Misreading The Mood

Today's reflections on Saturday's march in London have been as predictable as the tide. Most aren't worth referring to, let alone linking to, due to their synthetic outrage & puerile pontificating. Indeed, it seems that the mainstream media doesn't quite know how to handle a story like this. Even the Guardian's Michael White can't help balancing the march with the clashes that took place elsewhere (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/27/britain-decent-demo-mob ). More perceptive observers are now acknowledging that the role of civil disobedience, as opposed to the trashing of Top Shop, is a tactic that will gain in currency & viability. As the cuts bite, the traditional tactic of marches may look insufficient; Ed Miliband (or "Ed Millipede", as he was called by one marcher) has stated his view that the ConDem cuts will prevail for the full term of this parliament. Such an opinion could look discredited & defeatist before the end of this year. Apropos the marchers, I noticed an array of banners & placards which deviated refreshingly from the stereotypical norm. One marcher at Waterloo Station held a placard which posed the cerebral, but intriguing question, "What would Gramsci Say?" Another was less subtle & damningly direct, showing a picture of Nick Clegg with the words "Rent Boy" underneath. Despite the many different reasons given by people for their presence in London on Saturday, & they ranged from the Spirit of Shankly group to the Women's Institute, one refrain was notable for its ubiquity: this is just the beginning.

The Big Society Comes To Town

Contrary to the sadly sensationalist BBC reports throughout Saturday evening, London was not in the throes of unbridled anarchy. I should know, I was having a pint just a few molotov cocktails away from the highly localised disorder in Picadilly. Regrettable? Yes, of course. Worthy of hysterical live coverage on the BBC News channel? You must be joking.

All Together Now

In anticipation of tomorrow's march here in London, I suspect this catchy ditty from last year will get an airing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQFwxw57NBI .

No Comment

Recommended reading: a piece by Dave Hill on the Guardian Comment is Free site earlier this month: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/11/democracy-bloggers-tweeters-councils ).
Although it concerns itself with Barnet Council in North London, it certainly has wider relevance, stretching, ooh, 200 miles north-west, of London, wouldn't you say?

Leaving A Sour Taste In The Mouth

Those of us attending Saturday's march in London against the ConDem cuts (http://marchforthealternative.org.uk/ ) will have our numbers augmented by workers from the Burton's confectionery plant on the Wirral, soon to be closed by its owners. Indeed, the question of who actually owns Burton is raised by John Harris in a piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free site (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/mar/22/union-moreton-burtons-factory-jobs-video ).
As Harris discovers, the ability of Unite, the union representing Burton's staff, to establish the identity of the company's owners turns out to be anything but straightforward; global capitalism has, he concludes, made it necessary for a globally-organised & coherent programme on the part of trade unions around the world. Utopian, perhaps, but, as he ruefully remarks, Saturday's "march for the alternative" won't have one unless it recognises the necessity of an international approach. Problem is, such an approach is light years from both the understanding & inclination of the Labour Party & TUC leadership.
Illustrating the need for working people to broaden their case as widely as possible is the case of the state government staff in the US state of Wisconsin (http://huffingtonpost.com/news/wisconsin-protests ).

Royal Recognition For Procession Of Coffins

Steve Bell's cartoon in today's Guardian unflinchingly reflects the reality behind the decision to bestow royal status on the town of Wootton Basset (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cartoon/2011/mar/17/steve-bell-on-wootton-bassett ).
It's sure to stick in the craw of those who continue to support an illegal war in Iraq & an unwinnable conflict in Afghanistan, but that's their problem.

Daily Ghost To Go Weakly?

Far be it for me to rain on Trinity Mirror's parade as they bask in the glory of civic recognition today (all that lobbying paid off big time, eh, Alastair?). However, storm clouds are, alas, on the horizon in the form of Roy Greenslade's blog which today suggests that the Daily Ghost could soon be a weekly paper (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/mar/09/local-newspapers-trinity-mirror ).
Remarking on the Ghost's appropriately spectral circulation figures, Greenslade links to a blogpost by Steve Dyson, a 20-year veteran of the regional newspaper business (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/blogs/110309dysonblog57.shtml ).
Dyson takes a dim view of the Ghost as a product in the market place, in particular delivering a forensic critique of the edition for Wednesday 16th February. Enjoy the wine & canapes at the Town Hall, guys.

Wapping Displays Its Knowledge Of Liverpool

It's only fair to point out that Oldham Hall Street doesn't always have a monopoly when it comes to fiction masquerading as journalism about Liverpool, as Wayne observed earlier today (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/03/same-old-liverpool-same-old-second-rate.html ).
Judging by the paucity of facts & the preponderance of nauseous PR guff in the Times piece, you have to surmise that the best place for the piece is, indeed, behind Murdoch's self-defeating paywall. The fewer readers who come across such garbage the better.

Oldham Hall Street's Parallel Universe

It is, of course, no surprise when Oldham Hall Street dutifully plays the role of cheerleader for business interests whose motives have everything to do with corporate enrichment & nothing to do with local civic & economic concerns. A cursory look at the coverage of the Liverpool Waters affair will immediately confirm that. Indeed, the alacrity with which the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo (flushed with self-congratulation from successfully lobbying the council for Freedom of the City status) throw themselves into cheerleading mode for Peel Holdings, et al, often leads them to issue the sort of bilge which illuminates their blithe disregard for reality. Take this gem from last Wednesday: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/03/02/liverpool-can-ride-out-this-crisis-100252-28261133/ .

Putting Rivalry Into Perspective

Ahead of Sunday's match at Anfield, Louise Taylor writes a piece for the Guardian sports blog which sets the rivalry between Kenny Dalglish & Alex Ferguson in a measured perspective (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/mar/04/kenny-dalglish-sir-alex-ferguson ).
As the tabloids & Sky prepare their lurid weekend war analogies, supplying the ammunition to the neanderthals on both sides, & too many deluded saps in Glasgow perpetuate the folly of sectarianism (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/03/celtic-rangers-cards ), Taylor relates:
"[Dalglish & Ferguson] have always harboured a mental as well as physical edge -- while Ferguson's is more overtly aggressive, Dalglish's spikiness invariably features cutting sarcasm -- but both appreciate some battles are pointless. Significantly, neither had any truck with the sectarianism that scarred Glasgow during their respective upbringings. Although a Protestant, Dalglish was perplexed by religious divisions and grew up alongside close Catholic friends. Unusually, in extremely Protestant Govan, Ferguson was the product of a 'mixed' marriage, his father having broken a widespread taboo and married a Catholic.
"In later years Manchester United's manager would tap, productively, into the emotional energy fuelled by his club's supporters' 'hatred' for Liverpool, but that Govan upbringing had imbued him with an ability to grasp a bigger picture. Immediately after the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 he followed up a phone call to Dalglish by dispatching a deputation of wreath-bearing United fans on a respect-paying mission to Merseyside."

Liverpool Honours Oldham-Based Papers

Take a trip down Dale Street next Wednesday & you'll witness a spectacle in the Town Hall which belongs to the world of Lewis Carroll. The Oldham Echo, along with its sickly sister the Daily Ghost, will be awarded the freedom of Liverpool (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/03/02/liverpool-echo-makes-headline-by-being-given-freedom-of-the-city-100252-28261044/ ) .
Yes, the sorry rag which claims to speak for Merseyside, but which sacked 100 Liverpool printers when it moved its printing operation down the East Lancs Road, will be "honoured" by the city council. Aghast at this brazen act of mendacity & self-delusion? Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson isn't. In fact, he plays the part of civic fluffer to perfection, proclaiming that the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo have been "the voice of the city for more than 150 years and they constantly champion Liverpool as a great place to live, work and to do business."
Ah yes, of course, given the bilge slapped on the Echo's front page every night (tales of small-time hoodlums, Z-list local celebrities, etc.), any visitor arriving at Lime Street who happens to peruse the, erm, publication would be immediately struck by the way in which the city is championed, as Joe puts it, by Oldham Hall Street.
As an aside, you might think that Anderson would want to keep a relatively low profile after meekly acquiescing to £90m worth of Tory cuts.
The comments left at the foot of the Echo's self-congratulatory piece are almost uniformly hostile. One contributor, JB_Kirkdale, submits a few observations which merit reproduction in their entirety:
"This paper is a rag, a tabloid rag and a very poor shadow of the paper we all respected when we were growing up.
"Remember [the] campaign and outrage from the Echo when it was suggested Liverpool's blood units be moved to Manchester, yet it has done exactly the same thing, sacking many in Liverpool while employing people in Oldham to print it. Its hypocrisy is staggering.
"It calls itself the voice of Merseyside but it stayed silent on the Americans raping LFC in case it lost its access to the club and its players. John Thompson, the sports editor, is another disgrace which has been noted by many.
"I cannot believe this rag has the freedom of Liverpool when it has barely any connections with the place apart from collecting its revenue here and investing it in Manchester.
"I wouldn't wipe my harris on it and I can barely stomach it even when it's free."
JB, you should be a blogger!
Another commenter, georgechristophermciver, notes, "The headlines compete with the Daily Sport."
Touche, sir!
Sensationalist in its tone, crass in its handling of issues which require a modicum of thought, the Oldham Echo provided further evidence of its cack-handed ways a few days ago, as Simon, the blogger behind the no rock and roll fun blog, remarked with regard to a piece on a raid at a Bootle chip shop (http://norock.tumblr.com/post/3379792287/liverpool-echo-puts-sensitively-chosen-advert ).
Since Oldham Hall Street trumpeted its impending "honour" it's become apparent that all is not what it seems in this sorry farce. Trinity Mirror, the parent company of the two rags, & which has this week admitted its parlous state in its annual figures, lobbied (yes, lobbied) the city council for freedom of the city status. Anxious to remain in Oldham Hall Street's good books, Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson immediately assented to their lobbying efforts.
A city council which implements Tory cuts & a pair of rags which are to local journalism what Ron Jeremy is to celibacy. They really do deserve each other, don't they?

Let Me Tell You How It Will Be, The Taxman Lets Them Off Scot-Free

Perfectly catching the mood of the times, Captain Ska released his "Liar, Liar" single towards the end of last year. It wasn't a chart-topper, but it went viral on the web. Now he's back with "Shame on You", his take on the tax-dodging reptiles whose kid-glove treatment at the hands of HMRC clearly shows we aren't all in this together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B_dVrA9AwE .
It isn't as catchy as "Liar, Liar", but the video cleverly references Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues & the early Madness videos.

Spin Over Substance

An associate once said to me, "PR is the art of making a turd look like a ruby."
I was reminded of those wise words when I saw a Guardian piece earlier about the rise of "churnalism" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/23/churnalism-pr-media-trust ).
Paul Lewis' article cites a website (http://churnalism.com/) which highlights the burgeoning level of PR bullshit masquerading as news in the media. Those media outlets guilty of complicity in this squalid game of journalistic faute de mieux aren't always the usual suspects, as Lewis refreshingly admits:
"Interestingly, all media outlets appear particularly susceptible to PR material disseminated by supermarkets: the Mail appears to have a particular appetite for publicity from Asda and Tesco, while the Guardian appears to prefer Waitrose releases."
It's reassuring to know that the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo wouldn't stoop to such base levels, isn't it? Oh, hang on, what's this: http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/11/inspired-comparison.html .

Compare & Contrast

It would be remiss of me not to point out that while Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson was shamelessly trying to justify his adherence to Tory cuts whilst berating those who have the temerity to organise opposition to them, the Liverpool branch of UK Uncut (http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/ ) were showing, by way of a complete contrast, how effective their spontaneous & fluid campaign is.

The Vodafone store in Church Street remained closed for the day as protesters highlighted the tax-dodging antics of the company. Though relatively small in number, they made their point in eye-catching manner & showed that they have a level of spirit & ingenuity in their ranks which shames Anderson's defeatist rump of time-servers.

Joe Anderson's Bluster & Bombast

The sadly small smattering of the committed, converted & the affected who turned out at the steps of St George's Hall today in protest against the city council's cuts were largely regaled with rhetoric that was cliched & pitiful in equal measure. However, proceedings reached their nadir in a shrill, defensive rant from Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson. It's one thing to highlight the devastating effects of the ConDem cuts in the city. It's quite another to do so while implementing them, as Anderson well knows.
Anderson's address wasn't so much a speech as a puerile whine of self-exoneration. The cuts? Nothing to do with Joe, even though he's now Cameron's Cutter-in-Chief in the city. Instead, he lobbed a couple of barbs at Degsy & Co. Forget the rather inconvenient fact that Militant haven't been around as a significant political force for 20 years or so. Anderson also declared opposition to both the Tories & "the Loony Left". It's nice to see him use a phrase first coined by that well-known champion of Merseyside, the Sun, back in the 80s.
Those who should know better, such as Anderson, are disingenuous; you can't rally the troops while depriving them of their rations. It's no exaggeration to say that empty rhetoric was the most "constructive" element of his address. Talk of mobilising the Labour Party & TUC was laughable back in the 80s when Thatcher was in her pomp. To invoke both in 2011 when the cuts dwarf those of that decade could be interpreted as a sick joke.
Be in no doubt, the cuts will be savage. Indeed, the shape of things to come was outlined by a Guardian article last week (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/feb/11/marmot-report-health-equality-data ).
In such a context, it is even more risible for Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson to laud the legacy of Robert Tressell, the centenary of whose death in Liverpool has just passed (http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/news/details.aspx?id=193281 ):
"Robert Tressell's social commentary should not be underestimated and it's a shame that he only received recognition for his talents posthumously."
Robert Tressell, or Robert Noonan to give him his real name, would surely have seen the dark comedy in a supposed trade unionist implementing the millionaires' wishes whilst bewailing the consequences.

Anti-Vodafone Protest In Liverpool

Dismissed & disdained in equal measure by nearly all media outlets at first, the UK Uncut campaign is now beginning to be grudgingly acknowledged not just for its actions, but also for the clarity & veracity of its argument that multinationals are paying little or no tax on UK income. After Monday's feature on Newsnight (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9383598.stm ), during the course of which Paxo had his Naughtie moment, the campaign continues apace across the country this weekend, including Liverpool.
If you're in the city centre tomorrow & are disgusted by the way in which we most certainly aren't all in this together, you can show your support for the campaign as it marches on the Vodafone store in Grosvenorpool (http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/actions/201 ) around lunchtime.
An extra reason for showing what you think of Vodafone was provided a few days ago when it pulled the plug on internet & mobile phone links in Egypt as the protests against Mubarak's regime gathered force (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/british-oil-banks-egypt-protests ).

A Game Of Two Halves

Contrary to the perennial grumblings from many football supporters, there never was a halcyon age in which the game was run as some sort of workers' cooperative. The development & growing popularity of the professional game in the late 19th century went hand-in-hand with the most frenetic & burgeoning period of the Industrial Revolution.
However, the level of expenditure on transfer fees yesterday, as the deadline came to a close, has prompted at least some who normally shrug their shoulders & accept its free market nature to question its sense of priorities. Those Liverpool fans who bemoan Fernando Torres' departure make the right points about the malaise affecting the modern game, but they should also see the bigger picture. David Conn certainly does that in a piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free pages today (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/01/football-cant-kick-big-spending-habit ).
Drawing together the wanton excesses of the current professional game with the economic reality affecting those who watch it, Conn concludes:
"[Tory] Sports minister Hugh Robertson has described football as 'the worst governed sport in the country'. Its story is of an obsession with money, and great inequality between millionaire superstars paid by plutocrat owners and fans paying fortunes to watch -- while the masses who play the sport prepare for years of underinvestment by Robertson's 'austerity' government."

When A Spoonerism Becomes A Freudian Slip

Yes, of course it isn't a nice word to use & it remains, understandably, one of the few words in the Anglo-Saxon lexicon to remain taboo. That said, it was somehow apt that Jeremy Paxman's verbal faux-pas on Newsnight yesterday evening was committed in the context of a piece about the ConDem cuts & the tax-dodgers who donate to the Tory Party (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZtd4X8ubXA ).
What a load of, erm, cuts.

On The Ball?

It's transfer deadline day. Cue hysteria & hype from most of the media & football websites. For those who have both the time & the inclination, the Guardian's running an irreverent & spiky live blog on what does & doesn't transpire before the 11pm deadline (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/31/transfer-window-deadline-day-live ).
So, too, is the Oldham Echo & the quality of their effort can, perhaps, be summed up in the question posed by their hack, Neil Macdonald (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/01/31/transfer-window-deadline-day-live-blog-from-7am-11pm-100252-28078031/ ):
"Will Liverpool hold on to Fernando Torres or sign someone else?"
About the tooth fairy & Santa Claus, I've got some bad news for you, Neil.

Joe Anderson Tries To Face Both Ways

It must have been a case of Orwellian doublethink that drove Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson to join a demonstration against the ConDem cuts in the city centre on Saturday. Alas, Joe's attempt to show he was on the side of those he'll soon make jobless didn't succeed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12315788 ).
As the BBC's video clip shows, Joe was challenged by one marcher to account for his pusillanimity in the face of cuts far greater than those the city faced in the 80s. Far from accepting that his presence on the march was Janus-faced, Anderson resorted to defensive bluster:
"People are angry because jobs are being shed, services are being reduced. From my point of view it's quite simple -- somebody's got to manage the council and that's what I intend to do," he declared, adding he had no choice but to make 1,500 staff redundant.
Confirming his status as a fully paid-up member of the Labour lieutenants of Capital club, Anderson brazenly claimed:
"I'm a trade unionist. I'm a socialist. I've been one all my life and as far as I'm concerned, I share people's pain and I share their anger."
Well, Joe, as a trade unionist & a socialist, consider the stance you've taken. You're now the local representative of the ConDem cuts ("Professor" Phil Redmond is sulking somewhere in a corner). The city's voters have every right to dismiss your claim to be a political alternative to the Tories when you do their dirty work for them.

Joe Anderson Implements Tory Cuts

Even though the ConDem cuts were anticipated by many in Liverpool, it doesn't lessen the shock felt by Liverpool City Council staff at today's news that 1,500 jobs will be axed (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jan/27/liverpool-set-to-axe-1500-council-jobs ).
Helen Carter's report in the Guardian states:
"The council's 9,000-strong workforce arrived at work to find a three-page message from council leader Joe Anderson warning that one in six council jobs are at risk due to the coalition government's cuts."
However, not every member of the council's staff received Anderson's message this morning; many are now tweeting that they heard the news via the local radio stations.
Not only is Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson pathetic in his bleatings as he fails to show any backbone in resisting the cuts, he is also grossly cavalier in the way he lets council staff receive the news that they could be heading for the dole.
It is both a scandal & a farce that, to paraphrase New Labour's founder Neil Kinnock, you have the grotesque chaos of a Labour council -- a Labour council! -- meekly accepting the ConDem cuts while keeping a substantial number of its staff in the dark about their fate.

Goals & Gender

For Richard Keys & Andy Gray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svg0hh54fa0 .

Through The Echo's Kaleidoscope Eyes

Something makes me suspect that the water coolers on Oldham Hall Street may contain more than good old H2O. Picture the scene. An editorial meeting of the two papers' finest, erm, minds is accompanied by the consumption of copious quantities of, well, water, yes, that's true, but perhaps something else, too. Pretty soon, Big Al, Minion Mark et al start to countenance weird & wonderful visions of the city they claim to speak for; the "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" that Lennon lysergically locked his gaze upon may or may not have figured in their visions, but it sure looks like a lot else besides has entered the groupthink consciousness on Liverpool's own Street of Shame. How else to account for yesterday's editorial in the Oldham Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/01/24/mann-island-an-island-of-high-hopes-100252-28041492/ )?
The piece opens with all the sober restraint of a punter in Concert Square on a Friday night:
"These are exciting times for our wonderful waterfront, with major developments coming to fruition at Mann Island."
Sentences like that make you wonder why there isn't a media equivalent of an ASBO.
The Oldham Echo's editorial hails the monstosity that is the new museum & its gaudy siblings as "head-turners". I presume many a head has been turned...away from the destruction wrought upon the city's waterfront & then shaken in sadness at what has been lost from an area still laughingly seen as a World Heritage Site (perhaps the watercoolers at UNESCO have been similarly affected).
The piece also refers to the names apparently given to the two residential areas within the black slugs, Latitude & Longitude. Whoever came up with those appellations had obviously lost their bearings & wouldn't have been let anywhere near a ship's navigation equipment during the port's heyday. Latitude & Logitude, continues the Echo's sychophantic missive, "have proved a hit with investors and flat-hunters."
No evidence is cited by the Echo for its claim. Indeed, it's highly unlikely, given the state of the property market.
You see, the world according to Oldham Hall Street is a largely strange place where the global market is benign to the local economy whilst wreaking havoc elsewhere. It's a world in which every single retrograde development in the city is viewed as an exciting opportunity. It's a world in which other cities cast envious glances to the city's civic leadership & "business" scene, secretly & not so secretly coveting the giants of Liverpool's local government that are Mike "tell us another" Storey, Warren "War Zones" Bradley & Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson. It's a world in which every other region of the UK yearns for Frank McKenna to set up a Down & Out In Town Liverpool in their neck of the woods.
Truly it is El Dorado by the Mersey.
Perusing the penultimate & final paragraphs of the Echo's piece strengthens one's suspicion that the watercooler should be inspected &, if necessary, replaced:
"Built by Neptune Developments and partners Countryside Properties, their design has upset many -- but it might be worth remembering that the neighbouring Royal Liver Building was initially derided by many locals.
"We look forward to the new Museum of Liverpool becoming an integral part of Merseyside's thriving cultural scene -- and we hope the Neptune development can win over its many detractors and generally come to be viewed as a vital and popular part of the local landscape."
I suppose it's something when the Echo admits that the design "has upset many" & has "many detractors". However, the paper's sudden ray of glasnost is soon blocked out by its customary grasp of Pravda-esque propaganda & delusion. Moreover, likening the controversy caused by this carnage on the waterfront to the impact of the Liver Building in the early 20th century is laughable & insulting in equal measure.
Wayne again spelt out the scandal on Liverpool's waterfront, & just some of the issues it throws up, earlier this month (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/01/north-vested-interest-development.html ).
The Echo editorial, by contrast, is suffused with a sense of surrealism worthy of Sgt. Pepper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7F2X3rSSCU ).

The Beatle Bulldozer

Ever since the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine waltzed onto the Jonathan Ross Show, days after his stay in Liverpool for the start of culture year's "celebrations" (a stay which, thanks to Cameron's mate Phil Redmond, cost the city's taxpayers £90,000), his name's been mud with most people.
Which is a shame, as the continuing animosity towards Starr has obscured the issue of the street, & the house, where he was born, Madryn Street, in the Dingle.
Those who feel the headless topiary at John Lennon airport reflects the true feelings of most Scousers will have had their convictions buttressed by today's Oldham Echo in an editorial of saloon-bar subtlety (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/01/06/keep-ringo-starr-out-of-this-100252-27937802/ ). The fact that the Fabs' drummer was born there is "a red herring", opines the Echo, & that the issue should be judged on wider housing concerns. Displaying its contradictory & crudely populist aspects, however, the Echo goes on to base its stance on Starr himself & his Jonathan Ross appearance.
It may well be that those of us who feel the Welsh Streets in the Dingle should be preserved & renovated are currently in a minority, thanks to such rants. As Wayne noted yesterday (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/01/9-madryn-street-ringos-house-why-knock.html ), wider housing issues have to be considered. On that basis, it beggars belief that demolition is accepted as the only option when the toxicity of housing as a political issue intensifies by the week.
It's unsurprising that the Tories should seize on this story in a pathetic attempt to talk up their Big Society. Grant Shapps, Tory housing minister, wasted little time in dashing off a statement which cleverly included the Fabs & Tory ideology in the same paragraph (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/02/ringo-starr-childhood-home ). Penned by Matthew Taylor, the Guardian piece said that Madryn Street "could be saved from demolition after the intervention of a government minister."
Oh really? Here's what Shapps said:
"Any regeneration project will generate strong feelings. But when what many people consider to be a culturally important building, such as the birthplace of the drummer in the world's most famous band, is at risk then feelings are going to be even stronger. That is why, before a single bulldozer rumbles along Madryn Street, I want to ensure every option has been considered. In particular, I want local community groups to have the opportunity to put forward viable proposals to preserve this historic house."
Read between the lines in the penultimate & final sentence of Shapps' statement; it proclaims, "Embrace our Big (do it yerself) Society!"
It's a point noted by Simon on his No Rock And Rll Fun blog a few days back (http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2011/01/grant-shapps-tries-to-save-ringos-house.html ):
"Of course, he's going to do bugger all to actually save the building -- he's a Tory, and we know how close they are to a pound note these days --but, hey, if the Big Society wants to do something, he's happy to issue a couple of press releases and sign a couple of letters.
"You might wonder if Shapps' time might be better spent writing to Liverpool City Council about the scandalous neglect of the areas around Anfield, where people live, but maybe that wouldn't make it into all the papers."
Aside from the notion that a Tory minister would write to the city council to complain about inner-city deprivation & neglect (a notion which, with all due respect to Simon, belongs to the realm of Beatle-esque surrealism), that is the nub of the matter.
John Harris touched on the city's historically schizophrenic attitude to the Fabs on the Guardian's Comment is Free pages earlier this week. As an aside from his central concern about the Beatles' musical legacy, he wrote (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/03/beatles-cut-the-fabs-worship ):
"In Liverpool, meanwhile, delusions of post-industrialism have reached their apogee in the idea that Beatledom can be a substitute for a lost mercantile past. It's all there: John Lennon international airport, the Hard Day's Night Hotel, the 'Magical Mystery Tour' that wends around the city, even a Fabs-themed Starbucks -- though judging by the forlorn atmosphere of too many of the surrounding streets, Beatles-driven regeneration really isn't working. Funny, that."
Harris also notes that before the mid-90s the city's Beatle legacy was relatively muted: "There was a Beatles tourist trail, of sorts -- but it usually involved squinting at car parks or boarded-up shops, and trying to divine whatever spectral magic they had left behind."
The most obvious example of this, of course, was that of the Cavern itself. Countless tourists photograph the "new" Cavern entrance; they snap & film away in blissful ignorance of the fact that the original site was razed & filled in to make way for a car park. It is now an electricity sub-station. Perhaps it's an oblique reference to George Harrison's brief teenage electrical apprenticeship.
Be that as it may, there's an undeniable truth in another post Simon published today (http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2011/01/liverpool-city-council-really-want-to.html ) with his remark that "Liverpool City Council has a habit of pissing on its chips and then saying 'nobody will eat these, they smell of piss'. "
This serves as a case study in how a crucial social, economic & political issue has been buried under the bulldozer of Beatle celebrity; a comment casually thrown into a TV chat show exchange & seized upon by Oldham Hall Street now forms the basis for what is deemed to be the only option for the Welsh Streets. All the while, the Tories chuckle before making platitudinous statements in which they eagerly plug their Big Society dogma.

The Big Sham Of The Big Society

Bad news for the ConDems' chief apologist & self-appointed spokesman for Merseyside, "Professor" Phil Redmond today with the publication of a poll which suggests his faith in the Big Society isn't shared by many (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/dec/24/new-poll-britain-big-society ):
"Cameron has rejected the suggestion that his mission is a cover for spending cuts, pointing out his idea of a big society preceded the general election and the government's deficit reduction programme. The poll for the FT, conducted in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the US, reveals that 77% of people in Britain surveyed said they had donated to charity in the past year -- a far higher figure than their European counterparts and above the 71% figure cited in the US.
"But when asked whether they agreed that they should be 'encouraged to give up some of their time to help support public services', the UK response lagged at the bottom, with just 25% endorsing this view. The US topped the chart, with 42% agreeing they had a role to play."
It's a far cry from the optimism of that July afternoon when "Professor" Redmond assured Cameron & Pickles that their crudely ideological policy would be met with open arms on Merseyside (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/07/tale-of-two-cities.html ).
Moreover, Redmond's attempt to justify his championing of Tory dogma (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/phil-redmond/2010/07/23/phil-redmond-give-the-big-society-a-chance-to-make-a-real-difference-92534-26913829 ) looks even more wretched & pathetic at year's end than it did last summer.

The Shape Of Things To Come

If you shut down young people's horizons, they'll shut down the streets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qeEYedZHcQ ).
To be continued in 2011.

In The Bleak Merseyside Midwinter

Feeling trapped by the ice around your house? Can't start the car, let alone drive it safely on our ice rink roads? Frazzled by last-minute changes to Christmas Day? Well, you're not alone.
As we curse the elements, let's also consider the wintry treatment most of us are in for from the ConDems with their craving for "chaos" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/dec/18/coalition-local-planning-boles-chaos ), the puerile insistence that most of us are now middle-class (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/14/middle-britain-location-growth ) & the exponential acceleration of a two-tier society (http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/gulf-rich-poor/14273 ).
Against such a bleak, Dickensian backdrop, it's nice to know that Uncle Joe Anderson will offer handwringing sympathy for those most affected by the cuts while lacking the balls to offer any programme of resistance to Cameron & co. Instead, we'll get a continuation of half-arsed business as usual, largely indistinguishable from the reign of Warren "War Zones" Bradley, a "plan" which owes so much to PR & so little to substance (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2010/12/16/it-s-good-to-have-a-plan-and-now-liverpool-has-one-one-plan-100252-27834255/ ) following on from 2008 when Liverpool "wowed the world during our year as European Capital of Culture" & a choice of business associates which bodes ill for the city (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/11/joe-anderson-sitting-far-too-close-to.html ).
In these dark days it's heartening to see the return of the Professor with this seasonal offering: http://profchucklebuttychronic.blogspot.com/2010/12/pickles-at-christmas-away-from-politics.html .
Something for Uncle Joe to peruse once the mince pies & sherry have been consumed.

Calling In A Favour

A consequence of Cable-gate, as the media inevitably tagged it, or Cable v. Satellite, as one wag tweeted, was the transferral of government policy on media takeovers from the Business department to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The minister who will now decide on whether Murdoch should be allowed to proceed with majority ownership of BSkyB is Jeremy Hunt, he of the moneyed background & rhyming slang moniker (courtesy, James Naughtie).

Hunt's decision can be predicted on two grounds. Firstly, it should be recalled that Hunt repeated the libel about Hillsborough last summer (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/06/tory-repeats-hillsborough-libel.html ), a lie which originally surfaced in Murdoch's rag, the Sun. Secondly, Murdoch's business practices elicited this paean of praise from Hunt on this blogpost earlier this year (http://www.jeremyhunt.org/newsshow.aspx?ref=452 ):

" Rather than worry about Rupert Murdoch owning another TV channel, what we should recognise is that he has probably done more to create variety and choice in British TV than any other single person because of his huge investment in setting up Sky TV which, at one point, was losing several million pounds a day.

"We would be the poorer and wouldn't be saying that British TV is the envy of the world if it hadn't been for him being prepared to take that commercial risk. We need to encourage that kind of investment."

Given that Murdoch told his editors to ditch Brown & support Cameron in October last year, government approval for Murdoch's majority stake is a safer bet than icy roads on Christmas Day.

Sitting On A Scoop

What used to be called Fleet Street seldom misses an opportunity to take aim at the BBC for "left-wing bias". It's bollocks, of course. The real agenda behind the attacks is purely commercial; a neutered BBC would ease the way for the "journalism" practised by nearly all the national press to prevail & be taken as the standard. A chilling prospect, indeed.
The breaking news about Vince Cable's comments on Rupert Murdoch's empire (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/21/vince-cable-rupert-murdoch ) follows on from revelations in today's Daily Telegraph about other remarks Cable made in their broadsheet sting. However, the scoop secured by the BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/12/what_vince_cable_said_about_ru.html ) also shows that the Telegraph deliberately sat on Cable's comments concerning Murdoch.
We all know the Beeb sometimes shoots itself in the foot, but its journalism stands head & shoulders over that of its so-called competitors. This is a spectacular case in point.

A Yuletide Lament

Here's a seasonal offering for these austere times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdKzalMhXc .

Home From Home

Taking a $20 cab ride from Times Square to the Lower East Side, I arrived at the Liverpool Supporters' Bar (http://www.lfcny.org/11st.html ) on Wednesday afternoon to watch the Europa League home fixture against Utrecht. Friends had told me about the place & it did remind me of a few pubs I occasionally frequent (one work colleague bumped into Elvis Costello in the bar at 7.00 EST when Liverpool played Manchester United at a lunchtime kick-off some years back).
The less said about the game, the better.
I got talking to a guy from Southport who now lives on Manhattan's Upper East Side. He told me he was a househusband while his wife brought home the bacon. "So she's Yoko, you're John," I quipped. He grimaced.
He told me he used to work as a taxi driver for Delta Taxis & asked me if the Alexandra Pub on South Road, Waterloo, had been closed yet. I told him the clientele were working on it.

An Unwanted Legacy

Visiting Manhattan this week (& staying half a mile north of the Dakota Building), I was struck by the different perception of John Lennon in what became his adopted city. Whereas the Lennon legacy in Liverpool is of a piece with the frankly nauseous nostalgia orgy over The Beatles, the take of many in New York seems to be a little more contemporary, placing him in the context of his influence on current acts.

Hoping that the city council, local media, etc. take a leaf out of New York's book is too much to ask. There's far too much money to be made from dwelling obsessively on The Fabs in their early incarnation for the benefit of the tourists & their credit cards.

During my stay in the city I read the previously unpublished interview Lennon gave to Rolling Stone a few days before his death (there isn't an online link yet, sadly). What came across clearly was Lennon's distaste for what, alas, he became in the eyes of many:

"These critics with the illusions they've created about artists -- it's like idol worship. Like those little kids in Liverpool who only liked us when we were in Liverpool -- a lot of them dropped us because we got big in Manchester, right? They thought we'd sold out. Then the English got upset because we got big in...what the hell is it? They only like people when they're on the way up, and when they're up there, they've got nothing else to do but shit on them. I cannot be on the way up again. What they want is dead heroes, like Sid Vicious and James Dean. I'm not interested in being a dead fucking hero...So forget 'em, forget 'em."

You won't find that quote republished in the Oldham Echo.

Reality Bites

Yes, yes, yes, it must have been a disturbing moment for Charles & Camilla (the cries of "off with their heads!" will have been grimly acknowledged by the heir to the throne). That said, neither they nor their children will have to worry about the cost of tuition fees. Millions of others will.

All in this together, are we?

Meldrew On The Mersey

Even though it's a comic caricature of Scouse grievance, replete with imprecations & lazy prejudice, there's a raw, unarguable honesty to some of the points made about today's Liverpool waterfront in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUmqN-E0Kn8 .

Ignorance & Prejudice From Afar

Distance can lend perspective, it is said. It can also reinforce ignorance & calumny.
That was certainly the case in April last year when US "shock-jock" Steven Cohen repeated with some relish the myths & lies about Hillsborough. Once word spread about Cohen's antics, he was forced to retreat (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/shock-jock-subdued-as-sponsors-scram.html ).
There is now another ignoramus across the pond eager to display his own jaw-dropping ignorance of both Hillsborough and the city of Liverpool. Alex Beam, a sports writer, in the loosest possible term, on the Boston Globe newspaper, yesterday commented on the recent acquisition of Liverpool FC by John W. Henry & his New England Sports Ventures company (NESV). Beam compared it unfavourably to Henry's ownership of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. However, it didn't take long for Beam to put the boot in (http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2010/12/07/alex_beam_hardball_in_liverpool/ ):
"So far, Henry's brief stewardship has been uneventful....For now the Red Sox PR machine is pumping out happy news about Henry's visits to grotty old Liverpool --Worcester without the glitz-- and about his wife's inane Twitter messages to the fans, e.g. 'Wow! Anfiel [the team's stadium] really is a special place!'
The few sane people I have talked to about Liverpool understand that these are early days for New England Sports Ventures and that meaningful changes probably won't come until Liverpool's season ends in May. None of those sane people are in Liverpool, however. Even by the deranged standards of European soccer, Red [sic] fans are totally bonkers. Their excitable Internet fan sites are still agonizing over a 21-year-old soccer stadium disaster that killed 96 people."
The original version of Beam's juvenile scrawl stated that the Hillsborough disaster was caused by a riot.
It's entirely reasonable to surmise that Beam has never been to "grotty old Liverpool". It's also entirely reasonable to surmise that Beam's own grasp of sanity is tenuous. Indeed, the consensus of opinion in the city would be that Beam's casual use of the term "bonkers" says everything that needs to be known about him.
Alas, Beam isn't finished with his lazy rant. He goes on to opine: "It's impossible to imagine a high-gloss player, a la David Beckham and his appalling wife, moving to doggy Liverpool."
Charming, wouldn't you say?
If you wish to let Beam know how impressed you are with his wisdom, sagacity & historical accuracy, he can be contacted at: beam@globe.com .
[Thanks to my mate & fellow Liverpool FC fan Tony Karon, at Time magazine in New York (http://tonykaron.com/ ), for alerting me to Beam's, erm, thoughts.]

How Can You Cheapen An Eyesore?

Cold out there, isn't it? Still, if you happen to have a pad in One Parked Here Without Our Say-So, you can always enjoy the vista afforded by your eyrie; the slate-grey Mersey is truly a sight to behold at this time of year.

What's more, you're not likely to be bothered by tasteless tat for the masses, that's for the Church Street end of town.

Or is it?

Alas, the season of Yuletide brings with it the usual & predictable money-making scams, all with the imprimatur of the local council &, yes, Grosvenor-pool (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/12/02/residents-of-glamorous-liverpool-one-flats-hit-out-at-vulgar-winter-festivalsite-100252-27754016/ ).

In mitigation of Echo hack Marc Waddington (& there's a phrase I never thought I'd employ), he does, at least, use quotation marks around the description of Liverpool's biggest eyesore as "glamorous". It's about as "glamorous" as an X-Factor show.

Wayne pointed out the absurdity of the claim that a carbuncle could be made to look cheap by Joe Anderson's bread & circus stunt --anything to avoid the reality that you should make a stand against the ConDem cuts, eh, Joe?-- earlier today (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/12/one-park-west-residents-complain-of.html ).

So what's got the individuals with more disposable income than aesthetic taste so hot under the collar? Well, all sorts of fun & games with an appropriately festive theme (an ice rink, a toboggan run, etc.). Just the thing for the kids when they get bored with Grosvenor-pool's regular stunning attractions.

Waddington's piece quotes Chris (Ignorance Is) Bliss, estate director of Grosvenor-pool: "Liverpool One strives to deliver high quality events and attractions to be enjoyed by the people of Liverpool and visitors to the city.

"Feedback about our events to date, including the summer beach, has been positive. It was with this in mind that the winter event, Alpine Style in the Park was developed."

Alpine Style in the Park? It must have taken a hell of a brain-storming session to produce that one, Chris.

Palm Oil & Palmed Off With PR Platitudes

Regular readers of this blog will know that my estimation of the "journalism" served up by Oldham Hall Street is subterranean. Evidence of this was provided by Wayne last week when he highlighted yet another PR piece, masquerading as information, on the palm oil trade (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/11/ldp-business-week-are-they-pr-plants.html ).
The scale of environmental havoc wrought by the palm oil business is clear to anyone with even a cursory interest in the matter. However, by casually tossing around words like "traceable" & "sustainable", Oldham Hall Street expects its readers to suspend their critical faculties & accept the lie that this trade leaves a minimal environmental footprint in Indonesia & Malaysia.
One half suspects that had the Oldham Echo & Daily Ghost been around a few centuries back, they would have seen the "positives" from the slave trade, arguing that it brought business into the Port of Liverpool.

Preserving A Fab-Free Zone In Lennonpool

A post on Simon's No Rock & Roll Fun blog draws some much merited & necessary attention to the website for the Pure Musical Sensations alternative music programme on BBC Radio Merseyside (http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2010/11/please-mention-site.html ).
The programme's been hosted over the years by Roger Hill & has had different names along the way. It eschews the tiresome Fab Four nostalgia which is a staple part of Radio Merseyside's usual musical output, seeking to highlight current local acts, via live sessions & a gig guide. Those of us who point out that the city's addiction to Beatle nostalgia holds back the current music scene view it as the sort of thing for which you should pay your licence fee; it captures some of the spirit of John Peel's Radio 1 programme.
So if you're sick to the back teeth of the station's daytime presenters who combine puerile parochialism with lachrymose recollections of the Cavern, you could do worse than visit this website: http://www.pmsradio.co.uk/ .

Then & Now

Recommended reading: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/14/william-keegan-just-like-the-1980s .
William Keegan draws parallels, & notes differences, between the 80s & today.

Exposed

After much detective work, this blog can exclusively reveal the identities of the students behind Wednesday's riot in Westminster.

(Hat-tip to Gary Younge.)

By Your Friends Shall Ye Be Known

Priorities. It's important to remember them, isn't it? Indeed, it is almost always assumed that your average politician will be aware of them, if only for reasons of self-preservation. So it's nice to see that George Howarth, Labour MP for Knowsley North, realises what his priorities are....by grubbily raising cash among other Labour colleagues for the benefit of disgraced MP Phil Woolas (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/09/harriet-harman-phil-woolas-backbench-mutiny ).

Woolas, now ex-Labour MP for Oldham East & Saddleworth, was responsible for election leaflets last May which plumbed the depths of what is euphemistically termed the rough & tumble of local politics with a shameless appeal to bigotry & racism (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/gallery/2010/nov/05/phil-woolas-campaign-literature ).

Taking a leaf from the book of US attack ads, the leaflets "pushed all the buttons", as they say, in dredging up some nastily toxic mud (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/05/phil-woolas-immigration-leaflets-oldham-east-rerun ) for his Lib Dem opponent.

The Right Honourable Member for Knowsley North evidently sees nothing wrong with this. Moreover, his devotion to Woolas' ignoble cause extended to some shameless cheerleading the other night, making Harriet Harman look principled (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/09/backbenchers-criticise-harman-over-woolas ). Some feat, when you think about it.

So when it comes to remembering what your priorities should be as an MP for a tribal, terminally deprived Labour seat, Howarth displays his true character. How else to account for his actions in support of a typically authoritan New Labour figure at a time when his local council has announced 400 job losses (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-11722635 )?

Live in Kirkby? Work for the local council? Worried about your job because of the ConDem cuts? Well don't bother hoping your local MP will take up your case as a priority. No, you see, George's real priority is defending a guy whose election leaflets pandered to base & venal motives.

Howarth may not be the only local MP to see Woolas as some sort of innocent party. It's rumoured that at least two or three other Merseyside MPs are passing the bowl around.

If you wish to let Howarth know just how pleased you are by his sense of priorities, he can be contacted at:

George Howarth,

House of Commons,

London, SW1 0AA.

Phone: 0151-546 9918 or 020 7219 6902.

Email: howarth@parliament.uk

All Together Now

John Harris recently penned a piece on the Guardian's Comment is Free pages about the dearth of protest songs against the ConDem cuts. He's returned to the subject today (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/10/protest-music-pop-cultural-voices ) with a few early examples which gainsay his original argument that apathy characterises the state of music in the light of the cuts.
One of the songs sent Harris' way is this catchy piece for our times:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQFwxw57NBI .

I Hear You Bought The Beatles Soccer Team, Tom

Enchanting as it's been to read & hear of George W Bush's self-serving tome (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/08/george-bush-memoir-decision-points ), it is rather disappointing that the worst president in US history didn't congratulate his neighbour & buddy Tom Hicks for doing a "heck of a job" at Anfield.

Taxing Details

The scores of bemused shoppers passing Vodafone's two stores in the city centre on Saturday would have been largely unaware of the reason behind the presence of demonstrators & the company's decision to close both outlets. A brief piece in yesterday's Oldham Echo did mention the fact that Vodaphone owes £6bn to the exchequer in unpaid tax (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/11/01/protest-shuts-vodafone-stores-in-liverpool-100252-27577649/ ), yet described the evidence as "claims".
For good measure, the piece, typically lacking a byline, happily quoted a Vodafone spokesman who duly trotted out the company's spin on the matter: "We saw protests outside a small number of our UK stores.
"We temporarily closed some of them and diverted customers to other locations so they were not inconvenienced. Most have since reopened.
"We pay our taxes in the UK and all of the other countries in which we operate."
You'll be surprised to know that there were no quotes from any of the protestors.
The closure of the Grosvenor-pool & Church Street stores was part of a nationwide campaign to highlight Vodafone's tax-dodging scam (http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/11/02/why-the-vodafone-protests-have-already-been-successful/ ).
The beans were spilled on the company's tax dodge by Private Eye in September (http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back&issue=1273 ), the magazine pointing out that the company has ploughed its profits into a Luxembourg-based firm. Private Eye's article noted that Luxembourg's tax rate is "less than 1 per cent."
It would have been nice if the Oldham Echo had mentioned all this. After all, it would be unfortunate if Oldham Hall Street's much-trumpeted "pro-business" stance were to be tarnished because of a puff-piece for a tax-dodging multinational. Wouldn't it?

Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition

It would be easy (all too easy) to satirise the characters in Gary Younge's video for the Guardian as they refer to themselves as "the old farts club" at their "breakfast and bull" meetings in Nevada (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/nov/01/younge-america-old-farts-club-video ).
The talk from one man present of armed insurrection clearly alarms one of his cohorts who dissociates himself from such sentiments. However, the familiar litany of soundbites & mantras from the rabid Right in US politics (Obama's a socialist, Obama's not American, etc.) are wheeled out for another airing.
That said, as Gary notes, it's important to understand what drives the notions & motivations of such people on the eve of the US mid-term elections which will see some disturbing successes for the Tea Party crowd.

The Damage Wrought By Doreen Jones' Casting Vote

Recommended reading: Wayne highlights a letter in the Daily Ghost from committed & courageous civic campaigner Florence Gersten on the grotesque Botoxification of the city's waterfront (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/11/letter-from-florence-gersten.html ).

Grosvenor-pool & A Garment-Led Renaissance

Life's full of contradictions, isn't it? You say one thing & do another. Quite often, it's unavoidable. The strains & stresses of everyday life mean that you have to compromise, or go back on what you may have promised. All messy stuff, but, hey, that's life.
It's with such a charitable & understanding view that we should look at the contradictory & dysfunctional state of affairs on Oldham Hall Street.
Alastair Houghton re-prints a press release, sorry, I mean writes a piece in today's Oldham Echo which celebrates Grosvenor-pool's "success" (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/11/01/liverpoolone-to-attract-more-than-25m-visitors-100252-27576589/ ).
Just what makes Grosvenor-pool & its cheerleaders on Oldham Hall Street so confident about its ability to attract so many visitors isn't explained. However, that doesn't stop Chris Bliss, Estates Director at the retail nirvana, from providing a classic example of corporate bollockese:
"We're creating a leisure experience that appeals to a wide range of visitors from across the country who realise they can enjoy a day or weekend out at Liverpool One and take in the wider city centre offer too."
Bliss by name, bliss, in all its ignorance, by nature.
Indeed, the Bliss-full take on the wider city centre should be appraised. So where better to get a supporting view on matters than The Oldham Echo's sickly sister, the Daily Ghost (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2010/10/27/bid-carries-out-survey-on-effects-of-liverpool-one-92534-27549090/ ).
The author of the article? One Alastair Houghton.
Houghton's piece relates:
"Ged Gibbons, chief executive of Liverpool City Central's Business Improvement District, has commissioned property consultancy Drivers Jones Deloitte to discover whether the £1bn Grosvenor development has had a negative effect on other parts of the city......
"[Gibbons] believes Liverpool One has benefitted the city, but says the survey may show that other areas of the centre need to reinvent themselves to attract more shoppers."
It's an interesting concept, isn't it? You've established a retail outlet in, say, Bold Street, but now witness the deleterious effect Grosvenor-pool has on your business. So what do you do? Simple, "reinvent" your business. It's of a piece with the Bliss-full ignorance emanating from Grosvenor-pool.
Gibbons cautions that "this is a city designed for 750,000 people occupied by 500,000.
"With 40% of the working population employed by the public sector, the Government's cuts will have unavoidable consequences."
Ah yes, the cuts. The elephant in the room which puts all the bollockese in its proper perspective, & which will probably result in a further decline of the city's population. In fact, the Daily Ghost was forced to concede its presence last week (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2010/10/26/liverpool-chamber-chief-warns-replacing-lost-jobs-will-be-a-slow-process-92534-27542055/ ) via a few hard-hitting remarks from Jack Stopforth, chief executive of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce:
"The private sector in Liverpool is probably too small to absorb the likely short-term job losses.
"It might be able to do it over the next four or five years, but it will be a big challenge. And whether or not the jobs are of the same quality and paying the same as the current public sector jobs is debatable."
So where to turn? Well, Ged Gibbons has an observation which Chris Bliss-full Ignorance would be proud to claim as his own:
"On the other hand, Liverpool girls are famed for their fashion and will compromise on much, but not their clothes."
There we have it. Grosvenor-pool may be sucking the life out of other areas of the city centre & the ConDem cuts will leave an army of jobless people the city's private sector can't absorb, but the economic future of Liverpool is guaranteed by "Liverpool girls" who "are famed for their fashion".
Perhaps Oldham Hall Street should take up the call & start another of its campaigns, you know, something with a pithy headline to accompany it. How about, "Dress For Success: Liverpool Ladies Save Our City". Alastair, Mark, think it's got wheels?

A Passing Movement?

It was pleasing for those of us who did what we could to highlight the ruinous reign of Hicks & Gillett at Anfield to have its effect confirmed by Hicks himself when he made his "internet terrorists" comment. It certainly demonstated the level of influence the campaign had amassed.
Whether it's of any wider social significance, however, is open to question.
Doreen Massey, professor of geography at the Open University, took the view that it is for a piece she wrote on the Guardian's Comment is Free pages last Thursday (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/28/liverpool-supporters-campaign ):
"A social movement has grown up around Liverpool FC. It began, of course, with opposition to Hicks and Gillett. Its activities are multifarious and imaginative: rallies, marches, email campaigns, lobbying, banners, songs, videos, fanzines and an attempt to take ownership of the club through establishing a credit union.
"One day in Manhattan, Hicks was spotted by a fan, a financial consultant. Guessing that Hicks was there seeking funds, the fan sent images to his partner, who put them on Twitter, where they were picked up by a cabby [sic] in Liverpool, who posted a form letter online. In an hour, emails were flowing into the financial institutions on that Manhattan street. It was all written up in the Wall Street Journal. A small example."
Professor Massey's contention that Spirit of Shankly (http://www.spiritofshankly.com/ ) & Share Liverpool (http://www.shareliverpoolfc.co.uk/ ) catalysed a wider social movement is open to question; how the Spirit of Shankly group responds to overtures from the club's new owners will be a key factor. The anecdote about Hicks in Manhattan, however, merits repeated mention.

Caught Out

Filling out an ESTA form (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) is obligatory if you wish to visit the US. The Department of Homeland Security decrees so. Booking a city break in New York involved providing my details on the online Esta form. Bemused, as well as somewhat wryly amused, to be asked if I was planning to commit terrorist acts while in the US, I accepted it as part of the deal.
However, the thought then arose: I'm one of the "internet terrorists" that Tom Hicks referred to recently. Does this mean I'm on a no-fly list?

Liverpool -- A Recession-Free Zone

Welcome to the world of parallel universes. There is, of course, the real world, one where most people now accept that the ConDem cuts will leave a grisly trail of bleeding stumps. Locally, the ramifications of Dave's Do It Yerself Society were addressed in a piece for Saturday's Guardian by Caroline Davies (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/22/spending-cuts-liverpool ):
"The city already has 50,552 on jobseeker's allowance and 28,330 receiving incapacity benefit, with another 43,960 such claimants throughout the region. A large proportion are in wards such as Toxteth, where Paul Brant, the deputy leader of Liverpool city council, fears dole queues can only swell, and social problems get worse."
And then there is the world inhabited by Oldham Hall Street, one where Grosvenor-pool has been the city's salvation, bread & circus stunts involving Lennon's wives & sons are sold to a credulous & dwindling readership as evidence of a bright future for the city & the global recession has somehow passed Merseyside by.
On the eve of Osborne's slash & burn exercise last week, the Oldham Echo pathetically bleated (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2010/10/18/george-osborne-don-t-derail-our-recovery-100252-27490566/ ):
"Jobs are undoubtedly going to be lost and services are undoubtedly going to be cut. The review, we already know from leaks, is set to be brutal, but we ask that local authorities be able to retain a sharp focus on frontline services -- at the expense of less vital functions."
You can just imagine the cynical cackles of laughter from No 11 Downing Street in response to such an asinine & deluded request. Indeed, the Echo's leader writer, thought to be Paddy Shennan (hello, Paddy!), might as well put in a call to "Professor" Redmond, self-appointed representative for the ConDem cuts on Merseyside, to see if he can deliver another of his rambling, "stream-of-consciousness", incoherent missives, you know, the sort of thing, aren't-we-all-great-in-Scouseland, wasn't-culture-year-such-a-success, etc.
It would certainly be interesting to see how Redmond reconciles his faith in the Big Society with Ian Duncan Smith's resurrection of the Tebbit philosophy (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/25/job-vacancy-duncan-smith-bus ).
There's a postscript to the Guardian piece by Caroline Davies & it's one which saddens me to note. Tony Nelson, an ex-docker active in the 1995 dispute & who now helps to run the Casa on Hope Street, was quoted:
"We had a march against the cuts and got about 500 to 1,000 [ ]. Two days later there was a march by Liverpool FC supporters against their owners. There were thousands and thousands. Says it all.
"The young just aren't politicised anymore. And they are the very ones that are going to be affected most."
I have the utmost respect for Tony & his fellow dockers for the struggle they waged a decade-and-a-half ago. However, what he fails to realise is that a wider consciousness of the cuts & their consequences is still very much in its infancy. The campaign by Liverpool fans over Hicks & Gillett's reign shouldn't be seen as, to use an old-fashioned Marxist term, false consciousness. If anything, previously apolitical fans were made aware of wider issues (http://www.spiritofshankly.com/community-development.html ).
Moreover, the young won't be politicised in the old ways, a steepling fall in trade union membership & New Labour have largely seen to that. Instead, many younger working-class people will turn to the web as a recruiting & organising tool. Someone of Tony's generation may not be familiar with Twitter & Facebook, but social networks can play the role once performed by union branches.
Think that's naive & unrealistic? Wait & see.

A Grotesque Addition To Grosvenor-pool

A middle-aged lady viewed it with suspicion.

"What do you think?" she asked me.

"Honestly?" I replied.

"Yes, honestly."

"I think Lennon would've said, 'What's that, for Christ's sake!' "

"So do I," she grinned.

"Avant-garde is French for bullshit."

John Lennon, 1971.

Happy Viewing

From the Guardian's live blog on events at the High Court an observation by Steve Busfield:
"My colleague Gregg Roughley (yes, a Liverpool fan) says: 'Liverpool fans might enjoy knowing that on Margaret Thatcher's 85th birthday she'll be watching nothing but celebrating scousers and miners all day on TV.' " (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/13/liverpool-sale-high-court-verdict-live ).

Out

The High Court has told the liars to sling their hook. For good measure, they've been refused the right to appeal (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9080946.stm ).

Court In The Act

The Guardian's running a live blog on developments at the High Court in London (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/12/liverpool-fc-rbs-hicks-gillett-john-w-henry ).

Question

"Liverpool, like ancient Athens, certainly has a rich spiritual and intellectual culture, and its inhabitants are known for their love of conversation and debate. But is Liverpool really a philosophical city?"
Clare Carlisle, writer & academic (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/oct/08/philosophy-city-liverpool-urban-persuit ).
Discuss.

A Statement From Lennonpool City Council

When it comes to feeding & sustaining Liverpool's chronic addiction to the Beatles, Joe Anderson has shown that he's just as reliable a dealer as Warren "War Zones" Bradley. How else to account for the decision to rename the newly renovated Neptune Theatre the Epstein Theatre (http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/news/Newsdetail_2222.asp )?
I suspect that most people on Merseyside would see no valid reason to change the theatre's name; the venue was given the name Neptune to reflect the city's maritime past.
It is true that, as the council press release states, Brian Epstein "began his career in music at the landmark venue when Crane's Music Store sat below what was then Crane's Music Hall."
That said, there's a dispiriting predictability to the council's mania for gratuitously linking the Neptune with John, Paul, George &, ooh, whatisname, you know, the one who did the voice on Thomas the Tank Engine.
In this latest bout of civic onanism, Cllr Anderson refers to the Beatles' manager as "the 5th Beatle", a tag which, if merited by anyone, should surely go to the band's producer, George Martin.
Still let's not bother with the fact that there's a healthy & vibrant music scene in the city, shall we? As long as it's another lucrative stopping-off point for the tourists in the Hard Day's Night Hotel that's all that matters. Anderson admits this:
"For our Beatles industry this development means Liverpool has a new attraction and a new story to tell and for the city we will soon have a new theatre with a world famous name which will hopefully make it a commercially more attractive business to market and operate."
Both the council & Oldham Hall Street normally shudder with distaste when they're accused of seeing the Beatle legacy as nothing more than a tired & tawdry cash cow. Here, however, Anderson commits the Freudian slip once considered the preserve of his predecessor on Dale Street & blurts out the reality we've long known.
Oh yes, there's another aspect of that quote which should be shot down in flames. The Neptune is not "a new theatre". It has been renovated, not reinvented. To many of its former patrons & performers, it will still be known as the Neptune.
Got that, Joe?

Slapdash, Lazy & Misleading -- Journalism At Its Best With The Oldham Echo

You don't need me to tell you about the anxieties caused by the ConDem cuts. Times are bleak for many & the outlook looks foreboding. However, hope is not yet extinguished, not when the Oldham Echo claims that, according to Cameron's speech at the Tory conference this week, Liverpool can lead the UK through the storm & arrive at a glorious national renaissance. Certainly, that's the gist of Ian Hernon's piece in the paper (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/10/07/david-cameron-says-cities-like-liverpool-can-get-uk-back-in-the-black-100252-27419465/ ).
Hernon declares:
"David Cameron claimed it is great port cities like Liverpool which can get the UK back in the black."
Setting aside the risible notion that one city can lead some sort of national economic resurgence (needless to say it's a theory that Hernon doesn't even bother to question), it is, nevertheless, an eye-catching claim. So what exactly did Cameron say about Liverpool, Ian?
"A senior aide said: 'It is places like Bristol and Liverpool and other great ports where the entrepreneurial spirit built great cities -- and can do so again.' "
Sorry, Ian, I asked you what Cameron himself said, not one of his minions. Did he mention Liverpool in his speech? Hear that sound? Yes, it's tumbleweed. Cameron made no mention of Liverpool in his address to the Tory faithful, as the transcript reveals (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/06/david-cameron-speech-tory-conference ).
Hernon was, of course, the sage who reported that David Miliband would serve in a shadow cabinet led by his brother Ed.
The Oldham Echo: redefining journalism...in the same way that Tom Hicks redefined integrity.

Bell End

Recommended reading: SevenStreets' look at Peter Tierney's offensive antics in the city centre last weekend (http://www.sevenstreets.com/blog/quiggins-peter-tierney-bnp-demonstration/ ).
It's pleasing to note that Tierney & his fellow morons received short shrift from onlookers:
"What is heartening is that the BNP demo on Saturday met with the distaste of Liverpool's general population."
Many have pondered the paradox of the bell-ringing, convicted criminal that is Tierney & his past as owner of the very much alternative Quiggins store, described by SevenStreets as "a wonderfully left-field emporium".

Guess Who's Crawled Out Of His Hole?

Roy Greenslade mentions on his blog the latest dig at Liverpool supporters by Kelvin Mackenzie (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/oct/07/sun-kelvin-mackenzie ).
Yes, the man who sent a Valentine card to his wrist last February has thought up another Wildean witticism for his column in The Sun (funny how the rag which wants us to forgive & forget continues to employ this creature, isn't it?).
It wouldn't be stretching the bounds of decency too far to suggest that MacKenzie's positive health check won't be greeted as good news by many.

Yea, A Daniel Come To Jugement

There may still be some on Merseyside who feel that Heseltine's visit to the region after the Toxteth riots in 1981 had a long-term beneficial effect. Save for the Albert Dock renovation & an International Garden Festival site which soon fell into neglect & decay, there is no evidence to support that view. Last night's debate between Heseltine & Ken Loach on Newsnight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6OLguh7_P8 ) made for priceless viewing. Paxo looked on benignly as Loach skewered Heseltine's philosophy & record in government, a record which left a legacy still here today.

Don't Forget The Role Played By This Man

Once bitten twice shy, as they say. That being the case, the caution & scepticism with which Liverpool supporters greeted this morning's news of the club's sale (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/06/liverpool-sold-new-england-sports-ventures ) are entirely justified. Hicks & Gillett's objections to the sale only serve to cement their truly toxic legacy at the club; Tom Hicks has pulled off a significant achievement, he's managed to make himself more reviled than Kelvin MacKenzie in the eyes of most supporters.

While it's appropriate to bid good riddance to the two liars, it's also necessary to remember the role played by the club's former chairman David Moores in facilitating their arrival. It certainly hasn't escaped the attention of the Guardian's Richard Williams (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/06/liverpool-david-moores-sale ):

"The real malaise inside Anfield, however, is off the pitch, and goes back at least to the moment at which David Moores, the former chairman, decided to cash in his shares and walk away with £89m, having sold the club to a couple of American gamblers whose promises turned out to be highly misleading, although it was certainly bad luck for Hicks and Gillett that their acquisition was followed so closely by a worldwide recession."

The liars' "bad luck" may well be viewed by supporters as a dose of schadenfreude to savour.

Throughout their ruinous reign Moores has attempted (often with the tacit endorsement of Oldham Hall Street) to portray himself as just another innocent fan duped by a couple of snake-oil salesmen. Bullshit. Moores pocketed his millions, refusing to even engage with the Spirit of Shankly group when it became clear that the club was in the wrong hands.

Moores is an accomplice to the liars' mismanagement.

A Message To Tom & George

An unmistakable message from the fans to the two lying conmen who have dragged Liverpool FC's name & traditions through the mud:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO55BazkiZ4 .

Tractor Production Figures Also Up

Guest blogging from Labour's Manchester conference has been Wirral South's Alison McGovern for the Dale Street Blues blog (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2010/09/guest-blog-alison-mcgoverns-la-4.html ).
She began yesterday's entry in breathless, fawning & adulatory terms:
"There was another chance to see our great new leader on the platform today".
Someone should remind Alison that she was in Manchester, not Pyongyang.

Hicks & Gillett To Get The Hollywood Treatment

Kudos to Scott Murray, normally of the Guardian, for penning a perceptive piece on one of the football blogs regarding Sky Sports' real agenda in their coverage of the fans' sit-in protest after the match at Anfield on Saturday (http://football.fanhouse.co.uk/2010/09/27/skys-jeff-stelling-comes-out-on-the-wrong-side-in-liverpools-u/ ).

The Murdoch-owned station is only too happy to patronise supporters who pose for their cameras in team colours or reminisce about their club's history. However, Sky becomes embarrassed & jittery when the fans begin to question the ownership of their club. It's much too close to home for Murdoch & his acolytes.

Meanwhile, there's a chance for Liverpool supporters to voice their feelings about the liars' ruinous reign at Anfield on film at the Hope Street Hotel this weekend. As Jim Boardman puts it in a post on the Anfield Road blog (http://www.anfieldroad.com/news/201009294038/get-in-the-movies-and-send-a-message-to-lfc-owners.html/ ):

"Liverpool fans the world over have helped to push the story under the noses of bank executives across the globe. Last week the story was placed firmly into the faces of literally thousands of US media contacts.

"Email has been an important tool. Twitter and Facebook have helped push it that little bit further. Next up -- YouTube.

"Casting Director Dan Hubbard (King Kong, The Damned United, The Bourne Ultimatum and more) and Hollywood Producer and Director Mike Jefferies are both massive Liverpool supporters. And that means they've also had just about enough of the situation too. And they're going to do something about it.

"But, as with every part of this campaign, they need your help.

"Are you in Liverpool this weekend? Can you be in Liverpool this weekend?

"They're making a film, they want it to go viral, they want you to star in it.

"It's not just about the famous faces they've approached to join in, it's about all fans -- all fans who want an end to this nightmare.

"Get yourself down to the Hope Street Hotel in town this weekend.

"Saturday: 10am-6pm.

"Sunday: 9am-Noon."

So, if you consider yourself a Liverpool supporter, or even if your footballing allegiance lies on the other side of Stanley Park but you still view the saga as symptomatic of football club ownership generally, here's an excellent way of sustaining the campaign.

See you there.

Accurate Journalism

Looks like the Oldham Echo's Ian Hernon was spot-on in reporting that David Miliband would make a nonsense of all those reports that he wouldn't work under his brother (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/29/david-miliband-quits-frontline-politics ).
No doubt Big Al Machray will be commending Hernon for his scoop.