Miss Potter and Mr and Mrs Smith

I am annoyed with myself because I am feeling tired and ready for bed as I come to write when for the past three hours I felt fresh and fritted away time. I was being hard on myself given the physical limitation of an aging body, but also not hard enough because I could achieve more if my body was better and I am not exercising as much control as is possible.

That is one mantra. You judge yourself as to whether to give to your limits and not against the performance of others. It is a feature of both the able bodied and the parallel Olympics that some competitors achieve a personal best time, personal best height or throw or achieve best position in a knockout competition and they should be regarded as worthy of a medal as someone who wins but does not perform at their highest level possible for themselves. In the parallel games some events included competitors of mixed abilities where factoring is introduced, a levelling processes such as in one cycling race where a British competitor did better than ever before, it may even have been a world record for her level of disability, but did not win the race because someone with higher level of disability also progresses more and was awarded a higher lever prize-medal. The latter felt aggrieved but I thought this was a brilliant way of beginning to bring the able bodied and those with physical disabilities together in events.
This could take the sports involved into a different and better dimension and achieve even greater recognition for the achievements of those who conquer disabilities, although I doubt if it will remove the tendency for performance enhancing drugs. I learnt recently that Jamaica has not introduced random testing of its athletes. This was raised in relation to the sprinter Bolt who performed significant better than he had done previously as well as everyone else. I presume the implication/allegation that such a dramatic leap in performance could not have been a natural phenomenon but when it came to testing after an outstanding performance in competition, there was no evidence detected of the use of known substances which aid performance. I was surprised to learn that athletes are allowed to perform in international competitions who live in countries or are registered in countries they represent who do no ensure that the athlete are periodically and randomly tested for the use of performance enhancing substances.

I am also concerned about the use of technical aid such as improvements to bicycles and wheel chairs, rowing boats and other essential devices such as bows in archery. Surely it would be fairer if these were supplied to the athletes by the host nation and they were all of the same specifications? There is one competition involving horses where this is the situation. This should have the consequence of making competitions more about individuals stretching their abilities to their maximum potentialities. It is all part of the drive to move cultures away from being better than others which is one of my two main criticisms about the United States, that they claim that they are better than other nations as well as the definition of being un-American defined by politicians or the media according to the latest fashion or personal whim. It should be defined through the Supreme court in accordance with the constitutional requirements for being a citizen.

This may appear to be too narrow and hypocritical an approach given the way I have criticised the behaviour of Mr Ashley the owner of Newcastle United and will continue to do so until he and his associates relinquish their involvement with the club. I and others have effective charged him with being un-Geordist with un- Geordist being a way of describing a formalised and agreed standard for membership. Traditionally it meant born within a certain distance of the Tyne river and latterly to represent a culture some of whose elements have been rightly criticised. Mr Ashley appeared to believe or had been advised that being accepted in Geordieland by Geordies meant wearing a shirt identifying you with Newcastle Football club and city, drinking yourself silly before, during and after games, although during you must do it out of sight of the cameras. As a sportswear seller his enthusiasm for advertising the shirts is understandable although the every club he owns requires proper dress including wearing a tie and suit or blazer if you are a male in its hospitality and club sponsored areas in the same way this is required at some areas of county cricket clubs.
The majority of thinking and responsible people are opposed to binge drinking in general because of the evidence that it leads to violence, including domestic violence and anti social behaviour and in relation to football has been associated, along with racism and tribalism with the violence associated within and in the vicinity of grounds where football matches are played. The media loves to show North East football supporters with bare chests in the midst of winter although this is only done at away games by fat men, as one aspect of a situation where in Newcastle young men and women wear clothes suitable of a Mediterranean summer's day on the beach throughout the long cold and wet winters.

As with any cultures it has established folk heroes and these are usually associated with sport, not just football, At the present time Peter Beardsley, Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer and Sir Bobby Robson are folk heroes from football. They are criticised within Geordieland but woe betide anyone from outside Geordieland who speaks or acts against them. Brendan Foster and Steve Cram achieved the same status through athletics but also Ant and ..he now nationally familiar TV presenters, and actors performers such as Jimmy Nail and Robson Green, the latter born in Hexham a town some twenty miles from Newcastle but on the river Tyne, which is itself thirteen miles from the river mouth here in South Shields and across from Tynemouth, the place. The reason why so many people of different backgrounds remain affronted by Kevin Keegan being forced to leave Newcastle United is because he achieved greatness twice, bringing pride to region and city as well as to supporters of the club, first because of his magical playing and then because of the style which eh brought to Newcastle as its Team manager, as well as comparative success. When the fans sang Keegan's wonderland this was no ritual chant aimed at opposing supporters but reflected how they felt, and a feeling which carried through into other parts of their lives.
My criticism of Mr Ashley extends beyond this his treatment of Kevin Keegan and the refusal to find a way of bringing him back. I am very suspicion of anyone who is alleged to have made a vast fortune by being clever with business and business finance, but who initially used over one hundred million pounds of their own money without a thorough check on the investment beforehand including its assets and debts and potential profitability. He claimed he had to put in vast amounts to stop the club becoming another Leeds, a charge vigorously denied by the previously chairman and owners on the basis that what he paid truly reflected the assets, income and brand name of the club. His claims of being physically threatened are also challenged he was not advised by Northumbria police who also praised the fans for their behaviour.
Suspicion are reinforced by the failure to give interviews at any time to the media in what is a high profile activity discussed daily for two hours on one local radio station and fills pages in the regional news papers together with daily features on regional TV and other regional radio. His behaviour contrasts with that of the present owners/chairpersons at the other two big clubs in the region, Sunderland and Middlesborough.

I have become even more suspicious of the man after suddenly arranging a meeting with Kevin Keegan the night before the protests were to take place and then producing an emotional laden statement of 16000 words immediately after the protest and then immediately flying off to Dubai to try and sell the club complete with a written statement of particular alleged asking some 800 million dollars and about twice the amount which local financial analysts of reputation regard as more than reasonable for the club given its assets and alleged debt, and its income stream and income potential. He then fails to attend the meeting arranged for him with one potential purchaser. Nothing he or those advising him say should be accepted as accurate unless independently verified.
I have commenced to comments on three Media Blogs about the situation. On involves the Daily Mail where I was one of a number of entries on the Newcastle Ashley issue, but in relation to a new Blog about a statement from Newcastle newboy and scorer on Saturday Xcisco I was the first and only contributor to-date. I have also made two contributions to a Bl0g on the Newcastle Evening paper, the Newcastle Chronicle. The first concerned the protests and the second the Ashley statement will is the current and on going subject. The third area is the BBC where I am now registered to contribute to any of the forums and Blogs but have so far made one entry on BBC Sport on a Blog about further foreign investment in British Premiership clubs anticipated.

The middle of yesterday was occupied with unpacking and setting up the free lap top which was part of the AOL wireless package and where I had minor palpitations figuratively speaking after trying to set up an AOL and wireless link. The problem is that there was no AOL programme included. I first tried to set up a stage three other computer link using the provided DVD with the original package and then tried to create a connection by pretending to install the modem from scratch. Not only did this not work but I then found that I could not get on line with my desk top and then with my previous lap top. It was time for the Don't Panic hitchhikers guide for internet dummies. I was able to get through to AOL technical help quickly and I was immediately shown how to sort out the modem coding from the desk top with the individual information of what was registered for particular device. As a consequence I was immediately back on line with the desk top and all I had to do was press connectivity on the new lap top and insert the password for the home network and I was on line and then go to AOL as an internet site rather than through a separate programme. I presume I may have been able to do this with desk top and that the inclusion of the AOL VR software may account for the problems that are experienced from time to time.

I did watch one 2005 film from time to time called Mr and Mrs Smith, supposed to be a comedy caper about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who meet while on the run from Columbian authorities, marry and hen have problems because they are unable share their real day jobs with each other. The reason , well they are both murderous assassin for independent assassin organisations. The film is therefore morally bankrupt in concept because how can anyone care or be entertained by calculating killers. Fortunately, or at least I thought, they were then asked by their respective employers to kill each other. Alas they do not kill each other but a large number of other operatives employed by their respective organisations with the consequence that they return to their marriage counsellor to express their appreciation and announce they are now happily married together. The moral; therefore is that if you are going to have an anti social occupation it is best to find a partner in the same line of work.

I recently saw the film Miss Potter on TV, a glorious film about the Lake District and how this remarkable lady came to become a much loved writer and illustrator of Children's books and patron of preserving farming life in Lakeland. I had previously added the film to my DVD Club list and forgetting to delete it arrived about ten days ago and I was not ready to devote the time to see it again until yesterday, enjoying the documentary about the making of the film and a video of a theme song sung by Katie Melua.

I also half watched Chelsea and Liverpool in the first matches of the Champions League Chelsea were impressive at home thrashing the opposition with four goals while Liverpool had to come from behind to win 2.1 away from home, and where Stephen Gerrard scored what is likely to be the goal of the season. He appeared to approach his stroke facing away from the goal but someone how swung one leg round to ball with such force that it swung widely from the direction he was facing into the top corner of the net with great force leaving the goal keeping and everyone gasping in amazement. It should not have happened and is unlikely to be repeated ever again with no amount of trying. I half watched because I was just recovering from early evening meal accompanied by watching the master chef programme after one of the regional news and sports programmes and the Parallel Olympic reviews. I had the Lidl tinned salmon with salad and a banana for lunch and a trout with vegetables for the evening meal, followed by a pair of pears with a ruddy skin.

Instead of writing or other work I played chess, having commenced level three after making a mistake or after drawing a run of 91 games, and unwilling to recommence the task of attempting another 101 games goal at this level for the time being. My attempt to raise the percentage wins at Hearts continues to rise, but slowly, presently 38% compared to 11% at one point and progress on Hearts is now also taking more time, having reached 85% with presently a run of 28 wins with the highest 33 to date.

Having experienced the financial crisis with the two main mortgage providers in the USA the collapse of Lehman's bank has shocked the world, given that it survive two world wars and the great depression. It filed for bankruptcy and then had its banking and investments side acquired by Barclays bank within a matter of days which suggested inter government and interbank cooperation before the matter became public. There was also concern about the financial difficulties of the largest insurance group in the world. Here is the UK the Prime Minister continues to be under attack with a more senior Government Minister resigning because of the decision of the national executive not to send out nomination papers prior to the forthcoming national conference. At several levels the day ended with the expectation that there was more to come.

Get Carter, again

A strange thing happened to-day. I relaxed without guilt until the evening when an announcement resurrected feelings of being helpless again the power of nature and men of power and wealth

I did not have much to write about until then. I played lots of games on the computer stopping at a run of 55 games of level one chess, 37 percent wins of Hearts and 83% at Spider Solitaire.

I am puzzled by the number of good chefs there are creating sophisticated dishes which presumably some people eat at great expense. I must find one, save up and go and have a gourmet meal sometime. I thought this after watching the semi final where two of four young men battled for the opportunity to work in one of the great kitchens with a ember of the Roux family.

The previous night I had watched Get Carter for the umpteenth time and with every viewing I see something I did not see before or did but no longer remember. I thought if was a fitting film to remind of what had been old Newcastle. A grim colourless city with twice the national average level of unemployment and areas of major social deprivation and an under belly of criminal gangs with wafts of corruption in high places.

I found myself counting the number of people Michael Caine kills during his revenge mission for the murder of his brother covered up a suicide. The girlfriend of his brother was instrumental in his daughter become involved with the local crime gang with pornographic films as one money making venture; He kills her and then arranged for her to be found on the estate of the many behind the film making; the second woman participated in the filmmaking with the young girl although technically Caine does not kill her directly as she also is placed in the car boot, but the vehicle tipped into the Tyne my gangsters employed by his London boss; the man who seduced the girl I saved until towards the end of the film and is tipped into the North sea along with other coal waste; the man who participated in the film runs gaming machine along the coast and is dropped from the iconic car park in the centre of Gateshead onto the bonnet of a passing cars, then there are the two men sent by his boss in London to take him back, having found out that he was planning to run off with the bosses girl friend to South America and they are shot on a Tyne ferry across the river, and finally his brother's friend who was instrumental in covering up the murder of the brother by his silence.

Caine is also the cause of the bosses girl friend suffering severe facial injury. Although he plans to run off with this young woman during his stay of a few days on Tyneside he sleeps with his landlady and the woman who stars in the film which led to the murder of his brother. Moreover during the film he does not deny that he slept with his brother's wife and is the more likely father of the daughter. He does expose the gangster to the police who funded the porn film business and who uses his home for drug and sex orgies but this another action of revenge and social concern. So why do we feel disappointment when Caine is killed by another criminal assassin in the final scene of the film? Because it is Caine? And why does the film have a continuing appeal beyond Tynesiders, who enjoying working out where all the scenes were shot? One aspect is the haunting and unique musical sound track.

Newcastle has risen from this background with significant new landmarks and cultural developments although the process is ongoing an integral element has been the rise of Newcastle United Football stadium over the past twenty years from when it reflected the cultural isolation. The ground has been developed into one of the biggest and modern stadiums in Britain and for a few golden years in the early nineteen there was a magic mix of class football played with flair and a title chasing team who also played in Europe. There was Peter Beardsley one of the most skilful players in Britain There was great centre forwards Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand and then Alan Shearer. Above all there was Kevin Keegan although Sir Bobby Robson also achieved success in getting to club into positions where they were able to play in European competition for season upon season.

It is almost two weeks since the most dramatic of weekends in British Football, with Manchester City taken over by an Arab business, quickly followed by buying a real Madrid player for over £30 million with another £30 million plus paid Man United for Berbatov. Then the bombshell that Keegan had left, had been sacked, then he had not been sacked, Then the information that the issue had been his control over players recruited to the club or put on the market and sold. There was reports of meetings between Keegan and the Newcastle Board involving the football manager's association but these came to nothing. Almost every known Newcastle Football player of the past two decades was interviewed and supporters by their thousands telephoned text and e mailed.

The Owner, the Chairman and the Director of Football all London based were declared enemies of the people. A number of protests were said to have been planned with controversy over whether people should stay away from the next home match or attend and voice their dissent.
Peter Beardsley, a Tyneside legend who it was my privilege to see play then appeared on television on Friday evening, appealing for the fans to attend the game and not stay away, but also appeared to be defending the owner and board.

Then later in the evening there was film of the owner attending an annual meeting of his main company and refusing to talk about any aspect of the situation at Newcastle United.

Then there was the news that Keegan had returned from his home in Majorca for a meeting with the Owner in London and an official statement was that various matters were discussed without resolution and no further meetings were planned.

On BBC Sports news on the internet there was reference to the likelihood of five organised protests in and outside the ground and of some supporters not entering the ground for the match.

I went to bed very late after watching TV and a film debating whether I would visit to Newcastle to assess the situation, whether I would participate in any protest, or if I would stay home and watch the lunch time televised game between Manchester United and Liverpool and the early evening game between Manchester City and Chelsea, listening to radio broadcast commentaries of the Newcastle game and of Sunderland away to Wigan.

Brick Lane

Yesterday was a work and TV film day. I had hoped to experience Brick Lane in theatre but its circulation was limited. Brick Lane is an area of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets from Bethnal Green through to Spitalfields which what used to be London's main fruit and vegetable market but since it was moved operations has become a lively large indoor general market open seven days a week with Sunday being the most popular day, and hen the Lane continues to Whitechapel where the infamous Whitechapel murders of Jack the Ripper took place. So much for the headline stuff. In fact the area has been the home of immigrants for the past two centuries commencing with Irish weavers, then the Ashkenazi Jews who developed the local industry with tailoring as well as cloth making and then in the latter part of the twentieth century, the displaced Muslims of Bangladesh. This influx led to a predominant Methodist Chapel being converted into the Spitalfields Great Synagogue and then in 1976 the same building became a Mosque. The area became well known for its inexpensive alcohol free curry houses and more recently for art and fashion and student accommodation with several exhibition areas to show work.

Brick Lane based on a 2003 novel led to controversy when plans were announced for the film to be shot in the area because Bangladeshi religious and community leaders were strongly opposed to aspects of how their community was being represented. It is a reality that religious controlled communities always complain the loudest when one of their own attempts to separate truth from delusion and fantasy. In fact I did not think the film was intended as a polemic about arranged marriages, the treatment of women and girls as slaves to their husbands, or how vulnerable and uneducated immigrants are exploited by theoretical revolutionaries and fanatics with missions who have no regard for the very people they use to pursue their ambitions and no regard for human life. Such people need to be stopped and the best way is to educate and address the genuine grievances of those whose naivety and trust they abuse.

The hero of Brick Lane is not just the female lead, effectively sold into a loveless marriage as a young girl to a much older, fat, educated and English loving Indian man with ambitions he is unable to realise. From the outset he is destined to be a failure, lacking real understanding of society where he hopes make his fortune and find family happiness or understand human relationships in a contemporary western capitalist society, especially aspirations of teenage girls educated in such a society.

For the first decade and a half of her married life the obvious heroine in the film remains trapped in her cultural background and girlhood dreams. She keeps in contact with her sister who she writes regularly about her dreams of a return to her home, saving what she can and which leads her to buying a second hand sewing machine and commencing to work in their house for the return home fare. She continues to grieve for her first born who died in infancy and finds it difficult to cope with her first born English educated daughter who find her mother's acceptance of the way her father runs the household unacceptable and this includes her mother's unwillingness to tell her husband what she actually thinks and feels.

The inevitable happens and the wife commences an affair with someone younger than herself who becomes quickly caught up with the extremism post 9/11. It is only when this happens that she considers leaving her husband that she begins to see him in a new light as he also emerges to an equal hero, a man of courage and conviction. For it is he who stands up against the extremists and at a public meeting which has called for the community to defend itself, he reminds of the history of what Muslim has done to Muslim by the million upon million in the Indian sub continent and it is he who in effect frees his wife and daughters to become the person she and they, want to be. The film ending stands in the class of Shakespearean tragedies, for at the very point when she is able to see her husband in the round and also the young militant as he is they part, because respective need for survival, he is to return to India and she to remain with her daughters. For me the most important statement in the film comes at the end when the wife who is also the narrator realises that there is more than one form of love and cries out against her upbringing, why did no one tell me this?

In many ways there is more in common between Brick Lane and the Duchess than time and cultures separate.

The varying nature of love and sex is also the main theme of the Diana Keaton and Albert Finney version of Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf and Look Back in Anger, called Shoot the Moon. These days for many of the present generation, marriage and children is followed by finding that one married the wrong person, divorce, remarriage and coping with two sets, and sometimes three sets of children's, has almost become a rite of passage into adulthood, a concept which I owe to Frederick and Mary Ann Brussat. This film deals with how in such a situations individuals are destroyed, children suffer lasting damage and sometimes although adults can rebuild their lives and regain self respect and achieve new meaning and purpose, but usually at a high price. My problem with the film is that I am not sure who will enjoy or benefit from the film unless one is a sado-masochist or wants reassurance that the hell one is undergoing is normal for the situation. Given that the cinema audience at weekends is mainly teenagers embarking of the first serious relationship it will not serve as a cautionary tale. One has only to look at the figures about young people taking up smoking or drinking and driving and rest to know they have to make their own mistakes and hope someone will be there to help pick up the pieces if asked.

For the rest of the day I worked consistently, bringing myself up to-date and on target for the monthly 100 additional sets. I enjoyed the Parallel Olympic review where more stories of individual achievement cheered up spirits although the athletics team is failing as did the more able bodied. One hopes the new performance director will have the right qualities to avoid further embarrassment, although it is a good thing if the population switched from walking and running to cycling as long as this promotes the development of cycle ways and cycle tracks. I enjoyed the sea bass which was chunky but not as well flavoured as some before. The black ink cartridges arrived by post and I advised the supplier of the quarterly wine case of the correct credit cards details. The second occasion that records appeared to have been corrupted by someone. Curious.

The Duchess

It was not only sunny this morning but warm and I felt so much better than yesterday. Perhaps it was going to be a better day for everyone.

Unexpectedly when I was get myself self up mid morning there was a knock at the front door which I assumed was the postman but instead it was a fresh fish sales party. I had been waiting for such a call for some sea bream if available and they had a supply. It was expensive so I bought five for £30, each pack containing two pieces prepared with bodies without heads or tails but large and thick. I will try one tomorrow as I have steak for this evening

It was then time to pay in to the bank a £50 cheque having won a prize in the constituency Labour Party lottery, posting a letter to the Treasurer enclosing my own cheque for the same amount to paid into ward funds.

I went on to Wilkinson's for a large pack of scouring pads/sponges and bought two packs of Ball pens which I seem to consume or lose by as many as the two five packs purchased. I notice they are selling photo frames with glass on board and clips for £1. I had paid several times this amount when buying from Staples for the 101 photos, needing another 101 to complete the proposed work presentation. If I have the nerve to show the work with all the potential implications and unintended consequence then I should but these before they disappear, Once only opportunity. But what if I do not get my nerve back? Perhaps I should get a stock in so to have the work ready to be shown after I am gone. That would be sensible which reminds of the need to sort out what is to happen to work, what ever state it is in, soon. However I am in the mood to put decisions requiring thought and calculation to one side.

I had obtained a copy of the free Metro newspapers on the way into town and read this for a relaxed few moments on one of the benches. I had checked in Smiths for the free CD of the day with the Daily Mail but had not interest in the Adam Ant disk.

I had taken with me the Dolland and Aitcheson sun glasses, and old pair in a gaudy frame where one arm needed to be repaired but as expected there was no branch in town, Boots and Vision Express. I must look up on the internet. I check and remember where the store is in Sunderland opposite the Argos and near the McDonalds. Thursday activity?

I made a salad for lunch and then a banana watching the daily doze of antique buying and selling. One of the channels is repeating the series of programmes where some of the best sales on Flog It are being recaptured. There was a Troika vase an extraordinary large piece which several hundred pounds may even have been close on a thousand fetched, I bought my vase about the same year but his was an almost unique piece bought for only £16. The couple had no money for food or more petrol on the journey back home. It had been kept in the garden shed for years.

Throughout the day and over the past few weeks I have continued my struggle to play 101 successful games of level two chess in uninterrupted sequence. Over 1000 games have been played with a win rate of 95% 1086 of 1141 and the highest run of 71 games with two others of over fifty but usually I crash to a draw and sometimes to defeat around twenty to thirty games. I continue to enjoy also plying Hearts where the win percentage is now up from 10% to 36% 466 12 with the best winning streak 26 games against a losing streak of 23, but the greatest pleasures comes from games of Spider Solitude where after settling at around 75% wins overall I have recently increased to 81% 194 of 237 games with the longest winning streak 237 and the losing 4.

It was time to go to the pictures at Boldon Cineworld stopping for the Asda for some sweeties where I bought three packets two of liquorice allsorts and one of mixed toffees for £2 about a quarter of the cost if they had been bought at the cinema. And so the much talked about film which although shown for several days now attracted a large audience of mainly middle aged and older people. The Duchess is based on a true story and I have subsequently confirmed that the basic facts of the film are accurate. The story is interesting because it mirrors aspects of the situation in which Princes Diana, a descendent found herself in. In the instance of Georgina Spencer, it was her mother who pushed her into a marriage arranged by her father the 1st Earl Spencer and great grand son of the Duke of Marlborough when she was less than eighteen years of age to William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire with a great Palace in London which was the effectively the headquarters of the reformist Whig Party which the Duke financed. In addition to being an Ancestor of Princess Diana, she was also responsible for the present Duke of Devonshire via her grand daughter.

The film suggests that her mother was explicit in telling her daughter that her first and foremost function was to provide the Duke with a son, and that having achieved this objective she then lead her own life as one of the wealthiest and influential ladies in the land if she wished. The Duke preferred the company of his dogs and whoring rather the society of politicians, artists and playwrights but was also a man with a great sense of duty and protecting the family and its good name in public.

The film is based on the research undertaken by several authors of biographies of an extraordinary woman given the era in which she lived in that she became a more influential figure within the Whig party than her husband and a leading figures in society setting the fashion trend and with men of all ranks flocking to her feet because of her beauty and personality.

She struggled however to produce the son with several miscarriages and two daughters who the Duke is said to have ignored. He is also brought into the household the daughter of an affairs when the girl's mother died and she was brought up, in so far as children were brought up by Georgina, or anyone occupying her social station at that time, although eh books suggests that she loved all three girls as well as her son and that in the end gave up the love of her life because of the threat she would not have contact during the rest of their childhood and that the political and social ambitions of her lover would have ended abruptly The films suggests that she and her lover had wanted to marry but this was refused by the Duke with the support of her mother. This may not have been regarded as of major historical significance except that the lover in question was, Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey, who became British Prime Minister 1830-1834. Grey's family came from Northumberland and Durham. (I once interviewed the present Duke of Northumberland but otherwise my only knowledge of contemporary young aristocracy was some four decades earlier when on a first class train journey back from London to Newcastle I was joined at my table in the dining car by a party of Bright Young Things returning for weekend after a hectic week in London. They drank the available supply of half bottles and whatever else was available. The party stretched to the adjacent table and the contrast between their lives and those I was investigating as part of a panel of enquiry in the untimely death of a child was stark, although I also looked in the mirror as I was indulging in an excellent meal with wine myself.

Charles Grey, who tops the Monument in the centre of Newcastle rather like Nelson in Trafalgar Square was responsible for the Reform Act of 1832 and the Abolition of Slavery in the UK. This was some two decades after the death of Georgina when he was in his sixties. Becoming more conservative as well as older he retired from the office leaving the premiership to Lord Melbourne, whose life interested me once after buying his biography by David Cecil. Georgina and Charles had a daughter born after the couple were forced to separate as lovers although they did meet as part of Society subsequently. Their daughter was brought up in Northumberland by the first Earl Grey. Georgina had gone to France on a an extended tour holiday, where she gave birth to the child at Aix en Provence, a place which I have visited during the period of years when I travelled extensively around France during holidays to the South of France and northern Spain, although I also visited northern France from the coast to Paris. Their daughter married into the minor aristocracy and army, with her descendents also playing a part in public life. She died a widow at the age of 67 in South London, Norwood, close to where was raised.

However Georgina and William Cavendish also became notorious for something else in that some two decades before her death Georgina befriend Lady Elizabeth Foster who was separated from her husband who had kept control of her three sons. She then started a relationship with the Duke as a means if regaining the care of her sons and for the next two decades they established a Ménage a trios', although the film suggests that this was a stormy and difficult situation until after the separation from Early grey and birth of their daughter. Lady Elizabeth became the second wife of the Duke after the death of Georgina. There was a large audience for an afternoon performance similar to that for Mama Mia which the public adores and the critics hate poor lost and misguided souls .
I returned home for the evening meal and started work registering completed work sets intending to continue through England's important World Cup Qualifying game against Croatia in Croatia but stopped when the game become interesting with a convincing 4.1 win after the home side had been reduced to ten men and with Theo Walcott the 19 year old scoring three goals, thus showing what a good decision it had been for the previous English Manager but one to have taken the young man to the previous World Cup although he did not play him.

From having speculated that we might not qualify everyone is talking about winning the actual Cup such is the fickleness of critics and fans. It looks as if Newcastle will be able to appoint a manager until after Saturday which is wise anyway, The self appointed media spokesperson for some of the fans continues to be against a boycott though mentioned a match and protect outside the crowd. He is confused for a letting of steam is just that, pointless except that hopefully it will prevent action which could harm individuals and the club long term. The only way to force the owner to sell the club is not longer make the club profitable and this involves a large boycott of ticket purchase and club merchandise.

I am tempted to go into Newcastle with my camera on Saturday and see what happened although the priority is Chelsea at Man City around 5m and Sunderland's away game on the radio. I am delighted that the BBC is giving less emphasis to the number of Gold and other medals won at the Para Olympics than the efforts of individuals to overcome their handicaps and compete with others of similar level of disability from around the world. There are many inspiring stories.

The quantity of work planned for the day was also reduced because of watching the second part of the four hour version of On the Beach. I had missed that this was a two part edition and had thought it was odd that the TV version ended on such an optimistic note eliminating the main part of the story. The TV version suffers from being too long although in many ways the two two hour films are valid as stand alone experience with the greater emotion generation by the second. The difference between the two version is one of credibility. Back in 1959 I was one of hundreds of thousands who believed what happened was not just a possibility but a likelihood whereas now we have become complacence and do not expected the big bang destruction.

I use the term Big Bang advisably as scientists have completed their thirty years of work creating a gigantic particle mover and exploded under a large chunk of Switzerland in order to understand more about the creation of the university as we presently know it. The project has costs tens of billions of dollars and will take a decade or two to reach its maximum generation and provide the answers to the question. Even if it fails the work is likely to have spin offs which could affect the future of human kind and our solar system including the question of long distance travel through space. I hope to live long enough to find out something of the impact of this project.

I also watched the last half hour of Apocalypse 10.5, although I could have watched the whole programme if I had been willing to stay up another hour. As expected the father and daughter combination to save the world are reunited despite father being caught up in the destruction of Los Vegas. Towards the end of the film it looks as if they will save Northern America being divided into two continents as the population of a number of states including Texas is moved to safer areas. Alas nature had the last word. For the most interesting part of the concept would be how the USA would cope with being divided geographically into two countries. Now that is putting lipstick on the pig.

On the Beach remake and Brief Encounter

There was a time when I was pessimistic about the immediate future of human kind and I viewed my own life in that context. These days although I think about such issues on a daily basis I am more preoccupied with what is going to happen to me and my work, It is not dying that I fear but the nature and circumstances of that death and that is also so for those of the next and subsequent generations, although for them there is the sense of unfairness should they not have the opportunity to see, hear, feel and touch and experience the same level of joy, more so than I have been privileged, and then there is the hope that they will be also not be subject to the same levels of pain, unhappiness and discontent.

I was reminded of that time, the time when the main preoccupation was not with my own experience and destiny but the immediate welfare of everyone else when finding the 2000 remake for TV of Neville Shute's On the Beach, the apocalyptic 1959 film of the book set in 1963, the film used 1964, when the northern hemisphere was destroyed by and East West nuclear exchange. However global air currents were moving lethal radiation clouds blown across Africa and the southern hemisphere.

Suddenly a Morse code message is received which suggests a survivor(s) and Gregory Peck goes off as captain of a nuclear submarine which has taken refuge in Australia to investigate leaving behind a woman with who he has had a relationship (Ava Gardner). He is the not the only one in this situation.
One sub plot is that of an Australian Naval Officer (Anthony Perkins) assigned to travel with the submarine and who is forced to leave behind wife who dos not accept the likelihood of death from radiation and the need to use the suicide pills issued by the Australian government to the population. Could any government which had substantial populations of religious believers reach that point and could those who believe ever reach that point, not for themselves I would like to believe, the way of the cross for Christians, Jews and Muslims again, me thinks. But what of their dependents? In the film remake film the captain watches in great horror as a young parent in a car with his wife and two adorable happy children, drives them straight off a cliff. It is a sickening stomach churning moment designed to register with the audience the reality and horror of the predicament without reminding of the reality of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experience by all those innocent, guiltless non combatants destroyed and mutilated in the name of saving the lives of combatants in a war that the majority of the USA nation did not want and was forced on them by the other side. Such decisions are never black and white, especially for those in government.

The expedition in the original books and film to find the source of the Morse signal, hoped that that the radiation level at the Artic would be less but instead the levels are found to be intensifying. One crew members jumps ship when they reach San Francisco and is last seen fishing off shore in his craft waiting to die in his home town. Then they discover on reaching the signal that it has not been caused by a human being but a Coca Cola bottle wedged at hitting the Morse key from time to time, hence the incoherent nature of the message. Bitterly disappointed the submarine returns to Australia. This was the moment in the film which most affected people because it meant there was no hope for any loved ones, no hope for any of the human kind on the planet.

When they returned the issues was how to spend those final days. Some organise a dangerous motor race in which several die. The population began to line up outside hospital for the suicide pills The wife cannot bear to think and understand, does so but asks her husband to take responsibility for her and their child. The captain of the submarine has an affair but is troubled sufficiently to seek spiritual guidance from the Salvation army and elects to return to the USA with the majority of the crew to die at home than in a foreign field.

The film was directed by Stanley Kramer and unlike the novel suggests that the destruction was caused by accident. In the book the submarine is taken out to sea to be scuttled while the character played by Ava Gardener in the film sits in a car watching and then takes her suicide pill. The book is therefore more angry and pessimistic to make its point while the film tried to show some people not giving up despite the inevitability of what was to happen. It was this form of fighting on which had a great influence on me and others whose resolved to take action to try and prevent such an event occurring. It was very sad when we were pilloried and misrepresented as to why we were doing what we then did. Now I can understand and have long since forgiven.

The US department of Defence and Navy refused to cooperate in the making of the film which was shown in several cities around the world including Moscow. The nuclear scientist in the film was played by Fred Astaire at the age of 60 in his first straight role. While critics agreed the Gregory peck had the right approach for a serious disaster movie there was general agreement that Ava Gardener and Fred Astaire had been miscast. The made for TV version concentrates more on the relationships and has the possibility of survivors ending as the submarine sets off. It lacked the emotional impact and political force of the original film despite its shortcomings. I have a vague notion that the local CND group went off together to a special showing at the Odeon Cinema.. I had hoped to se part two of Apocalypse 10.5 the disaster movie about the force of nature destroying the world but it was part one again which has been shown several times over the past week without part two. This is irritating and probably intended to achieve what I am doing which is keeping one eye on the channel, although I do not watch other films being shown, always on the look out for those film from the past or those which cover a theme which is of interest and relevance to my work.

The weather was dreadful again, worse than autumnal because it was also cold reminding of the Winter to come, Winter again without summer. Nasty.

In contrast earlier in the day I gave full attention to Brief Encounter in a way I do not recall from all the previous viewings which commenced when taken a young boy by the Aunties to see the film at the Wallington Odeon. This beautifully made film with a background score of Rachmaninoff has a message just as important in today's liberal society as it did after World War II when the traditional approach to marriage and extra marital relationship had softened and those behind the film, including Noel Coward who wrote the script were anxious to establish the need for self sacrifice and doing duty in ones personal life as had been necessary in wartime. As with Casablanca the film is so well written and acted that it transcends its time, and because the story is deeper than its obvious message. The relationship between the married to other partners is nearly consummated except for the unexpected return of the owner of the apartment which the General Practice Doctor uses on his day a week working at a hospital which brings him to London while the bored and unappreciated wife nearly throws herself on the line before an express train rather than return to her life before the two met. Such relationships are never simple, always potentially dangerous because individuals when in the grip of emotion and passion lose their rationality. I have to admit it was the first time that I was truly caught up in the emotions of the two particular characters because of their reserve and gentility, so removed from the experience of my childhood and much of my life as an adult.

On my way to the supermarket in the afternoon during a brief respite from the rain I listened to a very talkative Cliff Richard full of self justification and pushing his book and forthcoming Tour as if there was no tomorrow. He was talking about his faith and his loneliness and how he has become less judgemental over recent years and it struck me that he was another soul who grasped the approach of death and its potential finality and that all his previous experience, his wealth, his possessions would come to naught. Or perhaps not!

Blue Velvet, Confesions of a Danerous Mind, Constantine and the Cross, Alexander the Great

The greatest moment of the entire Olympic celebration occurred this morning when 13 year old Eleanor Simmonds who now lives in Wales and who suffers from dwarfism, won a gold medal at her first attempt in the 100 metre freestyle. There had been hopes that she might win a medal although he main aim was to give her experience prior to the 2012 games. She was trailing the field at the beginning and appeared to be competing for a bronze as the race was ending but somehow as others tired she found the strength to push herself into a personal best time by two seconds and won the gold by 100th of a second.

Whereas Andy Murray finds it difficult to impossible to accept that he is part of Great Britain as well as being a proud Scotsman, Eleanor had Union Jack on her back and red white and blue fingernails. It was her interview afterwards which led to my hoping the media will take her up and that she will win the Sports personality of the year. I am pleased to say that she did make to the national news along with one of most amazing escapes of all time.

A young family Mark Baxter and his wife Beverley were walking at Durham River Chester Le Street, the park land and children's playground next to the cricket ground, with their two daughters Leona aged 3 years and older sister about five years and the family dog splashing about the water left after the rain storm. Suddenly the three year old and her dog disappeared having been sucked into an uncovered and unmarked storm drain. Her father attempted to get her out but he had disappeared. Then in a moment of extraordinary inspiration he worked out that the drain would go straight to river and rushed off to its bank some seventy metres away and was able to see her coat being swept along then realising that it was his daughter face down, he jumped in, started to get the water out of her lungs before getting back to bank. His wife gave her first aid as paramedic, police and fire service arrived. The girl was taken to the North Durham Hospital where she was treated for shock and for bruising but by late evening she was seeking ice cream and chocolate and her relieved parents were telling the world how lucky they were. I wondered what were the odds of survival in that situation in terms of girl being caught in the drain underground, of if her father had not and the inspiration to get to the river and work out the direction the drain might be going to the water. What could have happens is difficult to think about although such tragedies occur every day somewhere.

It was the one bright piece of news in the evening regional news and sport programmes which concentrated on the flooding of Morpeth and other parts of Northumberland which has been the worst for over half a century as in one of the quirks of nature the water bearing clouds suddenly came to a halt over the town and wider areas unleashing over a month's rain in a few hours over already saturated ground. Again the possessions of a lifetime were destroyed but fortunately no lives were lost in this area as a consequence

The regional TV programmes also reminded of the statements made over the weekend my Newcastle Football Club and on behalf of Kevin Keegan to which was added the news that two other coaches and close associates had also left the club, fuelling the anger of supporters and where the momentum for a boycott appears to have gained ground and for standing in protest outside. A spokesperson for the managing company said there had been no approach to buy the club which suggests that unless the owners have some rabbit to pull out of the hat then their will be a test of will but hopefully not of strength on Saturday. I assume there will be a significant police presence to prevent crowds forming outside the ground unless they are entering with a ticket, but which in turn runs the risk of those bent in creating trouble doing so elsewhere in the city. It is a very worrying situation.

Yesterday I had seen again a film about the power of belief called Constantine and the Cross. This 1962 film feature Cornel Wilde and Belinda Lee and had its moments of engagement as long as one made no attempt to check its historical accuracy. The film focuses on the battle for power after the Empire was split between to rulers with Caesars as their deputies and how Constantine was converted to Christianity after his mother had done so. It also has a loyal friend Hadrian whose also falls for a Christian girl who may have been slave or a member of a minor family but there is no happy ending for them. Constantine triumphs and purges Rome of its nastier elements, for a time.

In contrast Alexander the Great viewed a couple of days before and which starred Richard Burton (unconvincing as a young man) nevertheless had a fine script giving the film gravitas. There was a balance on intrigue and on relationships rather than action and spectacle, as with Shakespeare's work which I liked but not the critics. The film made in the mid fifties did get slightly better reviews than Oliver Stone's 2005 epic which lasted nearly three hours. I enjoyed both.

I also enjoyed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which I saw five years ago at a Cineworld in Chelsea and was again shown last night as I also watch Blue Velvet which I had not seen previously, occasionally flipping over to New York in the hope that Murray would find the mental strength and courage to break out of the crushing play of his opponent in he final of the USA open. Federer sense he could get his number one spot back and was without mercy.

I was much less critical again than the critics about Confessions. They disliked this first Directorial black comedy satirical film by George Clooney and which starred Sam Rockwell as the young man making the confessions and Drew Barrymore as his long term girl friend and Julia Roberts as a Marta Hari. Most did not like the plot or the script. Basically I believe most did not understand the psychology and most Americans would not appreciate the underlying self criticism of the American illusion. Sam Rockwell plays a creative who decides to use his talents on a series of brainless money making games shows. The first we knew in Britain as Blind date with Cilla Black. Three young people of same sex are interviewed by someone of the opposite sex who asks them three stupid questions and from their answers one is picked to have a blind date, someone a inexpensive local meal out, but more often an expensive few days in some exciting place. Usually they have a difficult time and cannot wait for the date to end, although I believe there was one wedding. In the film the producing team are told they can make the show as stupid as they like but warned that they will be sent to prison if they included anything which Uncle Sam then regards as un-American.

It is at this point that George Clooney enters the film as a special squad of state assassins and recruits Sam after claiming authorship for the idea of sending the couples on romantic trips and adventures around the world as cover for Sam acting as chaperone with the film crew to do "jobs" for his country. He is helped in these activities by Julia Roberts.

The need to find new shows is constant and as Sam progresses in popularity and double life he creates an earlier form of American Idol and the X factor except without the talent and restricted just to the worst would be performers willing to humiliate themselves on TV for the enjoyment of the masses. It at this point that a double agent comes to the fore and the principals set about trying to eliminate each other so Sam has a breakdown and goes into hiding before working out who the villain of villains is. The films has a kind of happy ever after ending and to add spice the story is put about that the take was not entirely fictitious. As with Blue Velvet it is intended to be taken at various levels. I loved the idea of the game show in which three old men review their lives and the one who does blow his brains out with the loaded revolvers given to them wins the prize of a new fridge or washing machine.

The critics were much more enthusiastic about Blue Velvet because it was about the diversity of human sexual behaviour, albeit of the darker and nastier kind and had lots of arty and surreal sequences which I thought pretentious. My interest was with the female star whose voice reminded of Ingrid Bergman so I played a hunch and looked her up on Wikipedia which confirmed that Isabella Fiorella Ellettra Rossellini was indeed a daughter of Ingrid and the Italian film director Roberto who was married three times. She was brought up in Rome. Santa Marinella and Paris before coming to New York when 19 years where she worked at Finch College as a translator, a ring master in a circus and for RAI TV. She appears to be one of those children of famous/infamous parents who do not come into their own until the death of the parent/parents.

She married Martin Scorsese 1979-1982, then a German ,model and later had relationships with David Lynch the film director of Blue Velvet, Gary Oldman and George Mosher. She also became a model being photographed by some of the best of the day and at one point was the front face for Lancome which she held for 14 years until on reaching 40 she was sacked for a younger person. Apart from the notoriety created by Blue Velvet she appeared in a number of films and TV series gaining minor award and nominations for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. In later life she became involved with various good causes and became a US Ambassador for UNICEF although she continues to hold joint citizenship. She remains part of large extended family as her father had three wives and in addition to her twin sis she also has a half sister from her mother's first marriage.. What I like about her most is that she wrote a book entitled my father lived to be 100, now what am I calling the book about my mother?

I went out walking in the morning as the rain had stopped for a day as bought a Daily Mail or a copy of the Culture Club record which was great value as it contained a number of hit songs. Visit to the bank for statement and cash and then to Asda just for milk as I bought grapes and strawberries at the station greengrocers completed the trip. I decided to start chasing up things outstanding and with day's task the free AOL Car Warehouse laptop which had clearly been lost between the various interests involved. It should arrive in less than two weeks. I had ordered some black ink cartridges over the weekend and the garage door is now working as it did when first installed which shows that it is better to face things than put them off.

La Noche De los Girasoles (Sunflowers) andf Carry on Behind

A Bruce Springsteen song comes to ear, Heavy Heart, and a commercial featuring a clever conjurer, Paul Daniel and heavy heart and conjuring trickster sum up my feeling this morning.

My level of incredulity has been stretched over several decades but it reached a new high or low, I cannot be bothered to work out which by two events yesterday evening through till 4 am, after what had been a reasonable day.

However I begin by talking about two films experienced over the past twenty four hours while I collect my emotions to find words appropriate to express anger on one hand and disbelief at the black being described as white at the Republican Convention and the departure of Kevin Keegan as Newcastle Manager, the club issued a statement which has fooled no one and I only have one word to say but I cannot write it for to do so could provoke litigation.

The first film sums up one aspect of the British character and humour, the love of words which have more than one meaning, usually connected with sex and other bodily functions. Carry on Behind could have been also titled Bottom up or Upskirts, if it the intention was a soft porn production, whereas Carry on Behind is more about words than visual treats. Then film opens as Archaeology Professor Kenneth Williams introduces a film of his work at what appears to be a village hall and he describes his latest finds under mounds and penetrations at lower levels at the same time as a film of a young woman in a two piece bathing costume is shown prior to stripping off further clothing, by mistake. The double meanings are never subtle, always full frontal and in your face and the visual humour appears to be aimed at five year olds. Sadly this was one of the Carry On films in which Barbara Windsor did not display her twin charms.

The second film is intended to be a more serious drama showing cause and effects as members of small community disintegrate into killings and cover up after a different kind of archaeology explorers comes to a small Spanish village shortly after the sexually assaulted body of a young girl is found in a field of sun flowers after going to a disco, having had a row with her father over where she was going and when she would return. The night of the Sunflowers (La Noche De los Girasoles) was not an enjoyable or very engaging interesting film but its theme is a good one. A man in the village discovers a cave and the explorers are called in to investigate if there is anything original or valuable below ground. While the husband and colleague investigate, his wife goes to wait for them to come out, with the car, taking a book to read. An aging randy commercial traveller tries to pick up a girl walking at the roadside, who we quickly learn has walked away from the car driver by her boyfriend after a row, and then he, the boyfriend persuades the girl to rejoin him. Later the men meet at a bar and the boyfriend tells the industrial vacuum cleaner salesman of a quarry business near a village where he is sure there will be interest in the product. The man follows the instructions against his better judgement and finds he has been sent to a deserted village and a deserted quarry. On his return he spots the wife of the explorer, assaults and attempts to rape her, but she manages to stab him in the hand and locks herself into the car until her husband and his colleague returns. They come across an old man who lives in the deserted village and mistaking him for the attacker he is killed in a fight and then their car breaks down as they set off to tell the police what has happened.

The village policeman is married to the daughter of the local chief of police who is due for retirement when he hopes they will be free to move to a better place, and then his wife reveals that she does not want to leave nor does her father, so when he comes across the explorers who own up to the mistaken killing he decides on a plot to hide the body of the man and pretend that he has left the village but to do so in exchange for their life savings. However the plan does not work out as the father in law's suspicions are aroused and he also decides to go along with the plot swearing everyone involved into silence and burning money that was used as a bribe. The film is shot in a different way to this chronological account of what webs we weave when we deceive and where justice is sometimes best served through silence.

The greater part of the day was spent at cricket after preparing a lunch of salmon and cucumber sandwiches and a flask of orange fruit juice. Alas there had been torrential sheeting rain the night before with pools of water all over the ground so the start was delayed until after lunch at 1.40. This provided opportunity to have a good haircut in Chester Le Street and to buy some fruit and vegetables. I had a very good afternoon of cricket with some excellent company, a regular member to one side and economist from Newcastle University on the other. The cricket was also first rate as William Smith got another 100 and captain Blenkenstein 50 before tea time and rain clouds assembled. Before leaving I enjoyed a large plate of freshly cooked chips, having earlier had a coffee and a chunky Kit Kat. On returning I went to Sunderland to Staples to buy a replacement desk chair as the existing one was falling to bits because of my weight and hard handling, however although I commenced dissembling this to fit into the car I left assembly of the new one until the following day. I had a pasta bake with a glass of wine later and some snap crackle and pop cereal before going to bed for the second time in the early hours after listening to the acceptance speeches of the Republican Party choices for the President and Vice Presidency.

Before then I attempted to grapple with the news that Kevin Keegan had found the situation impossible to cope with and had left of his own accord, apparently having negotiated a situation where he was not required to pay the club compensation. According to the Football manager's Association the main concern had been the recruitment of players he had not wanted. Because this is a company and because of the usual restrictions on non disclosure of circumstances by the parties concerned all we were given were formal statements.

On the assumption that the club is not immediately sold or Alan Shearer confirms his spokesman's comments that this is not the time for him to express an interest, I anticipate that around half the usual number of spectators will stay outside ground even though a good percentage of these are season ticket holders, particularly because it is a game against Hull. How many will protest outside the club on the day of the next game or enter and make their protest that way remains to be seen. My concern is the risk to public order that is likely to arise. The concern is that any trouble will not only affect the lives of those participating but could affect the position of the club's long term, if there is trouble within the ground. In the eyes of the majority of those who support the club and I speak with the experience of being involved in the community and with football clubs in the region for over thirty years, the Owner, the Chairman and Mr Wise will be regarded as traitors and enemies of the people. They are yet to reveal whether they are also cowards.

I am unsure what to make of the two acceptance speeches at the Republican convention. I have already expressed concern at the organised tribal behaviour of the crowd which would have made Hitler, Goebbels and Stalin proud, although it is of a similar order to partisan nature of football crowds or those attending a rock concert. and although the Republicans have controlled the White House for eight years and there was a sense they some were trying to out do the Democrats in displays of fervour and enthusiasms for the party's choice of candidates. I have two general observations to make in terms of policies and performances The approach of most of speakers at the Republication Convention was similar to that of the National Front and the United Kingdom Independence Party, with both Labour and Conservatives polices considered as being to the far left of the Democratic party. The great slogan of the two nights was USA, USA, USA, and the proposed change advocated by Senator McCain was back to right wing conservatism of Ronald Regan, and down with all liberals.

So given this back cloth what did the Governor of Alaska have to say apart from describing her family and rise to power? She was anti corruption and had taken action in this respect. She wanted political leaders to set an good example and she demonstrated this by defeating a leader in her own party who she did not believe had set a good example, selling the governor's private jet on E Bay and dispensing with paid help in the Governor's Mansion. She had declined the offer of Federal money to pay for a bridge which went nowhere, adding that if the state need a bridge the state would fund it. She was also clear on her position regarding abortion, on government expenditure and taxation in general. She would reduce both as much as practical. She was not sympathetic to the traditional ways of politics and her one objective was to serve the people of her country rather than set out to gain the support of the left wing media which appeared to cover everyone except Fox TV. On the issue of energy she was in favour of off shore exploration to reduce the period of dependence on overseas imports but which also recognised that it was essential to focus on other energy sources. She came over as strong and purposeful although a little nervous, inexperienced and overawed. I was not convinced by attempts to make her out to be an ordinary hockey mum although I have no doubt that she was one, along with hunting with her dad and the other aspects of being an ordinary person growing up in the culture of Alaska. This changed when she became Mayor and even more so when she became Governor and would change even more so when she became one heart beat away from being President.

Last night I was also up to hear what Presidential nominee John McCain had to say, and because I was tired and had to doze I watched again during Friday. So what did I make of what he had to say?

First I liked his own definition of Maverick as someone who goes their own way and I had little quarrel with most of his sentiments and beliefs about how human beings should behave and take responsibility for their own lives and of any dependents. It was also evident, as he has demonstrated in the past, that he sits uncomfortably in the adversarial political party system with his memorable statement, "I would rather lose an election than my country lose a war." No one is in a position to question his personal courage, demonstrated as a long term prisoner of war in Vietnam, My personal problem is that his political views are similar to the Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher two decades ago, before Britain became a multi culture grappling with the problems of finding its place in the ever complex world of today. Senator McCain also demonstrated his party to be hypocritical in presenting themselves as a Christian based God fearing party and then stated the new administration would cut their overseas aid to countries who did not like America very much. So there you have it, you get money not because you need it, not because it is the right thing to do, or even because it is also in the best interests of the USA, but on the basis that you pass some test of appearing to like the USA according to the defined test of a Republican Administration. Put this another way you get money if you then do what we say.

I had the impression that the Democrats were going through the obligatory motions of finishing and ending everything proclaiming that America was God's chosen country and the best in the world. This approach is not only unchristian but demonstrable nonsense and shows confusing power with moral righteousness. What was evident over the last two nights is that the Republican delegates actually believe this.

What was also evident from the filming of delegates is the disproportionate numbers of whites compared to the position of the Democratic party. However also evident is that the Republican Party represents a vast chunk of opinion in the USA which is what a democracy is all about and that there are major differences between the policies of the two parties on major issues such as the level of taxation and public expenditure, instead of the manufacturing of differences here in the UK and where moral issues and matters of conscience are not treated on party political lines. There is still some two months to go and I conclude that the outcome is still too close to call and therefore the party creatives will be desperate to find some dirt to give to the media.