Our Lips Are Sealed

It seems this is all it takes to grab the news headlines in our celebrity obsessed media...

...these six tweets seem to be dominating today's news.  I've edited out the names of the actors, TV presenters, footballer and TV chef that are mentioned.  Not because of the super injunctions or the claim that some of the names are not correct.  I just can't be bothered to feed the profiles of these z list 'celebrities'.

If you do want to know, a quick Google of 'super injunction Twitter' should sate your curiosity.  But that isn't really the point, I couldn't give a monkey's about what people off the telly are doing behind closed doors.  The worry is that this kind of legal gagging order is becoming common place for those that can afford it.

And while I don't care what chefs, actors and footballers get up to off duty, I do care what MP's and oil companies are doing that prompts allegations that they also take out this kind of super injunction.

Have already seen at least one member of the legal profession claiming that super injunctions are not the provision of the rich / famous / influential, on TV today, but are open to us all.  Which is interesting, when injunctions covering two famous people seem to cover both parties, while other injunctions only offer protection to one side, while the other is left in the media spotlight to fend off questions s/he is not allowed to answer.  

It's a situation that will only get worse if the proposed changes to legal aid go through, warping the legal system even more.  You remember that?  The thing we're all supposed to be equal before...

I'm not in favour of a privacy law per se, far too much already goes on without multinational corporations, politicians or any of the people who have real influence over our lives being answerable for their actions. While rumours abound on the 'net, the truth gets lost in the kerfuffle.

The current situation is rapidly becoming a farce.  Unless of course you're one of the lawyers involved - they just keep charging by the hour!

Further reading:

not sure how long this will last, but some interesting reading and, the The Guardian's most recent comment on the whole issue, which they've been looking at for some time.

Spiral Scratch

Just finished watching  series 3 of 'Spiral -The Butcher of La Villette' - on BBC Four.  It didn't quite fill the hole left by the excellent Danish thriller 'The Killing' but it was another example of gritty European television, full of flawed but believable characters that refused to give us a neat and tidy conclusion.

Quite a few similarities between the two though, strong female leads in Sarah Lund (played by Sofie Gråbøl) and Laure Berthaud (played by Caroline Proust).  Both obsessive about their case to the point of bloody mindedness.  Both scruffy and apparently unconcerned about their appearance.  Both drive their colleagues and bosses to distraction, with their refusal to follow any sort of rules or protocols.

All good so far and of course both benefit from being set in cities - Paris and Copenhagen - that lend themselves to being filmed and have uniformly strong supporting casts. (The acting in 'The Killing' in particular, is exceptional.) 

Both series also seemed to take great delight at unpicking the flaws where politics meets the judiciary and law enforcement.  In fact that's a common thread you can trace back to 'The Wire'.  Which I suspect influenced both programmes and probably explains why they work so well, even without a detailed knowledge of the French or Danish penal systems. 


Spoiler Alert - don't read on if you've yet to finish watching both season 3 of 'Spiral' and season 1 of 'The Killing'.

Fairway To Heaven

I find myself feeling surprisingly sad at the news of Seve Ballesteros passing away.  Not that I'm a huge golf fan, but perhaps that just shows the impact of Seve.  A mercurial talent who woke up the golf world with his brilliant attacking style.  Never one for the efficiency of 'playing the percentages' as so many of the modern players seem to, he could be wildly undisciplined one moment and utterly brilliant the next.

Of course everyone will be remembering his famous shot from the car park, in the 1979 Open.  He always seemed to be in the trees, or the rough or in a bunker, but the thing was, his recovery shots were so good, that he often went on to win.  As he did at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1979, becoming the youngest Open champion in the process. 

I'll leave it for others to do the full scale obituaries, that's not what this blog is supposed to be about (although what it is about is a very good question...), I guess I just liked the fact that Seve seemed to me to be a bit of a maverick, doing things his own way and that's something that should always be applauded in my book.

I did think of linking this post to an appropriate piece of music, but my favourite golf related song - 'Fairway To Heaven', might be misinterpreted.  Or even cause Peter Allis to sue if he ever heard it - I very much doubt he was sampled by Gaye Bykers On Acid with permission!

What A Waste

Went out and 'exercised my democractic right' yesterday.  A wasted vote in the local council elections and probably much the same in the voting reform referendum.  It looks like less than 40% of the population have decided that the system is just fine, while the 60% who may have a different view, chose to vote with their feet.

Was it all a waste of time?  Pretty much on the face of it, but I still think that if you can vote, you should.  Partly down to idealism; I still think it's the least we should do after what others went through to get us the right to vote in the first place.  But also, voting gives you the right to complain.  If you can't be bothered to vote, why complain about the government?

Still, a nice sunny day and the walk down to the polling station will have done me no harm...

I guess that must be 'British democracy' for you. We know a song about that, don't we children?

Motorcade

I found myself in the unusual position of being driven back home after a weekend away recently and decided to take a few pictures from the car, just to see what would happen.

Here's a few variations on a couple of the shots I took, after a bit of Photoshopping...

This Side Of Heaven

Probably the best oyster stout in the world...

Found myself in Whitstable last Bank Holiday, and I have to mention this place...

...it's the Whitstable Oyster Company's restaurant on the beach.  Absolutely superb fresh oysters and stout.  Walk along the seafront a couple of hundred yards and you'll find a modest tin shack called The Forge, where you can get equally high quality doughnuts.  But don't take my word for it...  

...sun, sea and top quality nosh!

Can't seem to find a website for The Forge, but you can find out about the Whitstable Oyster Company here

Morrissey - a national treasure, in exile

Asked about the Royal Wedding by John Wilson in an interview for Radio4's Front Row, Morrissey showed he's still able to come up with a quote:

"I don’t think the so called Royal Family speaks for England now, I don’t think England needs them.  I do seriously think they’re benefit scroungers...ask people in the street if they love the Royal Family and they will laugh at you."

Poly Styrene 1957 - 2011

I've just read about the passing of Poly Styrene, yesterday.

Although I would never claim to have been a great fan, I do still have a copy of 'Germ Free Adolescents', admittedly on CD.  At the time I probably just got a few of the singles as shelling out for a whole LP was a big investment, back in those days.

Rediscovering it a few years ago was great, it's a remarkable album even now and one that perhaps couldn't have been made at any other time.