The Iraq debate in the Commons...
what do YOU think of it...and how would you contribute to it?
Archives for October 2006
We need new straplines
see above. C'mon get sending and maybe Lissa will stop whining at me.
Screaming.
On the programme tonight we're doing an interview inspired by this Press Association copy:
"An ambulance trust is warning people about a horror film which contains torture scenes so gruesome they have made cinema-goers pass out. The East Anglian Ambulance Trust said it had received a number of emergency
calls to treat people watching the new horror film Saw III. Five required ambulance assistance and one had to be taken to hospital after fainting with fright following screenings in Stevenage, Peterborough and Cambridge on Friday."
It's all true apparently. Our guest will tell us that people have run screaming from the cinema during the film. When was the last time you did that? I nearly did during Woody Allen's Match Point, but that doesn't count.
You wait weeks for a David Milliband
interview then two come along at once. He was with us on Wednesday and look, he's with us again tonight. He'll be on his feet in the Commons shortly, explaining Government thinking on the environment. He'll be talking to me about an hour later. What do you think of the Stern report and related issues? On the comments thread below (under "After") there's already quite a debate.
Also on the programme tonight, a Green of many years standing recalls the movement's last high watermark in 1989. What lessons can be learned from then. And we'll hear a sceptical voice - a professor who thinks Mr Milliband is just plain wrong.
Plus, the Michael Jackson comeback, flag-burning, and a debate about when teenagers should be legally able to do certain things. As I used to say in the Newsletter from time to time, some of these things may not happen, so please don't be devastated if this little trail excites your interest in an item, you cancel your plans to listen to the whole show, and then the item doesn't run. Listen for the name of the editor just before the bongs and write to him.
After
what seems like three weeks of unbroken grey skies over London, yesterday, at last, there was a glimpse of sun. Temperatures were in the high teens and people in the pub garden I was in were in short sleeves. It could have been June - or indeed a fine day on the Day One beach.
The conversation got round to climate change, and after a few minutes we all agreed we felt guilty about enjoying the heat and the warmth. Guilty. We got into our respective cars, feeling guilty about driving, and rushed home (and felt guilty about rushing) to turn off all the electrical items in the house. I only came to work for heat and light.
Early Warning
If you forgot to change the clocks last night: we're on tomorrow at 6pm.
Tonight
we're looking at the case of a young mother who's been cleared of murdering her baby by giving him an overdose of salt.
Also: the Treasury has slapped down Patricia Hewitt for suggesting a big increase in taxes on alcopops.
There may be more trouble afoot in Paris. There may be more foot Paris in trouble. There may be trouble ahead.
We've also got our eye on foot and mouth fears, and news reached us a moment or two ago that the woman found unconscious in that Corfu hotel room where two children died, has come round.
All that plus letters and your chance to win big - on the show 3.5 million people can't resist.*
*or reach the radio to turn off. Perhaps for medical reasons.
Jim'll Fix It
Is coming back in some form. Did you ever write in? Have you got a Fix it badge? We're thinking of doing an item on the programme tonight and are mildly curious.
Obviously we've written to Jim with regard to the Newsletter.
Lissa
is looking into why yesterday's postcards didn't work. And I have now officially given up on trying to get the newsletter to work. There will be no more. Sorry.
The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ: today's technology at some point in the future. But we're in a meeting, sorry.
Apologies
to all of my colleagues. I beat up many of them this morning, leaving them black and blue. It was all a misunderstanding.
Another
newsletter is winging its way to subscribers. We have no idea when it will arrive. By the way we think that Stu was closest to guessing yesterday's arrival time: he said 16.21 and it came at 16.25. Johnnie, you were close, but no cigar. So Stu - drop us an email and we'll sort you out.
It's funny, the power of the newsletter and blog. Liz, one of our stalwart producers who sits next to me some days ("Bus Lane Liz") was on the phone to some august institution just now, asking whether they'd like to come on the PM tonight. The press officer asked: "what on EARTH is going on with the NEWSLETTER??!!" That's right, they said it with two question marks and a matching number of exclamation marks. You know who you are!
More postcards are coming.
Sensationally,
Rupert, in sending out today's newsletter missed an important top line which SHOULD help you make sense of it. The line was:
"The PM newsletter for today, Wednesday the 13th of March 2013. This SHOULD arrive in time for transmission".
As it happens, it arrived in MY inbox at 16:25:25. Come on. Who was closest??
Competition!
The newsletter sent this morning has still not arrived. When do you think it will arrive in my inbox? Whoever gets closest to the exact date, time and year will win a printed off copy of the newsletter signed by me! Yes. That's right.
In the meantime, let me alert you to our programme tonight. We're looking at face transplants - just recorded an int with the man who'll lead the team doing the world's first full transplant. Also, we are checking right now whether we'll be able to bring you clips of what Madonna told Oprah about Dave.
I've spoken to the head of that July 7th charity which has wound itself down having done its job rather well by all accounts. What did he get right that some other charities and relief funds didn't?
Also: would you welcome a nuclear dump under your house if it meant getting a new community centre? And Sir Patrick Moore looks ahead 100 years. That's one helluva monocle.
So come on - let me have your guesses. When WILL the PM newsletter sent today arrive in my inbox?
In the light of
the apparent inability of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ to send out a newsletter on time, a new one has just been sent from this office today.
Hope none of you dies before it arrives.
The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ: Today's Technology Tomorrow. Or the day after. It's the system, you know. Nothing we can do, guvnor.
Well my
PM newsletter for Monday arrived this morning at 03.11.
The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ: Embracing today's technology tomorrow.
Did
that link work on the previous entry? Oddly, our PCs seem to be aligned to NOT play from such links on our own blogs.
I know.
It's been a bit of a busy afternoon. Unusually, lots of recorded interviews, as opposed to lots of "lives". Been in and out of the studio like a fiddler's elbow. Lissa and I have been wrestling with the opening of the programme as ever. Specifically, should an 18 second clip about HIV go there? We decided against. Listen at 5 and see if you think it could have benefited from one.
My favourite interview was about ivory. Scheduled to run at 17.54.
Thanks
for the response to the two clips posted yesterday. And no, my Sir Ming/Sir Malcolm confusion will NOT be appearing here.
I have a collection of goodness knows how many clips of mistakes or on-air silliness. It began years ago with one from The World This Weekend that made me laugh, but is not in and of itself funny. Now, colleagues - especially but not exclusively Marc, Ryan and Neil send me things they've heard that amused them. It's probably unfair to post clips without the permission of the person involved, so most of them will have to stay on my desktop. But this one from Farming Today was clearly meant to amuse. Or was it?
No newsletters still - don't get me started.
A comment posted on an earlier entry, from Patricia..
I'm sorry to say that what could be used as a newsworthy medium seems to be reduced to what I consider very un-newsworthy topics. After wading through several of the comments files it seems apparent that this feature is becoming full of people talking about what interests them within their sad lives. From fish fingers to parrotts.
I also feel that the PM programme is becoming watered down and I'm sure we could do with out all this nonsence (for instance) the Big Ben feature a few days back.
I would be curious to seee what your bosses would feel on the use of this valuable medium Mr Mair ?
It will be interesting to see if my comments appear or are indeed moderated as most of your other postings should be!!
John H sends
a specially created card which says on the back: "Pointless! But some of the bloggers might like it"
Brief and to the point
This was another of my great, great moments. I've won awards, you know.
Standby buttons:
why DO they use so much energy?
We're not sure whether we'll bother with a newsletter today. Last week's little problems have not been solved as far as I know, and there's only so much abuse I can take for my incompetence. If we do try, and it arrives in 2016, can you be polite and not mention it?
In return, I might post a little archive clip which might amuse you, of me asking a never-ending question, only to be met with a one word answer.
One other thing: why are some people contributing to this blog at 1am???!
We're told this is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's BIGGEST blog!
News reaches us that your contribution to this blog makes it the biggest in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ! The number of comments tops any other. You should pat yourself on the back. Or get someone else to do it for you. Perhaps slowly and sensually. Just clean up before the programme tonight, will you?
Among the
chirpy emails regarding our immensely late newsletter, we got these:
"Received this at 08:51am Friday morning. Is this a record for late arrival of email? Have you thought of running the post office? Andrew Knight"
"More like an AM Newsletter. Raymond"
"Hello Eric and chums, Just to let you know I got yesterday’s newsletter at 08.58 this morning. This is not a complaint as such, merely a confirmation of your problem with which I have a deal of sympathy (my job title will give you a clue). For those ungrateful listeners who might complain about late arrival of the newsletter, I would suggest they use it rather like a set of Nostradamus predictions – you listen to the programme and then check the following day to see if the newsletter would have been right! Keep up the good work. Chris Charlton, IT Manager"
Hundreds of people emailed to say they got their newsletter between 0830 and 0930 this morning. It's kind of you to indulge us but we've decided there won't be one today, since, frankly, if it can't be made to work, I can't be arsed.
Sorry about the use of the word arse, there.
On the plus side, some of the responses to the veil story on the blog will feature on the show in the "letters" slot tonight. Stand by.
Veils
While we're on the air tonight we expect a decision in the employment tribunal case brought by the muslim teaching assistant who refused to take off her veil in class. Care to post your reaction here?
Newsletter
In the absence of a newsletter (see previous postings) here's a quick flavour of the programme tonight, as it looks at 14.00. We expect a result in the employment tribunal case of Aishah Azmi, who was suspended from her job as a teaching assistant for refusing to remove her full veil in the classroom.
Also: a stay of execution for the Leeds man on death row in Pakistan - we'll talk to his brother. We'll look at what the spooks think of the terror threat to Britain, and we may talk to the Bishop who's started an ad campaign against children dressing up as spooks. Oh the wordplay. Oh the agony. Oh the Deadwood Stage (finish this yourself)
Andy Cragg and Anne
have sent the two latest contributions to the PM pointless blog thing. If you're new to this - feel free to send a colourful postcard to "PM Pointless Blog Thing, Room G601, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News Centre, London, W12 7RJ." Andy says his card shows "me and S.O. posing for a beer ad". Anne's effort is inscribed "Hello from Australia. Here is a postcard of a seriously nasty statue: why would anyone make this, let along turn it into a postcard? Two days ago I fulfilled a 42 year old ambition - to see a live duck billed platypus. Hooray!" We've cropped it rather badly but, really, would you want to see the whole thing?
Donkeys
Well, we sent out a cheeky test email newsletter this morning. It hasn't arrived, as far as we can tell. In the light of that and yesterday's very late arrival, we have contacted our colleagues at the New Media Centre or something.
The thrust of the conversation was that the system was like a donkey yesterday. Now it's down. Something's happened. EastEnders' newsletter is perhaps to blame, but that, as Downing Street spokesmen are fond of saying is "pure speculation".
An email has arrived from Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, who did such sterling work on the programme last night. He was at a loose end in France after his plane went a bit haywire. He was in Mulhouse rather than Baden-Baden. One listener suggested a lovely eaterie in the place he was stranded, and another listener suggested he should have gone to Kehl from Strasbourg, and (in terms) why the hell didn't a travel editor know that?
Simon says (a) the steak house recommendation in Mulhouse would have been even more useful with a name, and (b) I am indeed aware of Kehl station, but last time I was there (December) the utterly impenetrable and bewildering ticket-issuing machine defeated me and I had something of a run-in with the railway authorities - since when I have given it a wide berth.
Say what you like, but he knows travel.
If anyone
can explain why I got yesterday's newsletter at 19.47, there could be a Gordon Brown book in it for them. (An no I am not in the office right now...)
No newsletter
I don't know why - because I wrote it and I think Amanda sent it. But the newsletter doesn't seem to have arrived.
I wrote it at 12.46...but to be honest it still holds true. Here it is, with apologies for the lack of email.
Hello,
I wonder how many newsletters I've sent. How many have you received? Over on the blog we're celebrating 100 postings today. Hurrah.
The first bit of today's programme is - fluid. By which I mean we're not really sure and every time we think we've decided on something we change our minds. We do care, you know.
So what I'm going to write should not be taken as a guide to what we think the best stories of the day are. But they will be interesting, we think. For example, at around 4.30 I'll be recording an interview with the man who believes OJ Simpson murdered his son. Something nuclear too, though I've yet to be furnished with details of our expose. And a well known airline gets a kick in the pants from the Office of Fair Trading.
OK, it may not sound like much yet but my goodness it will be cooking with gas by 5.
Best wishes,
Heather Mills Muir
Blog Entry 100
Congratulations to us all.
Here's a Blog-related query for you, culled from Joe Joseph's Modern Morals column in The Times. He gives his answer in today's Times2, page 3. Wondered if you had any thoughts....here's the dilemma..
"On "googling" the name of my daughter's new boyfriend, we discovered his daily internet blog expressing his intimate feelings about my daughter and their relationship. It feels like snooping, but he must realise that there is a risk of our reading it. Is it wrong to read this, or to let on to him that we are aware of it?"
Is this
the earliest blog ever?
Did you enjoy last night's programme? It was an odd one in that we kept changing our minds about what the lead story should be - settling on health only at around 16.20. At one point we were 30 seconds away from the headlines when we realised the newsreader wasn't there. And don't get me started on the guest who blurted out f**k during an interview. Thankfully it was a recorded piece during the afternoon. But I almost sh** my p*nts. J**** H *. * ****'* **** ** ***k.
I've also tried again with the resizing of the previous photos but something odd keeps happening so I'll wait till a grown-up appears.
We have new
bigger versions of the postcards below, but try as I might I can't get them to work. I am now going to utter a sentence never used before in the entire history of the English language.
It would really help if Lissa was in the office today.
Thank you.
A postcard
arrives from Lee Vitout. He says "This is me on holiday. Please pass my regards on to "Big Sister" and "Aperitif".
And Annasee, sent this, a photo taken from a brochure found at Manchester Art Gallery. She wrote: "even as youngsters, Eddie, Kirsty and Carolyn wanted to be on the radio. Tragically, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ budget cuts in late 2006 saw them replaced by Tilly the pony, Vicky the goat and Sophie the sheep. A senior ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ source said "Eddie Mair has our full support. But the goat was cheaper.""
As it happens the back page of the new in house ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ mag - Ariel - carries a photo of Chris Jarvis and other CBeebies people posing with our favourite farmyard animals from last week. They came from Spitalfields city farm. All the animals have now been adopted by Madonna.
An email arrives...
COMMENTS: Such a shame that we had to listen to the usual bully-boy tactics of Eddie Maire in the interview so graciously granted to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ by Mr.Peter Mandelson, a man singularly lacking in self-seeking motivation and totally devoid of pomposity. Eddie Maire's constant hectoring of Mr.Mandelson was quite disgraceful. I counted no fewer than two occasions in the three minute interview in which Eddie Maire attempted to interrupt Mr.Mandelson's clear,to the point,razor-sharp answers, some of which contained fewer than a couple of hundred words.It is a credit to Mr.Mandelson's integrity that he allowed Eddie Maire such licence, without resorting to the bombast and irrelevancy often employed by less trusted or open politicians. We are lucky to have Mr.Mandelson in Europe when you think that, apart from some minor indiscretions on the part of other people, he might well still be a member of the present government. Let's hope Eddie Maire can contain his arrogance in future and!
leave such important matters to the politicians.
Perhaps I misunderstood the pictures from Heathrow airport
but has Madonna adopted ET?
Fearless
Fred, commenting on the previous posting said:" I'm still waiting for the card which was a piece of card to be displayed. C'mon Eddie, you know we want to see it!"
Who am I to deny you? Here it is - front and back.
Weird
More cards arrive: this is from Pauline Davey. The caption on the back says Feminism encourages Kulturrecycling.
Next, Aperitif wonders "Could it GET any more pointless?" on the back of a card from the DVLA which advertises easy ways to tax your vehicle.
And Enoch Ramsbottom writes of "Nick Clarke's old train set". If there's a lot of interest I could describe the four stations shown...
Blogtastic
Just been hearing good things about how this blog is being received. Will write more about this when I can say something definitive...but it seems the number of contributions is pushing us near the top of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ blog list. Does that make any sense? Maybe I should have waited to get the official SP, as I believe they say in the racing world. More will follow.
On a more serious note, did you realise that a child born today in Africa, has a one in three chance - that's right one in three chance - of being adopted by Madonna?
Also posting soon, more postcards - they are becoming more weird...thank you.
What DO you think of General Sir Richard Dannatt's comments?
Tell us.
(And see post below if this seems confusing...)
That's Dannatt
The answer to the question posed in Quiz Time was the Department for Education and Skills.
But that's old news. Today, we have the new head of the British Army rubbishing Government policy in Iraq. Later on the blog, I'll be letting rip into Mark Thompson.
By the way, we love the blog. And we love the comments. To be serious for a moment, we think it's a great way for PM listeners to properly interact not just with us but with other members of the audience. I try not to get blogged down too much in serious stuff here. But we were wondering whether you'd welcome the opportunity to comment on big news stories here. For instance - on General Sir Richard Dannatt's comments. Maybe comments could eventually be used on air?
We just don't know - and we don't want to dilute what the blog is already about. But what I might do is start a fresh strand on Dannatt. Why not let us know on THIS thread what you think of the notion outlined above.
Meanwhile, regular correspondent Wolf has sent in what I can only assume is a postcard photo of himself, dressed as....oh well see for yourself...
Quiz time
We asked for a statement from a Government department today. The one we got says: "This is why we recently announced that every pupils should have a cooking entitlement".
Which department do you think wrote that? It's so bad I could have written it.
Awayday
All our bosses have gone on one today, so we have all brought in games. And bottles of Jose Cuervo.
Ironically the bosses are probably discussing our poor productivity. The show should be interesting.
(Peter if you read this - just joking. About the games)
This is worrying
People have started sending in pictures of themselves. This card reads: "In response to Big Sister's request (post no.41 on the "David" thread of October 6, 2006) here is a postcard which is also a photograph of me: She said she wanted to see photos of regular posters. Well I am certainly one of those. Of course, I'm not going to tell you which one - Big Sister will just have to guess!"
The next card is from Dr Hugo Z Hackenbush, who says the card is clearly of some minimal educational benefit.
Talking of sheep
A few years back, before I was fired from Broadcasting House, we did an item which involved taking a sheep down the King's Road in London. There was a valid editorial reason for this, but it's not important now.
The sheep was great and her handlers, who had hundreds of sheep, were lovely. The sheep's name was April. I asked why they'd called her that, and was told it was the month she was born.
Only later did I get to wondering whether they did that with all their sheep...wouldn't they all be called March or April?
Anyway, that's not why you called. More pointless postcards follow. Just about to watch our live feed of ABC's Good Morning America, which is due to feature their exclusive interview with Mel Gibson. Should be fun. ( He really wanted to do PM but we said no, thanks.)
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Lissa tells me it's Tilly the Pony, Sophie the Sheep and Vicky the Goat. Pictured on the road next to our window. Soon to be seen on C³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. Oh be happy for us. Many of us haven't seen a sheep in years*
*but not all.
Baa Baa Update
Lissa is taking pictures of the animals. Stand by.
Baa
Remember the glory days when this blog was about people going past the window?
Two sheep just went past the window. And before that a Shetland pony. This vindicates something I said to colleagues earlier. When I arrived this morning I was sure I could smell barnyard animals.
They named the person they thought was responsible for the smell but I reminded them that he left a while back. I suspected C³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, which is just across the corridor from us and is often responsible for strange goings-on. There was a Wendy House in the corridor the other day, and on one occasion a lighthouse. Sure enough there is some straw in the corridor which would explain the animals. In these fiscally stringent times, it's probably cheaper to bring the countryside to the studio, rather than the other way round.
It's hard to describe the frisson of excitement that went round our office at seeing these animals just outside our window. Grown World at One producers shrieked and stood up. Others stood up and shrieked. In any case, for a brief moment during Prime Minister's Questions, none of us was watching Prime Minister's Questions. Hope we didn't miss anything important.
Thunder,
lightning and almost complete darkness at 12.13.
Cards again
Three for you. The first is obviously from the US. I'm afraid I've mislaid the card for the moment, but thanks to the person who sent it...
Next is from (squiggle) in Kirkwall. It's of St Peter's Kirk...from a book of cards to raise funds for it. The card says it's a rare survival of a 19th century Scots Presbyterian kirk in its most austere form.
And finally Elle Moss writes of "the town that time forgot"...
A senior
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ figure came by my desk yesterday afternoon. I mean - REALLY senior. I won't embarrass either of us, or you, by dropping the name here. But trust me. HUGE.
Admittedly, he was only being polite - he was passing through the office. But he came over and could not have been more charming or supportive. He told me he is a fan of the blog. We spoke about trying to get PM podcast, and about new technology and Value For Money. Even nicer, he said he listens to PM four nights out of five...which for someone as senior as him is a breathtaking endorsement of the work we're doing. I asked him why he didn't listen all five weekday nights, and he said he was in meetings. Bastard.
Hugh
Sykes impressed ANOTHER set of judges recently, as we mentioned on the programme last night. I spent a bit of time yesterday trying to upload some photos Hugh took, of the people who took part in his report, and the area it was recorded in. Sadly the files were too large, but thanks to help from Jeff, and a good night's sleep, I'm quietly hopeful these will upload. But they might be the size of a house or a postage stamp. As ever, please be kind regarding my technical wizardry.
More picture postcards are awaiting a scan. Stand by.
DAB
There's a piece in one of the papers today about the "poor quality" of sound on digital radio. I'd best not get involved in all that, but I can tell you my experience of trying to get DAB to work in my car put me off for life. Terrible reception - even when parked sometimes - on almost all stations except ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ7. Got a bigger aerial (well it was more of a mast really) and it was equally bad. Went back to FM, MW and LW.
An email arrives
following Friday's programme:
"It was interesting to hear Melanie Griffith's views on the Veil. Since when has it been a basic requirement of "British culture" to be able to see the person we are talking to? Thousands of blind people listening to your show will, I'm sure, be surprised to hear that they are not really British. We should commence deportations forthwith."
I'm not sure whether to contact Melanie Phillips to advise her that people think the was twice married to Don Johnson and is the daughter of Tippi Hedren.
I've thought about it now and I'm not going to.
Fifteen
minutes to go.
There's still some discussion in the office about what ourlead story should be. And Becky's report may not be ready. And we're not sure about the opening.
This is quite normal.
David
Owen. Bit sweaty at end of long night.
Rosettes were odd back then. Michael Foot's was red, yellow and green. Peter Shore's is red and yellow. Vivid red tie though. I think Alan Beith was on set the entire night.
It's been said
before, and will be again, but it's worth repeating. Robin Day was bloody brilliant. Con have overall majority, by the way.
He's
being pressed quite hard but Michael Foot, in accepting Labour has suffered heavy losses, declines to say whether he'll step down. He says the SDP is a "bunch of opportunists"
Ken Livingstone
with a moustache, talking to Vincent Hanna.
Ted Heath
says he plans to carry on from the back benches. 217 seats declared. Con 125 Lab 86 Lib/SDP 3
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Forecast
Con 393
Lab 210
Lib 20
SDP 4
Oth 23
Cecil
Parkinson looks really happy.
We think
Shirley Williams might be in trouble in Crosby. Not sure though.
Labour hold
Eccles
Howe
holds Surrey East
1983
We've noticed that ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Parliament is reshowing the 1983 General Election night programme. Brian Hanrahan was just on from Blaenau Gwent. And today he's on The World at One.
I will keep you posted on how it goes. So far: Con 4, Lab 0.
Winning
The prize was a copy of a new book of Gordon Brown's speeches (1997-2006). The question: According to the book's index, who gets more mentions in the book? Is it Tony Blair, John Major or Rab Butler?
In the end, there was no need for the tie-breaker.
The Gordon Brown book goes to: (insert drum roll) the only person (as far as I can tell) who said the answer was Tony Blair - Ontheledge wrote: "Mm, Tony Blairseems a bit obvious, John Major a bit unlikely, and Rab Butler too long ago for our modern hero. So, I guess I go with the obvious? Vote for Tony."
So congratulations, if indeed that's the appropriate word. Drop us an email and within months the book will be yours. For the record the number of mentions as detailed in the book's index was Tony Blair: 10, John Major: 3, Rab Butler: 1.
And we'll draw a veil over the competition here.
Theft
Moment of panic there. Was in my drawer looking for the Gordon Brown book, and it had GONE!
Who would steal it? I mean, really. Had Peaches been in?
Moments later it turned up on Rupert's desk.
We'll get on to judging the competition presently.
Will it fit?
Even before I start, I know that this is going to take a while. And I think a few of the postcards will appear sideways. Please be understanding. But thank you for all the cards. We love them. I love the stuff on the back...either the scribblings of bloggers or the sometimes odd descriptions of what's on the front.
Keep 'em coming to the address you'll find on previous postings.
This first one has a stamp from the Netherlands, but appears to come from Kit Tyrrell in Gloucestershire. The words underneath are "Prosit Neujar" which is Dutch for "James Naughtie".
Next we have a charming card from "C" who found it on a charity stall. C has listened to PM since the mid 70s...but finds the portable radio on the bus often cuts out.
Cathy sent is this as she had been "wondering where to send this card". The blurb says "70 million years ago Triceratops faving the enemy, Tyrannosaurus. The blurb is repeated in several languages. 70 millioen jaren geleden: Trceratops oog in oog met de vijand, Tyrannosaurus.
Sandra Jenkinson in Portsmouth sent this one which, I can assure you, was cut from a cereal box.
John Wilson in Whitchurch sent this delightful watercolour: John Nicholson
Carey, Bruce et al sent this saucy card with an even saucier message on the back which included: "mine's the one on the right with the spanner"
Jane offered this depiction of what she described as the PM Production Meeting..."I can see Sequin in the kitchen"...
Susan Orty-Boyden offers "this is 5pm where I live"...
Madeline Fraser sent this "broody landscape of stone age Britain" in part to thank us for our work on current affairs when "I'm too tired or lazy to read a newspaper".
Charmingly, Alexander wrote on his card: "saw this and thought of you".
Anne Powers wrote something about "keep it up Lissa", but despite that I've included it...
And finally for now (though one lovely Miami postcard didn't scan...we're working on it Roberto), Aperitif wrote that he/she had just remembered having this..."been looking for someone to send it to"...
I've
been staring at this blank page for quite a while now...reflecting on an early promise I made to myself, about not blogging if I've nothing to say. I appreciate that the record shows I've failed, but at least none of the previous rubbish was forced. So, I'll maintain a dignified silence until I think of something I want to say.
Postcards - and there are a LOT more of them - will follow tomorrow.
WIN GORDON BROWN
's new book. Or at least a book of his speeches. Yes! Right here! It's a brand new collection covering 1997-2006.
We need the answers to these questions. 1: According to the book's index, who gets more mentions in the book? Is it Tony Blair, John Major or Rab Butler?
And because we know there will probably be the need for a tie-breaker, please complete this phrase in ten words or fewer. "The......"
Good luck.
More cards
Our latest postcards include this work of Gerard Hoffnung, sent by Lesley Boulton who writes: "who says women can't have it all?"
Then there is Anna Christensen and her dead mice (1994 since you ask)
And we're indebted to Hilary Aikman in Colchester with a vintage scene from Cumnock.
Brown
Should we make a new book the latest blog competition prize? It's entitled: "Gordon Brown: speeches 1997-2006". It has a large picture of Gordon Brown on the front, making a speech. I honestly can't decide.
Oh and three more postcards will soon be posted. Four more have come in today. We love them all and are keeping them all, though goodness knows why. Perhaps I'll compile them into a book and Gordon Brown could give it away on his blog.
One request, when you're sending yours in - and I hope you will - please make your name nice and clear so we can name and shame you. If your handwriting is anything like mine your signature will be illegible.
The latest to arrive show: dinosaurs, breakfast cereal, Stonehenge, and somewhere in Miami. Go on: jot down the address for the next time you're away: PM Pointless Blog Postcard Thing, Room G601, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News Centre, London W12 7RJ.
Peter's web link
Sorry it didn't make it onto the air. The programme is a LITTLE busy tonight. Try and follow the link to One small A
Steps
On the programme tonight we're toying with the idea of a story about Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon. Did he mean to say "One small step for A man" instead of what we all remember. New analysis of the recording suggests he DID say "a man".
Which got us wondering. If YOU were about to set foot on the moon - the first human to do so....what would YOU say? We may mention the best ones on the programme. But don't let that add to the pressure.
Cards
Here then are some more of the postcards we've received. Piccadilly Circus comes from Michelle and Susan who made a cheeky charity request. I've put it back in the mail today ladies. Ian Evans in Ebbw Vale sent us bluebells, and JKH sent the trick or treat.
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