Well, actually no.
It strikes me that many bloggers feel they must Blog Come What May, even if that means that most of their posts run to this format: person A has done something cool; person B has noticed this and written about it; I noticed person B’s blog and now I’m writing about it too.
I’m sure I’m guilty of this too, occasionally; but as ditdotdat said to me today when we were talking about this, you’ve got to add something new.
Originally uploaded by oliorchard.
The comments on this photo on Flickr had me sniggering into my Waitrose Côtes du Rhone…
(I found this when surfing for photos taken with a Fuji A607 – thanks to Euan I discovered you can surf Flickr by camera model).
Today is the 17th of November.
It’s my eldest son’s birthday. But also his class mate Molly’s birthday, and the birthday of Hugh, who he plays rugby with. They were all born on the same day, but Hugh is as tall as Henry is small.
My colleagues Clive and Yyvonne are getting married today.
It’s also the birthday of Henry at work, and of Peter Cook; the number 17 weaves throughout his play Consequences, and I’m sure it’s because he was born on the 17th.
I think the Peter Cook Appreciation Society have a piss-up on every 17th November, but I could never go – it’s always Henry’s birthday!
Perhaps on every Nov 17th I should read the script aloud in the street…
I’m pretty sure that when I watched the TV adaptation of the Iain Banks novel The Crow Road when it first aired in 1996, I fancied the intelligent, feisty Ashley Watt (played by Valerie Edmond).
Watching it again tonight on BBC-4, I’m pretty sure that I fancy ‘the divine Verity’, played by Simone Bendix, who – at least in the first two episodes – is only there because she looks gorgeous.
But, anyway, it was wonderful to watch it again. A really beautiful adaptation, perfectly cast, and I love Gavin Millar’s direction. Perfect television.
So, the BNP two have been acquitted of inciting racial hatred.
Some commentators have drawn comparisons between this and the case of Mizanur Rahman, who was recently found guilty of inciting racial hatred at a rally against the Danish cartoons. (The link here is from The Times – can’t find the verdict on the BBC News website, perhaps it’s been removed due to the possibility of a retrial… I was starting to think I’d imagined the verdict).
Anyway, I think the parallel is false one. There is a difference between some odious David Shayler lookalike (are they related? They both make me want to vomit) spouting racist views in a private gathering (well it was private until someone secretly filmed and broadcast it), and someone at a public rally (allegedly) calling for more 9/11s all over Europe and asking for France to be nuked. (You can have Antoine de Caunes, but nuclear war is pushing it a bit, mate).
Mentioning David Shayler reminds me of a wonderful moment when he appeared on Have I Got News For You, on a TV set down the line from Paris. He pointed out how ridiculous it is that cleaners in MI5 have to sign the Official Secrets Act. Stephen Fry said “Yes. And they respect it” to wild applause and cheers from the studio audience.
