You're Only As Good As Your Last Byline

THE LAST POST: AN EDUCATION IN LIFE

2010-06-14T18:39:00.005+01:00

Before arriving at university, I thought education was all about work. Working so you could work even more when you actually work. How wrong I was. Choosing to read Journalism Studies in Sheffield was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, because not only was it an enjoyable course, but I’ve also had a fantastic three years of life. They say your best days are at university and - although it took me a while to get out of the 'workworkwork' mentality of GCSEs and A-Levels, into the 'funfunfun' mentality of a degree - there are insufficient comparitives and superlatives to describe how amazing it's been. But I'll try to find some...

My BA Journalism Studies course has been a wonderful education. I chose The University of Sheffield simply because it was the best place to read journalism at undergraduate level and I haven’t been disappointed. I’ve been given the opportunity to develop skills in so many areas, including newspaper reporting, subbing, television & radio production, magazine writing, shorthand, website & print design and media law. So I've had quite a bit to do!

I’ve also met some fantastic coursemates, some of whom have already been offered jobs in local and national newspapers and PR. I was pretty enthusiastic about working in journalism when I started my course in 2007. But my lecturers have helped ensure I cannot wait to work full-time now, by being so passionate about their subjects and helping me nurture my skills and understanding of the media. For example, the media studies element of the course has been a sociological side of things that I'd never previously considered that much before I left school.

I had the chance to study in London after receiving offers from Goldsmiths and City University, but am so pleased on reflection that I turned them both down in favour of Sheffield. Something I never realised before coming north was how much of a divide still exists in this country. I even did a piece in my final-year broadcast portfolio on ‘northerness’ and what that concept means to people in Yorkshire. I never really thought of regional identity as being that important when I lived at home in Essex, but all of a sudden I became a ‘southerner’ in the north!

Aside from the north-south divide, which is obviously not only felt in South Yorkshire, Sheffield has been a great city to live in as a student. It has two universities and a number of colleges with young people from across the world, making it a vibrant and buzzing place whenever you go out. There is so much going on during term-time and a huge number of restaurants & entertainment outlets competing for student business, that prices are cheap and it’s easy to have a good night out for a tenner.

A fascinating aspect of Sheffield is its diversity over such a small area. You have the leafy, upmarket regions of Broomhill and Fulwood (Deputy PM Nick Clegg’s constituency of Hallam), and then poorer areas like Pitsmoor and Burngreave where postcode gang warfare between S3 and S4 is rife, with a number of murders over the last few years. This all contributes to making it a very eye-opening place to live as a student, whatever background you're from. With the university being a city (rather than campus) college, you really feel part of life here. I’d have just been in a comfortable south-east bubble if I’d never moved to Yorkshire, so I’m very glad I did.

The political world of Sheffield is rather removed from what I was used to in the blue corner of Southend West. There is not a single Tory MP or even a councillor on Sheffield City Council, in an area dominated by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Let's just say the Conservative Future society at the University isn’t massive. It’s no surprise that a former manufacturing stronghold - and the most working-class city in the country - is generally left-wing. Add in all the students voting Lib Dem, and you can see why Clegg loves it up here.

University is a great time for finding out more about who you are as a person and developing your opinions on a wide variety of subjects. I’ve found my own faith as a Christian has been greatly strengthened by a fantastic church, St Thomas’ Church Philadelphia, which is very proactive in its community work both in South Yorkshire and abroad, whilst it continues to grow in reach. And I’ve been able to try out new activities I’d have never even thought about if I had missed out on attending university. I’ve re-ignited a passion I had as a young teenager for dance and got involved in a new type - swing dance - which has been great fun to learn. Add that into activities like salsa and samba drumming, and you can see why I've loved my time here.

Sheffield is well-known for its music and this excited me when I arrived. I’ve got to see so many bands over the last three years here, from Arctic Monkeys [pictured] to Groove Armada, Carmen Ghia to Coldplay and Chase & Status to Kasabian. There is a top music scene in the Steel City and I’ve found so many great smaller artists by going to random gigs and events. One thing that’s really stuck out has been drum ‘n’ bass, as there’s a massive scene locally for a music genre that isn’t very well-represented yet nationwide. I might have been brought up on classical and jazz music, and since then developed a taste for dance and indie, but there’s something unique and fresh about DnB that you just don’t find in other music. And if it wasn’t for Sheffield, I’d have probably never found out about it.

So that’s it, three years of being a student finished. It’s been full of great memories, friends and general learning. Although I wouldn’t like to live here for the rest of my life, Sheffield has been a wonderful city to be in as a student and I’m very glad I decided to come here. I’m sad to be leaving but it’ll be good to get back to the seaside in Leigh-on-Sea for a bit and take a break over the summer. The last three years have been pretty crazy, so I feel like I deserve a rest now!

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I'm sorry to announce this will be my last regular Monday evening blog post. I've really enjoyed blogging during my time at The University of Sheffield and getting so much feedback from readers. Many thanks to you for generating the 8,000 hits I've had from 94 countries on my 98 posts in the last 15 months. I'm now going to properly embrace Twitter and post my views on life at http://twitter.com/markdavidduell, so please follow me as I move into my post-university life! Thanks for your support :)
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PICTURES: University of Sheffield; University of Sheffield SASI; Wikimedia; BBC

WORLD IN MOTION: THE MAIN EVENT

2010-06-07T19:19:00.004+01:00

The flags are out, optimism is sky-high and the Carlsberg is in the fridge. But before you get too excited, let me just say: England are not going to win the World Cup.

If you compare our team to the likes of Spain, Brazil and Argentina, it’s not great. Remember that we’re up against the likes of Torres, Kaka and Messi [pictured] here. And whilst possessing Rooney, Gerrard and Terry in your side is certainly not an embarrassment, Fabio Capello’s men are simply too one-dimensional to succeed. We’ve seen that enough during recent friendlies. But the World Cup is not just about England. It’s a wonderful occasion when the best international footballers come to compete on the biggest stage. And I, for one, can’t wait.

So if England don’t win, who will? I believe this could be a World Cup where workmanlike performances grind out results. There are going to be many teams not used to playing in such humidity and high temperatures that may suffer, which is why preparations are crucial. But this is unlikely to affect top sides such as Brazil and Argentina - or even Spain or Portugal - so the factor that this plays might be minimised. However, sometimes progression in the World Cup is not about playing entertaining football. It’s about getting results and knowing how to close down your opponents.

This is why my two outside bets this year are Germany and Italy. You can still get pretty good odds on both from William Hill (14/1 and 16/1), which is primarily because they have already been written off by most of the media.

Italy are, of course, the current holders - and although no team has retained the trophy for consecutive competitions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962; the only other side to do so was Italy themselves in 1934 and 1938. The reason I’m backing the Italians is that they are so strong defensively, have the capability to become very tough to break down and can grab difficult wins when necessary. Players like Cannavaro, Buffon [pictured] and Zambrotta are a defensive wall that will shut up shop to allow the likes of De Rossi and Pirlo to get forward and cause problems. It might not be pretty and it might be 1-0 defensive football, but that’s what the Italians specialise in, and is why they won the tournament in 2006.

Germany are an industrious and reliable team. You always know what to expect from them in a penalty shootout. Their group - like Italy’s - is pretty straightforward, although Serbia, Ghana and Australia could all cause a few problems. Their coach, Joachim Low, was assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006, and has a team that will not be pushed over. It includes the likes of Podolski, Schweinsteiger and last tournament's top scorer Klose [pictured], who must be taken seriously and shut down by opponents. But I just think Italy are such a strong all-round side that they will concede fewer goals and have a better ability to stop opponents scoring.

There are a few other possibilities worth looking out for and maybe having a flutter on. Japan, who have only appeared at the World Cup three times before and only made it past the group stage when on home soil in 2002, are 5/4 with Ladbrokes to finish bottom of their group (against Holland, Denmark and Cameroon). How about Holland to finish top of the same group on 4/6 (Skybet) - and maybe combining those odds for a better payout. Looking at top scorers, Arsenal’s Dutch striker Robin van Persie looks well-priced at 16/1 (Paddy Power) to be the tournament’s top scorer, and England’s penalty-taker Frank Lampard is 6/1 (Coral) to score the most goals for the Three Lions.

Two surprise packages to look out for could be Serbia and South Korea - both sides with a relatively average past in the World Cup and few star players - but workmanlike and capable of causing a few surprises. You can get good prices on both to cause an upset in their groups - with South Korea 10/1 (Skybet) to beat Argentina and Serbia 3/1 (Boylesports) to defeat Germany. Both of these results might be unlikely, but upsets do happen - and you can at least get a good price on both of these sides finishing second in their groups. How about a semi-final between South Korea and North Korea? OK, I’m getting carried away now...

I can’t possibly describe how excited I am about the World Cup. My life as a student is set to expire this weekend and what better way to celebrate moving into a new stage of life than watching the whole tournament? The anticipation really has been building up since Euro 2008, with fans around the world wondering whether Spain can clinch the world title too - or will Brazil’s flair and creativity outdo the likes of Xavi and Fabregas? Holland have never won the World Cup, so maybe it will be their year. Or perhaps we’ll get a complete shock, like when Greece were victorious in Euro 2004. One thing’s for sure - and I’m sorry to say it, but I’m only being honest - England won’t be lifting the trophy come July 11th.

PICTURES: BBC Sport

EUROVISION: TIME TO SIGN OFF?

2010-05-31T18:22:00.005+01:00

They tried their best. Electric violins from Moldova, another out-of-tune UK entry and a song about apricots by Armenia. But once again the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 represented everything that is wrong and embarrassing about Europe to us in Great Britain. And once again it proved that very few of our neighbours like us - with the UK finishing bottom for the third time in eight years. Josh Dubovie [pictured] was not really any better than Andy Abraham (2008) and Jemini (2003), and what is even worse is that he got past a number of competitors in a contest to make it that far.

Eurovision is something of a joke in this country now, as everybody knows the voting is political and rarely based on the song. This year’s winner from Germany - Satellite, by Lena - is already quite well-known in Europe and that helped its success, but it’s not a particularly good tune. It sounds generic and, like most entries, is about two decades out of date. The irony about this is that the UK has one of the best music industries in the world, and it fills the radio schedules of many stations abroad - but when it comes down to it, however good the entry is, we just won’t win.

The pre-scripted jokes and awful outfits were a source of fun for Terry Wogan over the years, and Graham Norton is doing a reasonable job as hosting it nowadays, by poking similar humour at the contestants and presenters. But the whole style of Eurovision is so cheesy and clichéd that you wonder whether we should just quit now to save the embarrassment of finishing behind countries that most people couldn’t pinpoint on a map and certainly didn’t even exist when the competition first started.

The Conservatives in government can’t really enjoy the whole ‘embracing European-ness’ idea either, with the Eurozone in such dire straits at the moment thanks to our friends in Greece. Whether being in the European Union has been beneficial for our country or not - and that’s a whole different topic - nights like Eurovision just sum up why we don’t get on very well with our continental neighbours. I believe the money spent on it by the BBC each year could be better invested elsewhere. How about relaunching Top of the Pops?

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Sandwiched in between Aslan’s Kebabs and Popeye’s on Sheffield's West Street, Bargain Beers is not a great place to be on a Saturday night. Unless you happen to be a drunkard looking for your fix of dry cider - in which case it’s paradise. But it doesn’t just share a similar name to that of Bargain Booze, a chain now operating 630 stores across Britain, and given a glowing review in yesterday's The Sunday Times. It also shares the alcohol pricing philosophy that by charging consistently low prices, you will build up customer loyalty and generate stable sales.

These discount stores - which offer nothing but alcohol and a few nibbles - battle with supermarkets for the £14billion market of alcohol sold in the UK outside the pub trade, and are very successful in doing so. It seems that you can build up customer loyalty by undercutting supermarkets on average price - even if they do beat you with special deals on multipacks from time to time. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) will this week recommend government ministers to launch a minimum price on alcohol per unit. This could see the price of cheap wine especially soar - and this will hit the supermarkets and cheap off-licences.

The problem with the argument of putting up the price of alcohol is that it will not deter people from drinking if they really want to. When you go into a pub, the price of a pint will usually be somewhere between £2 and £3, and it’s unlikely you would change your opinion of whether to buy it or not. Similarly, if you’re having a house party and want to get a certain amount of beer or spirits, you’ll buy them whatever the price (within reason). And for alcoholics, this is the case even more so. I doubt that the price elasticity for alcohol is what Nice understand it to be, but they are the economic experts, so we’ll see what happens.

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As regular blog readers may guess, I do like football a bit. I managed to get to 49 matches this season, including midweek trips to Shrewsbury, Tranmere and Scunthorpe. And that’s supporting Southend (200 miles from Sheffield) and Newcastle (150 miles away). So it’s absolutely no surprise to me that a Heineken survey last week showed British men spend more time watching, playing, reading and talking about football than anywhere else in the world. The figure is 11 hours 12 minutes a week, which I reckon I could easily surpass in one day.

With the World Cup only 11 days away now, it’ll be a great excuse to watch even more of the beautiful game than usual, and I can’t wait for it to get going. The two-week break between the official end of the domestic season yesterday and the start of the tournament in South Africa will hopefully pass pretty quickly, and then the pubs, bars and betting shops will be full with noisy Englishmen. Wonderful. It’s a tribute to our nation that we get behind our team so much and are the most football-mad country in the world. It’s a great time for the country to come together in praise of 11 men kicking an inflated pig’s bladder more than 5,000 miles away from home.

PICTURES: Digital Spy; Bargain Booze; Reuters/Mail

THE BEST TYPE OF JOURNALISM

2010-05-24T19:00:00.003+01:00

Journalists are often asked whether they would enjoy ruining somebody's life with an article. The honest answer for most would be 'no', but some things have to be said in order to bring public figures to account, and we've seen that again this week [Sarah Ferguson, pictured]. The great investigative journalists of our time like Nick Davies (The Guardian) and Mazher Mahmood (News of the World) have brought to account so many companies and individuals, who would have got away with malpractice and hypocrisy for many more years had they not been caught.

Last week, we saw the Football Association's Chairman, Lord Triesman, lose his job after claiming Spain and Russia would try to bribe referees in the World Cup, in a private conversation reported by the Mail on Sunday. Now we've got Sarah Ferguson getting a right royal spanking for putting access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, up for sale to a News of the World reporter (incidently, it was Mr Mahmood).

I often hear the tabloid press lambasted as being nothing more than profit-driven gossip junkies who love ruining celebrity's lives. But this clearly isn't true. They have such amazing contacts and budgets for investigative journalism, that without them our society would be much worse off. And it's not just the tabloid press. Our broadsheet papers like The Sunday Times continue to invest in quality journalism that holds politicians to account (just look at their Patricia Hewitt piece).

You would have thought that politicians, celebrities and royalty would have realised by now that any conversations or exchanges they have with anybody can be recorded. Max Mosley's reputation was certainly damaged by the bondage session he took part in, even if he sued the News of the World for claiming it was 'Nazi'-related. There is an argument that this was private - and that Lord Triesman's conversation was private - so neither should be let out into the public domain. And there is a difference here between Mosley's sex life and Triesman's comments directly relating to his job, but both men are public figures who should know better.

Without investment in quality investigative journalism, we would know a lot less about the failings of important people in our society. So keep supporting it by buying those newspapers!

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"If Ben put his head in the oven, would you do that too?," Sue asked Karen. "Don't be silly," Karen said. "There wouldn't be enough room for my head if Ben's head was in the oven, unless you chopped it off, and then I'd be dead, so I wouldn't be able to close the door."

Karen from Outnumbered is one of the funniest television characters I've ever witnessed in my life. This might sound over-the-top as Ramona Marquez is only a child, but as an actress she's up there with the best. The third series of Outnumbered has recently been showing on BBC1, and her improvised delivery is something else.

It's difficult to know how much is scripted by a behind-the-scenes team and how much she comes up with herself, but the Britain's Got Talent sketch earlier this series was simply brilliant - especially when she 'sat on Ant and Dec' by mistake. I've seen Hugh Dennis (her father in the series) perform comedy live and think he's pretty funny, but it's refreshing to see such a young actress with an incredible sense of humour and perfect delivery.

So well done, Ramona (by the way, doesn't she looks more English than Spanish?). It'll be interesting to see whether she goes onto comedy as an adult, or if she finds it hard to shake free of that 'cute' stereotype that has exemplified her performance in Outnumbered. But I'll enjoy watching it while it lasts.

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England have two warm-up friendlies this week to get them ready for the World Cup. It's Mexico tonight and Japan on Sunday, in time for the naming of the squad next Tuesday (1 June). Manager Fabio Capello must use these games wisely to ensure: a) nobody gets injured; b) he has a clear idea of the 23 men to take to South Africa; and c) confidence remains high after an excellent qualifying campaign.

There are serious concerns that the pitch at Wembley still isn't up to scratch, and this was certainly evident during the Championship Play-Off Final on Saturday, when players were dropping like flies. Blackpool's Gary Taylor-Fletcher went home on crutches after the game, and he'd tried out three different pairs of boots before one got caught in the ground and he went over on it.

It is key that England don't get any injuries to key players. I'd rather we lost 5-0 to Mexico and Japan than lost a big name footballer now, as June and July in South Africa is obviously more important, and nobody really cares about results in friendlies - even though it would be nice to win. So, a message to Capello: please make the right decisions on who to take to South Africa. And a message to the FA: sort out that pitch now!

PICTURES: BBC

OUR VERY OWN COMEDY DOUBLE-ACT

2010-05-17T18:16:00.003+01:00

Watching Nick Clegg and David Cameron give their first press conference as leaders of our country last week was somewhat reminiscent of the Morecambe and Wise Show. They just seemed so relaxed about it all and even had time for a little laugh with reporters, which suggests to me that the next few years are going to be great fun. Compare that to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who, as The Guardian pointed out today, were never able to pull off such an informal and friendly co-appearance despite being in the same political party for decades.

The mention of ‘Cameron’s favourite political joke’ from Five News reporter Andy Bell will be replayed over and over for years to come. It’s a perfect start to a future news report on ‘where did it all go wrong after it started so well’; but hopefully it won’t go wrong and we can have good fun with our new leaders. Maybe they will come up with a new coalition logo - perhaps a blend of blue and yellow to create green - as a sign that they want to make this work? Maybe not.

There were some great moments during the election like Gordon Brown v Gillian Duffy, Alastair Campbell v Adam Boulton and Joan Collins v Andrew Neil. But in many ways it failed to deliver. We thought the TV debates had been successful in stirring up a huge increase in seats for the Liberal Democrats, but that never materialised. We thought turnout would rise dramatically, but it was only up 2 per cent on average. And only a few months ago we thought we would get a Conservative overall majority, but that was to prove unfounded too.

A Clegg-Cameron coalition should be good for this country. It will certainly mean fewer rash policy decisions are made as the two parties will always be debating everything together, and this can only be good for plurality in our political system. The Tories and Lib Dems may well reinvent a ‘centre’ politics, where they come to compromises on some of their more right or left ideas, and that could be very interesting.

We have two people now leading our country that were born after England last won the World Cup in 1966, so the hope is that their youthful and innovative approaches to politics will work together for the good of this nation.

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The camera pans over Canary Wharf and the City. The Financial Times is being read in a private helicopter. Some businesspeople in smart suits are walking across a bridge carrying suitcases on wheels. But... hold on... aren’t they a bit, um, small?

The best thing about getting the General Election out of the way is that The Apprentice is back, thank goodness, and we will all once again have something to do for an hour at 9pm on Wednesdays. However, all is not as it seems - this new version of the main show, entitled Junior Apprentice, features teenagers. But don’t worry, as their egos are all just as big as the real contestants. If not bigger.

The first episode made me cringe, to say the least. There were girls crying for no reason whatsoever, boys who were so boastful they were an embarrassment to themselves and Lord Sugar [pictured - no longer as 'Suralan'] cracking jokes about Facebook.

But, with all of that, it was still quite enjoyable to see cocky Jordan De Courcy fired after the first-round for making a loss in a cheese selling competition. Credit to the 16-year-old for already owning his own business, but he’s clearly got a lot to learn. I also enjoyed Tim Ankers complaining that he couldn’t package crackers and cheddar because there was too much wind. And he works as a farmer.

This is clearly going to be lots of fun, but it made me feel slightly like I was watching The Inbetweeners. It’s difficult to sit in front of the television because what’s unfolding makes you want to cringe so much, but it’s actually quite good entertainment.

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The FA Cup Final on Saturday between Chelsea and Portsmouth was a feast of football, compared to the 2007 debacle which Mark Lawrenson referred to as ‘a good advert for the cricket season’. It was played how a cup final should be played, full of commitment and desire to win. The gulf between the sides was massive, but it could have been a wholly different story had Kevin-Prince Boateng converted a penalty shortly before Didier Drogba netted the decisive goal.

I think everyone feels quite sorry for Portsmouth at the moment. It would almost have been better to see them lose 5-0 than 1-0, as at least then they would be comfortably defeated rather than having a sniff of glory. It’s been a sorry state of affairs on the south coast all season, and manager Avram Grant doesn’t deserve it. He’s favourite to take over at West Ham United next season, and I hope he does a good job there if appointed. Portsmouth are likely to lose most of their squad this summer, and must ensure they don’t get relegated again next year. Stability is vital.

PICTURES: Daily Mail/Financial Times; The Sun; Daily Telegraph

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: BUT WHAT NEXT?

2010-05-10T17:11:00.003+01:00

Between the hours of 9am on Wednesday and 2am on Saturday last week, I accumulated just seven hours' sleep. But it was worth it, as I followed and reported on a fascinating General Election. Now the most undemocratic part of the whole business is taking place as the three main parties decide how a coalition will be formed to govern the United Kingdom. Will it be a ‘Con-Dem-Nation’ (great headline) as the Daily Mirror announced? Or are we set for a Lib-Lam tie-up? From a policies and electoral reform point of view, it would seem sensible for Nick Clegg to side with a new Labour leader, now Gordon Brown has stepped down. But a common policy programme is possible with David Cameron that would get an emergency budget in place and overall be more popular with the electorate.

There have been many debates raised over the last few days about whether our electoral system is fair. Suffice to say, it is fair in individual constituencies where the person with the most votes will represent their area in Parliament. But then you look at the percentages of votes and see that if we had Proportional Representation the Lib Dems would have 99 seats (Alternative Vote), 123 (Alternative Vote Plus) or 163 (Single Transferable Vote). No surprises that they favour the latter.

The main argument against PR is that it doesn’t lead to strong governments as there is no clear majority. But, of course, that is exactly the situation we now find ourselves in after election day delivered a hung parliament. Electoral reform is certainly needed, however, as a situation where a 6 per cent point difference in votes leads to 201 more seats for Labour against the Lib Dems certainly does not sound not very democratic.

It was almost unbelievable when the exit polls were released, that the Liberal Democrats were forecast to suffer a net loss of seats. Shadow chancellor Vince Cable laughed it off and I thought they must have got it wrong too at 10pm on Thursday. But as the night continued, the exit poll was proved to be almost spot on. In fact, it was being generous as they got even less.

One of the big winners were the Green Party, with Caroline Lucas gaining a seat in Brighton. She is a very clever woman with radical ideas who I’m sure will add something to the House of Commons. We also saw some excellent gains for the Conservatives in my home county of Essex, such as Castle Point and Basildon South & Thurrock East. In fact, Essex is now exclusively Tory apart from Colchester, which is Lib Dem.

I’m currently producing a radio feature on ‘northerness’ for my degree, and one of the factors used when you define a 'northerner' is that of voting patterns. It’s clear to see looking at the electoral map of England that there are serious differences in voting, which is of course very much traditional. But it’s interesting that the Tories simply have no chance in some areas, however well they’re doing, as many northern working-class areas just feel Labour will always do more for them.

As a general rule, you have the south-east and midlands dominated by the Conservatives, south-west by the Lib Dems, and then the picture is a lot more mixed in the north, with Labour having a much bigger presence. It’s important to note that in England the Tories seem to cover a much larger land area than any of the other parties put together, but this of course counts for nothing, as it doesn’t necessarily represent a much larger population voting for them.

Well that’s all interesting stuff. I think I’ll go to bed tonight and wake up next week to find out who’s in charge.

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Back in the day, the policemen who drew the short straw to cover Milwall, Leeds United or Cardiff City games shuddered in their black boots. And to some extent they still would today. But over the last few weeks we’ve seen three new sets of fans come through the ranks of hooliganism to give their teams a bad name. Violence and crowd trouble caused by Sheffield Wednesday, Luton Town and Grimsby Town supporters over the last 10 days has been simply unacceptable.

It doesn’t matter if your team has got relegated or failed in their promotion bid - this is no excuse for getting onto the pitch and putting players in danger. If you play professional football - or, indeed, play at any level - you should not have to worry about your own safety. At the end of Burton v Grimsby, the referee and some players actually ran off the pitch at the final whistle because they seemed so scared of what could happen. And it got nasty.

I have seen Southend United get promoted twice (once live, once on TV) and relegated twice (both live) - yet on only one of those four occasions has there been a proper pitch invasion. And on that one occasion - against Bristol City in May 2006 - I decided to stay in the stand. Not only because it was a criminal offence to get onto the pitch, but also that I wanted to stay with my grandpa up there and get a good view of what was going on. Yes, invasions looks really funny on the cameras, but if you’re in the middle of a melee it’s probably quite frightening, even if the fans are good-tempered.

The only way to solve this problem seems to be to put up fences again, and nobody wants that. There often simply aren’t enough stewards or police to stop fans getting on, and I suggest the Football League commissions a report before the end of next season to see what can be done. As if it’s a criminal offence but thousands of people still get onto the turf, what can you do? It would be a pretty busy Magistrates’ Court on a Monday morning.

PICTURES: Daily Mirror and Daily Mail/Getty

YOURS OR THE MEDIA'S ELECTION?

2010-05-03T18:05:00.004+01:00

It's going to be a fascinating week. The media has put in years of build up to this Thursday, when the talking will stop and the action will happen. We'll find out who'll be running the country from the end of this week. Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are going head-to-head in the tightest general election for a generation and nobody yet wants to call the result. But one element of this election which is of special interest is how the various newspapers have - as in previous years - taken different sides and tried to get you to vote for a certain party. In the blue corner for the Tories, we have The Times, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Sun. The Guardian is following the Liberal Democrats, the Daily Mirror is backing Labour, and a hung parliament is supported by The Independent. I'm not sure who the Daily Star and Daily Sport are backing, but it probably won't have too much to do with policies on education, transport and defence spending.

So how much of an impact does a newspaper's political voice have on its readers? Some - if not all - newspaper owners are probably in the business not to make money but to gain influence through their position. An excellent piece by Roy Greenslade in The Guardian today looked at political support from papers since 1945, and how whereas some papers like The Sun and The Times have wavered, others like the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail have pretty much held firm on one side of the fence. He points out that The Sun is read "by the greatest number of floating voters", because many of them live in marginal seats. This shows how valuable Murdoch's support is to Cameron, and why The Sun shifting parties last year had so much significance. Voting intentions of newspapers' readers are often very much what you'd expect, which shows how much influence they have.

This year, with six of the nine national daily titles that take politics seriously, you would expect a landslide Conservative win. But in February 1973, the Daily Mirror was the only paper backing Labour and they were still elected. So this shows although newspapers have some influence, they cannot decide elections. The infamous 'It's The Sun wot won it' headline from 1992 was supposed to show how powerful the paper was, and it does indeed have a great deal of influence, but many people obviously don't vote according to what they read. The Independent likes to remain impartial, as that is a principle on which it was founded, but could this be a reason why it has the lowest circulation of any major UK daily? People like their prejudices and opinions reconfirmed by what they consume in the media - just look at Fox News in America. But it's simply a great thing about the British free press that we have such a wide variety of newspapers that back different partes. This election would have been a whole lot more boring if everyone had followed Cameron.

* * *

Persecuted Christians have hit the headlines again, after the Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that a street preacher was charged with a public order offence for saying he thought homosexuality is a sin. It's a perfect Mail story as it's one of these things that 'certainly wouldn't have happened years ago in my day when people were more tolerant'. They know their target audience. But, choice of story aside, I think the debate to be had here is whether anybody should be allowed to say that homosexuality is wrong. Dale Mcalpine was not advocating some sort of new law where gay people should be punished for their sexuality, but just explaining to a PCSO that he thought it was a sin. The argument is not whether the Bible says being gay is wrong, but whether he should be prevented from having his opinion. I don't think preaching against homosexuality is the best thing to talk about on a street corner - as the Church should be doing more to incorporate gay people, and its message should be focussed on the Bible, not whether being gay is right or wrong.

But some might argue you could compare this to Mr Mcalpine shouting out that adultery or lusting is advised against by the Bible. He was not judging anyone in particular, just saying what he thought. It seems a coincidence that the Cumbria PCSO on patrol was a 'lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender liaison officer', but that should not affect police handling of cases. It sets a dangerous precedent when you can stop certain people from proclaiming their beliefs on a street corner, under a public order act intended for football hooligans. If he was saying gay people should be killed, then that would should obviously be policed differently. But by saying it is wrong, he is simply expressing an opinion, to which he is entitled, whether you agree with him or not. I have lots of respect for anybody who will stand on a street and preach what they believe - whether that is for gay rights or promoting Christianity - and think the police should make clearer what should and shouldn't be allowed. And if a court rules that you're not allowed to say what Mr Mcalpine did, then that will be a shame for freedom of speech.

* * *

Right, onto some football. The relegation battle in the Championship reached its climax on Sunday as Crystal Palace sent Sheffield Wednesday down after a battling 2-2 draw at Hillsborough, and it was great drama on the BBC. Everything came down to this one game, and it was such a wonderful spectacle for neutrals that it made me wonder. How about starting up relegation play-offs in the Football League, like we already do for promotion? The play-offs in the top-half give mid-table teams something to aim for every season, and this year have given sides like Cardiff City and Leicester City a real chance of making the top-flight. I have been involved with them twice with Southend United, and have to say they were incredibly nerve-racking and emotionally destroying but simply unforgettable if you made it up. So how about at the bottom?

We had Grimsby v Barnet in League Two on Saturday, which was effectively a relegation play-off too, but again this was only caused by the fixtures computer. The issue with play-offs is that they often don't represent a team's form over the course of a season - as it's based on only a few games - and some may argue that this therefore wouldn't be fair on a team that got relegated just because it was going through a bad patch. But it would certainly make it more exciting, and give sides a last-chance reprieve to stay in their division. Another model might be getting the third-bottom team in League Two to play the losing finalists in the Conference play-offs, to decide who is more worthy of Football League status. Either way, I think it would be a great way of livening up the end-of-season, and I can't think of a better way of staying-up than beating a team in a final day crunch match.

PICTURES: Sky News / Daily Mail / The Guardian

FOREIGN OFFICE v POPE BENEDICT XVI

2010-04-26T18:00:00.005+01:00

It was the sort of gag you might hear a comedian crack. ‘What should the Pope do when he comes to visit?’ / ‘Launch his own condom range, bless a gay marriage or open an abortion clinic.’ It might have got an embarrassed laugh from a theatre audience, but there were not too many grins at the Foreign Office yesterday, when a leaked memo appeared to mock the Catholic Church ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to this country in September.

Fortunately the Vatican aren’t taking it too badly and have said Benedict will still make the first papal visit to the UK since John Paul II in 1982. It’s pretty fortunate that the memo, which came from a "brainstorm" session, did not contain any lurid references to the child abuse scandal raging through the Church at the moment. You only wonder what would happen if similar jokes were made about another state leader or religion that would not take it so well. We all remember the tension and fallout from Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed.

The Sunday Telegraph must be credited for getting hold of the document, as it shows an underlying public sentiment towards Catholicism that is concerning, especially when its leader is visiting in only a few months. The Bishop of Chester, Peter Forster, made an excellent point that it represents a “familiarity breeding contempt in some circles of society about our Christian heritage”. We live in an open society where everyone should be able to practice whatever religion they wish without being persecuted or ridiculed.

The concern here is that the leaked memo is strongly representative of public opinion. I visited the Vatican last month when on holiday in Rome, and it struck me that the Pope seems quite a distant figure in the UK as he rarely visits, despite often being featured in the media. I get the feeling that some people have lost trust in his ability to lead the Church, so it will do him and Catholicism good to visit this September.

* * *

It’s difficult to know what’s happening at the moment, but at least it makes the run-in interesting. Everyone is calling different election results. Will we get a hung parliament? Will we get a Tory majority? Even a Labour majority? Opinion polls concern me as they give a proportional representation of the vote, and you wonder how many people answer them honestly. But they do give the papers something to talk about every day, by giving an idea of who is in the lead. The significance of the polls cannot be taken too seriously, as I don’t feel they properly represent regional variation, and 3.5million voters are apparently still to make up their mind (that statistic, of course, was also calculated from a poll!).

It will be the first general election in which I will be allowed to vote, although I remember the last three pretty well in 1997, 2001 and 2005. They were pretty clear cut for Labour, and the Conservative bounce over the last few years suggested it would be straightforward this time around again. But the Tories have always said they would need a 6.9 per cent swing to gain 117 seats for an overall majority - bigger than the swing when Margaret Thatcher came to power. The polls suggest that’s off reach at the moment, and that we’re heading for a hung parliament, but can we trust the polls?

A great website, UK Polling Report, is even better if you like your statistics. It analyses and tracks all of the polls, trying to make sense of them in context of what is happening in the political field. If I was a political leader (which is not what I’m intending to do with my life!) then I would try not to pay much attention to the polls. I remember speaking to a Tory MP last year who said he was concerned that his party was getting too complacent with their lead. This showed they might have sat back slightly when they started to gain an overall majority. If the Conservatives don’t win, could it actually be because of the polls?

* * *

I can’t say we didn’t expect it. Southend United were relegated back to Football League Two on Saturday after a 2-2 draw at Oldham Athletic. The Shrimpers have been out of the basement division for five seasons, but the fun has stopped abruptly this season after a chaotic year on and off the pitch. Players have not been paid, goalscorers have been sold, the assistant manager was sacked, gates have been falling and performances have been shocking. The Blues haven’t been scoring and we’ve been shipping goals by the dozen. Manager Steve Tilson [pictured] has tried his best, but financial mismanagement has been the major downfall of the team.

I’ve seen some 25 matches this season - an achievement I’m proud of seeing as I live 200 miles away from Roots Hall in Sheffield at the moment - but watching the lads so much has only confirmed to me how much we deserved to go down. One win in the last 20 matches is horrendous form. When Southend were relegated from the Championship in 2007 - a season I remember well for its ups and downs - we at least gave it a good fight and picked up some decent wins along the way. That season we just weren’t good enough at that level. This season we’re simply not good enough at all.

It’s only our fourth relegation in two decades, so we can’t be too sad. But the major concern for next season is getting in players that want to play for the football club. ‘Fancy coming to a relegated club where we don’t pay you on time, have no money to spend on players and have won only one game in 2010?’ I wouldn’t. I only hope some decent wingers and goalscorers take pity on us and come to help out. The key to this season going wrong was Lee Barnard leaving, as he scored so many vital goals. We were pretty average even when he was around, but if you can’t score goals, you won’t stay up. I won’t be too disappointed with consolidation next season... but I'll stand by the lads. It's an addictive bug. Season ticket for League Two, please!

PICTURES: News Advance; Cartoon Stock; Sky Sports

PLEASE CAN WE GO HOME NOW?

2010-04-22T16:29:00.004+01:00

Brian and Lorraine Howden were meant to enjoy their dream holiday in New York. But thanks to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland, getting back home has turned into a nightmare.

Like many other people stranded in countries outside of the European Union they have had to pay out extra hotel bills with no discounts, along with medication and doctor consultations at full cost.

They have also had to use credit cards that could go over their limit at any time and know there are bills at home that may not be paid on time, so incurring penalties.

The Howdens, from Hampshire, had booked for 10 days and were due to fly back last Saturday with American Airlines. But when they tried to rebook when their flight was cancelled, the earliest trip they could only get Thursday. Many travellers have still to get flights.

Brian [pictured], who is Marketing Manager at Fareham College, is concerned at the lack of help from the government and airlines for travellers who were stranded in non-EU countries.

He said: “Many people are in severe distress with very little help. The issue for travellers is whether there is going to be any help. Most Brits aren't getting any support at all and having to rely on credit cards if they can.

“There's no single point of information, no hope of financial support or leniency from banks or credit cards etc. If airlines like banks get massive financial support, people will be angry if nothing is done to help them.”

The Brits in their hotel are spending breakfast and time in the lobby sharing tales of financial problems during their extended holiday.

“Many have had to pay out extra hotel bills at full rate and some have had to make alternative arrangements to travel paying premium fares,” he said.

“We like masses of people have had to pay out for medication and doctor consultations at full cost with mostly no call on insurance.

“Credit cards are helping people pay bills but many will max out. Travellers will fail to pay bills coming in whilst away, find credit refused if they are over limit and incur bank charges.”

The eruption of the Icelandic volcano and the resultant ash cloud that has spread across Europe has been causing travel chaos over the last week as British airspace has ground to a halt.

Airports have been deserted and British passengers like the Howdens are stranded across the world. Children can’t get back to school and adults can’t get back to work. Most of all, they just want to return home.

“We are stranded here,” Brian said. “Lots of people may not get paid as this is 'unauthorized leave' and employers are not required to pay. There will also be people on contract work who won't be paid.”

Medication has been a big problem for British travellers, who only brought what they needed from home. Now it’s costing them a fortune abroad.

Brian said: “We were both running out of medications so had to see a doctor, which was £70 each. Then Lorraine's medication cost £115 for four items and mine cost £118 for just one item. That's just over £370.

“Insurance is unlikely to cover very much of this as they and the airline say it is ‘Act of God’ so nothing covers it.”

But the situation is starting to improve as the ash clears and more planes take to the skies. Despite all of the problems the Howdens are facing in the USA, Brian still thinks highly of their holiday destination.

“Despite the uncertain situation flying home and my lack of medication that works, we are blessed with this awesome long holiday in the most fabulous New York City,” he said.

“We're trying to focus on seeing this as a gift and enjoying every moment, whilst putting the extra cost at back of our minds.

“I have been to 15 European cities and 13 in UK and nothing comes close to New York. It will be great to get home and see the people who matter to us so much, but I will still be sad to leave Manhattan.”

UPDATE: The Howdens finally arrived home at London Heathrow Airport on Friday morning.

EXCLUSIVE BY MARK DUELL

SURELY HE WON'T ACTUALLY NICK IT?

2010-04-19T19:00:00.000+01:00

He had his chance and he took it. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg put in an impressive performance during the first leaders’ election debate last Thursday on ITV1 that has left media commentators falling over themselves to compliment him. In a similar vein to Tottenham Hotspur’s victories over Arsenal and Chelsea, an outsider has blown the title race wide open. The Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that the Lib Dems were ahead in the polls for the first time in 104 years, with 32% (Con 31% and Lab 28%). Whilst this obviously doesn’t mean they’ll automatically get in as a majority government, due to the first-past-the-post election system, it is still indicative of a major swing in the election.

The leaders’ debates have been hugely hyped, and whilst they possibly weren’t the most exciting pieces of television you will ever see, they have done a world of good to the man everyone used to make fun of for never having a chance of getting into power. Yes, his chance is still slim, but there are two more debates to go and more viewers than ever before will now be closely examining him as realistic prime minister material. I spoke to former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown last year, and he said the Lib Dems have a good chance of getting into power in May. I didn’t believe him and thought it was just more of the usual ‘this is the era of three-party politics’ talk from the party, but I wouldn’t be so sure he’s wrong now.

I have also had the opportunity to interview Nick Clegg, when he was speaking at the University of Sheffield last year, and found him a very interesting and well-presented person. But I think when most people consider their vote, they should think more about the local candidates and what they will do for the local area (Southend West for me), than the party leaders - although this is also important. David Amess MP currently holds this seat as a Conservative and I think he’s done a pretty good job during his last term. The Lib Dems in my home area are a fringe party that nobody pays much attention to, but if Clegg can use the next two debates to propel himself in the ratings so spectacularly as he has done over the last few days, there could be some strange results come May 6th. Hold on tight!

* * *

Even the Wright Brothers couldn’t have calculated for this. I think my family was pretty fortunate flying home from Rome just days before Eyjafjallajoekull (try saying that after a few pints) caused the airways system to grind to a halt, through a big layer of dust in the atmosphere. Hopefully planes will get back into the air over the next few days and everything will return to normal.

But it makes you wonder - what would we do without plane travel? What if the dust just sits there forever and planes can never fly again? It’s certainly good news for train and ferry companies anyway. Although it will probably mean more add-on fees for Ryanair flights as they try to recuperate their losses. £10 for a lifejacket maybe? Or £5 if you book it in advance online?

* * *

I was at Hillsborough yesterday for the Steel City derby between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. The crowd was a gigantic 35,485 and it was a superb atmosphere during the 1-1 draw - as it has been at every Sheffield derby I’ve been to in the past. I reminded me of the importance of football to communities, and how it has such a knack of both dividing and bringing together large amounts of people. The Owls really do hate the ‘pigs’, as they affectionately call United fans, and vice versa. This was demonstrated by some rival supporters’ groups in Hillsborough Park threatening each other, who were eventually dispersed by riot police and mounted officers. The scenes were like something out of Green Street, although it was good fun to watch from a distance!

I’ve been to a few derby matches this season such as Liverpool v Everton and Southend v Colchester, and there’s nothing better. I love the fact that it’s more than a football match - it’s pride in your local area, and that counts for a lot when teams are based close together. Derbies always have more passion, and it’s great to see the first big tackle go in, safe in the knowledge that the players want to win as much as the fans. They can be great days for everyone involved with a club, but also soul-destroying if you get hammered. This seems to have been a habit of Southend’s against Colchester in the last two seasons, so at least the honours have remained more even in recent Sheffield games. And, of course, next season the Magpies will get the chance to pay a visit to the Mackems. Newcastle v Sunderland - where it really does mean more than life or death. Can’t wait.

PICTURES: Combe Down Liberal Democrats, Metro/Reuters, The Guardian

A GREAT DEBATE OR BAD IDEA?

2010-04-12T21:09:00.003+01:00

Election fever is capturing the nation. Well, it's capturing those who are thinking about voting at least. Thursday 6 May will see citizens go to the polls for the most tightly-contested election for a generation. But there’s another interesting twist to it this time. Thanks to pressure from three broadcasters, my good friend Prime Minister Gordon Brown has accepted the challenge of live televised leader debates. Nick Clegg and David Cameron will appear alongside Brown on ITV, Sky News and the BBC over the next few weeks, and it should make fascinating viewing.

However, there are concerns it will be dull, with a 76-point agreement document outlining how each debate will be edited and broadcast, leaving little room for spontaneity. Politicians are generally not the most exciting people you will ever meet, but viewers and broadcasters alike are hoping that sparks will fly and arguments will get nasty. That would make good television, and help reward ITV, Sky and the BBC for all the efforts they have put into making this happen. Sky even threatened to organise a debate and leave an empty chair for any leader who would not turn up.

Three televised debates are not going to swing the election. But the point of them is that they have never been done before in Britain, even though it is commonplace in many other countries, and should capture some decent audiences. I met someone at a graduate job interview earlier this year who said they were doing a dissertation on the subject of leader debates, which shows there is lots to say about it. My only hope is that it doesn’t turn out to be a boring pre-planned conversation between politicians who do not clash swords on anything controversial. How about we give them a few challenges like Total Wipeout or Gladiators [pictured]? Now that would be fun...

* * *

I don’t watch soap operas like Coronation Street, Eastenders or Home & Away. I’ve had equal - if not better - entertainment from following Newcastle United over the last 14 years. And sometimes I just have a few moments where I have to enjoy it and remind myself why I became an honorary Geordie after Euro 96. The promotion of the Toon Army back to the Premier League last week was a fantastic achievement for Chris Hughton [pictured] and all the Magpies players. After all of the stress and disappointment of last season’s relegation, it has almost made up for it by doing so well this term. It's another part of the topsy-turvy story at St James' Park. Or should that be the sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium?

But the real work starts here. Owner Mike Ashley must ensure the same mistakes are not made again, and Newcastle restore their status as a decent Premier League side. We don’t need to spend silly money on new players this summer. January was a good example of how to do it - buy simple straightforward players who will do a good job for reasonable wages and won’t cost a fortune to buy. Mike Williamson and Wayne Routledge, for example, who have come in and done a great job. Even when Newcastle were going through a dodgy patch in January and February, they were still picking up points that have ultimately got them promoted.

I don’t want the club to be the laughing stock of the Premier League again. We’re in a great position now to go back up and remind people why Newcastle ‘The Entertainers’ United used to be everyone’s second team. Why not again?

PICTURES: The Independent, The Guardian, The Northern Echo

THE DAY I MET GORDON BROWN

2010-04-05T19:00:00.000+01:00

"Of all the people I know,” one of my friends said, “it had to be you. And it had to be on the front page of the paper that everyone reads.”

She obviously wasn’t as shocked as me when I was woken up by a text at 07:54 from another friend, saying: “Seen your face this morning on front page of the Metro.” At this point I promptly got up, ran downstairs to ask my mum - who was just about to drive my brother to school - to pick up a dozen copies from Leigh-on-Sea train station. I then phoned my dad, who was on the train to London, and told him to look again at the front-page of his paper to see if I was on it. There was a slight pause, after which he said: “Yes, you are”. I asked him to pick up as many copies as he could as well. I also looked it up on the online edition: http://bit.ly/b5lzGE. I had a feeling this was going to be a good day.

It has been quite an exciting week really, what with working at The Sunday Times, appearing on ITV News and Channel 4 News ten days ago, BBC Radio Four last Friday and Metro on Wednesday. Lots of people have asked me to explain how I ended up on the front-page of a national newspaper sharing a joke with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, so I thought I’d share the story with you on my blog.

It all started when I saw a competition advertised in the Metro on Friday 26 March where you had to email in your details for the chance to be in a Question and Answer session with 40 people and Gordon Brown the following Tuesday. I knew I was free that day and didn’t think too many people would enter, so went for it. On the Sunday afternoon, I received an email saying: “You have been picked to meet the Prime Minister at a central London location on Tuesday. The event will last from 4pm till 6pm. You will be send [sic] the location of the event on Tuesday morning.” Sounded like the script of a Bond film.

I then got a call and email on Tuesday at midday, saying: “Meeting is at 10 Downing St. Please arrive 4-4.15pm.” Now this was pretty exciting in itself. I’d only ever been to 10 Downing Street once before when I was working at Five News (part of Sky News) in September 2008, and didn’t actually go past the front door - I was in the press area outside. Anyway, I set off for Westminster not really knowing what to expect, and had two questions prepared for Mr Brown - one on whether public money should be spent on supporting local media; and another on the importance of visual marketing in election campaigns.

When I arrived, I was early and it was pouring with rain. I had to wait outside the door for a while under my umbrella until it was time to go in, and then we were escorted through the lobby area, leaving our mobile phones and coats behind. We were then taken upstairs into a reception room where drinks and refreshments were served, and I got to meet the other lucky winners. There were a few students there like me and we got chatting about what to expect, and trying to identify the paintings of the various historical figures around the room. I didn't do that well.

Just before 5pm, we were escorted into another room where chairs were already laid out, and told by Metro’s political editor John Higginson that the Prime Minister would be arriving in five minutes. As we waited, there was a sort of quiet tension that seemed to filter across the room, and then in the distance I heard that familiar Scottish voice. In walked Gordon Brown, and he went right around the whole room to shake the hand of everybody there. As he came round to shake my hand, I could hear the Metro photographer, Gretel Ensignia, flashing her camera wildly, so made sure I put on a nice big smile! More about my appearance in the paper later, but lots of people have asked me just what the Prime Minister said that made me laugh so much. Here is the transcript of the chat he was having with the girl behind me (in the bottom right-hand corner of the front-page photograph above):

PM: “It’s good to see you - it’s very nice to meet you. What do you think of this place then?”
Girl: “It’s lovely - it’s not like my house!”
PM: “There’s three parts to it - one is the rooms for official functions like this, secondly there’s a flat to stay in and thirdly there’s about 200 people working here, so it’s the three things in one. When you’re outside the front-door it looks quite small, but when you’re inside there‘s a lot of people working in the basement. You might see my kids running in to save me during this interview!”

What a joker. I had said to the other people present that the main thing I was interested in getting from the day was seeing what the Prime Minister was actually like. There is only so much you can tell from his appearances on television and radio, but he presented himself to us as a very charming man and interested about the individual person. There are those who will say he should do this as he is a politician after all, but he came across as very genuine to me. Regardless of political views, the Prime Minister is the most important person in this country (maybe after Simon Cowell), and it was a fantastic experience to meet him in person. I won’t go into much of what he said during the Q&A session, as you can read more about it in the Metro (http://bit.ly/b5lzGE). Talking of which...

I have appeared in national newspapers a few times in the past. One was in 2005, when The Times ran a page three feature on Marble Arch, and I was standing underneath it with my family when a photograph was taken (here is the article, but no picture I’m afraid: http://bit.ly/asMfQ6) and I also had a letter in The Guardian in 2008 (http://bit.ly/a2gFrG). I’ve also produced and researched pieces for The People, Daily Mail and The Sunday Times.

But none of these were anything near getting myself on the front-page of Metro newspaper - read by around 3.5million people every day! It was great on Wednesday to hear from so many people I haven’t spoken to in ages, who happened to see it on their way to work and contacted me about the picture. Over 100 people did so in total, so Thursday felt somewhat like my birthday! Some of my favourite comments included:

- “I always said you'd be hanging with the celebs - I just didn't know it would be so soon!"
- "My bleary-eyed commute was made much more confusing by you staring back at me."
- "Had you just told him the one about the man on the bus with the glass eye?"
- "You know you have done it when you are on the front page of Metro!"
- "I love how you are admiring him and gazing into his eyes!"

Everyone has their moment of fame and it was quite something to see myself on the front-page of a national newspaper. It was also good to visit 10 Downing Street and meet the Prime Minister. But what was really great about the whole thing was how I received so many messages from friends and relatives who found it just about as hilarious and surprising as I did!

THE SUNDAY TIMES WORK EXPERIENCE

2010-03-29T18:58:00.001+01:00

A huge portrait of Rupert Murdoch greets staff as they travel up the escalator and go past the water feature into News International's headquarters. You know who's boss in Wapping. Then, as they walk further inside, there's an old printing press and various famous front-pages of The Times, The Sun and News of the World - reminiscent of Fleet Street's glorious past. But no time for sentiment here. There's a newspaper to produce.

I picked a pretty good week to be working at The Sunday Times. It had just published an investigation that led to the suspension of three MPs for lobbying claims, a paywall pricing structure was announced to save online journalism and it was the only Sunday quality paper to avoid a year-on-year double digit circulation decline in the latest ABC figures. Of course, it could be seen as a very bad week, with circulation falling 7.58% to 1.12m and pre-tax losses on both Times titles rising to £87.7m.

But the paywall announcement meant all the television cameras were in the office on Friday, which was rather exciting, as someone from ITN was filming right next to my desk! You can see here how I made one report on Channel 4 News on Friday. I'm just left of the Editor, John Witherow, working hard on 00:50-01:03 & 02:29-02:43 at: http://bit.ly/bT8VNN. I was also on ITV News, two left of Mr Witherow at 00:48-00:58, here: http://bit.ly/cWyvAr. Only there for five days and two appearances on national television. Well, I never.

It felt exciting to be at Wapping [pictured] - a place I've read so much about in journalism books - and I knew I was going to learn a lot from some of the best investigative journalists in the country. I met reporters who I've had lectures about at university, which was rather surreal.

I found myself surrounded by constant discussions between editorial staff and journalists, debating the news agenda and whether a story was good enough. Being in such a talented newsroom meant I picked up lots of skills and ideas just by listening to how other reporters communicated with people on the phone and weighed up ideas with each other.

I'm currently doing a final-year module in investigative reporting at university before I finish this June, so being at The Sunday Times was pretty useful to my studies from a theoretical as well as practical level. I ran basic errands for reporters, as you always do on work experience, such as traveling across London to pick up a book, burning discs of material and sending emails on behalf of others.

But I was also given other tasks such as producing backgrounder briefs on people using online databases, working with various press offices to establish facts, transcribing interviews then analysing them for interesting angles, collating statistics, sorting correspondence and trying to back up certain stories by phoning sources. All the sorts of jobs that a researcher would normally do, and something that's part and parcel of being a journalist too. As I've learnt over the last five years or so - it's not all Redford and Hoffman in 'All the President's Men' - but it can still be just as enjoyable.

There was one specific element of my placement that I maybe wasn't expecing, but actually quite enjoyed. My first day (Tuesday) was quite a slow day - as you might expect for a Sunday newspaper - so I was basically asked by the newsdesk to look for stories. Just look for stories. I must say I was a little daunted starting from scratch at Britain's biggest-selling quality newspaper, but got to work and quite enjoyed the challenge. I eventually picked up a few leads from often-untapped sources such as university newspapers, Freedom of Information request websites and the hyperlocal press.

This meant I was able to suggest a number of ideas to specialist journalists who were able to pick them up and investigate. You often read in job descriptions that media organisations need people who can bring in 'off-diary' stories, and that's something I've been learning about throughout university and on placements. It's knowing the right people and knowing where to look. Churning out press releases and rewriting local newspaper stories is certainly not a common attribute of The Sunday Times. They want better than that.

The amount of time reporters have to generate stories means they can go into more detail and produce better journalism. It made me think that if you work on a local paper and must produce five stories every day, what time is left for investigative journalism? Even being sent out to a court case means you'll only get one story in print - and that might fall through - but what is better: gambling one reporter on a potentially excellent court case or getting them to rewrite half a dozen press releases? I'd go for the former. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked.

Placements at The Sunday Times are hard to come by. I've been told that by many people, so organised mine 14 months in advance last January and was looking forward to it for a while. Beforehand, I often found it strange how such a large team could be responsible for just one paper every week - especially if you compare it to staffing on a local publication.

But by observing the depth of research required on every story and seeing the lengths reporters go to, I realised how much effort goes into the final product. It was great to spend a week with some of the best investigative journalists in the country and see the final product of their work on Sunday. A good team effort.

HERE COME THE (POLITICAL) WAGs!

2010-03-22T21:01:00.004Z

Politics is much more exciting when you get the WAGs involved. Over the last week we’ve had the emergence of Samantha Cameron and Sarah Brown as key parts of the Tory and Labour election campaigns. Meanwhile, Miriam Clegg has been distancing herself from the idea of being a ‘political wife’. Samantha has got herself a lovely nickname - SamCam (rather reminiscent of The X Factor’s SuBo) and the Mail on Sunday printed some ‘somewhat daring’ pictures of her dressed in sheepskin and cuddling two kittens. They were certainly enough to make the males of Parliament take in a deep breath. Ahem.

It’s been a busy day at the Cameron household, what with the management of their reaction to the photos and Samantha announcing the arrival of a new baby. Congrats on that, by the way. But David said he was ‘very surprised’ the photos were published and was hoping, along with his wife, that would stay in the archives. However, he didn’t seem angry about this and treated it in a seemingly playful manner, which was surely the right way to go about it. SamCam could prove to be the Carla Bruni of British politics in the way she has livened things up in the last few weeks. The Daily Mail described her as having ‘enviable long legs’. Could politicians really be judged on the attractiveness of their wives? Well, it’s probably a more interesting debate than the reform of the House of Lords.

* * *

I’m used to reading stories about Christians alleging persecution due to their beliefs, so it’s interesting that the tables were turned this weekend. Gay couple Michael Black and John Brampton [pictured] say they were not allowed to stay in a Berkshire B&B due to their homosexuality. Owners Susanne and Francis Wilkinson say it is against their policy to accommodate same sex couples, adding “we are not prepared to have that sort of activity under our roof”. I remember when Basil Fawlty told off a heterosexual couple for getting raunchy in the bedroom. How times have changed.

The issue of homosexuality is heavily debated within the Church, no more so than with gay bishops. Despite being a Christian myself, I feel what the Wilkinson couple did was wrong. Yes, they are right to stand up for their beliefs and that should be commended, but they imposed them on somebody else to the extent where the men were judged as being sinners. If being gay is Biblically wrong (and some people doubt that) then should the Wilkinsons allow thieves, robbers and adulterers into their B&B? That's Biblically wrong too. They have embarrassed two gay men who were doing nothing illegal, and it says nothing for the inclusion of homosexuals into the Church.

I think it’s important we do not judge anyone - whether we think they are doing is right or wrong - as the Bible says everyone is seen as equal under God’s eyes. I don't wish to condemn the Wilkinsons, as I think it's great that they want to stand up for their beliefs, but I think they should have let the couple stay in their hotel. The issue is not whether being gay is Biblically right or wrong. The issue is that Christians have not been very good at incorporating gay people into the Church and it's time to change that.

* * *

Right then. With a few months to go until the Football League season finishes, I think it’s about time I made some predictions on what will happen. All four leagues have had excellent competition this season, and it’s tight at the top as well as the bottom. So, here’s what I think:

PREMIER LEAGUE
Winners: Manchester United // Champions League: Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City // Relegated: Hull, Burnley, Portsmouth

CHAMPIONSHIP
Winners: Newcastle United* [Jonas Gutierrez, pictured] // Promoted: West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City // Relegated: Scunthorpe United, Plymouth Argyle, Peterborough United

LEAGUE ONE
Winners: Norwich City // Promoted: Leeds United and Millwall // Relegated: Hartlepool United, Wycombe Wanderers, Stockport County, Southend United**

LEAGUE TWO
Winners: Rochdale // Promoted: AFC Bournemouth, Notts County, Northampton Town // Relegated: Grimsby Town, Darlington

Please let me know whether you agree with these predictions! Or have I got it terribly wrong? Either way, we’ll find out come May. By the way, I’ll go for Chelsea v Portsmouth in The FA Cup and Barcelona v Manchester United in the Champions League. Chelsea and Barca to win.

* I predicted the Toon finish 16th at the start of the season, but Chris Hughton has done a grand job and got everybody playing for the shirt again. It’s been great fun to be top of the league for the first time in ages!

** It pains me to say it, but I know relegation is coming for Southend. A combination of no money to spend on players (or their wages), catastrophic financial management over the years and simply not being good enough for the league since Lee Barnard left. I only hope I still have a club left to support after the HMRC winding-up hearing on April 14...

PICTURES: Daily Mirror/PA; The Guardian; Journal Live

TOO YOUNG TO BE IN COURT?

2010-03-15T18:47:00.003Z

The age of criminal responsibility. When is a child old enough to understand that they are doing something wrong and should be prosecuted for it? The debate has resurfaced this week after children’s commissioner Maggie Atkinson called for the age to be raised as she believes under-12's cannot understand the full consequences of their actions - something that has clearly angered the mother of murdered toddler James Bulger, Denise Fergus. I agree with Fergus to the extent that what Atkinson said was wrong, but it is wrong to say she should be sacked for her comments.

We find ourselves in a similar situation as when chief drugs adviser Professor David Nutt was fired for his comments against current cannabis policy. Someone in office has said something controversial and they are being pilloried for it. By all means have the debate, but we live in a free speech society where people should be allowed to make their opinions known. Tory frontbencher Ken Clarke said she should “not resign for expressing an opinion on a perfectly serious quite difficult subject”. Well said that man.

But aside from whether Atkinson should resign or be sacked, when do children become old enough to stand trial? During my court reporting at university, I often see children who can hardly see over the dock at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court and Sheffield Youth Court. I remember one case where a little boy who looked particularly mischievous started playing with his mobile phone in court to wind up the usher. Maybe they see it as a game at that age. But then again, many older people facing trial also see it as a game, and that doesn’t prevent them being taken to court. I think back to when I was 10 years old, and I certainly understood the difference between right and wrong at that age. It’s likely that Jon Venables and Robert Thompson did too.

* * *

You may have missed the news over the weekend. There was a mass invasion of Georgia by Russia, planes bombed the capital Tbilisi and President Mikheil Saakashvili was assassinated. Surprisingly it didn’t make the front-pages this morning and there aren’t many pictures available. In fact, that’s absolutely unsurprising. Because it was a fake. The Georgian channel Imedi thought it would be funny to play out a very realistic 30-minute report on a Russian invasion as a little joke to its viewers.

Unfortunately not all of them saw the funny side, and there were reports of protests outside the TV station, people suffering from heart attacks, mobile phone networks crashing and cinemas emptying as children were called home by parents. It could be seen as a) a massive success in viewer figures for Imedi; b) an excellently-executed piece of propoganda by a political party; or c) absolutely hilarious. Now, whilst the real war between Russia and Georgia only finished two years ago, it probably wasn’t seen as being that funny by the majority of viewers.

But jokes have been made on this subject before. In the words of Hugh Dennis from Mock the Week, who gave this example for ‘questions that were rejected from this year’s exams’: “Vladimir has 10,000 tanks and you have three. Why would you start a war?” Making jokes about wars and producing fake reports on invasions may be quite comical to some - especially directors at the Imedi television company, perhaps - however, there are some subjects that maybe shouldn’t be touched. I’m sure someone at the Kremlin had a little chuckle about it though...

* * *

It goes without saying that whoever you support, David Beckham is a footballing legend. 115 games for England over 13 years is a remarkable achievement, which makes it all the more sad that an injury to his left Achilles tendon looks like it’s ruled him out of playing in a fourth World Cup. Beckham, 34, is currently on loan at AC Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy and was expected to be in the England squad this summer, but now there is even speculation his career could be over. That seems somewhat farfetched, but we won’t know until he has been given the full medical diagnosis.

Beckham is one of those players who has suffered lots of stick from certain fans, but the reception he got at Old Trafford playing for Milan last Wednesday shows how well-loved he was too. I still think he has the best ball distribution of any player in the world - and whilst he might have lost a bit of his fitness and pace in recent years, you cannot put a price on such an intelligent football brain as his. England have cover on the right-wing from the likes of James Milner, Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips - and it’s unlikely Beckham would have started a game in South Africa - but his presence around the team counts for a lot, and it’s a great shame that he won’t be playing.

BULGER: SHOULD WE KNOW MORE?

2010-03-08T21:37:00.002Z

The death of James Bulger provided us with one of the most disturbing court cases of all time. And now it's come back into the media spotlight once again. The case of the two Edlington boys in January had eerie parallels to Bulger [pictured, Daily Mail], but fortunately nobody died that time. However, now we hear Jon Venables - one of the two-year-old’s killers - has gone back to jail. Few people know why, although there are various rumours such as him breaching his order to stay away from Merseyside by clubbing, working as a bouncer or watching Everton FC. Some papers say he has been charged with holding images of child abuse. The tabloids are having a field day trying to work out what's occured. But the real issue here is: should we be told by Justice Secretary Jack Straw what's happened?

The family clearly ought to know and should not have been kept in the dark this long. Straw, to his credit, will sort this out by going to see them. The debate now is how much the public should be told. If he goes to trial for any of these crimes, Venables is unlikely to get a fair hearing at the moment. He will certainly need another new identity, which could end up costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. But this case has such huge public interest that people will want to know. Straw says he's currently not going to say any more. He is most probably scared of the "lock-him-up-and-throw-away-the-key" lynch mob, as well as prejudicing any further court cases, which is fair enough. But I think we should know what Venables has done so we can learn from the mistakes made by officials during his rehabilatation. One thing is for sure - this debate is not going to die down anytime soon.

* * *

Well done to the Lalani family for their business success story. It seems that 99p Stores have found an excellent model to get through the recession - cheap "fizzy drink and loo roll", as The Independent puts it. It’s doing well by buying up empty Woolworths stores and undercutting big supermarkets with cheaper prices(under £1, of course) - projecting sales of £1bn over the next six years. Their 129 stores must have an excellent stock of one pence coins in the cash registers too.

The business model is an interesting one - and there aren’t many shops that can claim to undercut Poundland, but Nadir Lalani and his sons [Hussein is pictured, credit William Reed Media] have made an excellent effort. They’re creating jobs in poorer areas of the country, people are buying essential items for cheaper and the Lalanis are getting customers into high-streets so everywhere benefits. Many customers say they visit 99p Stores before doing their weekly shop at a supermarket, to pick up any products sold at a lower price, and can save lots of money doing so. Good work, Mr Lalani.

* * *

These are desperate times at Roots Hall. Today the assistant manager Paul Brush [pictured], who has been with the club for seven years - and led them with boss Steve Tilson to two cup finals, a league title and two play-off appearances - has been sacked. Southend United meanwhile are in the bottom four of League One and facing relegation to the bottom tier. Oh dear. I went to watch the Shrimpers at Hartlepool on Saturday and we really did look like relegation material. It was a freezing cold day in County Durham and the Blues were rolled over by an equally poor side. It only rubbed it in that Roy O’Donovan grabbed a hat-trick against us - more goals than he managed in his entire Southend career earlier this season.

So where do we go from here? Chairman Ron Martin has taken a lot of flak from the fans recently after reports that the players had not been paid for two months in a row. The club seems to have no money to spend on players and is trimming the wage bill. Tilson and Brush have been a great partnership for fast-approaching a decade now, and I won’t be surprised if Tilly walks now Brush has been pushed. The priority is now to keep this club in League One. That starts this Saturday against relegation rivals, Exeter. Every player needs to give his all in every game now, as I don’t want to be watching League Two football next season. Ron Martin claims it would be “fatal” if we got relegated. So please stay up, lads.

CAN BIG DAVE DO IT?

2010-03-01T18:16:00.002Z

Is it time to panic, David? All is not as we expected. Labour are fighting back. With Gordon Brown expected to name the election date shortly, the odds on a Tory majority are getting longer and David Cameron is getting worried. At a conference in Brighton yesterday, he conceded that the party has not yet done enough to convince voters to elect them. The polls show the Tory lead is now just two points ahead of Labour. Surely the electorate won’t let Rupert Murdoch down after The Sun so dramatically switched allegiance to Mr Cameron [pictured in the Daily Mail] last year? It could happen.

The main reason for the lull in an otherwise continuous advancement in support for the Tories over the last few years seems to be that people still don’t know what the party is about. So much of politics is about image and press relations nowadays that voters are missing out on how different parties will affect them at ground-level. It has been something of a running joke over the last few years that nobody knows Cameron’s policies and he just seems like a nice chap. However, the recent ‘I’ll cut the deficit, not the NHS’ posters tried to combine the good image he has built up with some real policies.

So what will happen in the next general election? Labrokes are offering 4/7 on a Tory majority, 7/4 hung parliament or 10/1 Labour majority. Nick Clegg still holds an interesting role in helping a party into government, although it is questionable whether Cameron would agree to a Liberal Democrat coalition if it was offered. If the Tories want to get in, they must maintain the good image they have been building up over the last few years but now ensure this is matched with some real, hard-hitting policies. That is what will get them into parliament. At the moment it looks like 7/4 is a good price.

* * *

The future of the BBC is currently as uncertain as ever ahead of a general election. We have had a good indication that the Tories want to scrap the BBC Trust (its regulator), oppose top-slicing the licence fee and want to cut down the whole organisation. The Guardian today looked at the various cutbacks that could be made, including spending more on BBC2 drama and documentaries, improving local radio for older listeners, scrapping 6Music and the Asian Network and cutting down BBC Online and BBC Magazines.

There has been much discomfort from listeners over the proposed closure of 6Music. Pitched as an alternative station like XFM was when first launched, it hasn’t attracted the listeners they expected. Their target market of 20- to 40-year-olds is already well covered by Radio 1 and 1Xtra; stations which also fulfil the BBC public remit of providing live music to a younger adult audience. I therefore think it would be the right decision to close it.

But the closure of the Asian Network could be too politically sensitive for them to go through with it. Although it is not getting good enough listening figures, it is the only major part of the BBC that gives the corporation a direct link with many ethnic minority licence fee payers and should therefore stay. The third point on radio - about improving local stations for older listeners - sounds fair. The BBC needs to keep that older market who tend not to listen to their national radio output so much.

I have a friend who works at BBC Worldwide and asked her last month what she reckons on its future ownership and structure. “Who knows?”, she said. Nobody does know what will happen to it. The sale of a few titles from its magazines arm such as Radio Times or Olive sounds like an interesting idea, but surely when RT is doing so well at the moment they won’t drop it. The commercial part of the BBC has always been a divisive topic, but they must ensure that cuts or funding reallocations across the organisation are always done with the consumers’ interests at heart.

* * *

Boring. I’ve had enough of Wayne Bridge v John Terry. Sort it out, lads. If you really don’t like another footballer, some players believe the best way to settle it is just to punch them and get sent-off; like Jean-Francois Christophe did to Nicky Bailey during Southend v Charlton last Friday! I would never advocate violence, of course, but Amir Khan would have been proud of the Shrimpers midfielder for that one - right in the stomach. Isn’t refusing to shake hands just a little bit childish? Chelsea v Manchester City on Saturday was certainly the only time I’ve paid attention to the player presentation ceremony and it didn’t disappoint for drama.

I feel sorry for Terry. He obviously made a big mistake in sleeping with his team-mate’s ex-girlfriend, but apart from that he has been a great role model in the English game and a solid captain for Fabio Capello. It’s amazing how one mistake can ruin your career. Bridge is being unprofessional for not going to the World Cup, in my eyes. He is clearly unable to forgive and forget, and sees private and professional lives as convergent. It’s time to sort this out before it derails our chances of glory in South Africa this summer. Bridge is the best left-back we’ve got if Ashley Cole remains injured and his private life - or Terry's - should not enter into it.

NAP TIME - FALLING ASLEEP AT 2PM

2010-02-22T18:49:00.005Z

I do like a good rest, but I’ve never taken a daytime nap before. New research suggests that you can improve your productivity and capacity to learn by having a 90-minute nap at 2pm. I know that this is commonplace is countries like Spain, where they have a siesta at schools and workplaces, but it’s never something that’s really caught on over here. But can a nap really improve our brain power, memory and ability to retrieve short-term information? Apparently yes, according to the University of California. Interesting stuff.

However, I’m not sure if I’d like to lose one-and-a-half hours of my working day, only to make them up later in the evening. Surely if you were working 9am to 6pm and took out 90 minutes through sleeping, you would not be able to make this up in productivity for the rest of the day. Is it not just better to ensure you get eight to nine hours a night and therefore wake-up feeling refreshed, ready-to-go and not like you want to stay under the covers for the rest of the day? Maybe whilst I’m at university it would be a good time to try out a nap one day. Please let me know if you’ve tried it before!

* * *

Hurrah! After years of campaigning on my blog, we finally hear today that train fares could be set for a big shake-up. Whilst I do not accept full credit for this, it’s good news at least! The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) is going to look at the increase in ticket types, price caps and funding balances between taxpayers and passengers. Hopefully this will mean cheaper fares for all. Just this weekend, yet again I exposed the bizarre nature of split ticketing. I went to watch Southend United in Milton Keynes and travelled there from Sheffield by train. A normal return fare would have cost me almost £40, but after splitting my journey at Derby and Tamworth, it ended up being only £19.60 - much more affordable and a nice slice of consumer surplus for me.

Commuter watchdog Passenger Focus says only 45% of rail passengers feel their train ticket represents value for money, and when you look at the cost of walk-up fares on trains from London to Sheffield - which are around £50 to £70 even on a railcard - you can see why. Commuting to London from where I live in Essex can cost up to £20 a day, which is just ridiculous. But that’s not what I’ve been most annoyed about with train fares. It’s the stupidity of a system where if you research it long enough, you can halve your journey cost - yet for people who don’t know about splitting fares (where you buy your ticket in separate segments for the same journey) they will be out of pocket. It doesn’t work like this when you fill up your car with petrol, or take the bus, coach or plane. So I hope Atoc can sort out this ridiculous system and make it much simpler for everybody.

* * *

I might surprise you that visiting Milton Keynes on Saturday provided me with the inspiration of writing an article about the worst football grounds in the country. But whilst Stadium MK [pictured on Sky Sports] is a potential venue for England’s 2018 World Cup bid, the 22,000-seater ground is soulless and feels like it’s just been plonked in the middle of a European industrial estate. When you can’t even half-fill a ground that big, it’s going to make for a poor atmosphere. Whilst I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such ample leg-room (compared to Charlton Athletic’s The Valley, where my knees were squeezed just below my chin, MK was amazing), a ground is all about the atmosphere and feeling inside it. I don’t mind so much about the design, although that’s important to some people too.

So where else have I been that I would rather forget? Don Valley (Rotherham United) and The Withdean Stadium (Brighton & Hove Albion) are both pretty bad, as they’re surrounded by large athletics tracks, which makes me feel West Ham United are unlikely to move to the London Olympic Stadium if fans can’t be next to the pitch. Other awful grounds in the Football League include Hereford United (far away from the pitch, no atmosphere and a generally poor experience), Gillingham (you shouldn’t be allowed to place fans on scaffolding to watch a game), Carlisle United (because it’s so far away from home and the pitch is usually like a sandpit due to the weather up there) and Crystal Palace (because the fans I’ve met there are generally unfriendly, there are massive posts obstructing your view and the away end isn’t even behind a goal). Please let me know if you’ve been to any worse grounds than the above! And don’t even mention Roots Hall...

A DI-VINE JOKE TELLER

2010-02-15T17:58:00.003Z

I love telling a good joke. Even if people don't appreciate it. Tim Vine is a fantastic comedian who I met a couple of times whilst working at Premier Radio and has an incredible joke-telling ability. In fact, I interviewed him once too and can remember thinking what a top chap he was. So it’s fantastic to see him on tour at the moment and getting rave reviews in every newspaper. He once held the record for the most jokes told in one hour and has an amazing ability to fire off quality one-liners that are so quick it’s often difficult to appreciate how technically clever they are. For example: “The banks are doing a sterling job” - or “I went to visit the binoculars shop. They saw me coming.”

I went to see Marcus Brigstocke and Andy Parsons on tour last year and both were very funny, but also very different to Tim Vine’s sense of humour. Whereas Brigstocke and Parsons enjoy poking fun at people and politics, and make their comedy relevant to current news, Vine is better at spur-of-the-moment stuff to keep you consistently entertained. As the brother of a BBC Radio 2 presenter, he’s got stiff competition to become anywhere near as famous as Jeremy, but these are promising signs of a career that could now flourish. Tim has been around for a while - I remember seeing him on the comedy circuit with Adrian Plass many years ago, but listening to his endless repertoire of jokes is both funny and solid proof of his great talent. And he doesn’t swear or use innuendo. There aren’t many comedians as clean as Tim Vine...

Here’s a few he did earlier (courtesy of Murraysworld.com)....

“Exit signs - they're on the way out aren't they?.”

“You see my next door neighbour worships exhaust pipes - he's a catholic converter.”

"So I was getting into my car and this bloke says to me: ‘Can you give me a lift?’ I said: ‘Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it.’”

And Finally - “I saw this bloke chatting up a cheetah - I thought: 'He's trying to pull a fast one'.”

* * *

I think about time quite a lot. 20 minutes to do this, 10 minutes to do that. The Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that our leisure industry is pushing ministers to move the UK into the continental time zone. At the moment, clocks go forward an hour in March and then back to GMT in October to provide more daylight during winter mornings. But estimates suggest the move to bring us in-line with many popular European holiday destinations could bring £3.5billion more in revenue to the tourism industry, which is a phenominal amount for simply meddling slightly with our time system. It’s also claimed an extension of daylight saving would reduce accidents, crime and obesity. Obesity? Will someone please explain that one to me. More time to go running in daylight and less time indoors maybe?

Concerns from the Merchant Navy over this change potentially eroding our history - and the fact that we’re based on the meridian anyway - seem small when you think about the impact this could have on our tourism trade. Those long evenings spent outside in French and Spanish coastal bars could be on their way to Clacton and Margate. Well, maybe it’ll be a bit colder over here, but at least the sun will still be out later. The debate about whether what the time is actually matters was brought up a decade ago when Channel 4 were deciding if they should put a clock up in the Big Brother house. Time is an essential part of life. We could implement the time change and wouldn’t notice the difference, but suddenly when we realise it’s 10pm and still light, we just might. Bring on the summer!

* * *

I know what it’s like to support a club in a financial mess. Southend United are still in talks with HM Revenue and Customs to avoid a winding-up order. Although their £2.1million overdue bill was eventually paid last year, there is now disagreement over an excess payment of £200,000. It could be worse though. Portsmouth’s debts are so big that they are believed to now be dwarfing revenue, which is not a good position for any club to be in. Their very existence is in doubt, so it was nice to see them beat south-coast rivals Southampton in an explosive FA Cup game on Saturday. Letting the football do the talking.

When your football club is on the verge of disappearing altogether, it makes you appreciate the very nature of Saturdays at 3pm that little bit more. Pompey fans would rather be supporting their team in the Championship than not at all and it was great to see them finally have something to cheer about at the weekend. It’s critically poor mismanagement at the top level that has caused this and four owners in one season is about as many managers Newcastle usually get through. This tells its own story, and I only hope that somebody a little more cautious will get them back on their feet. These are worrying times for fans of Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Chester City too - all have financial problems and there’s one set of people that have spent lots of money on the clubs and simply don’t deserve this. The fans.

PICTURES: BBC London / Stock Xchng / The Guardian

ONE HAPPY EUROPEAN FAMILY?

2010-02-08T17:50:00.001Z

Mandy has finally admitted it. We have benefited from not joining the European single currency, says Peter Mandelson, contrary to what he once believed. Gordon Brown was right to block the move and “no sensible person” can now see the point of adopting the Euro, according to yesterday’s leader in The Sunday Telegraph. The major issue is that countries like Spain and Italy cannot let their currency devalue to make their exports more competitive and diminish their debt. Conversely, we can.

I’ve always opposed Britain joining the Euro as I cannot see the use of rich and poor countries across Europe with such different economies and interest rate requirements being joined at the hip. It’s not a pride in my home country’s currency - more, a realistic view of how we can be more competitive. I remember being asked to debate in sixth-form that we should join the Euro and found it tricky to do so, as I actually thought it would be bad for our economy to become much more interdependent with other European countries. As I still believe now, this would then take us even longer to exit the recession and make us more prone to going back in soon. So, no thanks. For now.

* * *

As a clarinet and saxophone player myself, I’ve taken much inspiration from a variety of musicians over the years. So it’s always sad to hear when a jazz legend dies - and after Johnny Dankworth passed away on Saturday, I decided it would be a good time to look back at his music. BBC Radio 3 said he was a performer of “invention and fire, but with a particularly light and attractive tone” - something that seems a good aspiration for any jazz player. The saxophonist and clarinettist was inspired by Charlie Parker - who better? - and made his name through an avant-garde, yet accesible, style.

Listening to other musicians is a great way of improving your own playing. I find I pick up so much from hearing some of my favourite modern jazz artists like Soweto Kinch and YolanDa Brown, but also playing some more traditional CDs by the likes of Benny Goodman and John Coltrane. Coltrane and Kinch were/are certainly far from the norms of their respective eras, trying out new styles and fusions that not everybody appreciates. But, like Dankworth, they dared to be different and are respected for their originality and forward-thinking musical natures.

* * *

If you regularly read my blog, you’ll know I’m proud to be a southerner living in the north and that the significance of the divide had never occurred to me before I arrived in Sheffield. But whilst the north of England often comes in for some stick from the southern-based media, there’s something that Mancs, Scousers and Geordies certainly have over their counterparts down the M1. They really are passionate about their football. It’s such of way of life in areas like the north-east and Yorkshire and I’ve enjoyed seeing this first-hand over the last few years.

I had the privilege of going to see Liverpool v Everton on Saturday and it was a great experience. Watching 40,000 fans sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and screaming for every ball and tackle showed me how much the beautiful game means up north. It’s not as if this was something new for me - I’ve followed Newcastle for years and they have arguably got the best fans in the country - but you just don’t get the same feeling from London club supporters; even top-four Arsenal and Chelsea. It doesn’t seem to matter as much. I can’t really compare Southend with Premier League sides, but although I do love the Shrimpers, there is something uniquely embedded in the northern football culture that makes it special. It’s a community, a really strong community. Maybe that’s why 70 per cent of this season’s 20 Premier League sides are based above Watford and BBC Sport are heading to Salford soon?

PICTURES: Daily Telegraph (x2) and BBC Liverpool

BLAIR GIVES AN ASSURED PERFORMANCE

2010-02-01T17:57:00.002Z

“Even if you look back now it was better to deal with the threat,” he said. Whether you agree with the Iraq War or not, Tony Blair put in a superbly slick performance at the Chilcot Inquiry on Friday. It was gripping television and reminded me how far the government’s credibility has fallen since he handed over the reins to Gordon Brown. The Campbell-Blair duo were master wordsmiths and able to make anything sound reasonable. Friday’s hearing was a nod back to the days of Labour’s communication strengths in the late nineties and early noughties.

The Times acclaimed his pure image, power dressing and personal grooming, which made him seem strong and authoritative in front of the inquiry panel. In fact, Blair [pictured, BBC] ended up asking the panel questions, such as what would have happened if Saddam had been left in power, and he had clearly done his homework. The difference between Brown and Blair is that the latter knew how to convince people of anything, which made him a strong leader. It’s no wonder Labour were so strong ten years ago, but are now being overtaken by the Tories. Bring on the election...

* * *

“The citizen little realises the vast machinery put in motion for him in exchange for his morning penny,” said Lord Copper in the 1938 novel Scoop, by Evelyn Waugh. Now the challenge 72 years on is to make readers realise the value and effort involved in online newspapers, and charge for the content. Occasionally somebody comes up with a great idea for making this happen - so step forward Peter Preston [pictured, University of Sheffield], in yesterday’s The Observer.

He said: “Watch as 10 million Sky subscribers get an offer they can't reasonably refuse. How about beyond-the-wall access to four big British papers [for] as little as 50p extra a month? £6m a month for that is £72m – in a trice the losses on Wapping's more upmarket offerings are turned to profit.”

What a fabulous idea. Sky has already proven it can get customers to buy phone and broadband with televisions, so why not newspapers? News International owns The Sun, News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times, so a 50p monthly fee to read those online could work wonders. It seems simple enough and could save those four papers. Where it leaves everyone else is another matter, which gives weight to the argument that all newspapers should work together online to ensure their joint survival.

* * *

I do feel a little bit sad for John Terry [pictured, BBC]. We all make mistakes, and - as Tiger Woods knows - a sexual slip-up can have a damning effect on sporting careers. We know why the super-injunction was passed over the media - he wanted to protect himself and his family from adverse publicity - but the use of these in court is becoming a problem. Even the government say they are “very concerned” about it. The fact is that if you are a public role model (and have been voted ‘Dad of the Year’ by a sauce manufacturer), the public have the right to know if you’re not as good a role model as was once thought.

The other issue is of how this affects Terry’s England captaincy. He has been a strong leader of the national side over the last few years, but there are other players who could take the captain’s armband. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard would both be possibilities. Putting both Terry and Wayne Bridge on the plane to South Africa must be causing a headache for the England management, but if they had to choose either, I think Terry will get the nod. But we’ll have to wait and see.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

2010-01-25T18:37:00.002Z

The case of the brothers who tortured two boys has shocked South Yorkshire and beyond. “You evil b******s”, screamed one of the victim’s mothers last week. Sheffield Crown Court heard probably the worst crimes committed by children in this country since James Bulger over two decades ago. But what is perhaps even more concerning than the horrific evidence is how the boys were brought up at home - a complete lack of discipline and instead a diet of drugs, sex and explicit films.

The judge banned their identification because it would harm their rehabilitation, although this was contested by the media. Naming bans nowadays carry little weight anyway, as you can easily find out what somebody is called by searching online forums - and, even so, both boys were well known in the Edlington community. The courtroom scene is pictured [Getty Images].

As much as what they did last April was almost unbelievable, I can understand where the judge was coming from. He wants to see them eventually get out of prison reformed - given the care and positive attention inside that they have lacked so far in their lives. It has cost a fortune to rename and rehouse the Bulger killers, so that has to be used as a template. The most important aspect of this case is not condemning the boys’ actions - as tempting as that might be for the media - but rather look at how the authorities can use what happened to ensure this is never repeated again.

* * *

It was pleasing to see The FA Cup back to its best this weekend. Tottenham being held by Leeds, Stoke putting out Arsenal, Reading beating Burnley and Southampton edging past Ipswich. Even the lowest-ranked team, Notts County, got a replay against Wigan. If Sol Campbell [pictured, Independent] wanted The FA Cup this season then he would have had more chance staying put in Nottinghamshire rather than going back to the Gunners.

Three weeks ago I criticised fans of clubs for not turning out to games, but attendances were pretty good this time in the fourth round. I went to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday to watch Newcastle lose 4-2 (in what must be one of the worst refereeing performances I’ve ever seen), and the Toon brought over 3,000 fans from the north-east with only 10 days of notice, which I thought was a sterling effort. Shame the same could not be said for the man in the middle.

Anyway, overall it was good to have a few upsets over the weekend - and the fifth round draw has thrown up some tasty ties like Southampton v Portsmouth and Derby v Birmingham. I’m pretty sure Leeds will get there too - I wouldn’t fancy a midweek trip to Elland Road ten years ago or today. Old ’Arry must be quaking in his boots...

> By the way, you may like to know that I typed this blog with only one hand. The other one got injured playing football yesterday. Hope it's still a good read ;)

HEAVEN AND HULL?

2010-01-18T21:43:00.003Z

Poor old Hull. It usually fares pretty badly in lists of desirable UK cities. A report today showed it is suffering most from the effects of the recession. Brighton, on the other hand, is the best place to be for economic growth. The ‘Cities Outlook 2010’ report said the English cities most likely to suffer longest from the downturn were Stoke, Burnley, Barnsley and Doncaster. On the other hand, the best places to be are Milton Keynes, Reading and Cambridge. Spot a trend? Northern cities will struggle, southern cities will prosper.

This is hardly surprising considering that most of the northern towns are still suffering the effects of industrial decline and the southern areas mentioned have economies based more around services. Another point is that they are not only closer to London, but generally much better connected by transport links.

Hull claims it is being victimised as the data does not include its more prosperous areas on the outskirts. It must be noted that the city is surrounded by Grimsby and Cleethorpes, which are hardly thriving economies either. Looking at Brighton, it’s well-connected despite being at the bottom of the country, has a strongly educated workforce and a solid private sector.

So what do we do about this divide? It’s not really acceptable that many northern cities are still suffering from the fall of industrial Britain. That’s something that should have been sorted out years ago, but the unemployment rate has continued to rise and will not get any better until well after the recession finishes. The government needs to ensure that their spending prioritises cities like Hull, as although I like being a southerner, it’s about time the country was a bit more economically even.

* * *

It’s an absolute tragedy that Sunday Mirror journalist Rupert Hamer died in Helmand. I’ve read a variety of biographies by current and former foreign correspondents such as Kate Adie, Jeremy Bowen and Jon Snow, which has confirmed to me what a dangerous but important job they do. Media executives will meet with Ministry of Defence officials on Wednesday to discuss war reporting in Afghanistan and I can only hope they reach an agreement that will go some distance to trying to avoid another media casualty.

It’s vital that we get to hear what is going on in foreign conflicts from our own reporters, and the death of one journalist shouldn’t deter this. When war reporters go abroad they know what they are getting themselves in for. As HR Knickerbocker once said: "Whenever you find hundreds and thousands of sane people trying to get out of a place and a little bunch of madmen trying to get in, you know the latter are reporters".

DAILY MAIL WORK EXPERIENCE

2010-01-11T19:59:00.003Z

It was a privilege to work at one of Britain's biggest selling newspapers for a week. I learnt so much behind-the-scenes at the Daily Mail simply by listening to editorial conversations and speaking to journalists, but I was also given a wide variety of researching and writing to get on with. The Mail are based at Northcliffe House, near High Street Kensington tube, which meant a three-and-a-half hour round trip on the train everyday from Leigh-on-Sea. It's not too bad when you've got a good newspaper and plenty of reading. I was pleased simply to have been offered a placement at the Mail, seeing as I didn't previously know anyone who works for DMGT, but made some valuable contacts in a great newsroom by the end of it. Everybody I met was helpful and supportive, so I would imagine it to be a great environment to work in all the time. Exciting, to say the least...

MONDAY
I arrived in Kensington last week in eager anticipation of what awaited me at Northcliffe House. The building looks pretty simple from outside, but fantastic when you go inside - it's even got a water feature on the first floor. On arrival, I was taught how the Mail uses a variety of databases and sources for researching people and places, and got to see the vast online and physical libraries. I later did some researching for a story on cheap ski holidays and wrote a story myself about British people's regrets over throwing away items. This story made it onto page three of Tuesday's paper, so I was pretty pleased with that for a first day's work.

TUESDAY
I was given a call on Monday evening to tell me that I should get to Luton Magistrates' Court for 10am the next day. There was a very interesting case going on about a group of seven Muslims protesting against the war on Iraq during a soldiers' homecoming parade in Bedfordshire. I got to court and had a chat about the story with the BBC local reporter, who was soon joined by journalists from the Press Association, ITV and a local paper. All of us took up a place on the press bench in the court and listened through a fascinating case, which included lots of CCTV footage. I learnt a lot about court reporting just from speaking to the other journalists there and getting together some facts and quotes on the case with Lucy from the Daily Mail. The end product was my first national newspaper byline, which I was very pleased with! Today, five were found guilty and two not-guilty.

WEDNESDAY
I was grateful that although all the trains across the country were being cancelled last Wednesday, I was still able to make it into west London from south-east Essex. Once I had battled through the snow, I spent the rest of my time in office writing about it. I was putting together what become known for the week as 'snow shorts' - snippets of funny events or statistics that had happened around the country. The majority of these came from PA or local wires, but I also found a few by scouring local newspaper websites and eight of the 12 that were eventually published on Thursday were mine, which was pleasing. It formed part of this story, which was being constantly updated throughout the week.

THURSDAY
I had been working with the newsteam from Monday to Wednesday and moved to the sportsdesk for my last two days. What interested me most about working with the sports team was their reliance on data, and the need for accurate number-crunching. Finally my maths A-Level was coming in useful! I researched parts of an 'Ultimate Guide to the Angola Action' feature on the Africa Cup of Nations, which started on Sunday, and my first prediction of a game to watch wasn't bad at all. The opening match, Angola v Mali, finished 4-4! I was also tasked with doing some statistical research on England and South Africa's cricket test record in Johannesburg, as well as compiling a factfile on former Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer, for a feature in Saturday's paper.

FRIDAY
My last day at the Daily Mail was a hugely eventful one, although it started pretty calmly. I was researching Tottenham's abysmal record away at the top four - they haven't won a league game at any of the four grounds since August 1993 - and put together some statistics using Soccerbase. I also put together a small feature as a boxout for the Patrick Viera story [pictured], on footballers who have played in England, gone abroad and come back again, which made Saturday's paper and online - 'Five Other Players Who Returned to England'. But later in the day, we heard that a bus carrying the Togo team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola had been attacked by rebels, killing the driver and injuring players. This was a massive story because of its implications for football around Africa - including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - and I immediately started researching a history of football-related African violence, as well as some statistics on Angola itself and transcribing quotes from a Eurosport player interview. These were sent through to the journalist for his story, which was rushed through for the first edition. Two later editions followed, where the story was given more prominence, and by the final edition I saw next morning, it has taken up the whole back page with an in-depth spread inside. A great example of how a story develops and another good experience during a great week.

EH BY GUM, LAD!

2010-01-04T22:03:00.003Z

I love listening to many regional accents, especially Geordie. Living in Sheffield has exposed me to many new types of voice that I'd never have heard staying in Essex. Now, a series of academic studies has found that Britain's regional accents in the north are thriving, which is good news if you live in Newcastle [pictured], Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham. Conversely, Essex and Kent are beginning to lose their own distinctive accents, which is a shame for my own home county, but I've never really spoken like a proper Essex lad anyway.

It's interesting how you pick up accents when being around people. I have sometimes been heard, since living in Yorkshire, to say 'eh up' or 'bath' (not 'barth') on my return to Essex. I don't really want to say those things - I'd rather keep my heritage, thank you. But then I'm sure many northerners are proud of the identity that comes with their voice. It's great that people are proud of where they come from. One of the first things I tell people is that I'm from Southend-on-Sea. But when I hear a Geordie, they don't need to tell me they're from Newcastle. You can kind of guess.

* * *

The noughties will unfortunately be remembered by many as a decade of terrorism. A decade when fear was struck into the hearts of citizens worldwide at who might be next. England, Indonesia, Spain, the USA and Afghanistan have all suffered devastating attacks on innocent civilians. Now Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed full body scanners [pictured in Daily Mirror] will be introduced at Britain's airports in the wake of the attempted plane attack over Detroit on Christmas Day. We are pulling out all the stops to try and stop terrorists but there are still fears that this will not be enough.

Security has always been tight at airports. I remember flying before 9/11, and it wasn't as if you could just walk onto the plane then. But terrorists seem so determined to do their 'duty' that it's unlikely we will ever completely remove the threat of aeroplane bombers. There will always be some way of cracking technology, as the shoe bomber and Detroit attempt have showed. What concerns me is that whilst all this money is being pumped into airline security, what about trains? I regularly travel on the London Underground and don't think I've ever been searched, even during rush-hour. It would simply be impractical to scan luggage and people before boarding trains as it would grind the system to a halt. But whilst all this focus is on planes, we must remember that the only successful major terrorist attack in this country over the last decade was 7/7 - on trains and buses. We must ensure that this is never repeated again.

* * *

On a lighter note, there were lots of positives to take out of this weekend's FA Cup third-round. Colchester got hammered 7-0 at Preston, Newcastle avoided a slip up at Plymouth, Manchester United went out and ITV correctly chose a good upset for their Saturday night game at Reading. But there was also a major negative from the weekend. People just didn't turn up to watch some of the games. Wigan attracted a pitiful 5,335 to their all-Premier League tie with Hull, Sheffield Wednesday got just 8,690 for their home defeat to Crystal Palace and only 12,474 turned up for Manchester City's win at Middlesborough. All of these crowds are significantly down on normal attendances for league games at these clubs, and the turnout was hardly better at many other stadiums.

Interestingly, all three of the above attendances are quoted for teams who are struggling in the league at the moment, which may therefore be a reflection of fans thinking their managers attach little importance to The FA Cup, as they are so concerned with staying up. But nothing beats the 'magic' of the competition. I've been to some classic FA Cup games over the years - Southend v Chelsea and Southend v Canvey Island stick in the memory. More clubs should ensure they lower their ticket prices for cup games, as it's a good opportunity to get youngsters involved with clubs and make them come back for more later in the season. This isn't a disrespect to the cup - it's merely ensuring that it is maintained as the best competition in the world.

THE NOUGHTIES: A DECADE TO REMEMBER

2009-12-28T21:25:00.005Z

It has been a decade of technological change, political upheaval, natural disasters, conflicts and sporting achievements. I’ve delved through the (recent) history books to present my review of the 'noughties' in 750 words. If you think I’ve missed something out that should be included, please let me know! Right then, here we go...

2000
The Millenium Bug is nothing near the threat that computer 'experts' were predicting. Google begins selling advertising against search results, which helps it buy out various companies and quickly become the people's choice for online searching. Big Brother launches and results in a number of sequels throughout the decade and a huge race controversy. Dr Harold Shipman is given life imprisonment for murdering 15 patients and is later found hanged in 2004. George Bush succeeds Bill Clinton as US President. Blockades by protestors result in a UK fuel crisis after panic-buying. 113 people are killed after Concorde crashes in Paris.

2001
Terrorists bring down the World Trade Centre on 9/11, in a devastating attack that contributes hugely towards much foreign policy throughout the decade and kills 3,000 people [pictured]. Tony Blair wins a second election as British Prime Minister. America joins forces with the UK to launch a retaliatory war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. The foot-and-mouth crisis causes big problems for farmers as the agriculture industry tries to survive.

2002
The Queen Mother passes away and her funeral is held in Westminster Abbey. The bodies of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells are found after they were murdered by school caretaker Ian Huntley, in an event that shocks the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire [pictured]. The Euro currency comes into use across 12 of the European Union countries. 202 people are killed in Bali by terrorists.

2003
World opinion is split as Iraq is invaded by 250,000 US troops and 45,000 British soldiers [pictured]. The Hutton Inquiry causes a radical shake-up in BBC editorial policy and Dr David Kelly commits suicide after being exposed as the source on the government's weapons of mass destruction dossier. England win the Rugby World Cup. Ghyslain Raza, a French Canadian student, achieves global fame from his Star Wars lightsaber online films, which help propel YouTube into the mainstream. The Ugg sheepskin boot launches in the UK and helps define fashion in the noughties.

2004
Facebook is invented and revolutionises the way we communicate with friends and relatives. Paul Foot, one of the country’s most successful investigative journalists, dies aged 66. Hundreds of thousands die in the Asian Tsunami on Boxing Day. The Madrid train bombings put transport networks worldwide on even higher alert than after 9/11, after 191 people are killed. The siege of Beslan school in eastern Europe sees 334 die.

2005
The football world unites to pay its respects to George Best, who passes away aged 59. 7/7 brings London to a standstill as we experience a major terrorist attack on our transport system and 56 people die [pictured]. Hurricane Katrina sweeps through New Orleans and becomes one of the deadliest in the country's history. Pope Benedict XVI takes over as pontiff after John Paul II dies. London wins the bid for the 2012 Olympics. Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

2006
Southend United beat Manchester United 1-0 in one of the biggest football cup upsets of the decade. Alexander Litvinenko dies after suspected poisoning after eating in a sushi restaurant. The Nintendo Wii heralds a new era in motion-sensitive video gaming. Israel goes to war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. A stranded whale in the River Thames dies despite the efforts of a rescue team.

2007
Madeleine McCann is taken from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal and has still not been found after a two-year global hunt [pictured]. Gordon Brown hands over the Treasury to Alistair Darling. Northern Rock requires emergency government funding to stay afloat and economic concerns begin to grow. The political crisis in Zimbabwe results in hyper-inflation and accusations of tyranny against Robert Mugabe. The BBC iPlayer goes live and dramatically changes how we view content and the future of television. Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in Pakistan on a dark day for politics. 32 die in the Virginia Tech college massacre.

2008
The collapse of Lehman Brothers paves the way for a recession which causes huge job losses and stock exchange crashes around the world. Barack Obama is voted in as American president and Democrats welcome a new era of politics. China welcomes the world for the Beijing Olympics and it's a rare chance for foreign cameras to picture modern life in the country. Russia invades Georgia over the breakaway region, South Ossetia.

2009
The Copenhagen summit tries to unite the world in battle against climate change and global warming. The pop music world mourns the losses of Michael Jackson [pictured] and Boyzone's Stephen Gately. The swine flu pandemic from Mexico causes worldwide panic. Cumbria is flooded and Eurostar trains get stuck under the English Channel after extreme winter weather conditions.

Bring on the ‘tens’.

PRAYING FOR PUPILS: RIGHT OR WRONG?

2009-12-21T21:31:00.008Z

Maths supply teacher Olive Jones has been suspended after offering to pray for a sick pupil. We've heard a few stories of 'persecuted' Christians recently, such as Caroline Petrie, the carer who offered to pray for her patient. I felt compelled to write something about the link between faith and work after reading about Olive [pictured]. Firstly, well done to both women for talking about this so openly in the media and making sure everyone is aware of the problem. Divine healing is an exceptionally complex issue as it cannot ever be proven in stone, but this is irrelevant really - many people believe God heals and that Christian belief should be respected by all.

I think the main issue here is that a Christian has been suspended for offering to practicise their beliefs in the workplace. Maybe Olive should have prayed for the child on her own without telling them? But she didn't actually pray for them anyway - as far as we know - because the mother said they were not believers. So has she actually done anything wrong? It seems somebody thinks she did. I think that offering to pray for a friend, and them saying 'no', is fine. They're unlikely to formely complain about you to anybody - just politely say 'no'. I think many non-Christians actually wouldn't mind being prayed for by a Christian, as it's a no-lose situation really - it can't make their illness worse.

But when you take the offer of prayer into the workplace, and get suspended from your job because of it, that concerns me a little. I don't see faith and work as two separate things, and think there are many positives from being a good Christian in the workplace. But it seems even offering to pray for someone is off-limits in North Somerset. This is an interesting topic, and I'm not sure what I think yet, but eagerly await the results of the council's investigation.

* * *

Whenever we get a bit of snow in this country, everything goes into meltdown. Schools close, roads shut, trains stop - and it's not ideal. In fairness, most railway lines over the last week - including my local one, c2c, and the London Underground - have continued to operate with a minimum of fuss. And my old senior school stayed open last Friday. But Eurostar was a different case altogether. During probably their busiest week of the year, with people returning home for Christmas across the channel or going away for a short break, five trains got stuck in the channel tunnel on the same day. The result has been travel chaos, with 2,000 people stranded underground at one point, having little idea of what was happening. It's not impressive. Eurostar has been a successful venture and it's great that Paris and London are so close in travel time nowadays, but I can't imagine this is going to help their sales next year.

The company has apologised and offered refunds, but that will be little consolation to those who were hoping to get away (or get home) for Christmas. I also think it must be one of the first times in history that a transport company has asked people only to travel with them if it's "absolutely necessary"! I hardly think many people book an expensive train journey on the off-chance that they might travel to France on that day. Almost everyone's journey will be 'absolutely necessary' as far as I can see. Hopefully Eurostar - and other travel companies - can learn from the mistakes of this episode (both technically and organisationally) and ensure that when the next cold snap arrives, it doesn't freeze up the transport system. In the 21st century, we can't be having cross-channel trains break down a few days before Christmas. Hopefully Eurostar can emerge from the happenings of the last few days better prepared for next year.

* * *

Well done to FC Barcelona. Again. The Independent reports that they have now become the first team to ever win every competition entered in one season. The Catalans' 2-1 win over Estudiantes in the World Club Championship at the weekend capped off a remarkable year for Pep Guardiola [pictured]. There aren't many teams in history as good as this Barca side. From Lionel Messi to Carlos Puyol, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Xavi, the side's talents are astounding. Manchester City might have spent more money on their squad, including the likes of Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez, but it isn't just money that buys you success, as their ex-manager Mark Hughes discovered on Saturday.

Barcelona show that you need an excellent team spirit, top coaching, superb fans, a good youth system - and a little bit of cash too. Amazingly, Guardiola (a former Barca player) had no top-flight experience of being a manager before signing up at the Nou Camp 18 months ago, so talk about 'being thrown in at the deep end'. But he has taken the job in his stride and achieved a record no manager in the world has ever secured. A good crop of players helps, but the boss is so important in football. Just look at England under Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello - almost the same players but a completely different culture in the side who have achieved good things already. Guardiola has labelled his side 'immortals'. It's maybe a bit over-the-top, but I'm not going to argue with him...

PICTURES: BBC Online

BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

2009-12-14T19:08:00.006Z

Last night was a truly unforgettable evening. I was a guest at the 56th BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009 by the red carpet and inside the Sheffield Arena. It was a fabulous evening for everyone who lives in Sheffield by confirming its status as a great sporting city and I found it a proud moment seeing local athlete - and former University of Sheffield student - Jessica Ennis scoop third place.

The Department of Journalism Studies had managed to secure a few dozen tickets for students to stand near the red carpet and for a restricted view seat, on a first-come, first-served basis. I managed to get one of these but didn’t think the evening would be anywhere near as exciting as it turned out to be. Within 15 minutes of arriving and being escorted into a ‘pen’ - it was effectively a ‘hire-a-crowd’ operation from the BBC - boxers Amir Khan and David Haye had walked past and said hello to us, signing autographs. I thought that was pretty impressive, but then along come Fabio Capello and Jenson Button! I shook Capello’s hand and wished him well for the World Cup next year. Maybe he’ll send a scout to watch me in five-a-side football soon. Maybe not.

Then last year’s runner-up Rebecca Adlington [pictured] walked past. She looked fabulous. Frankie Boyle made a comment about her appearance on Mock The Week recently as “someone who's looking at themselves in the back of a spoon”, which was judged by the BBC Trust board to be unfair and offensive. A good judgement. Where on earth does Boyle get these ideas from? I actually think she’s one of the most attractive sportswomen around and she looked great last night. The best way for her to answer her critics is to ignore them and get on with her life. It’s not as if she should be judged on how she looks anyway - a great swimmer is a great swimmer, after all, and we should be proud of our best sports personalities for who they are.

The event itself was a wonderfully glitzy affair. I have seen Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Kasabian and Snow Patrol at the Arena during my time in Sheffield and was impressed on each occasion at the fantastic production, video and lighting. But last night took it a step further as the set was simply awesome and used to great effect in the entrances of boxing champion David Haye. They also placed a gymnastics floor in the middle of the Arena for Beth Tweddle to show off her skills. The transitions were seamless on screen and live in the venue, and it was fascinating to watch how the producers and cameramen were moving around next to the stage organising each scene.

It was good to see golfer Seve Ballesteros given the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the former Ryder Cup team members on stage were holding back the tears as the trophy was handed over via a videolink abroad. But perhaps the most moving moment of the evening was a montage of sporting heroes who have died over the last year, concluding with former Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson [pictured]. The applause for him lasted for a good deal of time after the montage and it was a fitting tribute.

Well done to Fabio Capello [pictured] on picking up the coach of the year trophy. I don’t think many people fully realise how much the transformation in England’s fortunes over the last year is down to him. His disciplinarian stance has ensured players respect the manager and know their place in the team is not assured, which has led to a much better feeling in the side. Capello is an exceptionally talented tactician and England will certainly not be dying with a whimper like they did under Steve McClaren. Well deserved, Mr Capello, and thanks for shaking my hand on the red carpet!

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs won this year’s overall award, which was something of a surprise as second-placed F1 driver Jenson Button probably achieved more over the last year in relative sporting terms, but the Welsh midfielder is a footballing legend and deserved the recognition at least. A public vote decides the main winner at SPOTY, as it’s affectionately known, so being the only footballer gave him a good chance, because it is the nation’s favourite sport. The Independent reported today that betting odds on Giggs were slashed during the week, and although I hoped that Button would take the gong, it was a good chance to reflect on the career of a player with the best trophies count in English football.

What a great evening. Please can I get a free ticket for next year too?

PICTURES: BBC Sport

ANCIENT EGYPT UNDER THREAT IN 2009

2009-12-07T16:49:00.003Z

When I was a lad, I was so interested in Ancient Egyptology that I might have ended up studying it at university if I hadn’t decided upon journalism. The amazing architecture, religion and history of the era has always fascinated me, and it was great to visit the country in October 2006. But I was reading in The Independent today that Tutankhamun’s tomb and coffin are both showing signs of decay, and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities have called in experts to try and preserve it all.

The millions of visitors who have looked around the site in Luxor - me included - all marvel at the design of such a historic tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It’s therefore ironic that those same tourists - me included - could well be a timebomb hanging over the future of the site.

So where do we go from here? The Getty Research Institute in California are going to look at every centimetre of the chamber to consider how the paint and mortar was constructed and developed. This should enable them to preserve it if all goes well. But if there are issues with their archaeological research and they find that continual exposure to tourists will further damage the tomb, then I believe it should be closed to the public.

Tutankhamun’s tomb is such an important part of world history - and such an iconic figure - that to lose it would be a travesty. I would rather never have the chance to look around it again than for it to be gradually eroded and destroyed. In the words of journalist Guy Adams: “Given the peace and quiet [he] enjoyed for three millennia, it has been a rough 87 years for him since he was discovered.”

* * *

The relationship between press officers and journalists has always made for interesting study. For example, there was the classic case in June 2003 when Alastair Campbell [right] turned up unannounced at Channel 4 News to talk about what turned into the Hutton Inquiry (watch here: http://www.channel4.com/player/v2/player.jsp?showId=4815). As soon as he arrived the whole planned 7pm show was dropped so he could be interviewed, as it was such a hot topic at the time and he was the most important ‘press officer’ in the country. He was effectively rewriting their agenda that day.

I believe press offices exist to maintain a good image of their brand or company in the media and make it easier for journalists to interview their staff when required. But the relationship has been heavily criticised in recent years - none more so than by Nick Davies in Flat Earth News - where he accused press offices as contributing to widespread ‘churnalism’. This is the idea that newspapers’ resources are so stretched that they will publish anything sent to them without verification or challenging any facts.

In a way this has made life much easier for communications offices. They know that if they produce a well-written story on an interesting subject, with quotes and photos, it is almost guaranteed to make the local - if not national - press. Nigel Green wrote in The Guardian today that “the media are increasingly relying on police press releases for crime stories”. It’s probably true. I have worked with one police press office as a journalist and found it helpful in clarifying facts and sending pictures for media use on stories. It was a well-run operation which also sends out a large amount of releases which obviously all portray the force in a positive light.

They cannot be criticised for this as it’s their job. But the police will make mistakes over time and crime levels will not always be positive in every area, although the media will not be spoon-fed negative information. It has to be found out through Freedom of Information requests and so on, which are not easy to organise with the lack of resources facing most local newspapers. The benefit for press offices is that they are often much better staffed than newspapers, and journalists know that by upsetting them, they might cut off the very hand that gives them so much content.

* * *

On paper it looks a great draw for England. We will have the USA, Algeria and Slovenia in the 2010 World Cup group stage. Then it could be Germany, Australia, Serbia or Ghana in the next round. If we could avoid the Germans - which we would if both teams came first in their groups - then I would be confident of making it through. There are no easy games in international football, for sure, but by avoiding tough teams such as France, Portugal, South Korea and the Ivory Coast in the group stage, Fabio Capello [pictured] should get three morale-boosting wins under his belt before England move towards the business end of the competition. But there are still questions to be asked of whether England can actually win the World Cup this year.

I don’t yet have an answer. But I think we’ve got a good chance. There will be some excellent teams as ever in 2010, and I still can’t see us getting past the likes of Messi for Argentina, Ronaldo for Portugal and Torres for Spain. But I do have lots of confidence in Capello to do a good job - he is a very intelligent man and has already turned around an England side who were seriously lacking in ambition and confidence. I reckon a few good friendlies against similar opposition to those we will meet in the group stages - maybe Mexico, Egypt and Slovakia - would be the best thing to do now. Then we can just wait and see who turns up in South Africa. It’s important Capello has a settled starting XI, and nobody is yet assured of their place. Bring on June 12th next year!

PICTURES 1, 3 & 4: Daily Telegraph

MPs TELL MPs: CUT OUT THE JARGON!

2009-11-30T21:58:00.004Z

George Orwell would be delighted to hear this. MPs on a Commons committee have criticised politicians and civil servants for their poor usage of English. It often makes as much sense as the picture [right]. They said much language in reports was misleading, vague, euphemistic and full of jargon. It’s exactly the kind of thing Orwell criticises in his essay ‘Politics and the English Language’ and that was written over 60 years ago. He said: “If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy.”

I’m fed up of reading jargon too. I come across lots of it as part of my degree course, because I’m often attending council meetings and court cases - as well as reading the official reports before and after. It’s no surprise that many people feel disillusioned with politics as it is often simply inaccessible to those who do not understand words and phrases such as: “rollouts, step changes, public domains, fit for purposes, stakeholder engagements, across the pieces, win-wins, level playing fields and going forwards”. It’s not big and it’s not clever.

Let’s take an example. A recent 'Recession to Recovery' report on the Sheffield City Council Cabinet website said: "Cabinet is asked [with] regard having been had to the City Strategy, and to the Secretary of State’s issued guidance on the use of the well-being powers, to agree that, if successfully implemented, the various measures proposed in this report would be likely to promote to some extent at least the economic well-being of Sheffield in general and in particular those persons resident in the city who are directly or indirectly assisted by these measures.”

Say again? I’ll have a go myself. How about: "Cabinet should consult the City Strategy and Secretary of State, then use this report to benefit Sheffield's economy and residents.” If you can do better, please have a go. I am no angel in avoiding jargon, but I certainly try to. I’m pleased the committee have brought this issue up, and hopefully some politicians can be taught how to write in a style that does not need to be decoded.

* * *

I know two people who work on the Worksop Guardian and their work is about to become a lot more expensive to read on the internet. Owner Johnston Press has announced it’s going ahead with plans for an online paywall and trying to generate serious income from their website.

This is something of paramount importance in media circles at the moment, and we await to see how Rupert Murdoch implements the idea at The Sunday Times shortly. The Nottinghamshire paper will be one of six to charge £5 for a three-month subscription, along with the Ripley & Heanor News (Derbyshire), Whitby Gazette (Yorkshire), Carrick Gazette (Ayrshire) Southern Reporter (Selkirk), and Northumberland Gazette.

There are many questions that should be answered for Johnston during this experiment. Will people pay the money? Will it improve advertising? Will it affect printed circulation? Will it be rolled out nationally? Will it create more jobs? So many things to find out. The concept of local papers having niche content is certainly something that will help them. I’ve always thought specialist paper websites like Media Guardian and the Racing Post are much better suited to online payment, as they hold specific information which you often cannot find anywhere else.

It is the same with local news and I admire them for having a go and seeing what happens. I don’t like to say it, but the future of local news could depend on how this goes. I really hope it works. Maybe it’s time to buy some Johnston Press shares?

* * *

Living 300 miles away in Essex usually means I don’t get much of a chance to see Newcastle United play at home. Despite being a loyal fan of the Toon Army for over a decade, I haven’t seen them at St James’ Park (or should that be the sportsdirect.com @ St James’ Park Stadium?) for almost five years. Over that time I’ve probably watched over 150 matches involving Southend (my other team) and the Toon Army away from home.

But living 130 miles away in Sheffield makes it a little bit easier and I made the trip to Tyneside on Saturday to see a comfortable 3-0 win against Swansea City. It was the 24th football match I’ve seen this season and definitely the best atmosphere of any so far. Well, a Barnet v Southend friendly on a Tuesday night really doesn’t compare.

The wonderful thing about Newcastle is that everyone in the city is so passionate about football. As soon as I got off the train with a friend at 1pm I could feel the excitement in the air as fans got ready for the match. It helps that the Magpies are top of the league at the moment, but the wonderful supporters in the north-east have always been one of my favourite elements of following Newcastle.

They absolutely love their football, and the difference in the city’s feeling between the return of Kevin Keegan and relegation just shows what it means to them. I might have lived most of my life in Essex, but Newcastle is such a special place to me. I think it’s because it’s tucked up in the corner of England and has its own unique culture. And you can’t beat an obese Geordie with his top off in the pouring rain. Magic.

CLEGG'S CHOICE: LEFT OR RIGHT?

2009-11-23T16:45:00.002Z

I interviewed Nick Clegg last month and he seems a very pleasant chap. One of the more genuine politicians out there, you might say. I was mildly surprised to read today that there is a chance he could form a Lib Dem-Tory coalition at the next election. His party could help Labour or the Conservative Party to get over the finish line if neither gets enough seats to form a government, and latest polls suggest it’s getting closer between the two main parties. I feel the idea of Clegg helping David Cameron would not go down too well with some of Clegg’s party’s activists. The Lib Dems are very strong in Sheffield, currently holding the city council, and have a much bigger presence on campus than any other right-wing group. I cannot imagine most of them would be immensely pleased if Dave and Nick lead our country together.

The election battlefield is starting to intensify at the moment and it’s getting exciting. Cameron and Gordon Brown were both criticised by the Dean of Westminster Abbey for trying to compete for photo opportunities at a Remembrance Day service and have since apologised. Labour are stepping up their high-speed rail proposals with a timetable, costs and precise route due to be released before the next election. The Tories have said they need an “emergency budget” within 50 days of being elected into power. But whilst all this is going on, Clegg actually has a vital role to play, as he could determine who gets into power. The Lib Dems will have the choice of who to form a coalition with, and we could see the bizarre situation of having a left-wing party combining with a right-wing party in government. I can’t wait for Prime Minister’s Questions...
PICTURE: The Times

* * *

I think a full investigation into the expenses of judges and magistrates could prove to be very interesting. The Independent revealed some of the first details today, and there must be more to come. The public outcry following the Telegraph’s MPs’ expenses files was understandable as MPs are public figures who are well-known in their local communities. However far less people come into contact with judges - it’s mainly only those working in the legal profession, those who come in front of them in court and journalists. If I asked you to name five judges in the country, I bet most of you couldn’t. But almost all of you would know the names of five MPs at least.

The wigs worn by judges are symbolic of the fact that there is still a big barrier between the legal profession and the general public. I think the justice system in this country is very good - I’ve observed many court cases as a journalist already and have never seen an unfair trial, in my eyes. But because so few people come into contact with judges - and they’re seen by many as people with wigs and robes entrenched in an archaic system - as more details come out about their expenses, it could stoke huge public anger. But I’m not suggesting anybody is a crook. Let us wait for the Freedom of Information Act to work its wonders over the next few months.
PICTURE: Judiciary Service

* * *

What an awful decision the officials made yesterday to allow Paul Scharner’s goal for Wigan against Tottenham. It was a blatant handball from the replays I’ve seen. But hold on a minute. Nobody’s talking about that handball because Spurs won 9-1. This is the second-biggest winning margin in the Premier League’s history, eclipsed only by Manchester United 9 Ipswich Town 0 in 1995. Many congratulations to them as well. But it’s interesting how a refereeing decision goes relatively unnoticed when it has no impact on the game. I’m obviously drawing parallels here to Monsieur Henry last Wednesday [pictured] when his handball - “the ‘main’ of God” (or) “the hand of frog” - put France through to World Cup 2010 at the expense of the Republic of Ireland.

In both cases, a video replay would have proven the mistake and disallowed the goal. This argument has for some time made me in favour of video replays in football. But I was chatting to one of my friends on Saturday, who is a match official up to Conference South level, and he explained why video replays are a bad thing. I have to say that he’s changed my mind on the subject. He argued that if you implement replays at the top level of football, then it suddenly becomes a different game. The rules are the same at every stage of the football pyramid - whether it be Essex Senior League or Football League Championship - but replays will give certain teams in higher leagues an advantage. And the game loses its beautiful platform of everybody playing by the same rules - Chelsea or Concord Rangers. I think the introduction of video-replays would only serve to widen the gap between the top and bottom tiers of football - and for that reason, it’s a bad thing, unless we can work a technology that is affordable at every level. But I would prefer it if referees didn’t make any mistakes. Ideally.

PICTURE: Daily Telegraph

STAR KEEPS RISING AS PAPERS PLUMMET

2009-11-16T20:08:00.007Z

The latest ABC newspaper circulation figures have been released and decreases are slowing up, which is good news. Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday continue to be the only papers showing a year-on-year increase. They are up 20% and 3%, which shows that Jordan is still a British treasure. Or, at least, people just like reading about her latest exploits with that cage-fighter chap. But aside from the Star titles, everything is still falling. Worryingly for Guardian Media Group, The Observer is down 19% and The Guardian down 12%. But elsewhere the Telegraph is doing very well on the subscription front, with over 320,000 copies being sent out, and this is providing a solid funding base on which they can better predict their medium-term income.

I am not subscribing to one paper at the moment as I enjoy reading a different one everyday, but I can see this being a key business model as we come out of the recession and people start to get larger disposable incomes. Meanwhile, the London Evening Standard have had a 469% circulation increase, but of course the paper is now free. I doubt it will have too much impact on the nationals as they are all morning papers, and the Standard continues to set the evening agenda with little competition in print now thelondonpaper and London Lite have disappeared.
PICTURE: Taradel

* * *

The government’s plans to give power to the Financial Services Authority for cancelling any pay deals which reward undue risk-taking are a dangerous idea. Former chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland Sir George Mathewson is right that it interferes with contracts “between willing participants”. Bankers are still about as popular as MPs at the moment - just try being a journalist or traffic warden, I tell them - but that is no excuse for such a draconian measure as this. If this is a sign of things to come in the shake-up of the FSA, then I am concerned.

Everyone needs to take the blame for the recession - consumers, producers, bankers and regulators - and telling banks how to pay their staff is not the best way out of this. If a banker takes a big risk and makes a big profit then he should be rewarded for it. The decisions of stockbrokers can make millions of pounds for corporations quite easily, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with them getting a share of this profit. Banks need to work with the FSA to ensure they don’t come up with any more ideas like this.

* * *

Regular readers of my blog will know that I think the train fares system in this country needs a big shake-up. It’s too expensive and too difficult to find the cheapest ticket. Today, the two main lines going through Sheffield - East Midlands and Crosscountry - announced increases of around 2 per cent. But there was good news on the Southend to London lines - National Express East Anglia and c2c - that fares will be frozen or reduced next year.

This is in contrast to some lines around the country where unregulated fares are increasing by up to 16 per cent. But as Peter Slattery, of the Southend Rail Travellers’ Association, pointed out, we should not be surprised by a price freeze, because inflation has fallen. In fact, a reduction would have been nice. But it’s good to know National Express are avoiding last year’s mistake of putting fares up significantly. Everyone can do with the extra change at the moment.
PICTURE: The London Daily

* * *

The weather can always make for an interesting game of football. Arguably the best moment of the season so far happened at Gigg Lane on Saturday when Danny Nardiello's shot for Bury beat Notts County goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel but stuck on the goal-line as it was so wet and muddy. Schmeichel raced back to his line and picked up the ball from the puddle with the grin of a Cheshire cat. The video is well worth a watch on BBC Sport: http://tinyurl.com/yjavct6.

It reminded me of when Southend played Barnsley in The FA Cup third-round almost three years ago. The game had started off normally, but by the second-half it was getting ridiculously wet. However as Southend were 1-0 up, all of the home fans wanted the game to carry on. I don’t think Barnsley fans particularly wanted to come back to Essex again for another try either. The ball was splashing about, managers were checking which players had taken their Pool Frog 2 swimming badge and it was very funny indeed. But in the last minute, a free-kick bounced into the Shrimpers area and was handballed into the net by a Tyke. Replay on a Tuesday night in Yorkshire. Oh dear. At least we won the second game 2-0!
PICTURE: Sky Sports

HOW WOULD YOU SPEND £45m?

2009-11-09T22:27:00.004Z

We’ll find out tomorrow what the winners of Friday's £90m Euromillions jackpot are going to do with their money. What on earth would you do with £45m? A couple in South Wales and a group of office workers from Liverpool have got that wonderful decision ahead of them. As has been widely reported in the media, £45m is a similar fortune to that of footballer Michael Owen or DJ Chris Evans - both of whom have worked very hard to achieve that wealth. I would feel a little bit guilty if someone handed me a cheque for £45m after I’d bought a £1 ticket and so many others had lost, but I’m sure I wouldn’t mind that much. ‘If you don’t buy a ticket’, as they say...

So would £45m bring me happiness? I might give £5m to Southend United - they need it more than most, despite thankfully avoiding administration today - and probably £5m to my church. Maybe a nice pad in central London and Ferrari will set me back another £5m. I’m dreaming now, but there’s still £30m left. I might give mum and dad a few quid too! But although I would never have to work again, I don’t think I’d want to sit around all day doing nothing. Journalism and the media is where I want to be - whatever happens. And I don’t even play the lottery.

You often hear stories about lottery winners who want to carry on working, and it’s that sense of career fulfilment and a wish to make the most of life that would keep me going. Angela Kelly, who won £35m in August said: “My win has enabled me to bring a great deal of happiness to my friends and family, which has in turn made me very happy.” She’s probably right. By giving your money to other people - and spending a bit on yourself whilst trying to continue your normal life - you will get the most satisfaction from a lottery win. An interesting thought for the day indeed...

* * *

It’s usually the little things that get blown out of proportion which make the headlines in politics. The Sun has recently been a watchdog for the government - even more so since it switched allegiance from Labour to Tory - and today’s revelation that Gordon Brown misspelled the name of a soldier killed in Afghanistan is a good story for the paper. Jamie Janes [pictured, MOD] - not ‘James’ as the PM referred to him both in Parliament last month and in the letter to his mother - was killed in October. His mother, Jacqui, claims the letter was a ‘hastily scrawled insult’, which doesn’t consider that the PM’s eyesight is poor and he writes with a black felt-tip pen to help him see. But he should not be making spelling mistakes - especially on the lad’s name.

The mother has said it was "disrespectful" and an "insult" to her son, but as Business Secretary Lord Mandelson pointed out today, it’s ridiculous to suggest Mr Brown intended to show any disrespect to the boy or his family. It was simply a mistake and I agree with Lord Mandelson. The PM has lots of important things to do with his time, and whilst it’s good that he writes to bereaved families, he does have a country to run too. This should not be blown out of proportion - yes, a soldier has died, and everyone is grateful for the sacrifice he has made for us, but Mr Brown made a few spelling mistakes and suddenly there seems to be a witch-hunt against him. The BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson, put it perfectly: “The reason this is a story is because of the widespread sense of doubt about the continued value of British forces fighting and dying in Afghanistan.” It’s nothing to do with Gordon Brown’s spelling and handwriting at all.

* * *

On the subject of war remembrance, I was at Hillsborough on Saturday to watch Sheffield Wednesday v Queens Park Rangers, where a one-minute silence was immaculately observed. It’s quite surreal to be high-up in such a massive stadium when everything falls silent [see Anfield, pictured]. This is why I think we should have silences for all remembrance - whether it be for a former player or club director, or anyone else significant. I have a bit of an issue with ‘a minute’s applause’ because I don’t think it’s as powerful as silence.

Football grounds are noisy places during games at the quietest of times, so it’s much more poignant to absorb a lack of noise before a game. The recent Bobby Robson tributes were comprised of a minute’s applause - and some fans even chanted ‘There’s only one Bobby Robson’. Whilst this was obviously not meant to be disrespectful to the legendary man, I just feel the recent obsession with applause and chanting for one minute is not the right way to remember people. An observed silence is the best tribute.

* * *

What on earth is Nottingham Forest's safety officer Alan Bexon thinking? His idea is that home and away fans can sit together in the family stand at their home game with Doncaster Rovers on November 28 at the City Ground [pictured]. Mr Bexon said: “We sincerely hope the idea will catch on and lead to us eventually getting back to a situation where there is no need to segregate fans. Football has evolved since the days when hooliganism was at a peak and we believe the initiative could be a step in a very positive direction.”

Now it’s certainly true that football has moved on since the troubled days of the 1970s and 1980s, but putting home and away fans in different areas is surely a no-brainer. I love going to away matches with Southend and Newcastle because you get some great banter - as I mentioned on the blog last week - and it’s what helps make football special. The idea that one day we would never have segregation is unbelievable - not because it will never be safe enough, but because fans value being amongst their own. It’s their community and family - and they don’t always like the neighbours.

DRUGS PANEL: CONTAINS TRACES OF NUTT

2009-11-02T16:51:00.004Z

I remember waking up one morning last week to the radio, as you do, and finding it rather strange to hear that an expert would claim ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than tobacco or alcohol. I thought common sense would say otherwise. But I never imagined the furore that has come out of the episode, which has seen the chairman and two members of the government’s drug advisory body leave over the last few days. More could follow shortly.

The question now is whether this is another issue of freedom of speech - following the recent mass hysteria around the Trafigura super-injunction - or if Professor David Nutt should have known better than to say such a thing. Home secretary Alan Johnston has clearly stated why Professor Nutt had to go - “not for his views” but “because he cannot be both a government adviser and a campaigner against government policy”. This is an interesting concept. Should the government hire somebody to advise but then fire them when they question their policy?

Let’s look at Sir Alan Sugar. If he was to state that the government should think again on some of their employment and training policies, I doubt he would suddenly be kicked out as their business adviser. It’s important that people with opinions are allowed space to give those opinions, as freedom of speech is a staple part of our society. If the government don’t like those opinions, then they should sit down with advisers to find out more about why they think such things. The answer is most certainly not just to get rid of them, even if they do disagree with government policy.

* * *

I love radio. I wake up and work to Classic FM, I listen to BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio One and Kiss 100 when I’m out and about, I tune into BBC Radio Five Live or BBC Essex for football commentary and I download a variety of podcasts from BBC Radio Four. Radio is such a fantastic addition to daily life as it’s entertaining and it's the only media where you can do something else whilst consuming it. Newspapers, magazines, television and websites require your time but radio doesn’t.

I’m a big champion of DAB Digital Radio, and have watched its development (or lack of) with great interest over the last few years. I own a personal and portable DAB radio - which cost around £150 combined around 3/4 years ago - and they were superb investments. It means I can listen to London stations in Sheffield, access extra BBC content not available on analogue and get fantastic music quality down my eardrums. I rarely look at the scrolling text function, but have occasionally used it for song titles. But, similar to when you go back to analogue TV after trying Sky HD, there is a huge difference in output.

The concern now is that although millions of people are still tuning into radio, last week’s Rajar figures suggest only 21 per cent of us use digital - less than a third of the 66 per cent who listen to AM or FM. I still think the major problem with DAB is that it is not yet widespread in cars - a location where much radio listening takes place. Additionally, the signal is pretty poor in some areas - for example, I never use my DAB radio on the train because the signal is always going in and out, and it’s not worth the hassle. So that’s two things for Ofcom to address - getting it into cars and increasing coverage. Oh, and while you’re at it, why can I only get two bars of mobile phone signal in my room in Sheffield but perfect DAB? I suppose both would just be greedy.

* * *

When is a chant not allowed in a football ground? Alex Ferguson is appealing to Manchester United fans in an open letter for them to stop singing “sit down you p*****phile” to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. A few weeks ago we had the latter say Birmingham City fans who chanted “There’s only one Martin Taylor” (in reference to the defender who broke the leg and ankle of Arsenal’s Eduardo) were “stupid”. So where do you draw the line? I go to many football matches every season - it’ll be 20 already for 2009/2010 after Sheffield United v Newcastle United this evening - and often get involved in chants against the opposition or their fans.

I think it’s part and parcel of the game that you’re going to get some friendly abuse between fans. It's in the nature of football, from my experience. Whether it’s fans waving £20 notes at Southend, singing “you’re not famous anymore” to Newcastle or “where’s your Beattie gone?” to Sheffield United - you’ve got expect a bit of banter. But calling someone a “p*****phile” without any evidence or laughing about a player whose ankle fell out of their leg a year ago isn’t so funny. I’ve been in crowds before where I haven’t joined in with one of two chants as they’ve been a bit near the mark. But the majority of it is all right. I just hope that Manchester United can set down a precedent here that the majority of chanting is OK - but a small percentage is most certainly not.

P.S. By the way, Sheffield United v Newcastle United tonight will be the first time I’ve ever see two of the teams I support playing each other. However, I will be in the away end as I’m a bigger fan of the Magpies!

A STRIKE TOO MANY?

2009-10-26T12:36:00.002Z

The amount of strikes on recently makes me think we’re either living in a the Thatcher era or, indeed, France. Please may I send a letter home? No you’ll have to wait because some people aren’t happy with their pay, conditions and modernisation. Please may I take the London Underground? No, you’ll have to walk because some workers aren’t happy with job losses, pay and disciplinary issues. Please may I fly with British Airways? No, there’s some cost-cutting measures that cabin crews have to sort out, so there might be a strike on there soon as well.

I’d like to point out that I am in a trade union - the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) - and regularly attend meetings so have a good idea of how unions operate and how strike action is considered. I don’t doubt that it’s a last resort for most workers, but my problem is that the consequences are often not properly thought through. If the post doesn’t operate, millions of people and businesses are affected despite having done nothing wrong. If the trains don’t run, millions of commuters and their companies are affected despite having done nothing wrong. Of course, this means unions are in a good position because they can impact more people than just themselves and their own company. But that doesn’t necessarily make it right.

I mentioned the NUJ, and there are often strikes at newspapers - I regularly read about them. If a local paper doesn’t run for one day - or operates at a lower capacity - it might mean people can’t read it. But whilst this might affect advertisers and be considered a disservice to the public good, it isn’t going to cause the same sort of problems that mail or transport workers will. From this viewpoint, newspapers are luxury goods whereas mail or transport are essentials. I’m not saying that therefore journalists have more of a right to strike, I’m simply pointing out that they cause less havoc to third parties.

I have no doubt that there are people in this country who do not get paid the right amount for what they do, but do hope this recent rise in strike action is temporary and we might get back to some sense of normality soon. The worst time to strike is during a recession, and the workers know that, but it’s a sure-fire way to seriously annoy your customers. Hopefully unions and companies can work together to get agreements laid down without the need to stop working.

* * *

When the very existence of your club is in danger, you start to be grateful that it simply exists. Accrington Stanley, Oldham Athletic and Bournemouth have all been there - but to name a few. This week it seems to be the turn of my beloved Southend United. Rumours have been flying around recently that a transfer embargo has been placed on the club since they owe the taxman a big sum of money. It was finally confirmed yesterday and this Wednesday will see the Shrimpers face a winding-up order in the High Court. This could result in administration, and the resulting 10-point deduction would put us bottom of League One, meaning a huge effort would be required just to stay up.

But the £660,000 owed to HM Revenue and Customs is the least of the club’s concerns, with just 12 fit professionals available for this Friday’s game against Gillingham. I was in Carlisle on Saturday with 170 other die-hard Shrimpers to watch us go down 2-1. The lack of substitutes was embarrassing - at half-time there were three players warming-up and two of them were unknown youth-teamers. I’ve been worried about Southend before. In fact, I’ve spent many moments of my life worrying about Southend. But this is different - as I could be without a local football team to support soon. I hope it won’t get to that stage, but the club is clearly in a crisis. Surely there’s an Essex businessman with a bit of spare cash? Ah well, if not, there’s always Newcastle and Sheffield United to follow...

THE LONDON-BOUND GRADUATE TRAIN

2009-10-19T17:46:00.001+01:00

It’s quite a crazy thought that I graduate in eight months time and university will be over forever. Hopefully I will find a job though. Anyway, an interesting report was released today by lecturers’ union UCU which shows a “mass migration of graduates to London” who are moving in order to find work. This means that certain areas of the country are lacking in a working age population with a degree because many locals are moving south or towards the capital in search of a better life.

I find this hardly surprising. Almost all of the work experience I’ve ever done has been based in London - and in Leigh-on-Sea, I live a 45-minute train journey from east London, let alone west London. I very much expect that my first job will be in the capital city, and will probably end up living there at some point too. It’s the place to be as a young person - I spent six days out of seven most weeks this summer in London (mostly working in Westminster or going to church in the West End), and love it.

I feel I can only make it big in the media if I work in London, as that is where the headquarters of pretty much all the national newspapers, radio stations and TV channels are located. If I was to live in Sheffield after graduation - which around two-thirds of undergraduate students do - there would be jobs to aim for at a few places such as the Yorkshire Post or BBC Radio Sheffield, but nowhere near the amount of opportunities given to me by London. So this UCU report is spot on, but it does highlight a need for universities in poorer areas to try and hold onto their graduates, as that is one of the only ways in which some regions can improve their proportion of citizens with a degree - by effectively importing them from elsewhere.

* * *

At 32 years of age, Mark Kleinman is a breath of fresh air. The new City editor of Sky News was interviewed in today’s The Guardian and made exceptionally clear what makes a good business reporter. Contacts, contacts and more contacts. Never was a truer word (or phrase) spoken. I’m sure Robert Peston would say the same - and although the BBC’s ‘face of the recession’ is not everyone’s cup of tea, there is no doubt he also has an awesome book of contacts that can give him fantastic exclusive stories - such as the scoop on emergency funding for Northern Rock. You just don’t get that kind of thing from looking through press releases.

Kleinman studied at York University and has worked his way up the ranks at an incredible speed - from Leisure Week to Marketing magazine, the Express to the Times, and now the Telegraph to Sky. He is only 12 years older than me and has already got an editorial position on one of Europe’s biggest news channels. Now that’s impressive. As one former colleague put it: “He’s done so well that you have to be careful of sour grapes.” I think Kleinman is an inspiration to all young and student journalists that by working hard and building up contacts along the way - you can still make it up the ladder. Good on him.

* * *

A beach ball became the first static object since Michael Ricketts to score a goal in a professional football match on Saturday (no offence Michael, but Southend sacked you after a few months for not putting in enough effort). I’ve seen some super goals over the years; for example, the Darlington v Bury own-goal (where a defender tried to clear by an overhead kick but it rebounded off him and into the net) and the various attempts by Liverpool midfielders to chip the goalkeeper from their own half, but the beach ball has to get the nod. It wasn’t even a legal goal, according to quotes for former referees today, but I don’t think that will bother Sunderland or Darren Bent as it gave them a 1-0 win over the Scousers. Make sure you check it out on BBC Sport Online.

Football is indeed a funny old game - and there have been countless moments over the years when I’ve laughed out loud whilst at a game or watching it on TV. Who could ever forget Tes Bramble (brother of Wigan’s Titus) trying out in goal for Southend or Steven Taylor’s fake ‘death’ to stop Aston Villa scoring. It’s moments like that which make football more than 22 men kicking a ball around a pitch. It can often be pure comedy genius.

THE LUXURIES OF STUDENT LIFE?

2009-10-12T20:47:00.003+01:00

Before I start properly I must say that I’ve never lived in “digs decked out with flat screen televisions” or enjoyed “lunches of smoked salmon sandwiches” whilst at university. But it seems that Kevin Sharpe, Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of London (Queen Mary), thinks this is the norm for students and believes an upper-class lifestyle is the reason behind students graduating with £20,000 of debt on average. He says that most students have “the latest iPods” and spend much time on “mobile calls at peak times”. Well this is hardly unique to a student population, is it? The majority of people I know (although not me) have got an iPod and contract phone - students and professionals - and this is not an indication of “upper-class living” at all in the UK. But maybe this factor isn’t the thing that was most thought-provoking about Professor Sharpe’s research.

I have come to university to get a degree and enjoy myself - hopefully in equal measure! There will only be three few years of my life when I am a student (this will be the last one as far as I know), and I’m determined to have a good time. Whilst this does not mean reckless spending on gadgets and items that I don’t need, it does mean that I will go out for a drink or meal with friends and not worry too much about the cost. This concept of a “luxurious lifestyle” lived by students - according to Professor Sharpe - simply doesn’t exist, and the majority of people I know at university are very careful with their money.

The bottom line is that getting a degree will cost you money and the living & entertainment costs on top of that are not going to be cheap. However, university is such a wonderful experience - and you can get so much financial support anyway from the government and your institution nowadays - that money should not be a concern, as much as you should watch your spending. Very few students do go out and buy M&S sandwiches and live a “luxurious lifestyle” from my experience, so it seems Professor Sharpe needs to go and research a wider sample on my evidence. However it’s certainly interesting research that’s worthy of further study.

* * *

Sky are launching a rival subscription download service to iTunes, where they will get users to pay £7.99 for the download of one album (or 10 songs) per month then unlimited streaming. However there seems to be a better alternative for the consumer. On Spotify, you have a free streaming service with a few adverts inserted here and there - although there are fewer than on the radio. On iTunes you can download an album or 10 songs for a similar price. So far, an equal service when comparing Sky Songs to iTunes and Spotify. But - and here’s the important bit - iTunes is not subscription based so you can buy as little or as much as you like. This makes it a better alternative as you get more choice and purchasing power than with Sky.

I don’t quite know what it is about downloaded music, but I’ve rarely paid money for songs online. I’ve also never downloaded any tunes on sites like Limewire or Kazaa, but do stream them on Spotify and YouTube occasionally. In fact, I have only ever bought one album to download - Insides by Jon Hopkins - and a couple of singles here and there. I hope that I’m not being too old skool by mostly purchasing CDs from HMV, Play, CD Wow and Amazon.

Last week I wanted to buy The Cut-Up Boys’ latest mix album, and although it was cheaper to download I popped down to HMV to pick up a hard copy and then put it into my mp3 player. The experts among you will point out that it would have been easier - and cheaper - to download it straight onto my mp3 player from online, rather than gone out to buy the CD, rip it onto the computer and then download. But there’s something about CDs that makes me still enjoy buying one in a shop, looking at the artwork and putting it on the shelf. I suppose it’s somewhat like buying a hard copy of a newspaper rather than reading it online - I’ve grown up with news and music in tangible forms, and that’s how I most enjoy to consume them both.

* * *

Every true football fan pays good money to see a good game and it’s such a shame when the referee spoils it. There are often matches when some decisions made are so blatantly wrong that everyone in the ground knows it - such as the phantom goal at Watford last season, or the goal that wasn’t at Bristol City recently. It couldn’t have happened to a funnier person than Crystal Palace’s Neil Warnock - what a legend. Anyway, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has landed himself in hot water over the last seven days for suggesting referee Alan Wiley was unfit and “needed a rest” in their 2-2 draw with Sunderland. This personally upset Wiley to the extent where he considered quitting the game, according to The Independent today.

I feel managers should have the right to criticise the referee for their performance - although not personally - as long as they get a right of reply. Exactly this situation happened after Swindon Town v Southend United two months ago: Blues manager Steve Tilson said the referee had made a mistake, and he then apologised to the football club for a bad performance after realising that he had indeed made a mistake. This is good professionalism and should be encouraged. It might not change the score but at least the referee was honest - he certainly earned my respect for this. Referees always try their best in football matches, I’ve no doubt about this, but they will make mistakes - and hopefully these even out over a season. Debate between managers and referees should be encouraged after a game, so maybe we could have a few more interviews with officials. I bet it would make post-match reports a lot more fun...

IT'S THE SUN WOT WON IT - AGAIN?

2009-10-05T17:04:00.002+01:00

‘It’s The Sun Wot Won It’. So said Britain’s biggest-selling daily newspaper on 11 April 1992 when the Tories unexpectedly won the General Election. For 1997, they changed their traditional right-wing allegiance to support Tony Blair, at a time when the Conservative Party was in disarray. But in a game-changing moment last week following Gordon Brown’s speech at the Labour Party Conference, The Sun backed the Conservatives once again. The headline ‘Labour’s Lost It’ may well sum up the next election when it’s referred to in history books of the future.

The importance of a newspaper, with a reading circulation that compromises of one in every six people in the UK, backing a political party cannot be underestimated, and David Cameron must be absolutely delighted. Foreign secretary David Milliband reminded his party last week: “The earth does revolve around the sun - just not the one that’s printed in Wapping”, but it’s a hammer-blow to Gordon Brown’s chances of remaining as Prime Minister.

* * *

It’s been an exceptionally interesting time for London’s newspaper market recently. The London Evening Standard last week announced it was reducing its 50p price - in fact, that it was dropping its price altogether - and will be circulated for free around the capital. The paper has seen off 14 rivals in its long history - the latest being thelondonpaper which closed 17 days ago - and the London Lite is also likely to close in the near future. It’s another incredible marker of how badly newspapers have been hit by the recession, but the circulation has fallen from almost 450,000 in 2000 to under 130,000 three months ago, so it’s hardly surprising that drastic action was needed.

The proprietor, Alexander Lebedev - who bought a majority stake in the paper in February from Associated Newspapers - has probably had a switch to free in his mind for some time. Emily Bell of The Guardian suggests this is a “last throw of the dice” for the paper, and it’s true that this will only work really well or end in catastrophe. The fact is that when I’ve bought the Standard to read on the way home from work in London, it’s always represented value for money. It used to take me ten minutes on the Tube to read the London Lite and thelondonpaper cover-to-cover, which I was hardly surprised at seeing as I paid nothing for either. My hope is that the quality of journalism produced by the Standard will not be reduced - and that staffing levels will be maintained - but I’m worried for both. I just hope that Russian knows what he’s doing with a piece of London heritage...

* * *

I almost stopped in shock this morning at the newsagent when I saw the banner headline on The Independent, saying: “Was Monty Python actually funny?” I then read John Walsh’s article and was even more infuriated! He suggests: “Goodness, how tired it looks - the pacing is all wrong” and also points out that he was confused when the ‘Funniest Joke in the World’ sketch was never translated from German. Well, Mr Walsh, if you remember, the joke is supposed to kill anyone who hears it which is why it is never translated into English for the viewer! What he criticises as being “comedy of the schoolroom” and “playing foolish japes of figures of authority” is what much comedy programming is all about.

Monty Python celebrates its 40th anniversary today, and although I might not have been around when it first launched, I absolutely love the films and television series. My brother and I are often quoting the best bits word-for-word to each other! You may have seen the BBC documentary ‘Monty Python - Almost the Truth’ on Saturday (if not, check it out on the iPlayer). It was a fantastic hour-long programme that looked at how the Python idea came out and how it was received by the public. However, they neglected to mention the most famous programme proposal that was never aired - a 30-minute show on which the volume would slowly decrease throughout, forcing viewers to turn up the TV sets, and then a big loud noise at the end causing shock around the country. The BBC didn’t like it and it never happened, but this was just another great comedy idea by a bunch of great comedy geniuses. Long live Monty Python.

* * *

I will be very interested to see how many people pay £4.99 in advance to watch Ukraine v England this Saturday (rising to £11.99 on the day). It’s going to be the first-ever England international game to be screened online-only, and provides a very interesting experiment for online viewing. We know that Channel 4 can attract large online audiences of young people for series such as Skins and The Inbetweeners, and we are known as the ‘YouTube’ generation, but this is a live football match we’re talking about here.

Who wants to sit in their room in-front of a PC for 90 minutes watching a webcast which could crash at any time - when you could be down the pub with your mates and a pint of Carling, watching it on a big screen? I certainly won’t be paying to watch it myself. I know that there was no other option after every terrestrial TV channel backed out at the asking price, but I hope this is a one-off. Fortunately it’s a ‘nothing’ game as England are already qualified for World Cup 2010, so I won’t be missing much. All the same, Come On England!

CAPELLO: PRIVATE OR PUBLIC?

2009-09-28T20:20:00.002+01:00

Fabio Capello has been a mostly uncontroversial figure since he took over as manager of the England football team. This is in stark contrast to many of the previous incumbents such as Sven, McClaren and Hoddle. The Italian’s workmanlike approach to the job has won him many fans, although his recent privacy case against the News of the World and Daily Mail has caused a bit of a stir in the media world. He received an apology and “substantial” damages (paid as a donation to charity) from both papers after they printed pictures of him on holiday covered in mud with his wife. The interesting thing about this case is that the Press Complaints Commission told newspapers beforehand that the couple were concerned about the presence of photographers whilst on holiday - so therefore printing the photos was “bad manners”, says Stephen Glover in today’s The Independent. But Glover also makes the valid point that it is not illegal to publish photos of public figures taken in a public place.

There have been various privacy cases that have gone through every court twice in this land - I studied many of them as part of my degree last year - and it’s evident that nobody really knows what the press can get away with. We cannot allow a situation where the British press cannot publish pictures of celebrities and well-known people in public places, as that is not an element at the heart of a free media. Yes, Capello’s privacy request was not respected, but the Press Complaints Commission did not give this out as a legally-binding precedent. If he is on holiday, then there is a reasonable expectation of privacy from paparazzi snappers, but the nature of being a football manager is that there are hundreds of thousands of people who want to know about everything you’re doing. Luis Felipe Scolari was quite open about how one of the reasons he didn’t take up the England managerial position was because of the way in which the British media operates - and that his privacy would have been intruded upon. But now Capello is in the hotseat, and is doing a very good job, people want to know about everything he is doing. It’s no surprise and the price of stardom is that the media will follow him everywhere he goes in public. In my opinion, they shouldn’t be stopped from doing this.

* * *

Nominations for The Guardian Student Media Awards 2009 were released today, and I’m pleased to say the paper on which I was News Editor last year has been shortlisted for Newspaper of the Year. Forge Press at the University of Sheffield has had a very successful first year in its new, rebranded form - and it’s exciting what the future holds. There is stiff competition this year in the Newspaper category - the other four finalists being Leeds, Cardiff, York and Imperial - and it’s no surprise that the former two are the only other established universities with Sheffield that run undergraduate journalism courses. Last year’s editor on Forge Press, Ciaran Jones, did a formidably good job in running the show in Sheffield - and I had a great time putting together the news section with fellow Journalism Studies student, Robert Golledge.

Getting involved with the university newspaper is one of the best things I’ve done in Sheffield - it’s a very well-run operation which has taught me many skills that I’m sure will come in handy in the future. You get to meet important people in and around the university, work against deadlines and learn how to organise a team of around 50 journalists. With a circulation of 15,000 it was a big responsibility - and I’m pleased to still be writing content for the paper this year; just not from an editorial position. I’ll also give a special mention to Paul Garbett - another one of my coursemates - who has got his second successive Guardian nomination this year. Well done to him. If you’re at university, or soon to be heading there, try and get involved with student media as it’s a super way to find your feet in journalism.

* * *

I never really realised there was a north/south divide until I came to study in Sheffield. Then I met some people from the north and realised that - even in an often-jokey way - they didn’t really like southerners. Everyone’s favourite football chairman, Ken Bates (Leeds United), thought it would be helpful to add to the debate last week. He said: “Yorkshire people like their own. They don’t like southerners.” Well, that’s wonderful, isn’t it. Leeds United - the club where ‘everyone hates us but we don’t care’ - are not exactly trying their best to make friends, are they? There’s the old ‘dirty northern b******s’ chant directed at clubs north of Watford at southern grounds, but most fans are more concerned about their local rivals - not any old team in a different section of the country.

I don’t think a north/south divide really exists in football as much as it does in other areas of life like housing and finance - in fact, the north-west is this year’s powerhouse for the Premier League (representing 12 of 20 sides if you include the west Midlands). So Mr Bates’ comments were not really called for - even though he was only referencing manager Simon Grayson’s local roots. Why stoke an argument that doesn’t even exist? The old ‘waving the five pound note’ and ‘we pay your benefits’ chants are not directed by Southend fans to most northern teams - it’s usually to the likes of Milwall and Leyton Orient to wind up local rivals. So maybe Mr Bates could think again before generalising the whole of Yorkshire in a single statement. I’m sure there are some people in Sheffield and Leeds who don’t mind the fact I come from Essex!

SHEFFIELD: A MUSICAL MASTERPIECE

2009-09-21T17:26:00.004+01:00

Music is a wonderful thing that brings people together, triggers personal emotions or memories and is very good at providing a soundtrack to life. It’s interesting how much impact location has had on some of our best songwriters in this country - and one city of note here is Sheffield. From the Arctic Monkeys [pictured] (“You’re not from New York City, you’re from Rotherham”) to Richard Hawley (“Cold city lights glowing”), the Steel City has been the inspiration for a wide variety of music. I love listening to songs in cities where they started life, such as being on the Tube with The Streets on in my headphones (“my Underground train runs from Mile End to Ealing”) or even The Apprentice soundtrack when in Canary Wharf! It’s great to get a feel of their background and influences.

There is a great mini-feature by Dave Simpson in The Guardian today about music in Sheffield - although he begins by saying: “a city peppered with architectural horrors [is] not an obvious place to write a song about”. This made me think that one of the reasons why we have an exceptionally diverse music scene in this country is because the landscapes and buildings of different areas have different impacts on musicians - no UK city is the same. Another good example of this is the rapper and saxophonist Soweto Kinch, whose album B19: Tales of the Tower Block charted the lives of budding musicians in Birmingham who felt they could not escape from their council flat. Such a wonderfully diverse country gives many musicians an great inspiration for song-writing - and it’s great that Sheffield is a good example of this. From the old steelworks to football grounds, and Park Hill Flats to Broomhill mansions, it's a very useful source of lyrics.

* * *

It’s not often that Facebook is blamed for suicide, but that’s exactly what happened after a tragic case recently. The parents of one schoolgirl have said social networking sites place “huge pressures” on young people. Their 15-year-old daughter, Holly Grogan [pictured in The Times], fell 30ft to her death from a bridge in Gloucestershire last Wednesday. Reports suggest she was consistently bullied on her Facebook wall, and this was a major factor in the girl’s decision to end her life. There is no doubt that Facebook has dramatically changed the way that students and young people interact, as it is a central communication hub that is an incredibly useful tool. But the downside is that if you’re unpopular within certain circles nowadays, you can never escape from bullying online.

A few decades ago, before other technologies such as texting and instant messaging became widespread, if you were being bullied at school your home was a safe refuge. But now it will follow you everywhere - and it seems the shame of being bullied online may have led Holly to take her own life. I don’t think I have ever seen serious bullying on Facebook, but maybe that’s because the majority of my friends are of a university age where this is less widespread anyway than at school. However, the concept of out-of-hours bullying is something that needs to be addressed by the government to avoid more tragic cases like this. My suggestion would be that Facebook - at least in this country - should make it easier for children to say confidentially if they are being bullied online, and then for parents and Facebook to work with schools to eradicate this. It may seem a idea too large to implement, but then again very few people predicted Facebook would ever reach the size it has now become. If the government see online bullying as a serious enough problem, then they will spend the necessary money to reduce - if not, eradicate - it.

* * *

Google is one of those things which almost everyone loves, but at the same time is a little scared of due to its all-encompassing size. Matt Brittin, UK Head of Google, says: “We want to help newspaper publishers but we are a technology partner”. A quarter of their revenues last year went back to people whose websites they are “helping to monitise”, according to Brittin. So even though Google have become incredibly big in just over 10 years, it has also created lots of revenue for media organisations by making it easier to find content. Everyone is well aware that newspapers are looking at alternative ways of making money online, and it’s not Google’s fault that few are yet charging for online content.

The problem comes when claims are made that the corporation is making money out of somebody else’s time and effort. But Google News is an exceptionally useful tool, and I often find exactly what I need by using it’s sophisticated search engine which covers around 25,000 sources. In fact, I probably only look at some newspaper websites - especially local - because Google has picked them up. Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey doesn’t particularly like Google News - claiming it’s making easy money out of other people’s hard work - but just think for one moment, where would the internet be without Google? Surely in a worse place.

* * *

Did anyone watch either Europa League match last Thursday involving Everton or Fulham? For the first time in a match involving professional English sides, there were six officials. Yes, SIX [pictured in The Guardian]. One referee, two linesmen on the wide touchlines, two more linesmen on the end touchline, and a fourth official (or should that be sixth). There was probably a seventh somewhere as well as a backup. How many people do you need to make a decision in a football match?!

This just seems to be another ill-fated experiment by UEFA instead of simply introducing video technology. These new referees are supposed to tell if the ball has crossed the line, but those sort of marginal incidents probably happen every once every ten games or so - and does that really need the investment of another two officials in every game? I think not. Video replays can confirm decisions for certain and should be a much cheaper investment in the long-term anyway. UEFA are just prolonging the inevitable, but until then at least managers have still got something to moan about to journalists.

WOMEN: THE TORIES' SECRET WEAPON

2009-09-14T20:54:00.004+01:00

It’s been claimed that if women were never given the vote, there would have been a continuous Labour government since 1945. The Independent ran a very interesting feature today about the importance of female voters to both major political parties in the UK, claiming that Labour are fast losing female support to the Conservative Party. The major reason for this is that women appear to prefer the Tories’ approach to public services.

Different groups of voters are regularly studied by parties as they give a good indication of which policies will go down well and how to structure a marketing campaign. However it’s interesting that such a clear cut gender group - as opposed to maybe trade unionists or NHS employees - are shifting towards one party. It will be interesting to see if this will make the Tories look at launching new policies with a more feminist angle than before.

However this will of course run the risk of upsetting the men. It’s a hard decision to make, certainly, but maybe the infamous ‘Get out and vote. Or they get in’ Labour poster showing Hague with Thatcher’s hair should be revived by the Tories for Cameron - to give him a female touch? Or maybe I’m stretching this a little too far now...

* * *

The government’s proposed lifting of the product placement ban in television is great news for the industry. I firmly believe that during a recession we should be finding as many ways as possible for TV channels to make money through alternative forms of advertising, so it makes life a little more comfortable for their balance sheets. For example, the concept of serving a ‘pint of Strongbow’, rather than a ‘pint of cider’, in Coronation Street does not seem far-fetched and will hardly detract from the main storyline. It would also be reasonable to see the use of a Nokia mobile phone in an ITV drama, which may well be present in a film at the cinema anyway. Even more importantly, it gives the commercial competitors to the BBC a useful funding stream, to which the public body has no access.

There are concerns that it could be abused and over-used in certain programmes, but estimates have suggested product placement could be worth £100m a year to the TV industry, and that is something worth fighting for. Whilst there are concerns about the very future of ITV and Channel Five (owned by German firm RTL), this could just be the catalyst required to help them turn a corner and free up financial resources to concentrate on making new television or importing better shows. But broadcast watchdog Voice of the Listener & Viewer have condemned the idea, suggesting that nobody will know “whether the programme makers are in control or the marketing director”. This is a valid point. However, it is likely that the ban will not be lifted without a variety of restrictions and red tape, and as long as broadcasters are accountable to their viewers (maybe by listing any sponsors at the end of the show), I can only see this being a good development for the maintenance of British television.

* * *

I can’t say I expected such a good start from the Toon Army. Newcastle United were a sinking ship before this season got underway and I’m absolutely amazed that they have won five games in a row - without conceding - and now sit top of the league. Yes, I know it’s only the Championship, but you can only beat what is put in front of you. Chris Hughton is doing a remarkable job, and has set a new club record of straight wins and clean sheets, so fully deserves the Manager of the Month award. He may well be the first caretaker coach to have ever won it (although if you know otherwise, I stand corrected)! I have seen the Magpies twice this season - at Leyton Orient (lost 6-1) and Crystal Palace (won 2-0) - and the contrast could not have been more different between the two games. It seemed like the Toon Army were destined for another relegation season, but they have turned it around.

Why is it so hard to predict the future of Newcastle United Football Club? I’ve supported them for over 12 years and must say it’s been interesting over that time, if nothing else. This season’s group of players are certainly a committed bunch, exemplified at Cardiff on Sunday when Alan Smith took down Jay Bothroyd, knowing he would get sent-off - but he did it for the team. Every player out there at the moment wants to get Newcastle back into the Premier League, and it’s pleasing that they might just do it. I know we’re only six games in but the signs are good. Blackpool away on Wednesday evening will be a culture shock for the players and fans, but it will be those sorts of tests which will make them a stronger side should they get promotion. It will be cold and probably raining on the open away stand - but you can guarantee there will be an obese Geordie with his NUFC-inscribed belly hanging out for all to see. That makes me proud.

'MOTORMOUTH' MAKES IT TO 2,073

2009-09-07T20:46:00.004+01:00

Chris Moyles today celebrated the impressive milestone of becoming BBC Radio 1’s longest-serving breakfast DJ - overtaking Tony Blackburn by hitting a figure of 2,073 days. I will declare myself as an avid listener of radio and regular listener of Radio 1. But not Moyles. The fact that he supports Leeds United is not a good start, but I’ve never liked his laddish approach to presenting. I can appreciate that he has a massive following and is well-liked amongst his listeners, but there are many radio stations out there that go much better with my morning commute. I personally listen to Jane Jones and Simon Bates on Classic FM as it’s calming and non-threatening radio when I’ve recently woken up. However I do listen to Zane Lowe in the evenings, and occasionally Jo Whiley during the day, as they are two DJs with such a genuine love for music - and don’t shout down the microphone for three hours. The style of the show is just not how I imagine good radio to sound.

Moyles, often labelled 'motormouth' by the tabloids, is an intelligent broadcaster and has built up his own brand - but so much speech without music is not good for me early in the morning! My three favourite radio stations are BBC 1Xtra, Classic FM and BBC R1 - but it’s a good thing that we have so much choice on DAB nowadays as I never have to listen to Moyles. A good DJ is “bright, intelligent and articulate”, according to Richard Park, Global Radio’s director of programmes, in today’s The Independent. I’m not sure that Moyles quite fits this mould, although you cannot deny he is “intelligent” in finding a broadcasting style that many people love. I absolute agree with Park, but I suppose somebody like Moyles is never going to be everybody’s cup of tea - he certainly isn’t mine. However the beauty of radio in this country is that we have such a great choice that we will always find something we like. So well done to Moyles on a terrific milestone, but I won’t be tuning in myself any time soon...

* * *

I spent last Wednesday at The Guardian on an Insight Into Journalism day and had a very interesting time. A group of around 25 ‘budding journalists’ received talks from real journalists and section editors, and then got the chance to design a newspaper page later in the day. Hats off to the editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, who gave up 30 minutes of his time to talk to us and answer questions on getting into journalism. One point worthy of note that he was originally sceptical of Twitter but was won over by its ability to promote crowdsourcing - and it’s now a major part of what The Guardian does. I was rather worried when he said: “There has never been a more insecure moment to have been thinking about taking this career”, but I suppose this is what everyone is saying at the moment and only goes to show that the most determined will succeed!

I was fully expecting the majority of editors and journalists at the day to say they went to university, took a journalism qualification, started on a local paper and then worked their way up to The Guardian. But no! G2 features writer John Crace started off as an ice-cream seller and after deciding on a career-change he successfully pitched a feature to the Sunday Independent which led to more offers from other papers. However I was pleased that others such as Weekend deputy editor, Kira Cochrane, took a journalism course and the head of politics, Will Woodward, worked his way up on local newspapers. That seems a bit more sensible, although I suppose a graduate internship at Mr Whippy is always a possibility.

A sensitive industry issue at the moment is that of newspaper pricing. I walked into the newsagent this morning and handed over a £1.00 for The Guardian, waiting for my change. But it never happened! The price of the paper has increased by 10 pence, and whilst this may seem like an irrelevant increase, it makes it more expensive than The Times and Daily Telegraph - whilst on a par with The Independent. They tried to soften the blow with a free ‘History of the Second World War’ booklet, but to be honest that wouldn’t really interest me anyway. Nevertheless, I’ll leave the last word to Environment editor John Vidal. He said at the Insight Into Journalism day: “Good journalism comes at the expense of time and money.” If that requires me to pay an extra 10p per copy, so be it.

* * *

This week is a big week for England. They can get World Cup qualification wrapped up by beating Croatia on Wednesday, and who would bet against them after seven straight group wins under Fabio Capello? I watched the Senior squad for the first time ever on Saturday, and whilst I was not overly impressed by what I saw, friendlies don’t always tell the whole story. Look at Leyton Orient 6 Newcastle United 1 - one side is now top of the Championship and the other is level on points with the relegation zone in League One after getting beaten 3-0 by Southend United last Friday. England are certainly a side high on confidence, and if Capello does the right thing by starting Jermain Defoe on Wednesday, that elusive eighth win will almost certainly come. Football is very much a game based on confidence and momentum, and I have every confidence that Capello is instilling a great winning mentality and belief in our national side.

Anyway, I didn’t go to Saturday’s friendly against Slovenia as a normal punter. It’s not every day that you get offered a VIP ticket for an England game, so when I was quoted only £100 by a friend, I snapped it up straight away. I’ve probably been to around 200-250 football games in my life, but never attended corporately. Club Wembley is an amazing experience - the meal was the best I’ve ever had anywhere, no doubt about it - and I could see the attraction of taking out your clients there. But all things considered, if I was supporting my team then I’d rather be there with the real fans, singing the real songs and smelling the real greasy burgers. This corporate business is good fun, but it’s not real football - it’s entertainment for the fat cats!

PICTURES: BBC Radio 1, The Guardian, Daily Mail

PRODIGY STEAL THE SHOW AT READING

2009-08-31T20:57:00.005+01:00

BBC DJ Steve Lamacq described Florence and the Machine’s performance at Reading Festival 2009 as a “life-changing” moment. To be fair, any artist that climbs up the lighting scaffolding unaided in a tent in front of thousands of people deserves a bit of praise, but she certainly wasn’t alone in putting on a good show. The headliners were Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead - an excellent trio who were supported by a diverse group of artists such as Jack Penate, Deadmau5, Delphic and Little Boots. I found some great new bands I’ve never heard of before - and also saw some shockers - but had an absolutely great weekend. So I thought I’d tell you all about it...

I got to see 23 bands in three days with a group of five other friends, and it’s difficult to pick out the major highlights as there were so many! But The Prodigy were most certainly the best. Their fast-paced dance and drum ‘n’ bass rhythms were a massive hit for the crowd, who absolutely lapped it up. It was surprising that a band of their style were the fans’ favourite at Reading, considering it’s primarily a rock festival, but I suppose this shows how much of a broad appeal they have. My particular highlight was Warriors’ Dance, from the new album Invaders Must Die, which is such a beautifully powerful and menacing song. So well done to The Prodigy - nevertheless, by the end I think most people were so worn out by the intensity of it all that Arctic Monkeys (who were on next) were a bit of a come-down. Although the Sheffield lads were on top form, they also weren’t helped by the fact that many of their songs were from the new album which few people have heard yet. But regardless of this, I enjoyed their set and pretty much everyone else seemed to as well.

The first thing that anybody said to me upon my arrival in Berkshire was “Hey, you - fancy a f***?”, which - as you can imagine - I was rather surprised by, as that’s not the sort of thing one is usually asked (considering the last four years I’ve attended a Christian festival, Soul Survivor, in the summer)! In fact, this was very much the theme for a group of 17-year-olds in the tent next door to me whose hormones were in full flow. I got just two hours sleep on the last night thanks to their late and loud discussions about what they’d love to do to each other. I suppose it’s their first time away from parents and they were at the experimental stage, but what’s the point in paying almost £200 to get in and then spending all of your time drinking, taking drugs and sleeping with each other? And keeping me awake? I saw over 20 bands so I’d like to say I spent my time more wisely and got my money’s worth!

The weekend would not have been complete without a near-death experience, and sure enough it arrived on Sunday evening. I had just been standing up for Vampire Weekend and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, in order to get nearer the front for Bloc Party with two friends. We made it to within five rows of the barriers and I was very happy with that. Bloc Party are probably my second favourite band behind Coldplay, and I’m seeing them twice in six weeks - next up, Sheffield in October - so I wanted to enjoy it. However the crowd started to surge as soon as Kele and the band kicked-off, and I immediately realised this was going to be a rough ride! I ended up on the floor after being pushed and falling during the second song - as did my two friends - but we managed to get up safely after that. I suggested that we could move back but we decided to stay forward together. Big mistake.

The moments that followed were a bit of a blur now, but from the best of my memory, all three of us ended up on the floor again with about five people on top of us who couldn’t get up. Cue lots of screaming ‘help!’, two people standing on my leg which felt like it was going to break, losing my shoe then finding it again in the melee, both of my friends getting squashed, and for about five or ten seconds it was pretty desperate. But eventually we all got pulled up and got ourselves out of the front as soon as possible. I suppose you play the game if you go up to the front, and nobody is likely to be deliberately trying to hurt you when there’s a crowd surge. It was even more intense than The Prodigy - and that was pretty mental as well. However I was relieved to get out of there without losing anything - including my friends!

Afterwards of course we had a good laugh about it, and everyone there seemed to enjoy the weekend as much as I did. Music is one of my major passions - whether it be watching a rock band in concert, singing in church or playing my saxophone - so I loved spending three full days watching brilliant bands and artists across the board. The great thing about music festivals is that (almost) everyone is there to enjoy music - and I was delighted to share that with a great group of friends. Highly recommended! Just don’t start me talking about the toilets...

PICTURES: Andy Whitton (NME), The Music FM, The Online Ticket Exchange, The Guardian.

ANOTHER (LONDON) ONE BITES THE DUST

2009-08-24T20:47:00.003+01:00

The Observer = dying. The Independent = dying. thelondonpaper = dead (almost). News International announced last week that the end is nigh for the popular London freesheet, which has a circulation of over 500,000. Unfortunately it was making a loss and was no longer sustainable. The positives from this are a) less litter on the tube, and b) Murdoch failed in his bid to emulate Metro in the evenings - so maybe he isn’t as superhuman as we once thought. He’s still a top newspaper entrepreneur, no doubt about it, but the London free market never brought the dividends he expected. It’s always been a bizarre situation with the Evening Standard and London Lite competing against each other - despite being owned by the same company until an unlikely Russian got in on the act last year.

But despite the fall of any newspaper normally being no cause for celebration, I’m actually quite pleased with this news. The market situation of having two competing freesheets was never a good idea, and it would have worked much better had they merged. But Murdoch would never stoop as low as to join forces with Associated Newspapers, so it was always going to be survival of the fittest. Goodness only knows what will happen to London Lite, although I’ve always preferred it anyway as it’s the only one with a daily Southend United news section! But for advertisers, they will probably be pleased one paper has fallen, as they can still reach those same commuters - an elusive ABC1 group - by promoting themselves in just the London Lite. Most people read both newspapers if they read either, so it’s important to not get too pessimistic about the fall of thelondonpaper... keep smiling :)

* * *

Many congratulations to Dan Antopolski, the comic who won the ‘Dave Award for the Funniest Joke of the Fringe’ in Edinburgh, after winning 18% of the vote. Here we go: “Hedgehogs? Why can’t they just share the hedge?” Funny? Well I’m sure I could do better, but then again I’m unfortunately infamous amongst some of my friends for awful puns. Monty Python once wrote a sketch about a joke being so funny that it killed anyone who saw it - and whilst this was a very good sketch, I’m not sure mine will ever reach those heights. In fact, I sincerely hope not. However one of my favourites over the years was when I was at a Lapland UK attraction with my younger cousins and a girl dressed up as an elf accidentally bumped into a small child. I noted: ‘Hey, that’s surely an ‘elf and safety risk’.

* * *

I’ve got a good reason for why you should have paid more attention in French lessons at school. A British tourist in her early 30s spent the whole night in an Alsace town hall recently after she mistook the ‘Hotel de Ville’ sign to literally mean it was a real ‘hotel’. Whoops. She got locked inside after going to the toilet and could not get out until the morning when someone noticed a sign she had put on the door, saying: “Je suis fermer ici. Est ce possible la porte en ouvrir?” The local mayor said they would place English and German translations of the ‘Hotel de Ville’ sign on the front door. Probably a good idea, but I can’t imagine that many people would make the same mistake...

* * *

I can honestly say that I don’t really like cricket. I just cannot stand watching it - although I’m obviously very pleased that we’ve won the Ashes because Englishmen have shown they can win a sport we invented. So that’s great, but the less said about it the better. Onto more important and interesting things like...um...football. I’ve already got to 10 games this season since July - two Newcastle and eight Southend matches - and have really enjoyed myself so far. But despite my attendance at Newcastle’s superb win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, it’s Southend I want to focus on now.

According to my (reliable) sources, the Shrimpers hold the Football League record for the fewest draws in a season. I know, how exciting. It was three - a record set earlier in this decade. Well we’ve already failed to get anywhere near it this season after drawing our opening four games in a row. The Blues just can’t seem to win in the league, but at least they are hard to beat. Four draws has only been matched by Blackpool in the three divisions as yet, so it must be something to do with the sea breeze... but hopefully Steve Tilson will have a better excuse than that after we get trounced by Hull City tomorrow night.

NEXT WEEK - Reading Festival 2009: My Review

EXAMS AIN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE

2009-08-17T20:48:00.003+01:00

I remember opening my GCSE and A-Level results very well. I was so concerned about the whole thing that I just couldn’t go into school to pick them up and decided to open the letter in the privacy of my own home. They all came out alright in the end and got me into university without any problems, but the annual ‘dumbing-down exams’ debate has come round again just at the time when everyone is panicking over whether they will get the right grades. I suppose it’s topical, but shouldn’t we be celebrating excellent exam standards rather than criticising students every year? Nevertheless, maybe these critics have got a point.

Now, I must explain that I saw a question in a Maths A-Level that you’ll enjoy hearing about. It was a box-plot and whisker diagram question on the subject of orchestral musical instrument weights, and there was an upper outlier. The question was: “Suggest an instrument for this value.” Ummm, a ‘harp’? That’s what I went for - although this question stumped the most intelligent brains in the class, and I found it quite funny that my knowledge of classical music had come in more handy than any quadratic equation from the past - in a maths exam! My friend who got 100% in almost every maths paper wrote down a ‘cello’, which may well have got him a mark, but I doubt it. OK, so the ‘dumbing down’ evidence is out of the way.

However I’m still a bit disappointed with the Metro newspaper this morning saying A-Levels are so easy that ‘even monkeys’ could be trained to take them, according to a teacher survey. Now come on, that’s just silly. It is true that students are finding out more and more about qualifications before they take them, so they are better prepared, and this has problems. If you’re taught the syllabus and sample questions, you’ll remember it for the exam and then forget it all soon after.

That’s exactly what happened for me in A-Level maths. I got 96% but would struggle to get an ‘E’ if I was to sit any of those papers now. But whilst the preparation for exams is better, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re easier - and we should be thinking more about congratulating students than criticising their achievements. If pass rates fall, we’ll be slamming the education system. If they rise, we’ll be saying it’s easier. But either way, there will always be a picture of two of the most beautiful blonde girls the papers can find posing outside a college clutching their pieces of paper. That’s a certainty.

* * *

Well done to the Daily Star, Daily Star Sunday and The Sunday Times - the only three national newspapers to be recording a circulation rise during the recession, based on last year. Richard Desmond’s Star titles went up by 15% and 1% respectively, whilst Rupert Murdoch’s Sunday Times was up 2%. I like to highlight the positives here, as every other national daily and Sunday has seen its circulation fall over the last 12 months. The reason for the Star to be doing so well can primarily be put down to the price decrease (it now costs 20p Monday to Friday), but also to the fact it is being brought more upmarket by the editor, with less naughty pictures of women on the front-cover and more proper Sun/Mirror-type tabloid stories. The Daily Star Sunday has been doing quite well for a few years, since it started giving away free DVDs - although The Sunday Times seems to be selling itself on good quality journalism for the moment, which is encouraging.

On the other hand, you’ve got papers like The Independent (down 17%) and on Sunday (down 22%) which could well be out of business in the near future if they show no sign of improvement. However, for The Independent, this figure must be realised in the context that their cover price went up from 80p to £1 over this period. So in terms of revenue from newspaper sales they won’t have suffered that badly - and the Daily Star will be losing revenue but gaining ground on competitors. In the long run, that might just be more important. It’s good to see the Star doing so well, as although it’s far from my paper of choice, it is a British newspaper. And if somebody’s doing well, then there’s still hope for everyone else!

* * *

It’s shaping up to be a fascinating season in the Football League after the second matchday of the season, with Coventry City being the only Championship side to have registered two wins so far. It’s been a solid start for Sheffield United and Newcastle United (I’m extremely surprised at the latter!), but these are just two sides who could have a good campaign. The league is so open this year that anybody could go up, and it will be consistency and strength-in-depth that will secure promotion in my eyes. An outside bet for the top six could still be one of last season’s League One sides - such as Leicester City or Peterborough - but there’s plenty of twists and turns still to go.

I hope my prediction of 16th for the Toon will be proven wrong by Shola Ameobi (since when was he capable of scoring three goals in a season, let alone a game?) but am not getting carried away just yet. There are plenty of good players who could still leave the Magpies before the end of August, and we could still be left with youth-teamers filling up the numbers. But hopefully not. I’m off to Crystal Palace this weekend to see the Magpies in action, and am sincerely hoping that it turns out slightly better than their last visit to London - a 6-1 defeat which I witnessed - in E10. If we ever play Leyton Orient again, I think I’ll be hiding underneath the covers...

THE END OF THE OBSERVER?

2009-08-10T21:37:00.003+01:00

Comment is free but newspapers aren’t. Strong rumours are now beginning to circulate that the Scott Trust is looking at closing The Observer. It seems that there is some distance in what is being said, as the oldest Sunday newspaper in Britain is proving to be a financial strain on Guardian Media Group and they could well do without it during a recession. There are plans to maybe produce a weekly supplement in Thursday’s Guardian called ‘The Observer’ to maintain its legacy, but this is a far cry from a Sunday newspaper. I’m a big fan of The Observer (mainly because it’s the only Sunday paper which does a student discount!) and would be sad to see it go. Two weeks ago I wrote about the potential closure of another national title, The Independent, but the first title to go from that stable would be The Independent on Sunday. So we could be looking at a situation where by the end of the year we will have lost two Sunday quality broadsheets.

Whilst Rupert Murdoch might be pleased by the closure of competitors, his paper The Sunday Times is doing very well and is likely to be the first national title after the Financial Times to charge for online content when it’s website is re-launched soon. I’m working for the paper next spring, and it’s going to be very interesting indeed. It also cannot be forgotten that some of the Sunday tabloids - such as The People, where I worked in 2005 - are still making money. So it’s not all bad news, but the loss of two Sunday broadsheets would not only be terrible for the journalists working on them, but also for plurality in our nation. The Observer has been around for hundreds of years and been a benchmark of quality journalism over this time, but it could well be the end soon. I’ll be disappointed for sure if it goes, but we may well see the launch of a Guardian on Sunday in the future, which does seem pointless if you close The Observer, but it could happen. One thing’s for sure - only the fittest will survive.

* * *

Five News has always been a benchmark in alternative news, and has done this very successfully over the years. Now I hear from Digital Spy that the much-hyped ‘Five and Friends’ news show concept is going to be launched as ‘Live From Studio Show’. This idea for a magazine show was first cited by Channel Five controller Dawn Airey in a Media Guardian interview a fair few months ago, so I’m pleased it is finally coming to fruition. But the line-up for the early-evening show, billed as a competitor to The One Show on BBC1, is what has raised eyebrows the most - Kate Walsh from The Apprentice, football pundit Ian Wright and the wonderful Melinda Messenger. It’s going to be produced by Sky News - who currently produce the output of Five News - and could well be a great success.

All three presenters are much-loved figures on television for different reasons, but Five themselves have been very good at connecting with a younger audience and bringing news to people who never watch news on any other channel. It’s bright and fresh, and has featured such great presenters as Natasha Kaplinsky and Kirsty Young over the years. I’ve had the good fortune to work for Five News, and they are an absolutely fantastic team who are genuinely succeeding in trying to do something different. The alternative graphics and presentation of their bulletins is exceptionally thoughtful and is something to be proud of. I’ve loved spending time with a superb team. But I think I should leave the last word to Ian Wright. He said: "Melinda and Kate are great girls and I love the banter we already have. I struggle to get a word in when those two get going!" Can’t wait...

* * *

It was certainly an interesting opening weekend across all three divisions. Starting in League Two, Notts County opened with a 5-0 win over Bradford City, suggesting the influence of Sven-Goran Eriksson could well be more than just for good publicity. His ambition to get them into the Premier League may well eventually happen, although it’s important they don’t get carried away just yet. Elsewhere, in League One, Norwich City suffered an absolute shocker at the hands of Colchester United - losing 7-1 - and it was 5-0 by half-time. When we heard the score come in at Roots Hall during the Southend game, nobody could believe it and everyone was checking their phones for verification! Gillingham also had a good start, beating Swindon 5-0 in the early kick-off, so they would have been disappointed not to finish the day top of the league.

The Championship is shaping up to be a fascinating season this year, with almost every team able to get promoted if they put a good run together. Even newly-promoted Peterborough’s manager Darren Ferguson said he’s not there to stay up but get his side into the Premier League. I remember when Southend said that after back-to-back promotions and we ended up going straight back down. Newcastle started better than most people were expecting, with a solid 1-1 draw, but there’s a long way to go yet. However, I was certainly convinced by Sheffield United’s performance on Friday night, and reckon they should make it up this year. There is a lot to play for in the Championship this season at both ends of the league, but after the first 10 games we should have a better idea of how it’s going to work out...

FOOTBALL'S COMING HOME

2009-08-03T20:11:00.004+01:00

I am so ridiculously excited about the new football season that I can’t quite put it into words. But I will try. Last season I spent £590.65 going to see 36 games and this season I expect that figure to go up. But the fortunes of the three clubs I lend my support to - Newcastle United, Southend United and Sheffield United - could all be very different. One has player revolt, another has got no money, and a third has lost its best players. Well, in fact, you could apply most of those labels to every one of those clubs! So here we go...

NEWCASTLE UNITED
The 6-1 humiliation to Leyton Orient which I wrote about last week marked a new low, and I’ve been relieved that our last two friendlies since then have created just two goals and we haven’t lost either. There is a hope that somehow the tragic death of Bobby Robson last week could actually galvanise the players and remind them of what a great club Newcastle United is. It would be fitting that they go out at The Hawthorns this Saturday and play for the shirt, forgetting all of the backroom turmoil. But keeping that going throughout the season might be a bit trickier. The loss of players such as Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen and Mark Viduka has created gaps on the frontline, and nobody has come into replace these forwards. The defence is still weak - which will be punished at any level - and the midfield is too easily getting found out in games, rendering the whole team helpless.

There is one thing that has to be sorted out promptly, and that is the manager. I would like to see Alan Shearer return, but most Geordies have wanted to see that since the end of last season, and nothing has happened. I do appreciate Mike Ashley is trying to get a good price and then leave the north-east for good, but he has simply taken too long. He tried to sell the club last year but failed primarily because of the recession, but now has little excuse. At £80m it’s a good-buy if you can get it back in the Premier League. But it’s a good-bye if nobody comes back in. I honestly think Newcastle are going to have a terrible season because the players don’t want to be there, no players want to go there, the fans are rightly disillusioned and the club has become a laughing stock once more. It would be a miracle if they got immediate promotion back to the Premier League, and I don’t think it’s going to happen.
VERDICT: 16th

SOUTHEND UNITED
Southend might have brought in three more players than Newcastle, but they are all on loan, one was at Roots Hall last season and the other two are from Colchester United up the road. The side is pretty much the same as finished last season, but there are three notable exceptions - none of which have been replaced. These are Peter Clarke and Theo Robinson, who both moved to Huddersfield Town, and Dorian Dervitte who returned to Tottenham Hotspur after a superb loan spell. A few years ago Southend were a real force in the lower leagues, gaining two successive promotions and appearances in the LDV Vans Trophy final, and the team was going places.

But now it seems the chairman is happy to sit for a few years in League One whilst the new stadium is built. I am happy to take no progress for three years in order to get a Championship-quality stadium and build on that, but the ground has been delayed so many times and nobody is quite sure when it will be finished. It was originally supposed to be ready for the start of next season, but that is never going to happen. The team we have got is good enough to keep us up, but the management have never replaced our best wingers of recent years in Mark Gower and Jamal Campbell-Ryce, and without width you will get few goals. So a bunch of average defenders, midfielders, forwards and an average goalkeeper. An average season on the way - unless the chairman decides he wants to challenge for promotion. It’s up to him really.
VERDICT: 12th

SHEFFIELD UNITED
It was horrible for the Blades to go all the way to Wembley last season and then lose in such nonchalant fashion against hoof-ballers Burnley. It had been a great season with some notable submissions from Kyle Naughton and Greg Halford. Both have now gone, although there is still much quality in the side from the likes of Chris Morgan and Darius Henderson, and the manager has brought in some decent acquisitions which should help.

I have no doubt Sheffield United will finish the highest out of my three supported teams, and I fully expect them to be challenging for a top two spot. But this must be matched with two Steel City derby wins, as we cannot have what happened last season repeat itself! But it would be great to see both United and Wednesday finish in the top six - and what a play-off final that would be. But I think the Blades will have enough quality to make second spot this year.
VERDICT: 2nd

ABSOLUTELY OFF THE RAILS

2009-07-27T20:03:00.004+01:00

MPs have got it wrong more often than not recently, so credit where it’s due, the committee who brought out a report today on the state of Britain’s railways got it spot on. I have written beforehand on this blog about our ridiculous railways, and although the central issue is of price, the problem is twofold: a) tickets are too expensive; and b) it’s too difficult to buy the cheapest ticket and too easy to overpay. By careful planning and meticulous research I estimate to have saved myself around £500 in the last year when purchasing tickets - and that is no overstatement. I spend around 15 weeks a year commuting to London, travel between Southend and Sheffield about 10-15 times a year, and then go to countless football matches by rail.

Sometimes it’s easy to work out the cheapest deal - when a return from Sheffield to Barnsley is £2.50, or £4.95 to Huddersfield. But I have literally spent hours trying to find out the cheapest ticket on long-distance journeys, and once made it from Sheffield to Hereford for £21; a massive £15 saving, and they were still walk-up fares. The lower price was achieved by split ticketing, where you purchase different tickets for each leg of your journey. This is a good way to get the best value, although a good port of call is also the National Express East Coast website which gives you the cheapest possible ticket combinations for your journey. The future of this online service could be in doubt when that particular line is nationalised.

I’m certainly no train enthusiast, but by building up a knowledge of how the ticketing system works, I save myself around £70 a month when commuting because I know the cheapest method. The system is so ridiculously confusing, however, that train franchises are threatening to halt the superb increase in railway use over the last 10 years. This has been not only down to more green-conscious passengers, but also the increase in advance tickets, which get you a much better deal. It costs me £31 return from Sheffield to Southend, buying around a month in advance, which is much prettier than the walk-up return fare. So what should be done about it? Just make there one price for an advance fare, up until three days before, and then one price for a return fare. And ensure the cheapest way to get from A to B is to pay to get from A to B. Simples?

* * *

I do feel sorry for The Independent to some extent, but after reading possibly the worst typo in the history of British national newspapers this morning, I’m starting to get worried about its future. In ‘Dozens fall victim to side effects of swine flu drug’, underneath Jeremy Laurance’s byline, it said “MUST KEEP FINAL PAR!!!” before going into the story‘s main text. The final par in questions was about some statistics from the National Pandemic Flu Service, which may have been of some importance, but not so that the editor lets the reader know this at the start in screaming bold type. Ouch. It was removed after the first edition went out, I should say.

This all ties in nicely to the fact that I read in this morning’s City AM that “Independent News and Media could go into the Irish equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection”. Oh dear, it’s not looking good for The Independent, and I very much expect the end may be nigh. It’s been running on an increasingly lower circulation over the last few years like the rest of the industry, but looks to be the first to fall as it simply has not got enough cash reserves and hasn’t raised this sufficiently even through raising its cover price to a whopping £1. I must say it’s the most boring of the ten UK national dailies, although usually well-written, so I won’t shed too many tears if it were to go. But I would rather it stayed afloat for the sake of the journalists working there, and for better plurality in the UK press.

* * *

If you thought it wasn’t looking good for The Independent, then just take a look at the shambles that is Newcastle United FC. I went along to London E10 on Saturday to watch them get utterly smashed at Leyton Orient, 6-1. It was beyond embarrassing - a shock result for sure, but one that Orient merited. The quality is still there in the Toon Army’s side, with the likes of Obafemi Martins, Damien Duff and Steven Taylor still at St James’ Park, but the passion, commitment and effort is not. That was clearly the problem on Saturday - the players just did not want to be there, full stop.

Everyone seems to agree on what should happen - install Alan Shearer as manager, let him buy some new players who actually want to wear the black & white (or yellow) jersey, and just change the atmosphere surrounding the club. Recent months have brought a catalogue of comedy from the Magpies to give football fans a cheer: the ‘deckchair’ yellow away shirt (I did enjoy the ‘bananas in pyjamas’ chant at the weekend), Joey Barton’s indiscipline and 3rd / 4th / 5th chances, not being able to sell a club for the same value as Cristiano Ronaldo, being stopped from travelling to Holland by The FA because Sunderland fans were going too, and then losing 6-1 to a League One side instead. The list goes on. I’m sure you could add your own comedy moments. Relegation’s a funny one too - I forgot that. But whatever happens, I will always stand by the Toon Army. I’ve gone to far with them up until now anyway!

ALASTAIR SHOULD SHOW SOME RESPECT

2009-07-20T20:08:00.006+01:00

Alastair Campbell is an interesting chap. The former press secretary of Tony Blair is widely renowned as an exceptionally intelligent man who masterminded Labour’s image in the late 90s and early 00s, and this is certainly true. But when I announced to one of my Tory friends that I was reading his book, The Blair Years, she scowled and said: “I wouldn’t touch anything that man wrote with a barge pole.” Fair enough coming from a right-winger, but I still thought his 756 pages deserved my attention.

It’s a great read, no doubt about it, and I now understand much more about how a government and prime minister work behind the scenes. It’s fascinating to read how Blair coped with 9/11, Princess Diana’s death, foot & mouth, petrol shortages and ongoing tensions in Northern Ireland. But it’s Campbell’s tone towards journalists that I’m not so sure about. He was one himself at the Daily Mirror, but the stern condemnation in his book of the likes of Nick Robinson (BBC), Matthew Parris (The Times) Paul Dacre (Daily Mail) and especially Andrew Gilligan (then BBC now Daily Telegraph) is somewhat unnecessary.

It seems that every journalist he mentions is referred to as an awful human being, but the ones I’ve listed above are all excellent in my opinion. Yes, Gilligan may have made a big mistake over the notorious WMD war dossier claims, but he is a very good investigative journalist and has since won awards for his great work exposing Ken Livingstone. Campbell is a hard-nosed man who put in a tremendous amount of good work for Blair, and it’s interesting to read how he was so good at staging events that when things happened like Cherie announcing a baby was due, and the Queen Mother’s death announcement, people thought he had carefully timed them too. I suppose that’s the price of his success, but I just wish he would congratulate some of the journalists he mentions rather than ridicule them.

* * *

I was at The Guardian a couple of weeks ago for a special live recording of a podcast I listen to every week called Media Talk. There was a very interesting discussion on the future of newspapers, with the general consensus being that the internet does everything newspapers do but better - as long as you can get people to pay for it. And that’s the catch. But all of the panellists seemed to be united in the theory that online is better than print. I disagree. The thing is that I commute to London every day and always buy a paper to read on the train. I enjoy getting a different paper every day and looking at the design and pictures as well as the text. You just don’t get that same feel online, and I actually very rarely read newspaper websites.

I listen to lots of radio, watch a bit of television and read newspapers. But I just don’t like reading news online. The web has evolved into something which people use with a very short attention span. I spend 45 minutes reading a paper, but I can’t remember a time when I’ve spent more than two minutes on a single news website. By reading a newspaper from start to finish I get all of my news in one go. And instead of getting early reports that can be conflicting and confusing as citizen journalists exchange facts on Twitter, I can read a properly-sourced and checked report in the newspaper. I would rather wait that extra time to get a better quality output, and that seems to be one thing that the internet lacks. In the words of the Press Association: ‘Get it right. Get it fast, but get it right.’

The Guardian Readers' Editor, Siobhain Butterworth, today explained that someone wrote into her saying: "I know I can go to your website for the information but I want to see it in print over breakfast, and I certainly don't want to bring my computer to the breakfast table." Got it in one - sometimes it’s just better to see things in print.

* * *

I’ve been away for the last week in the Canary Islands - specifically Fuerteventura - and enjoyed the sun, which explains the lack of blog last week. Apologies about that. Anyway I’ve got a bone to pick with Thomson Flights after I experienced possibly the least amount of leg-room in the world on a form of transport. I’ve flown with EasyJet, Flybe, Ryan Air, EgyptAir, Polish Airlines and British Airways in the past - but never have I experienced having to stick my legs out into the gangway for the whole flight! This is the problem when you’re 6”5’, but I’ve never had such a major issue on any train - and I travel on trains a lot - or an aeroplane. So just to warn you, if you’re over six-foot tall, prepare to be squashed if you travel with Thompson! It’s a perfectly good airline, but just needs a bit more leg-room for people like me...

FUN WITHOUT WIRES IN HYDE PARK

2009-07-06T20:23:00.003+01:00

It’s not often on a Saturday afternoon when I get water, beer, cider, toilet roll and vanilla ice-cream thrown at me on a location other than Millwall or Leeds. But when you’re at a festival you’ve got to expect a bit of that, and just be grateful it wasn’t anything worse that landed on you. I managed to get half-price tickets for Wireless Festival through Barclaycard, so it cost just £28.63 for the day, which was an absolute bargain. I’d probably be willing to pay something like that just to see The Streets, so the fact that Basement Jaxx and Dizzee Rascal were thrown in too was a bonus really.

But the great thing about festivals is that as well as seeing the high-profile bands which get people to buy tickets in the first place, you can see bands that you know nothing about but actually end up quite liking them. When I went to see Coldplay and Snow Patrol recently, both support bands were great - Jon Hopkins and Fanfarlo - and I’ve since seen the former at a gig of his own. So I was delighted to see the Phenemenal Handclap Band (what an awesome name!), Delphic, Digitalism and Saint Etienne, as well as trance DJ Paul Oakenfold. Stand out act there was Digitalism, who pulled off an awesome set.

Eight bands in eight hours wasn’t bad, but because I wanted to get my money’s worth, I had some lunch before it kicked off at 1pm, but then suddenly realised during The Streets at about 6:30pm that I hadn’t had dinner - but there was no chance of getting that before 10pm as I had to get back to the main stage for Dizzee and then stay there to get a better position for Jaxx. And once I was there, the only water I could get was right at the front, and when I looked at it, I saw little bits of grass inside which made it less than desirable. But I drank it because there was nothing else, and I’m still here to tell the tale...

I went with my friend Adam but was surprised to recognise nobody else there (apart from my work colleague Lisa), as I often do at these sorts of things. Ah well, maybe I would have known more people if it was in Sheffield! But the beauty of gigs, and especially festivals, is that the majority of people are there for the same reason - to get immersed into the music because they love it. As a result of this, you can meet loads of new people and never find out their name - but nobody cares because you know they like Mike Skinner! It’s a bit like that fact that I’ve sat in the same seat watching Southend United at Roots Hall for well over five years, but haven’t got a clue what the names are of those sitting around me. I suppose it’s nice that everybody is there for the same purpose, as you’re like a community. OK, let’s stop the poetics now...

I also found on Saturday that being 6”5’ makes you a prime target for beer bottles (plastic, fortunately), so you have to be on the constant lookout for airborne missiles. I have been advised that this is unlikely to change at Reading Festival next month, so I should buy that hard hat I’ve always wanted - or I could just put up with it... At least my height led to around a large number of people asking if they could have their picture taken with me, which is a definite advantage. I was wondering whether they’d ever seen someone my height before?! At least in Sheffield I know three people taller than me. But I suppose the other issue with height is that people are constantly asking you to move out the way as they can’t see anything. I often find this is an issue at gigs, as there is a small gap behind me where nobody wants to stand!

So all in all, a really good way to spend a Saturday in the sunshine. Festivals have a unique atmosphere where almost everyone is there to have a good time, and they make sure of that. You pay inflated prices for food, you can’t go to the toilet or you’ll lose your place at the front, you get stuff thrown at you, you drink water with grass in it and end up smelling of smoke as it’s all outside - but who cares?! Not me. It’s all part of the fun.

LET THE BEEB BE

2009-06-29T20:28:00.005+01:00

Is it me or are people going a bit over the top by heavily criticising the BBC’s top executives over their expenses? Director general Mark Thompson said they were "reasonable and justified" and I think he’s right. The fact is that although there were a few strange anomalies like the £14.99 QPR history book and Jana Bennett’s handbag replacement, nobody would bat an eyelid if these claims were in the commercial media sector. Yes, the BBC have a great level of public accountability as we pay their wages, but should they not be allowed to claim £200 to take out Jeremy Paxman for lunch so he signs up to another period presenting Newsnight? I think they should. The top talent needs to be protected as much of it generates the BBC’s high audience figures. I don’t necessarily agree with the size of their wages compared to most of the BBC News team, but that’s not really the point here.

I know a few people who work for the BBC in departments such as Sport, Children’s and Magazines. They do excellent jobs and I believe they all receive modest salaries. But going the full stretch and publishing details of all BBC salaries, a suggestion by the Conservative Party, would surely discourage people from working there in any position. There is not a need to scrutinize the wages of every member of the corporation, although it is important we see how much many of the top stars are being paid, as this is often 100 to 1,000 times more than the average BBC journalist. But tracking the salaries and expenses of everyone is not on. You can do it for MPs as they have all been voted in by the public and should be scrutinized, but for the average journalist? No thanks.

* * *

Travelling on the London Underground is not the most enjoyable experience during the summer, but it can always be livened up by something a little different on a Monday morning. This morning was a good example. People in train carriages reading the Metro newspaper’s story about 20p pieces were all getting out their wallets and having a good look. Because the Royal Mint have revealed that around 200,000 20p pieces were mistakenly minted without a year on them, and so you can claim £50 if you find one and send it back. However there’s always a possibility it could go up in value as they will become very rare, so I can’t see all the found ones being returned!

I worked on a story about fake £1 coins for Five News last summer and it was very interesting. We took out a coin expert and he found some random people on a street in London had some fake pound coins without knowing it. News stories about coins are rare, but they always excite the public when released. The thing is though, despite everyone hunting around for a 20p piece worth £50 (and I bet the arcade slot machines are going to do well out of this), if the average UK citizen owns ten 20p pieces, there are 600,000,000 in circulation. This is my best guess. Therefore the chances of you owning one are around 1 in 3,000. So not great then, but definitely worth a look. And a good story to make my Tube journey slightly different to the normal “westbound service to Richmond calling all stations except Blackfriars”...

* * *

It’s well known to regular blog readers that I support four football clubs, and in the past most of them have played each other at some point. I’m talking about Southend United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Barcelona (in descending order of my support)! Last season I spent £590.65 on tickets and travel going to watch 38 games over 10 months, so there’s no point saying that I’m an armchair fan who likes to hedge my bets. But this season there is going to be a momentous event, when for the first time, two of the teams I support come together in the same game.

Sheffield United v Newcastle United will take place at Bramall Lane on Saturday 31 October 2009. Where do I sit? I’ve got a Blades and Magpies football shirt (SUFC from last season, NUFC for this season) so could fit in anywhere. It’s not as if my Essex accent will give anything away in either stand. Well, my decision will be to go in the Geordie end if I can get a ticket, and it’s not too hard to say that, because I have supported the Toon Army for many more years than the Blades - and can get to loads of games at Bramall Lane over the season anyway. But it’ll certainly be weird in the away end!

NO PRESSURE, ANDY

2009-06-22T20:17:00.004+01:00

“Pressure - that’s what it’s all about”, said Sir Alan. “Are you tough enough?” Sometimes I wonder whether sportsmen and women are able to get on playing without thinking about the media coverage and the fact that the whole country is getting behind them. Look at Laura Robson [right]. Yes, she had a difficult opponent in the former world number five Daniela Hantuchova, but after a flying start in the first set she crumbled. Maybe this was because she suddenly realised that everything was going well and she actually had the chance to become a legend on the next morning’s back pages. The media will argue that she’s already done her country proud by making it on a wild-card into the first round, but at the end of the day it might have been too much too soon for the youngster.

The whole situation is catch-22, because people don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on younger sportstars that will harm their progress, but good British sportspeople are so adored by the public that everyone clings their hopes to them. Look at Lewis Hamilton - a good few years older than Robson, but he almost missed the opportunity to win Formula One’s Championship last season until a last-corner overtake. But pressure is part and parcel of any game, and sport-stars must remember that as well as being good at what you do, you must have a thick skin to adverse publicity and not care what people say about you. That’s why David Beckham has done so well - he just gets on with it. How does Andy Murray cope? He doesn’t read newspapers. Now I’m not advocating that for everyone, but it’s probably a good idea in his case!

* * *

The rise of ‘megachurches’ across the world is a relatively new phenomenon, with big conference centres and theatres being packed out in certain countries on Sundays as people come in their thousands to worship God. I’ve been going to one of these, Hillsong Church London, for a year now and it’s made me think again about church. I was brought up in a Baptist church, which had a relatively small congregation of 200, and I go to an Anglican/evangelical church in Sheffield that usually has about 500 people over two Sunday services. Hillsong crams 10,000 people every Sunday into four services at the Dominion Theatre in west London, and before visiting it I thought that it would be completely different to anything I had experienced before.

But I was wrong - it’s the same God, and if He’s the reason people go to church then they can expect to experience Him in just the same way in congregations of 100 or 10,000. But the people at Hillsong are so friendly and welcoming that I’ve loved my time there so far, and I feel that the fantastic production and AV displays are something on the side really. If a church has the right leadership and a welcoming or friendly congregation then that’s all that matters really. I’ve heard friends say that many megachurches are simply money-making exercises with hyped-up production that forgets about the true meaning of church. From my experience at Hillsong, that’s not true. As long as God is in the centre of a church it does not matter however many people attend, and that is why I spend three hours every weekend commuting to church. It’s worth it.

* * *

I went on the Bristol to Cheltenham train route once when I went to see Bristol Rovers v Southend United last October. However, when I say “I went on it”, that does not mean I have actually walked on it. However one 38-year-old woman decided to do just that, complete with shopping bags, walking off the platform at Bristol Parkway [right] and having a stroll towards Winterbourne. She caused a 30-minute suspension of the Crosscountry service this morning, but “was not in a disturbed state” according to British Transport Police. So from what I can gather, a completely sane woman thought it would be entirely appropriate to walk along a train track in Gloucestershire during Monday morning rush-hour. I’ve heard some excuses for train delays during my daily commute before, such as “someone’s been taken ill in a carriage”, “signal failure” or the infamous “leaves on the track”. But a “woman walking on the line”? You couldn’t make it up.

ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS

2009-06-15T19:18:00.003+01:00

'Make sure you enjoy university', a relative told me, 'as they're the best days of your life'. They were right. In a special post, I look back at my second year in Sheffield.

I have had another brilliant year reading BA Journalism Studies at The University of Sheffield, and am kind of disappointed that it will all be over in a year's time, but also excited about what the future might hold. The course this year has been really interesting and I've got to do lots more radio and television work which is my preferred option as something to do when I graduate. But I haven't ruled out print/web journalism, and I've had a great time being news editor on the University of Sheffield newspaper, Forge Press, getting fully immersed into student politics (which can be dull and exciting in equal measure!) and always being on the hunt for a good story. It's also been fascinating this year to go and visit the Sheffield courts to report on cases, and that's an element of the course on which I surprised myself by enjoying it so much! It’s kind of put me off committing any crimes though - as I wouldn’t ever like to come up against some of those judges... I've also got involved with the South Yorkshire branch of the National Union of Journalists which has been good as it's given me a first-hand idea of how the local newspaper industry is crumbling, and also how wage negotiations work out. But, of course, I do it for the love of journalism...not money.

I've really enjoyed going to see a variety of bands this year, and it's nice that so many take the time to pop into Sheffield. I've seen The Streets (+The Metros), Snow Patrol (+Fanfarlo), Coldplay [right] (+Jon Hopkins), La Roux, 6ix Toys (+Rogue State), Chase & Status, Original Sin, King Pleasure (+Carmen Ghia) and the Hallé Orchestra. So quite a mix there. I've had opportunities to see some great bands this year, and it's really started to make me appreciate the benefits of live music. Before I came to university I would probably prefer to spend £20 buying two albums, but now I'd rather see one gig. I've been doing quite a lot of playing on the tenor saxophone in my jazz band, FriNJE, which has been good fun and I hope I've developed as both a musician and a music appreciator over the last year!

It's been great to get involved in various activities this year during my term that I never thought I would touch with a bargepole beforehand, such as swing dance and salsa [not quite as dramatic as pictured, right, but getting there]. Dance is something I did when I was much younger, then revisited a bit again in my early teens, then dropped again. But picking it up again at university has reminded me how much fun it is to learn, and both a great way to keep fit and for meeting loads of new people. In fact, I've done a bit of ceilidh dance too since 2007, which is also a good laugh. But the common denominator in all of these is that I was asked by different friends to go to all three on separate occasions. This just goes to show that university is more about studying, living away from home and getting up at 2pm every day. It's about enjoying the experience of being in a strange microcosm of the world for three or more years, interacting with those around you who are there for the same reason, and just simply enjoying yourself. If you can strike the balance between work and play, you can come out with a good degree and know you had a great time too. That's the tough bit...

Sheffield is a fantastic city for sport, and as a football fan I've found it's a prime location in the centre of the country to go and visit some new Football League grounds with Southend United. But over the last season I've also started watching Sheffield United [right] and have seen them away three times. Their game at Barnsley was a fiesty match, and I enjoyed standing in the away end watching it unfold, but I've got to say that from what I saw on my way to Oakwell, that's got to be one of the worst places I've ever visited! But I've also been to Huddersfield, Chesterfield and Scunthorpe this season and they were all really nice areas near the stadium, at least. The worst ground in the world must be Rotherham United, who play on a pitch about 11.6 miles away from the fans at Don Valley, with an awful atmosphere and Drewe Broughton up front. I went there once at it was pouring down - not very fun at all.

I've got to a good few Sheffield United derbies in South Yorkshire this season, such as Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday (twice) and the atmosphere has always been cracking, kind of making me feel Southend v Colchester is a bit tame... However after the second Steel City derby of the season in February at Bramall Lane, it got a bit tasty outside. It was a 12pm Saturday kick-off, so I doubt many fans were properly drunk (although I might be wrong!) but after the game I was walking along the road with my friend - who is even taller than me at 6"6' - when we saw a Blade and Owl go head to head, followed by a call of "Get 'Em Blades", followed by a charge of supporters, followed by a charge of police, followed by me and my friend running in the opposite direction and getting out of there! My friends who were there with the Owls fans ended up in a police kettle for 30 minutes, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, but overall most people were in a bad mood as Wednesday had won 2-1. Who said traditional English hooliganism had died? Yes, it was interesting to watch, but I was glad to get out of there alive! Who knows what Newcastle fans will bring to the city next season...but at least I’ll be able to see the Magpies in Sheffield at last.

BA Journalism Studies second-year at The University of Sheffield - Monday 29 September 2008 to Friday 12 June 2009

THE SEARCH IS OVER

2009-06-08T22:38:00.003+01:00

So it’s all finished. The Apprentice Series Five was definitely the best we’ve ever had on our screens, with Sir Alan, Nick and Margaret all in fine form. In the end, the final five were exceptionally strong and there were a number of crazy personalities throughout the series, which made it so memorable.

Yasmina [above] was a worthy winner, although I was a bit disappointed the job didn’t go to Kate after she put in such a great performance on many tasks, and because I had predicted she would win before the series had even started (!). Admittedly, however, Yasmina is the one who had already created a successful business from scratch, and Sir Alan probably saw some of himself in her.

There have been numerous big personalities on the show this series. Philip was a great candidate at the start, but then went from hero to zero as he started to bully other candidates (mostly Lorraine) and concentrate more of his time on flirting with Kate. He was the loudmouth Geordie of the series and will be forever remembered for the ‘Pantsman’ project which had nothing to do with breakfast cereals whatsoever.

Then we have Ben. What a great man for moments of television gold - “let me finish” - and a wonderful addition to this series. Didn’t he get offered a scholarship to Sandhurst or something? According to one of my friends who is the Army cadets, this is not actually much of an achievement at all, as all you have to do is pass an exam. But the fact he was so ignorant and amazed with his brilliance all of the time made for great viewing.

I was disappointed when Rocky went early in on the show, but when you are a sandwich businessman and you fail on a sandwich task, there is no excuse. He was unfairly treated in the boardroom when Sir Alan referenced his injury at Middlesbrough FC in the firing speech, but was just not good enough unfortunately. If he had done better in that task, he could have gone far.

Debra presented herself well towards the end, compared to the usual bossy and arrogant woman we found throughout the series. But she really seemed to have changed by the end and I was pleased to see this. She reminded me somewhat of Lee McQueen from Series Four, but at the age of 23 she can be proud of third place. I certainly would not want to work with her though!

Anyway, onto the winner. I don’t think Yasmina performed as well as she could have done with the chocolates, but Sir Alan had made up his mind before then. Kate was a strong competitor, but maybe she was too linear and did not seem to take enough risks or be unpredictable as Sir Alan often likes. I wish Yasmina well in her role in Sir Alan’s business, and I’m sure she will do very well. I bet Kate will easily get a job from another employer anyway, so everyone’s a winner!

COME ON YOU BLUES

2009-06-01T22:54:00.003+01:00

The David Cameron ‘bounce’ a few years ago now seems more than a bounce. We go to the polls this Thursday (4 June) for the European Elections 2009 and it will be interesting to see whether they will act as a springboard for the Conservative Party to win the next General Election. Labour could finish as low as fourth in the Euros, behind the Tories, Liberal Democrats and even the UK Independence Party (UKIP_, because voting in the Euros is often different to a national election, as it allows people to indirectly vote on whether we should stay in the European Union, giving UKIP an advantage. So the fact that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is doing badly in the national polls suggests that it can only get worse in the Euros. I can’t wait to see what happens.

The Tories are beginning to tap into some notoriously difficult areas such as the north-east, and using their council in North Tyneside as a base for this expansion. Additionally, Boris Johnson’s victory in the Mayor of London elections last year is further evidence that the tide is turning in the Conservatives’ favour, and the party could yet see a return to the strength it had under Margaret Thatcher a couple of decades ago (and you’ll know how much she liked the EU). So the challenge for Cameron is to convince the nation he is more than a gimmick and will bring real change to our country. A good place to start would be MPs’ expenses...
My bet? Tories 1st, Lib Dems 2nd, Labour 3rd, UKIP 4th
My vote? Guess who.

* * *

Well done to ITV (and Simon Cowell) for inventing a programme that has captured the heart of the nation, and given the broadcaster a much-needed revenue boost during difficult times. Britain’s Got Talent is in essence a tried and tested reality format that has had various predecessors such as Fame Academy, Popstars and Pop Idol, but have we never seen such a varied format of talent show before now. ITV is in big financial trouble at the moment, shown by the fall in its share price, although this has begun to gain ground recently on the back of the popular show. It’s another success for Simon Cowell, and has been a breeding ground for tabloid stories and good exposure.

Runner-up Susan Boyle is the best example, as she’s been the top story for many papers over the last week, thanks to the fact that she is so unusual. Whether or not she’s talented, Cowell is well aware that the papers love her story and will continue to indirectly give the show free publicity through this. Then everyone benefits - ITV get more advertising revenue through higher audiences, The Sun and Daily Mirror sell more paper copies, Boyle gets a higher profile that will ensure future contracts, Cowell gets a cut of all this in his back pocket, and the wonderful British public get a superb show. Drinks all round! The winners, Diversity, are paying for them though...

* * *

Should they stay or should they go? I shall give my definitive opinion on cleaning up the mess in Geordie land Let’s go through the Newcastle United squad of 26 professionals as it stands...

GOALKEEPERS (x2): Stephen Harper & Tim Krul
DEFENDERS (x8): Habib Beye, Ryan Taylor, Sebastien Bassong, Claudio Caçapa, Fabricio Coloccini, David Edgar, Steven Taylor & Jose Enrique.
MIDFIELDERS (x8): Geremi, Joey Barton, Nicholas Butt, Danny Guthrie, Ignacio Gonzalez, Kevin Nolan, Damien Duff & Jonas Gutierrez.
STRIKERS (x8): Shola Ameobi, Andrew Carroll, Peter Lovenkrands, Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen [right], Alan Smith, Mark Viduka & Xisco.

Not much quality in there, you might argue. You would be right. But in the past, most of those players were worth loads of money, and the only few saleable assets left who would command a decent fee seem to be Bassong and Martins. Owen will end up going on a free, and land the Toon Army with a multi-million pound loss (thanks for nothing, Mike), and the Magpies are not going to get much for deadwood like Enrique, Geremi, Duff, Smith or Viduka.

If Shearer gets the job, which I vehemently hope he does as it will give the whole of Newcastle hope that their side can go back up, he will have to be ruthless in who to sell. Putting the whole squad up for transfer could be a good idea. It’s important that this is seen as the beginning of a new era, and if that means letting expensive players go on free transfers, so be it. Owner Mike Ashley is selling up at a gigantic loss, and the club should ensure they don’t hold onto expensive and under-performing assets any longer. They should all go - except maybe Harper, Taylor (Ryan & Steven), Nolan and Butt. Let’s start again.

DESPERATE TYNES

2009-05-25T17:49:00.003+01:00

I would not usually lead my blog with a football story, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The demise of Newcastle United FC is a sorry tale which I have witnessed over the last few years, and their relegation to the Football League Championship on Sunday is a crying shame. Gone are the days of visiting Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge - now the Toon Army will be heading to Plymouth, Peterborough and Scunthorpe. A mixture of poor management, poor ownership and poor signings have led to the fall of a once-mighty team that played some of the most entertaining football in the world at St James Park (pictured right).

One thing that has not changed is the support, which will always be maintained as one of the best in the country, although there were far too many people in pubs over the weekend who enjoyed the sight of thousands of Geordies crying into their black and white shirts. The challenge now for the Magpies is how they get out of this mess. I have always thought that relegation to the Championship could have many positive effects and perhaps mark the start of a new era, rather than the end. Hopefully it will enable them to cut out all of the rubbish that has been filling up squadlists for the last five seasons and bring in some players who actually want to wear the shirt.

It will be an interesting summer to see who goes, but can you really see Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins, Damien Duff, Joey Barton and Alan Smith staying? In fact, I can’t think of any player who would want to be playing in the Championship - it’s something that most of the squad have never experienced even in their earlier careers. So we may well see a clearout at St James’ Park, which while it may see us lose some quality, those so-called ‘top’ players have never got going all season so maybe it will be good riddance. I can’t imagine Owen would be too enthralled by the prospect of Blackpool on a rainy Tuesday night.

* * *

I’ve always been one for suggesting the Church of England should distance itself from politics. But the Archbishops of Canterbury and York (pictured right) both said last week that people should not vote for the British National Party. Despite having a great deal of respect for both Archbishops, I am siding with Nick Griffin here (shock horror)! Whilst I would not vote for the BNP myself, I respect the rights of people to vote for the party, and do not think people should be told how to use their vote by the Church. Griffin said: “It's time the Church grew up and decided to sit down and talk with us about the issues that we're getting across to our supporters.”

Well said. Instead of just coming out and saying ‘don’t vote BNP’, why didn’t the Archbishops ask out Nick Griffin for lunch and discuss his politics and parties. I believe Jesus would invite someone into his house to talk, rather than openly rejecting them. Yes, the BNP are an extremist party, but they are human beings and deserve a chance to put forward their views in civilised discussion with the Church. Instead of telling the world what the Church is against, the leaders should start telling the world what it is for - “It's time the Church of England grew up,” says Griffin.

* * *

The Apprentice really is starting to get interesting now. After the good riddance of cocky Irish lad Ben, the competition is hotting up now and it’s wide open. Kate (my tip at the start, pictured right) and Howard both seem to be ploughing through tasks with ease, and while Kate is the more pro-active of the two as Howard stays behind the scenes, they are both playing a good game.

Others like Lorraine and James, who seem to have escaped the boardroom far too many times, are now actually providing really good entertainment. This might make good television, but I’m not sure Sir Alan wants a jester in Amstrad. Then again Simon Ambrose was a pretty fun chap (remember the trampoline incident) and he won series three. I’m still sticking to Kate as the winner, but Katie looked like a dead-cert in series three and remember what happened to her... It’s going to be close and I’m loving it.

UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT...

2009-05-18T18:55:00.002+01:00

An MPs expenses scandal isn’t great at the best of times for those involved, but it couldn’t have been worse than during a recession. Michael Martin looked weak as Speaker in front of the House of Commons on Monday [right] and there are clearly serious problems in politics at the moment. My sources on the Telegraph suggest that the paper have only touched the tip of the iceberg and there are many more stories in an investigation that could continue for months. The paper has recorded an average daily circulation increase of 100,000 over the last week which is a superb result and well deserved. So this all seems like a good time to call a General Election. Who knows what will happen? Perhaps Esther Rantzen and Joanna Lumley can show them how it’s done.

David Cameron is rightly petitioning for an immediate general election and for parliament to be dissolved, which would certainly be interesting. Wouldn’t you just love a general election at the moment? Not just expenses, but the economy is still a major issue and other topics like Gurkhas are taking up far more time than Gordon Brown would have wanted, whilst the British National Party continues to gain momentum. The European and council elections are coming up next month, which will be a good indicator of where people see this country going, but I fully expect that the results will be very surprising. Even the Green Party seem to be getting more exposure under Caroline Lucas, and it’s always good to have more choice. So go on Gordon, call an election. It’s not as if you’ve already tried to in the last few years. U-turn if you want to, Prime Minister.

* * *

Last week the Evening Standard relaunched by telling readers that it was profoundly ‘sorry’ for being such a poor quality newspaper over the last few years. Now just imagine you were a journalist on that paper, thinking you’ve put in a tremendous amount of effort over the last year as cutbacks have begun to bite, and suddenly you’ve got to apologise. I would not be impressed. The Standard is always a good read - well worth the 50p more you have to spend than getting the free London Lite or thelondonpaper - and it’s build up to the Mayor of London elections was superb, showing its influence to get Boris Johnson into power. The paper has a team of top journalists including Andrew Gilligan, who won best journalist at the British Press Awards last year for his investigative work, and it’s just not right that this should be devalued. I hope new editor Geordie Grieg manages to improve the paper, but its still a top read in my opinion, and it’s a weak effort to simply criticise what has been done in the past. Perhaps he just wants to get one over Veronica Wadley.

* * *

You might remember the famous Monty Python sketch where John Cleese teaches a group of men self-defence lessons using fruit. He said: “First of all you force him to drop the banana; then, second, you eat the banana, thus disarming him. You have now rendered him ’elpless.” Just to clarify, this was a comedy - not for real, but an America teenager tried to rob a shop last week with a banana, then ate it to destroy the evidence. But as John Szwalla, 17, could not swallow the skin it was photographed by police in North Carolina. Reports suggest he told staff he had a gun but he had a banana. Shop owner Bobby Mabe said: “If he had had a gun he would've shot me, but he had a banana.” What a classic - some people really are phenomenally stupid. It would only happen in America.

* * *

I really hope we get World Cup 2018 in England. What better people to launch the bid than David Beckham and...er...Gordon Brown and Prince William. Whilst Brown might be an avid Raith Rovers fan (and you thought supporting Southend United was bad), Prince William knows far more about racing about on horses with sticks [right] than kicking a ball. Surely we could have picked better people to head up the bid! Alan Shearer’s not got much on his plate at the moment. But it’s been a while since we had international football in this country during Euro 1996, and we did pretty well that time. The home nation always has a big advantage, so maybe this will be the only way in which England could win the tournament in the next 10 years. Hopefully FIFA will come to their senses and realise that this is the best footballing country in the world, and therefore deserves the competition. It’s not as if the 2012 Olympics are going to serve up that many great matches...

AN EXPENSE-IVE MISTAKE

2009-05-11T19:28:00.004+01:00

I do wish I had a contacts book as good as the Telegraph. It’s been a pleasure to read their continuing investigation on MPs’ expenses, which just seemed to go on and on in yesterday’s paper. I am very interested to hear that my money has been spent on duck-shaped bath sponges, jaffa cakes and a lemon [right]. As Matthew D’Ancona pointed out yesterday, that’s the thing that’s most annoying - not just the £500,000 claimed by Sinn Fein MPs for a second home in London despite never visiting the Commons. Few politicians have escaped the Telegraph’s investigation, which either suggests they are all dishonest or there is something inherently wrong with the system. In a rare move, I’m going to back politicians and go for the latter.

Put yourself in their shoes. If you had the chance to claim pretty much everything on expenses and nobody batted an eyelid, you would probably go for it. I certainly think I would. But the way in which this scandal has unravelled has suggested public shock every time a new receipt is uncovered - for example; the adult films, gardening and home cinema systems. It’s as if the media are shocked by what they are hearing. But to be honest, this has probably been going on for years and it’s a good job the Telegraph’s Freedom of Information request appeals which went on for years finally got through. Perhaps the MPs and Mr Speaker wanted to keep it quiet, not because they were worried about having to pay it back, but because they knew once the public found out about the system’s failing, there would be uproar. And here it is.

* * *

One of the great things about reading newspapers is occasionally you see a story that you just have to tell everyone about - the ‘Hey Maud’ syndrome, as one of my lecturers puts it. Step forward Sorted, a great Christian men’s magazine on which I’m officially a ‘junior news reporter’ but haven’t actually written anything yet. Anyway, that’s not the point. They recently ran a survey which revealed male churchgoers prefer ‘proper macho songs’, and hate hugging and sitting in circles to discuss their feelings. They also get put off by embroidery and flowers. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/rxtntk.

This is so true! I’ve been saying for years that the church has become too feminised and men do not want to be singing about how Jesus is their best friend - but rather songs like ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and rousing proclamational tunes like that. The survey also found that men prefer to discuss issues like family issues and money at the pub. This is an excellent point, as women are much better at taking things in from a sermon and then discussing it afterwards, whereas men prefer to rebut points and questions as they come along - maybe over a game of paintball followed by a curry! This may be a generalisation, but it’s important to note.

So here are the Top 10 male-friendly hymns according to the survey: Onward Christian Soldiers; And Can It Be; Guide Me O Thy Great Redeemer; All People That On Earth Do Dwell; Be Thou My Vision; How Great Thou Art; Amazing Grace; Eternal Father, Strong To Save; Our God Reigns; and Forgive Our Foolish Ways. Spot anything sentimental or emotional in there? No, neither did I. Maybe that suggests this survey is spot on! Well done Sorted.

* * *

I’m fed up of iTunes. It’s slower than Windows Media Player, you can’t download anything directly to an external device, anything you pay for can only be put on an iPod and it’s awkwardly sorted. I would use YouTube for listening to music online but again it’s often difficult to find the right thing, and the sound quality is poor. So thank the Lord for Spotify. If you haven’t seen Spotify, it’s a legal program that allows you to stream pretty much any album or single that’s been commercially released over here. Every now and again, you hear an advert in between songs, but these are so rare that it doesn’t bother me at all - especially when you have access to loads of music for free! I’ve now got access to the whole back catalogue of all my favourite bands without having to spend a penny, which is brilliant.

But does the signal the death of music as we know it? Well the fact that I ordered the new Bloc Party and Maximo Park albums on Amazon this morning would suggest not. You can’t download anything for free on this site - it just streams things whilst you’re online. So if you want to put a track on your mp3 player you still have to download it or purchase the CDs. Since I listen to lots of music when I’m on the move, I’ll still purchase albums. But now I can stream pretty much any song I want online, I will be using this program a lot! Make sure you sign up at: www.spotify.com/en. Just to clarify, this is not a shameless piece of promotion for Spotify - I do genuinely love it!

THE LADY'S NOT FOR TURNING

2009-05-04T19:53:00.006+01:00

It’s not a good idea to mention Margaret Thatcher much in Sheffield - they don’t really like her up here. Many a late-night discussion in halls was had in my first-year with local friends complaining she ruined their parents’ lives. One complained last week that Thatcher should never be given a state funeral when she dies because of all the damage she did to the northern economy. I think they would rather have a state party. This is in slight contrast to many of my friends back home in the south who actually quite like what she did for this country. I only mention this because it is 30 years since she came into power and saved this country from going down the drain.

Just watching videos of her exchanges in parliament with the Labour opposition are enough to make anyone appreciate that she was an exceptionally good public speaker. This one’s a good place to start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2f8nYMCO2I The basic point of angst for people from the north is that she closed the mines and marked the end of British industry as we knew it. The basic economics that many people from the south quote is that if an industry is failing because of better overseas competition, you close it down and concentrate on something else. If people are striking for whatever reason, and you don’t agree with this as a government, then you should not give in. No, no, no. ‘The Lady’s Not For Turning’, as she famously said, and that was why she was so successful.

* * *

I was very interested to read how a four-year-old girl gave evidence in court last week that resulted in the conviction of Baby P’s stepfather for rape. I’ve been to lots of court cases in Sheffield Crown Court and Sheffield Magistrates Court over the last few months as part of my course (I haven’t been in loads of trouble for football hooliganism) and often see witnesses break down under the pressure and emotion of giving evidence. But asking a toddler to talk in detail about being raped two years ago was unprecedented at the Old Bailey, and would rarely happen at any other courts. There has been some argument in the press over whether such young toddlers should be subjected to questioning, but I think if it’s necessary for justice, then it has to be done. It would have been uncomfortable to watch that trial though, and the legal system must be praised for the way in which it handled the case.

* * *

Ah well, we thought we were safe after it was announced the economy was beginning to show signs of recovery, but it seems we’re all going to die anyway of swine flu (if you believe the Daily Express). So what is the biggest crisis? Is it the economy going down the pan, many people losing jobs and investments plummeting - or - people being isolated, a major panic over a pandemic and fearing for your life? At least the share prices of face mask and Tamiflu manufactures have risen over the last few weeks. My conclusion is that most people would rather be alive during a recession than dead during healthier economic times. But let me know if you disagree!

* * *

I was devastated when the last episode of Skins Series 3 finished on E4 as I just didn’t know what I was going to do on Thursday evenings at 10pm. Thank goodness therefore for The Inbetweeners! For those of you who haven’t been fortunate enough to watch it, the series follows a group of four male sixth-formers through a series of events. They are completely different personalities, which makes the show an absolute joy to watch as it reminds me of lots of people I used to go to school with, and situations which I’ve found myself in over the years.

Much of it is exaggeration, but this helps the drama to highlight how funny life can be as a teenager. However, I would like to point out that although I can relate to some of it, I have never stuffed a wig down my trousers, borrowed a tramp’s shoes outside a nightclub, or been thrown into a pond after a day’s work experience. OK, so the series isn’t that realistic, but it’s meant to be a comedy more than a drama anyway! If you haven’t seen it already, don’t miss this Thursday’s episode at 10pm on E4.

CLASSIC FM WORK EXPERIENCE

2009-04-27T19:27:00.005+01:00

I’ve just spent a very interesting week working at Classic FM in Leicester Square, which was a great experience as it’s probably my favourite radio station and often gets me through the night when work starts to pile up. To give you the background - it used to be part of GCap until this was bought out by Global Radio last year, and now it’s based at Global’s London offices amongst other stations XFM, Capital, Choice, LBC, Gold and Heart - which certainly makes for an interesting diversity of sounds as you wander through the building! I was working primarily in production, which involved a variety of tasks such as implementing show schedules, cutting audio and responding to listener enquiries. I also met Boris Johnson on the stairs.

I’ve worked at a variety of radio stations in the past including BBC Essex, LBC and Premier Christian Radio, but Classic FM was the first one I’ve worked for which is primarily focussed on music, not speech. The average listener profile of Classic is easy to tell by listening to the station by the adverts - mentions of Waitrose and RHS Garden Wisley, and a significant lack of Poundland. Much of Classic FM’s audience comes from the ABC1 socio-economic group, which could be seen as a Radio 4 audience, so it means Classic FM is the only radio station some advertisers have to reach a high-end market. With 5.7m listeners, it’s well worth buying some airtime.

I learnt that the unfortunate inclusion of “118 212 - Maureen, oooh she’s cheap” adverts after every morning bulletin is unavoidable due to an agreement with IRN (Independent Radio News) - now operated by Sky News - which mean you must carry IRN’s own adverts if you want to use their audio clips during bulletins and news wires service. Make sure you listen to Classic FM at around three minutes past the hour, just to hear the newsreader say in a posh accent: “It’s three minutes past eight” - then -“Oooh she’s cheap” - then posh accent again - “And the weather - patchy cloud in places...” Absolutely brilliant and always guaranteed a laugh.

Anyway, ‘back to the music’ and a little more about what I was doing there. Like many other radio stations, Classic FM’s music schedule operates through the programme RCS Selector, and I received much tuition from a very helpful music team in how to operate this system. I was soon able to schedule a few weeks of The Full Works show, find potential music clashes, and cut and process audio. Because I love classical music, this was really good fun and I very much enjoyed myself. I got to meet most of the main presenters, such as Jamie Crick, Mark Forrest, Anne-Marie Minhall and John Brunning, and was able to talk to them about the station, what they enjoy about working there, and how they started out.

The station is run by a small group of people considering the size of its audience, but they work well as a close-knit team, and it felt calm throughout the whole week - maybe helped by the fact they had Classic FM on the radio all the time! Just one final thing to tell you about - I was handling some listener enquiries, and one elderly woman wrote to say: ‘The youth of today listen to such tripe which is why I’ll stick with your station’. I replied: ‘You may be interested to hear that many students listen to Classic FM whilst working - so they’re not all bad.’

* * *

James O’Brien v Frank Lampard was a battle I never thought we would ever hear on the airwaves. But in a move that probably made Lampard’s agent have kittens when she heard about it, the Chelsea midfielder responded directly to LBC after he was told by his tearful sister that O’Brien was accusing him of letting down his kids. This came after his ex-fiancee Elen Rives said he was living in his £8.5m home whilst she was in a small flat with their two children. Lampard phoned up to have a go at O’Brien for insinuating he was a bad parent, and it made for some fascinating audio [listen here: http://mediaweb.musicradio.com/player/default.asp?s=82&e=89636].

I can say more about this story than most, because I actually worked with O’Brien when I was on a placement at LBC last Easter, helping produce his show and taking calls. He has got lots of stick in the media over the weekend for his style of presenting, but having worked with him, I think he’s great at provoking debate and is a nice guy off air too. Kay Burley’s interview with O’Brien shortly after on Sky News did not treat him with enough respect, in my opinion, and I think his exchange with Lampard should be upheld as a piece of brilliant journalism. It’s not everyday that a major celebrity feels like he has to have his say to the extent of phoning-in to a radio show, so well done to Lampard for sticking up for himself - and well done to O’Brien for a brilliant show.

STANDING UP FOR THE OLD BILL

2009-04-20T20:23:00.006+01:00

A few weeks ago I posted a Facebook status update saying I wanted to "protest against the G20 protestors - go home and stop wasting police time". Within 90 minutes there were 26 comments on my wall. Almost all of these were in support of my feelings, and the amount of posts convinced me that there are many people out there who don't like protestors very much. I don't think the police like protestors very much either. But while this is no excuse for unidentified police hitting innocent people, I think we're starting to victimise them.

The police have been grouped into one big mob by much of the media, and are being excused of unjustifiable tactics of 'kettling' and the like. But the majority of policeman were at the G20 protests with one aim - to try and keep the peace and protect the public. It seems that a few let their emotions get the better of them and strike down protestors unnecessarily, but that should not be a call for us to push for a radical overhaul of the policing system. If you compare the Metropolitan Police to the forces in other countries, we are very fortunate to be so well protected. High-profile policemen are resigning because they held a secret document the wrong way up (Bob Quick), and because a suspected terrorist was unfortunately shot dead (Ian Blair). This is not a cause for concern in relative terms! But it is correct that the IPCC should investigate how the G20 protests were controlled, and how the police can do a better job in the future. I just don't think we should be panicking...

* * *

I've just started work experience at Classic FM this week, and I will be reporting more about that next week - but I had a great first day today! However I was on a different radio station at lunchtime, after BBC Essex called me as they wanted to interview me about the rising problems with student debt. You can listen on 0h44m30s at http://tinyurl.com/d6lwmv. I was asked whether I thought university was still worth it and about the problems of graduating in a recession, so it makes for interesting listening! My basic response was that even though you graduate with mounds of debt, it's much better to do that and then make it up in the long term when you earn higher wages as a result of obtaining a top degree.

* * *

In other news, The Guardian ran a story today about the lack of jobs in the media for graduates, but I think this could be a blessing in disguise. There are lots of nonsense courses at lesser universities out there for people who want to get into journalism or the media. However if there are fewer jobs in the future, then hopefully universities will stop running doss 'media studies' courses that offer little chance of a good job. By studing journalism practically at a top university, you are taught how to be a good journalist, and leave fully qualified and ready to go. By cutting out these 'lesser' degrees, we might ensure that only people who really want to get into journalism and the media go to the top universities and get the jobs everyone wants.

* * *

I've just returned from a great holiday with the family in Barcelona, where we visited various sites such as Parc Guelle and Camp Nou, and also made the journey to local Catalan towns Tarragona and Sitges. Barcelona is such a vibrant and cultural city, and we've been out there four times in the last 10 years as we have relatives who live just outside in Corbera.

Anyway, enough about the holiday - "Mes que un club", as they say at Camp Nou. I thought Newcastle fans were mental about their football club, but in Catalunya it's even more crazy. Barcelona have currently got one of the most exciting players in the world, Lionel Messi. This guy is just so good that it seems his feet are constantly glued to the ball and no player has a chance to take it off him. He sums up what is beautiful about football, and I sincerely hope that Chelsea get humbled in the forthcoming Champions League semi-final by the skill of their opponents. Barça are what football was invented for.

A FUZZY FUTURE SIGNAL?

2009-04-13T05:54:00.002+01:00

It's not looking good for commercial radio. In the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2009, over two-thirds of nominations are for BBC stations, in a competition which traditionally recognises commercial talent. But it seems the BBC, which hold over 60% market share of listeners nationwide across a plethora of stations, have had a good year (once you take out the Brand/Ross/Sachs affair). But whilst it should be praised for producing quality programming and justifying licence fee payers' money, this will always be at the expense of commercial stations. They do need a strong competitor, but are clearly not doing enough good work themselves according to these award nominations. You could blame the credit crunch hitting advertising revenues and budgets, but radio is all about ideas and personalities - and that is what seems to be lacking. It's good for Absolute Radio that it is up for seven awards, but that's the only silver lining in an otherwise cloudy picture. Hopefully Classic FM will pick up some gongs too - as I'm there on work experience next week!

* * *

I'm back home for Easter at the moment from the University of Sheffield and it's given me some time to think about the north and south. I write about the divide quite a lot on my blog, but it would be true to say I didn't even know it existed until I ventured into Yorkshire a few years ago! Most people in the north just don't seem to like southerners. To be honest, I don't mind northerners at all - and it's been an eye opening experience to meet so many of them. But I've always prefered the south. Maybe it's just because things are more expensive and the people don't talk to you, therefore you can feel richer without actually being rich down south - and you can get your newspaper read in peace on the train! I can't believe how many people start having a random chat with me on a bus or tram in Sheffield. I've been brought up in a London culture where it's more polite to ignore someone on the tube - in fact, that was probably the reason why the Metro newspaper was invented. So please just let me read! Sorry for being so rude - I do like a good Yorkshire pudding, so it's not all bad.

* * *

You might notice I'm writing this blog on a Bank Holiday Monday before 6am - how is that for committment?! Well it's not as if I had anything better to do, but it is Easter and I wanted to remind both readers and myself of the importance of this festival. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, got it spot on yesterday when saying football matches should not be played on Easter Sunday - it's a day of even more importance for Christians than Christmas Day, and it's not as if we'd all sit down as a family on December 25th to watch Sky Sports live. But aside from sports scheduling, Easter is a good time to have a fresh/new start in life - even more so than New Year - as that is exactly what an egg symbolises, and what the power of the cross represents at this time of year.

* * *

I have just finished watching the first series of Skins and must say it's one of the best dramas I've ever seen. To explain, it basically charts the life and interwinding relationships of a group of sixth-formers, by concentrating on a different character in each episode. It's incredibly well scripted and directed, as you really feel part of the action and storylines, so I would say it's highly recommend viewing. Channel 4 have produced a gem here - and it looks like the new series of The Inbetweeners, a similar drama of E4 with slightly more comedy and fun involved, will also be a success. I'm pleased to see the UK's 'alternative' and 'edgy' broadcaster producing some exceptionally good drama. Long may it continue!

ON THE FRONT PAGE

2009-04-06T20:28:00.006+01:00

I was rather surprised to receive a text last Friday morning from a friend saying: "Just spotted your picture on the uni home page - very nice". Instantly I rush to http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ and find that yes, indeed, I am on the University of Sheffield homepage. How embarrassing. Regular readers of my blog may remember when I was doing a prospectus photoshoot last November (click here). Well, it was that picture [right] that made it online! I received dozens of texts and emails from friends, saying "have you seen it yet?", and it was quite exciting to have all the attention really. One of my work colleagues said that I looked like a Lord of the Rings gatekeeper. Thanks for that, Rob.

* * *

My mother received a call last week from the Daily Telegraph asking if we wanted to subscribe for a period at a price of 60p off each issue. She told me that this is because everyone's reading newspapers online (Strike 1). I bought a copy of the Yorkshire Post a few weeks ago in between two lectures, and my friend asked me why I didn't just read their website for free and save 50p (Strike 2). I see the Daily Star is now often dedicating more front-page space to the fact that it's cheaper than The Sun and the News of the World, than its lead story (Strike 3).

There has been enough written about the decline of newspapers, especially local, so I don't want to go into that. But I just don't like reading news online. I love to sit down with a newspaper and flick through it, reading some articles and skimming others of less interest. There's no substitute for this online. Yes, you might be able to get your news quicker and that's certainly a good thing, but am I alone in enjoying the daily idea of sitting down and reading a newspaper? I hope not. Show your support for the printed newspaper!

* * *

There was a fascinating article in The Independent today on an Financial Services Authority investigation into "a series of insider dealing scams" on the stock market recently (click here). The basics of it are that people with insider knowledge of imminent company mergers or takeovers are buying shares cheap, then watching the price rise as everyone else purchases them, and then selling them at a profit. This is clearly unethical trading as the insiders have an unfair advantage on everyone else. I put a lot of effort into my own investments in shares, so I don't like to see others making bigger profits just because they know the right people. But I suppose that's just tough luck for me.

* * *

Alan Shearer is back at Newcastle United, which is something I'm very pleased about. But the big question is, can the former Number 9 revitalise a struggling side who have one just one game since Christmas, and help them avoid the drop into the Championship? I'm pretty confident that the 'Shearer bounce' effect will have a huge impact on the players and fans, as his presence in itself around the training ground and dressing room is enough to motivate the team. However it's looking increasingly likely that time is running out for the Toon Army, and that the Geordies should starting looking at directions to Peterborough and Blackpool, not Manchester or Liverpool anymore. It's very upsetting to see the demise of such a great club, but maybe going down would give them the chance to completely rebuild the team and come back stronger. It happened to West Ham United, and they are in a much better position now.

* * *

Many thanks to all those currently viewing my blog. It's great fun writing it, and the fact I'm getting over 120 hits a week shows that you like it too, so I'm pleased! And if you're one of the readers from India, Cyprus or Canada, please let me know - it's good to hear that I'm getting international exposure, according to Google Analytics...

X-RATED EXPENSES

2009-03-30T20:50:00.005+01:00

Whatever Jacqui Smith's husband was getting up to when she was away, the Home Secretary was always going to find out. But Richard Timney probably didn't want it to happen like this - revealing his midnight Television X expenses [right] in a Sunday newspaper. The secret is out, and well done to the Sunday Express - a paper I often criticise for its boring content and abundance of errors - for a quality piece of investigative journalism. Expenses have been exposed as a rather murky world amongst politicians over the last year, and this is just another example that could not be more embarrassing for everyone involved. The government spending our money on banks is a strange enough concept, but the idea that taxpayers are funding Mr Timney's pornography habits is quite bizarre.

* * *

More than half of Britons think the countryside is boring, according to a Travelodge survey. This is a great shame - I live in an urban town back home (Leigh-on-Sea) and a very urban city at university (Sheffield), so it's nice to get away to the countryside every now and again. But we seem so obsessed in this country with going abroad to a sunspot, that hopefully this summer people will stay in the UK because of the credit crunch, and go to a nice little country cottage. Unlikely, however, when easyJet and Ryan Air can get people to some tacky Spanish resort for a fiver, and they'll end up drinking until dawn with exactly the sort of people they'll find on a Saturday night back home. Well, if that's your choice, then so be it - but I was once told holidays were for relaxing, so surely Herefordshire is a better idea than Mallorca then.

* * *

I think I got an A* in GCSE Science primarily because I found I was reasonably good at remembering lots of facts and regurgitating them in an exam. I can hardly remember anything I was taught, and if I had to sit the paper again tomorrow, I would probably struggle to even pass it. So I was pleased to hear Andrew Baker, the headteacher from my secondary school and sixth form, Westcliff High School for Boys, say: "I think that some of the papers in science do not adequately challenge more able pupils. I am sorry the interests of those pupils have not been fully reflected in the exam system, and not for the first time." However isn't this the case across many other subjects as well? I could list Maths, Geography and Business Studies for starters as subjects which were designed to prepare you for an exam and not much else. Things need to change in exams, and the government's got to sort it out soon.

* * *

So there we were - five of us armed with cans of Strongbow in a friend's bedroom with a laptop each. Reading Festival 2009 here we go! Well I hope so, as long as a) my friend's credit card can handle it before I pay him back tomorrow; b) the confirmation screen we saw was actually real; c) the tickets don't get lost in the post; d) it doesn't get cancelled because of the rain; and e) we weren't duped. I don't want to end up on eBay and pay an extra £100 than I wanted to, in order to get in! Buying tickets is a stressful business at the best of times, but this is ridiculous. How can so many people want to spend £175 on spending a few days camping out in a Berkshire field? The answer: Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Radiohead... the list goes on. It's going to be a great summer.

FOR WANT OF A GREASY CHIP BUTTY

2009-03-23T21:03:00.009Z

When I decided to study at the University of Sheffield, I didn't imagine there would be many southerners here. After all, I thought most people stayed reasonably near to their hometown. Apparently not. I recently put in a Freedom of Information request on admissions data as part of my work with Forge Press (the University's student newspaper), and discovered that over a third of Sheffield students from England come from the south [see graphic, right, for proportions]. Read more here: http://www.forgetoday.com/default.asp?contentid=403 Another third come from Yorkshire, with the last third obviously coming from the rest of the north. The proportion of southeners is growing too, increasing by 15 per cent over the last three years. So why do southerners like to study in the north?

One of my friends from Exeter said it's because the north is cheaper and there are bigger cities which are more set-up for students. Another one from Southampton mentioned that there's a good mix of students from the north and south - although the middle-class limitations of universities mean you don't meet many 'raw' northerners (don't worry though, you just need to pop down to Sheffield Magistrates Court if you want to meet some of them!). I've certainly found it an eye-opening experience to study in the north. To be honest, my hometown, Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, makes Sheffield look depressed - then I visited Barnsley and Rotherham, which could best be described as even worse! So I suppose living in Yorkshire has made me appreciate what I've got back home in the south, and I simply wouldn't have got that experience going to London or Oxbridge to study.

This may be completely wrong, but I expect lots of other southern students headed up north just to experience a different culture. I could never see myself staying around in Yorkshire after graduation because I've got much better prospects living back home in the London commuter belt, and feel that I come from a much nicer area. But Sheffield is a brilliant place to study, and the locals certainly make you feel welcome wherever you come from. I've met people from every county across the country here from various backgrounds, which has opened up my eyes somewhat to the world around me! That's just the sort of experience you often miss out on if you're a southerner and stay in your protective southern bubble. The north/south divide still exists for all to see, but at least I've now had a taste of both sides of the border...

* * *

"The credit crunch is having a big effect on shoppers," said comedian Andy Parsons at Southend's Palace Theatre on Saturday evening. "Those who shopped at Waitrose are now going to Asda; those who shopped at Asda are going to Lidl; and those who shopped at Lidl are rummaging around in dustbins." It seems that supermarkets are a good indicator of your social standing, which is somewhat reminiscent of The Two Ronnies famous sketch 'Three Men on Class' ("I look down on them because I'm upper class" / "I look up to him but I look down on him because I'm middle class" / "I know my place").

It seems that Waitrose prides itself on being a posh brand - sponsoring Reading FC, known as 'The Royals', and some Classic FM programming. Tesco and Asda, however, will put money-off vouchers in the pages of the Daily Star and News of the World. But they've all done much to bridge the gap - for example, Waitrose are launching an 'Essentials' range; and you can often buy 'Tesco Finest' for a little extra charge. These are most probably equivalent products, although John Lewis doesn't have to panic yet - there will always be people who shop in certain stores as that's where they feel they belong.

When I walk into a big Tesco near where I live in Sheffield, it's full of chavs and teen mums - but in Canary Wharf Waitrose it's a whole different story. I'm not sure where I belong - I'm certainly not a bonus-taking banker, but then again I don't hang out on park benches drinking Corona quite yet. Supermarkets like Tesco are trying to attract as many customers as possible from across the socio-economic spectrum, whereas Waitrose are maintaining their highbrow image. Whoever said the class system was dead and buried in this country?

* * *

I often get abuse from friends who argue that supporting three football clubs just isn't right. To explain, I began following Newcastle United in 1996 in the aftermath of Alan Shearer's great performances at the European Championships in England. Then I began going to watch my local club, Southend United, with my grandpa around 10 years ago. And over the last year I have seen quite a few Sheffield United games, simply because it's a local club that's cheap to watch and plays good football - in fact, I've seen the Blades more times in my life now than Newcastle!

My three clubs have all avoided each other in the cups for the last few years and have been in different leagues. But with Newcastle currently in 18th place in the Premier League, Sheffield United 4th in the Championship, and Southend 9th in League One, they could all end up playing each other in the league next season (or not at all)! I've often been asked who I would support if my clubs played against each other, and my answer is simple: the underdog.

Now I've been following Southend and Newcastle for some time, I know what it's like to support a side who you hold no hope in - and then they go and beat Manchester United or something. That's what football is all about. I suppose I'm a football addict to some extent - I just love watching live matches (I've seen around 35 already this season) and have a passion for the beautiful game. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

FORGET PRICES - WE NEED A CULTURE CHANGE

2009-03-16T22:18:00.008Z

I don’t like paying more than £2 for a pint of beer - it just doesn’t seem right. In a supermarket, it’s obviously much cheaper, but I rarely buy alcohol in Tesco because I’ll usually go out to a pub/bar with friends rather than pick up a can of Fosters and drink it at home. The one exception I remember was just before Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United last October, when I found myself outside a Hillsborough off-licence drinking a can of Carling on a street corner and thought this is it - I am definitely a student now.

But when the government announced it was considering plans to introduce minimum alcohol prices, my heart sank. Why penalise the people who drink to socialise rather than drink for the sake of it? And also why penalise the poor who can’t afford the major brands so buy the cheaper ones instead? In France you can often buy eight bottles of beer for the same price as one in the UK, and our binge drinking problem is much worse than theirs. A culture change is what’s required - it’s nothing to do with the price.

I was on a train on Saturday evening between Worcester and Birmingham, and a group of youths got on, obviously drunk off their heads and it made me laugh when they tried to buy an under-16 ticket from the conductor - slightly contradictory, perhaps! Anyway, I thought to myself if you put up the minimum price of alcohol then that will not stop them - they’ll just ask their parents for more money. The youth culture in E4’s Skins might make for an entertaining programme and interesting case study, but the portrayal of alcohol as being a sexy and rebellious thing is the route cause of the problem - that’s what needs to change.

* * *

On Saturday I picked up a copy of The Sun someone had left behind on a London Midland train and was shocked to see a picture of my former school in an article about a radical Muslim! I attended Westcliff High School for Boys in Southend-on-Sea, Essex [right], for seven years, just like Maajid Nawaz. But the most radical person I ever met there was either the Year 7 lad who circulated pornography around the classroom one day, or maybe the Year 11 who threw a flour-bomb at the deputy headmaster.

This isn’t a patch on Mr Nawaz, who got involved in radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir, even though most of his friends (like mine) were "white and middle class" and "supported Liverpool". Fortunately he reformed in time and is now speaking out about the dangers of fundamentalism: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/article2319070.ece I remember his mother coming to speak in assembly a few years ago when he was in an Egyptian prison for belonging to a banned political party. I specifically recall that assembly because I remember her mobile phone going off whilst she was being introduced, which was most amusing.

Anyway, she talked to us about the former Westcliff pupil and how he was being allegedly badly treated in prison, and asked us if we could pray for him and remember him. She broke down in tears at the time, and it was one of the most emotional assemblies I’ve certainly ever seen someone give. But not to worry as he is out of prison now and has turned from his bad ways. All’s well that ends well. Lesson learnt: don't annoy the Egyptians - next time you might be mummified.

* * *

Eight wins in ten games and only five goals conceded. Not bad in my eyes. But with only 14 goals scored in that time, it shows Southend United are a team building from the back. The arrival of striker Theo Robinson from Watford and Dorian Dervitte from Tottenham Hotpsur at the end of January on loan have transformed the side by injecting it with someone who can score goals and someone else who can defend to avoid conceding goals. It might seem pretty simple, but the previous ten leagues games up to the current run comprised of one win, two draws and seven defeats - so it would be accurate to say there’s been a change of form!

This just goes to show how important the loan market is to Football League managers at the moment. So far this season, Southend manager Steve Tilson has brought in some fantastic young loanees from the likes of Chelsea, West Ham and Portsmouth, and they have helped the side shoot up the league when they’ve been here. The obvious problem is that they will most probably leave never to be seen again, and then you have gaps to fill. This seems to have been the problem between November and January this season, and could cost us a play-off place. But with four points to make up in nine games, even if we don’t make it into the top six, at least it’s a bit more exciting. However, I’m not looking forward to totting up my total football expenses at the end of the season - as I believe it may already be over £500... oh dear. Ah well, at least I’m enjoying myself. (By the way, I also have no idea what the footballer/pilot in this picture is doing, but at least he's enjoying himself too - that's what it's all about really.)

THE 'S' WORD

2009-03-09T20:43:00.009Z

Our government doesn't often receive complimentary coverage in the British press, so credit where it's due to home secretary Jacqui Smith. She has ordered an new review to look at the "sexualisation" of young girls through clothes, videos and music lyrics, and how this links to sexual abuse. The basic concerns are that much music is encouraging a more sexual culture and that, for example, 11-year-olds are buying Playboy t-shirts, making them appear sexually available at a younger age.

Far from attempting a Daily Express-style rant on my own blog, I would just like to point out that we have a big problem in this country if 11-year-old girls are wearing Playboy-branded merchandise and it's readily available on the high-street. In essence it's a bit of fun, but sex and the consequences of it are real. Parents need to ensure they bring children up in an environment where they understand the implications of sleeping with somebody else, schools need to ensure the parents ensure this - and the government needs to ensure the schools ensure the parents ensure this. Better sex education might be the answer, but Jacqui Smith is right to suggest that a whole culture change is needed if we are going to get anywhere.

The case of 13-year-old Alfie Patten becoming a father was splashed all across the papers last month as a demonstration of teenage pregnancy issues and the lack of understanding youngsters have about relationships, children, sex and marriage. But historically, young people often got married just after becoming a teenager - especially in Biblical times - and this was just the culturally correct way of doing things then. Perhaps we're on course to go back to this, but I hope not. I'm often concerned at how many people my age (20) get married, thinking that's too young, but surely marriage at 13/14 is just ridiculous. Therefore why bother getting children if you don't want to bring them up inside wedlock? It's thinking about your best interests - not theirs.

* * *

SIR ALAN WILL SEE YOU NOW...

The Apprentice is back this week! It's Comic Relief Does The Apprentice this Thursday on BBC1 at 21:00 and I can't wait. The line up is fantastic - from Alan Carr and Ruby Wax to Gok Wan and Jonathan Ross (not forgetting Jack Dee, Patsy Palmer, Carol Vorderman and Fiona Phillips) and they will be competing in a battle to create a product for Comic Relief. It should make for superb television and provide a good curtain-raiser for the full new series of The Apprentice, which starts in just two weeks.

Sir Alan Sugar has had phenomenal success with the series already, and it's certainly my favourite television programme as it makes business and finance entertaining in a way that only Dragon's Den has emulated. According to the show's website, contestants in the new series should make for interesting viewing. Someone's role model is Hugh Hefner, another candidate comes from 'a long line of aristocrats', there's a child chess prodigy and someone who left school to play football. Interesting...

I like to think I know a good programme when I see one, and the BBC are certainly doing a good job of making business and finance interesting at the moment, following their City season which included Million Dollar Traders and The City Uncovered with Evan Davis. This is proper public service broadcasting and makes the licence fee seem far more reasonable to pay!

* * *

SIT DOWN SHUT UP

In the run-up to the Hillsborough disaster's 20th anniversary next month, this seems a good time to chat about terracing at football grounds. A campaign called Stand Up Sit Down has been running for a few years now, aiming to encourage football clubs to have a standing area as well as part of the ground where fans can sit down. I have visited 34 grounds out of 92 in the Football League, and at only at six of them, or 18%, I have been able to stand up (Brentford, Chesterfield, Peterborough United, Bristol Rovers, Colchester United and Dagenham & Redbridge).

Unsurprisingly, these were six of my favourite grounds in the country as they all have so much character. The other thing these share in common is that they have been used by sides mostly confined to League Two during their recent history, showing perhaps that they have always had a terrace and have been unable to finance a redevelopment to an all-seater stadium like the Allianz Arena in Munich [right], with the exception being Colchester. The atmosphere at the last Southend United game I went to at Peterborough was so much better because of the terracing, as people had more space and could move around to easily stand with who they wanted to. I'm going to Hereford United this weekend, which is also terraced, and am expecting more of the same...

So my plea to football clubs is that although all-seater stadiums might be seen as a safer idea, there are many fans who just love to stand up during games as that's their way of watching football. It creates a better atmosphere, is much more fun and is completely safe from my experiences. Fair enough, some fans will just want to sit down all game, and that might be because they aren't able to stand or would simply prefer not to, but football and entertainment just feels far more active standing up. I would call on more football clubs to recognise this, please!

TICKETS, PLEASE

2009-03-02T18:52:00.005Z

Sometimes I read an article in a newspaper and just think, in the words of Lee from The Apprentice (cue rough Essex accent): “That’s what I’m talking about!” So when I heard researchers had found train tickets from the UK to the continent (Zurich station, right) take twice as long to book as flights, although hardly surprising, I was delighted to find somebody had picked up on this. But what about domestic train tickets? They are expensive, the websites are difficult to use and confusing, and woe betide you if you try and book by phone or at a ticket office. That’s even more confusing.

As an example, I give you the Sheffield to Hereford route, which I will be using in a fortnight when I go to watch Hereford United v Southend United at Edgar Street in Football League One. A standard walk-up return on a Young Persons Railcard is £38.10. However, after a whole hour researching this, I managed to get a walk-up return for £21.45. Using the route of Sheffield to Hereford via Birmingham New Street, I purchased return tickets from Sheffield to Derby (£5.40), Derby to Birmingham New Street (£7.75), and Birmingham New Street to Hereford (£8.30). Although the Sheffield to Birmingham New Street route is direct and does not require me to change, I can buy two tickets in a legal process known as split ticketing. But it's not widely advertised, as that would of course lose the train companies money, and so many people pay more than they should.

So I’ve saved myself £16.65, although it did take me a whole hour to research this as the cheapest route, as I also attempted going via Stockport, which eventually worked out as £24.10 advance. Yes, it gives me a sense of satisfaction when I make a good saving, but spending a hour doing so is not as fun. So will somebody please make train tickets a lot less confusing to purchase! We’ve got a lot to learn from Europe...

*****

Community sentences are under fire, which interests me considering the number of court cases I’ve been to over the last month for reporting on my course. King’s College London found one probation officer thinks those subject to the unpaid work or rehabilitation orders leave court “laughing their heads off”. This is an important issue, as crime levels will continue to rise if people think they can avoid jail. In fact, some men or women might happily exchange 50 hours gardening for beating up their ex-partner.

But community orders do have their benefits, as they can stop people’s lives becoming a circle of crime. For example: arson (right). I was in a Crown Court case last week where an 18-year-old Sheffield lass was said to have set fire to another girl’s home and an elderly man’s car and mobility scooter. She caused a total of over £6,200 damage to a council house and three cars over a period. But Judge Keen QC only imposed a two-year community order including compulsory attendance for an offenders and alcohol rehabilitation programme, saying: “It’s a choice between a substantial sentence or seeing if something can be done with you.”

If ‘something can be done’ with someone through a community order, rather than putting them behind bars for a good few years, then the justice system has given someone a chance and done its job. But some people would argue that the girl committed an imprisonable crime, so she should automatically be sent to jail. If the majority of people feel like they get ‘let-off’ when given a community sentence, which the King’s College study suggests, then the system is not working and needs to be changed. If the prisons are full, then that’s a problem we need to sort out by building more prisons - you don’t sort it out by letting people get away with things as they won’t learn their lesson.

*****

Reviews of Margaret, shown on BBC1 last Thursday, are obviously going to be influenced by a newspaper’s political stance, so at least be honest about it. When an Observer columnist begins a review on a BBC drama about Margaret Thatcher by saying: “This isn’t a predictably lefty rant-in-waiting”, alarm bells start to ring. As expected, by the end of the damning report, Kathryn Flett reminds us “how far we have moved away from Thatcher’s dour drag act”.

I watched the programme on the BBC iPlayer, and thought it was an interesting analysis of how the Iron Lady fell from grace at 10 Downing Street (right) - reduced from a powerful animal in the House of Commons to a crying wreck in her last Cabinet meeting before she resigned. Thatcher presents an interesting psychological study of such a strong woman in a male environment, and Lindsay Duncan certainly had no problems conveying this idea to the viewer.

I only wish they hadn’t kept switching back and forth by 15 years because it made the programme very hard to follow and incredibly confusing. One moment, she was getting elected in and the next we saw Geoffrey Howe plotting her demise. I applaud the programme makers for being inventive, but perhaps a more simple chronological account would be better next time. However it was a pretty good attempt.

GOODY FINDS GOD

2009-02-23T21:28:00.006Z

I'm pleased to read that Jade Goody sees more in life than money. It's good to hear that the former Big Brother contestant, dying of cancer, has found God. At her wedding she said she was "praying for a miracle"; she wants her sons to be baptised as Christians so they can "keep in touch in the future"; and she has started to go to church and reading the Bible which "really helps".

For someone who has drug-abusing parents, lost a baby and been physically abused, it's great that she finally now seems to have turned her own life around before she dies. So if her ill-health has prompted an increase in cervical cancer tests, shouldn't her Christian faith prompt an increase in people going to church [eg in Whitby, right!]? Maybe I'm being a bit optimistic, but she really would have made an impact then - and wouldn't go down as the worst portrayal of an Essex girl in history (they're not all that bad).

*****

Subeditors are very important human beings in a newsroom, yet it seems media commentator Roy Greenslade is leading a crusade against them. I wonder how bad newspapers would really be if you took out the person who checks for mistakes and corrects copy. The amount of factual errors in the nationals is actually quite low, contrary to common belief, but there's far more in the local papers which have less resources, less time and less money to avoid mistakes.

I work as news editor on the University of Sheffield student newspaper, Forge Press, and often have to go through copy from our journalists with a variety of boxes to tick. For example, ensuring that it's not libellous, it has no typos, it's stylistically accurate and that it's factually correct. I've still got much to learn as a journalist, but if I'm subbing copy by other students, then surely the further you go up in the journalistic food chain there will still be many problems that have to be 'subbed' out. Without subeditors, quality journalism in this country will go down the pan, as if there are mistakes in abundance throughout a paper, people simply won't buy newspapers. And you can't trust a journalist to check their own work as they often get very protective about it...

*****

I've recently been introduced to the wonderful world of swing dance by a friend, and found it's great fun - like a whole new lease of life! I did modern dance until I was about 15 years old but back in my early childhood I did more ballet, tap and jazz. Being a tenor saxophonist it's often me playing jazz, but it was nice to have the chance to actually try dancing to it, and I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed myself.

I think dance is a very underrated way of keeping fit, as whilst I go to the gym to do rowing three/four times a week, it's much more fun learning some steps on the floor. And indeed the government seem to think the same, as a pilot scheme is being launched where children at 26 schools will be taught ballroom to fight obesity across the country. A good idea indeed. However I still watch in awe at those who've been dancing much longer than me, and hoping that one day I will make the grade! Practice makes perfect, I suppose.