their characteristic imagination & far-sightedness (remember their manufacture of the dockers' dispute in 1995) by saying, "Sorry, can't help".
Progress of a sort has now been made with a new base for the ferries (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6605711.stm ).
Well done, guys! What took you so long?
After all the shennanigans, posturings & cock-ups over 2008 it's nice to see more movement on developments at the Pier Head: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6609191.stm .
The waterfront museum has been five years in the making, according to the report. Granted, the size & scope of the project has meant that it couldn't be a rush job. However, it still seems a little on the tardy side. Still, I suppose it fits in with the more sober & hard-headed attitude that 2008 should be a starting point, not an end in itself.
Historian Tristram Hunt, on the other hand, still felt pangs of yearning for a little too much nostalgia on the waterfront & in the city generally with this "Comment is Free" thread last week: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2062851,00.html .
These four young men appeard to be enjoying themselves at the Pier Head, despite being some decades early for the Matthew Street Festival.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Born: January, 2006. Died: April, 2007.
By far the most compelling TV drama since "Our Friends In The North". I'll miss this series.
In Memoriam
John Alfred Anderson (62)
Thomas Howard (39)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Alan Johnston (29)
Gerrard Bernard Patrick Barron (67)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Simon Bell (17)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
Richard Jones (25)
David John Benson (22)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
David William Birtle (22)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Tony Bland (22)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Paul David Brady (21)
Carl David Lewis (18)
Andrew Mark Brooks (26)
David William Mather (19)
Carl Brown (18)
Brian Christopher Matthews (38)
David Steven Brown (25)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
John McBrien (18)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Alan McGlone (28)
Joseph Clark (29)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Clark (18)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Gary Collins (22)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Stephen Francis O'Neill (17)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
Jonathon Owens (18)
James Philip Delaney (19)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
Christopher Edwards (29)
David George Rimmer (38)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Jon Paul Gilhooley (10)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Barry Glover (27)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Inger Shah (38)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Paula Anne Smith (26)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Adam Edward Spearitt (14)
Philip Hammond (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
Eric Hankin (33)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Gary Harrison (27)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Rueben Thompson (30)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
David Hawley (39)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Christopher James Traynor (26)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Colin Wafer (19)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Graham John Wright (17)
Acknowledgements to the Liverpoop Football Club website for the names of the 96 who died at Hillsborough on this date 18 years' ago.
Thomas Howard (39)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Alan Johnston (29)
Gerrard Bernard Patrick Barron (67)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Simon Bell (17)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
Richard Jones (25)
David John Benson (22)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
David William Birtle (22)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Tony Bland (22)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Paul David Brady (21)
Carl David Lewis (18)
Andrew Mark Brooks (26)
David William Mather (19)
Carl Brown (18)
Brian Christopher Matthews (38)
David Steven Brown (25)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
John McBrien (18)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Alan McGlone (28)
Joseph Clark (29)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Clark (18)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Gary Collins (22)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Stephen Francis O'Neill (17)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
Jonathon Owens (18)
James Philip Delaney (19)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
Christopher Edwards (29)
David George Rimmer (38)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Jon Paul Gilhooley (10)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Barry Glover (27)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Inger Shah (38)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Paula Anne Smith (26)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Adam Edward Spearitt (14)
Philip Hammond (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
Eric Hankin (33)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Gary Harrison (27)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Rueben Thompson (30)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
David Hawley (39)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Christopher James Traynor (26)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Colin Wafer (19)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Graham John Wright (17)
Acknowledgements to the Liverpoop Football Club website for the names of the 96 who died at Hillsborough on this date 18 years' ago.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Enlightenment & Etiquette
Where to begin? Chronologically, I suppose.
Mulling over an anguished piece of intellectual handwringing last month (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2036618,00.html ), I was tempted to go along with the author's premise that each age should produce its own crop of writers & thinkers who not just articulate the tenor of the times, but outline a vision of the way forward for society.
Then I checked myself. Yes, there are writers & thinkers out there (Amis, McEwan, Dawkins, Self, etc.), but they're addressing issues which no longer relate to changing society itself; the most progressive of the current crop, Dawkins, seems intent on repeating his points about religion & Darwin without linking these points to a wider debate about the body politic.
The gap in posting doesn't mean that I've been inert on the web. Far from it, I've been earnestly blogging away on the Guardian's "Comment is Free" website. Still, it was alarming to see a piece which claimed that blogging is already declining: http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2043775,00.html .
Being on the CiF website is sometimes similar to engaging in a lager fuelled argument in the pub. It is no place for sensitive souls who view their carefully crafted prose as inviolate. Responses to posts, as well as the original articles, are often bracing. At their best, they can be scabrously witty & informative. At their worst, however, they sink to the level of juvenile name-calling. It therefore comes as no surprise that figures in cyberspace like Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, have felt moved to act: http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2053569,00.html .
Inevitably, responses have been swift &, well, to the point. Critics have accused Wales & others of trying to introduce censorship. There isn't a shred of evidence with which to back up this claim. In fact, to use terminology which these particular bloggers would recognise, it's bollocks with bells on.
Pete Best is the "forgotten Beatle". People are more aware of Stuart Sutcliffe because of his sudden death before fame & fortune beckoned. [Sutcliffe, moreover, couldn't play a note, & was in the group merely because of his close friendship with Lennon.]
It certainly wasn't easy for Best after he was kicked out of the group to make way for Ringo. By the time the Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper, Best was reported by the Liverpool Echo as working in a local bakery. He also attempted to commit suicide in the late 60s.
In the 70s he found work in the civil service (my mother worked with him for a few years). Unsurprisingly, he wouldn't be drawn on his role in the history of the world's most famous band.
Over the last decade Best has been a regular at the Matthew Street Festival, that tacky & increasingly Disneyfied distortion of the Beatles' legacy. With his own band, modestly named "Pete Best's Beatles", he's made a living playing the early rock 'n' roll numbers which the band played in the Cavern. He also reportedly made £1m from the success of the Beatles Anthology releases a decade ago.
Now, it seems, Best is willing to meet up with McCartney: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/article2432457.ece .
Quite what they'd have to talk about after a gap of 45 years is anyone's guess. However, if I were McCartney, I'd feel safer in the company of Mark Chapman & Heather Mills than in a room with Best.
The anniversary of Hillsborough will be marked on Sunday. It's never easy to deal with, particularly for those of us who were on the Leppings Lane terrace that day. Gerry Ormonde, the driving force behind the irrepressible Kopblog (http://www.kopblog.com/ ) recently posted a message/statement from Anne Williams, whose son Kevin was among those who lost their lives. It's a fairly lengthy piece & to select particular passages of it for quotation purposes would, I feel, dilute its impact.
To summarise, Anne Williams details the long campaign to achieve justice for Kevin & the other 95 victims. Go to Gerry's blog & read it (it's from his entry for 23/03/07).
The email addresses for the campaign are:
annewilliams96@btinternet.com & annajameson@tiscali.co.uk .
Mulling over an anguished piece of intellectual handwringing last month (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2036618,00.html ), I was tempted to go along with the author's premise that each age should produce its own crop of writers & thinkers who not just articulate the tenor of the times, but outline a vision of the way forward for society.
Then I checked myself. Yes, there are writers & thinkers out there (Amis, McEwan, Dawkins, Self, etc.), but they're addressing issues which no longer relate to changing society itself; the most progressive of the current crop, Dawkins, seems intent on repeating his points about religion & Darwin without linking these points to a wider debate about the body politic.
The gap in posting doesn't mean that I've been inert on the web. Far from it, I've been earnestly blogging away on the Guardian's "Comment is Free" website. Still, it was alarming to see a piece which claimed that blogging is already declining: http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2043775,00.html .
Being on the CiF website is sometimes similar to engaging in a lager fuelled argument in the pub. It is no place for sensitive souls who view their carefully crafted prose as inviolate. Responses to posts, as well as the original articles, are often bracing. At their best, they can be scabrously witty & informative. At their worst, however, they sink to the level of juvenile name-calling. It therefore comes as no surprise that figures in cyberspace like Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, have felt moved to act: http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2053569,00.html .
Inevitably, responses have been swift &, well, to the point. Critics have accused Wales & others of trying to introduce censorship. There isn't a shred of evidence with which to back up this claim. In fact, to use terminology which these particular bloggers would recognise, it's bollocks with bells on.
Pete Best is the "forgotten Beatle". People are more aware of Stuart Sutcliffe because of his sudden death before fame & fortune beckoned. [Sutcliffe, moreover, couldn't play a note, & was in the group merely because of his close friendship with Lennon.]
It certainly wasn't easy for Best after he was kicked out of the group to make way for Ringo. By the time the Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper, Best was reported by the Liverpool Echo as working in a local bakery. He also attempted to commit suicide in the late 60s.
In the 70s he found work in the civil service (my mother worked with him for a few years). Unsurprisingly, he wouldn't be drawn on his role in the history of the world's most famous band.
Over the last decade Best has been a regular at the Matthew Street Festival, that tacky & increasingly Disneyfied distortion of the Beatles' legacy. With his own band, modestly named "Pete Best's Beatles", he's made a living playing the early rock 'n' roll numbers which the band played in the Cavern. He also reportedly made £1m from the success of the Beatles Anthology releases a decade ago.
Now, it seems, Best is willing to meet up with McCartney: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/article2432457.ece .
Quite what they'd have to talk about after a gap of 45 years is anyone's guess. However, if I were McCartney, I'd feel safer in the company of Mark Chapman & Heather Mills than in a room with Best.
The anniversary of Hillsborough will be marked on Sunday. It's never easy to deal with, particularly for those of us who were on the Leppings Lane terrace that day. Gerry Ormonde, the driving force behind the irrepressible Kopblog (http://www.kopblog.com/ ) recently posted a message/statement from Anne Williams, whose son Kevin was among those who lost their lives. It's a fairly lengthy piece & to select particular passages of it for quotation purposes would, I feel, dilute its impact.
To summarise, Anne Williams details the long campaign to achieve justice for Kevin & the other 95 victims. Go to Gerry's blog & read it (it's from his entry for 23/03/07).
The email addresses for the campaign are:
annewilliams96@btinternet.com & annajameson@tiscali.co.uk .
Monday, March 12, 2007
Tin Pot Egotists & Iron Men
When I was a callow revolutionary activist in the early 80s, trying to persuade "de youth" on Merseyside council estates to read Trotsky on the Revolutionary Party when all they really wanted to do was go out & get pissed on a Friday night, the Liberals were one of the enemy. Their leader in Liverpool, Sir Trevor Jones, a man given to ostentatiously chomping cigars while guiding Michael Heseltine around riot-torn Toxteth, was referred to as "Jones the vote", a backhanded comment on the Liberals' command of local "pavement" politics.
I was temporarily reminded of this last week when it was reported by the Liverpool Echo that today's Lib Dems in the city have chosen a former cheerleader for Ian Paisley to contest Croxteth in next May's elections: http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=lib-dems-to-adopt-paisley .
Phil Moffat, according to the paper, "was once linked with plans to set up England's first branch of the radical Northern Irish political party in the city."
It seems that Moffat is also one of those sad sods who do battle with local officialdom over the "right" to fly the Union flag on St George's Day; he isn't just bigoted, he's confused.
One wholly unexpected benefit of the bomb damage that Liverpool suffered during the 1939-1945 war was a clear-out of those slum areas in the city where vile sectarianism held sway. The cramped, densely populated area of Everton was a hotbed of support for the Orange Lodge. The area overlooked the Scotland Road district, which had been populated by Irish Catholics in the wake of the famine-induced migration. Attacks were frequent &, by some accounts, particularly brutal. Both sides could instigate the trouble. However, the Protestants of Everton were openly goaded by their pastors to see the "papists" in their midst as a threat.
Liverpool has since moved on. These days it is unthinkable to raise religion as a possible source of conflict in the city.
Perhaps I'm giving this Moffat character too much attention. He clearly seems to be a buffoon with an ego. However, the real question to emerge from this distasteful little story is what does it say about the Lib Dems in Liverpool? The Storey administration, now the Bradley administration, like to quote the slogan about 2008: "The World In One City". How does this square with selecting a candidate who is happy to defend bigotry?
Last week's decision by Sefton Council to retain Antony Gormley's "Iron Men" on Crosby beach was a welcome sign of sanity & sagacity, not qualities I would always ascribe to Sefton's elected representatives. A few days prior to the decision the local Tories decided to remove Cllr Debi Jones from Sefton's planning committee (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=iron-men--8217-s-- ).
I highlighted Cllr Jones' witless utterances on the matter last year. Hoping to create an issue which would help her as the Tories' candidate for the Crosby constituency at the next election, she instead drew attention to her own cultural ignorance & embarrassed senior Tories. Most importantly, she was also out of step with her would-be constituents on Gormley's work.
A brief plug for a local website with a difference:
http://liverpoolsubculture.blogspot.com/ .
It takes an alternative look at how the city fathers are really planning for 2008, & much more besides.
I was temporarily reminded of this last week when it was reported by the Liverpool Echo that today's Lib Dems in the city have chosen a former cheerleader for Ian Paisley to contest Croxteth in next May's elections: http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=lib-dems-to-adopt-paisley .
Phil Moffat, according to the paper, "was once linked with plans to set up England's first branch of the radical Northern Irish political party in the city."
It seems that Moffat is also one of those sad sods who do battle with local officialdom over the "right" to fly the Union flag on St George's Day; he isn't just bigoted, he's confused.
One wholly unexpected benefit of the bomb damage that Liverpool suffered during the 1939-1945 war was a clear-out of those slum areas in the city where vile sectarianism held sway. The cramped, densely populated area of Everton was a hotbed of support for the Orange Lodge. The area overlooked the Scotland Road district, which had been populated by Irish Catholics in the wake of the famine-induced migration. Attacks were frequent &, by some accounts, particularly brutal. Both sides could instigate the trouble. However, the Protestants of Everton were openly goaded by their pastors to see the "papists" in their midst as a threat.
Liverpool has since moved on. These days it is unthinkable to raise religion as a possible source of conflict in the city.
Perhaps I'm giving this Moffat character too much attention. He clearly seems to be a buffoon with an ego. However, the real question to emerge from this distasteful little story is what does it say about the Lib Dems in Liverpool? The Storey administration, now the Bradley administration, like to quote the slogan about 2008: "The World In One City". How does this square with selecting a candidate who is happy to defend bigotry?
Last week's decision by Sefton Council to retain Antony Gormley's "Iron Men" on Crosby beach was a welcome sign of sanity & sagacity, not qualities I would always ascribe to Sefton's elected representatives. A few days prior to the decision the local Tories decided to remove Cllr Debi Jones from Sefton's planning committee (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=iron-men--8217-s-- ).
I highlighted Cllr Jones' witless utterances on the matter last year. Hoping to create an issue which would help her as the Tories' candidate for the Crosby constituency at the next election, she instead drew attention to her own cultural ignorance & embarrassed senior Tories. Most importantly, she was also out of step with her would-be constituents on Gormley's work.
A brief plug for a local website with a difference:
http://liverpoolsubculture.blogspot.com/ .
It takes an alternative look at how the city fathers are really planning for 2008, & much more besides.
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