LONG LIVE RADIO

With the blue skies and sunshine of Paphos a distant memory, we closed the door on the caravan for the final time of 2012 in torrential rain and winds on Sunday.

Wading from the van to the car in our wellies we reflected on another great year at Lesley culminating in our winning a runners up prize in the Best Kept Caravan competition which is quite an achievement considering we lost just about all our bedding plants and shrubs to the savage winds and salt spray during the first week of June. Let's hope for a summer in 2013. 

The news is just as depressing as the weather and none more so than the controversies surrounding the good old British Broadcasting Company. Leaving aside the horrendous revelations and accusations surrounding the late Sir James Wilson Vincent "Jimmy" Savile, OBE, KCSG, from a purely selfish point of view I am more angry about the dramatic cuts planned for local radio services.

In common with most of my generation I was brought up on radio and still remember sitting round the radio listening to Paul Temple, Journey into Space, Educating Archie, the Billy Cotton Band Show and of course The Goon Show in the mid 50's and later, once I was hooked on music, Saturday Club with Brian Matthew, Pick of the Pops with Fluff Freeman and falling to sleep every night to the in and out fadings of Radio Luxembourg.

I can still vividly remember laying in the bath every Saturday morning after football listening to the Daddy of the Disc Jockeys, Jack Jackson.

Later, in the 60's we use laze on the east coast beaches listening to Radio Caroline and Radio London which were both just off the Suffolk-Essex shore.

Now I champion the cause of BBC local radio. It is far and away the best vehicle for local news, travel and weather and its locally themed chat shows, phone-ins and live discussion of community issues. It offers listeners an interactive local service that far surpasses that available in weekly local newspapers who are only interested in their circulation, regional TV and on the internet. Local radio stations, like local newspapers, are often the training ground for new journalists who could end up working in national or international media.

The BBC are planning to make drastic cuts across the corporation in a bid to save money.  Of course it’s our money they wish to save, the BBC belongs to every one of us licence payers. The BBC is the envy of the world, the planet’s no.1 broadcaster and it is ours and should be treasured.  Those who run the BBC should be of the understanding that they are simply looking after it for the benefit of us and our children and our children’s children.

I am a regular listener to BBC Radio Surrey and its sister station BBC Radio Sussex when in Selsey. They have their own local early morning breakfast and early evening drive time programs and at the weekends local sports commentaries and updates from all around Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire. Most of the rest of the time they have common programming but in the evening they join forces with other regional BBC stations for a 50's, 60's and 70's music show hosted by the excellent Roger "Twiggy" Day, of Radio Caroline fame, with nightly studio guests from the world of pop and rock music. At the weekend it's another stalwart from pirate radio, Kenny Everett's partner in crime, Dave Cash.

Despite the BBC reducing the annual cuts from £15m to £8m the whole identity of local radio is in threat of becoming at best regional radio which totally defeats the whole object. As an example Roger Day’s evening programme will vanish as between 7pm and 10pm they are preparing to broadcast a single show across the whole UK local radio network. Somebody tell me how this qualifies as local radio. Aren't Radio1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc enough channels for national radio?

The BBC wishes to apply a 20% of staff across the Local Radio network.  In doing so they will save less than 5% of operating costs.  To give you some perspective, local stations are staffed by on average 35 people and they produce around 4600 hours of programmes a year.  In contrast, Radio 1’s Newsbeat is staffed by 52 people and produce easily less than a few hundred hours each year in the form of news bulletins.

Doesn't seem like rocket science to me to work out where to make the cuts.

Now I hear that one of the most experienced and entertaining BBC radio presenters, so accurately described by a colleague of mine as a "Student of Life", having fought through throat and mouth cancer and returned to BBC Radio London, is losing all his weekday shows:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003288/Danny-Baker-Ive-beaten-throat-mouth-cancer.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/01/danny-baker-bbc-show-axed
How stupid is that. Cut out the middle management not the people who entertain us and really care about radio. Love him or hate him, Danny Baker is nothing but entertaining and a radio institution. Let the listeners decide want they want to listen to, not make unwanted program changes in a desperate attempt to justify their jobs.

Local radio must NOT be allowed to die.

Click this link and sign the petition to Save BBC Local Radio :

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/theindependentbbc

LONG LIVE RADIO

My thanks to The Surrey Heath Residents Blog for the facts and some of the words included in this blog.

One down, two to go!

We arrived in Paphos last Saturday evening at the tail end of an horrendous thunderstorm and torrential rain and since then we have had sunshine and showers during the day and thunderstorms and heavy rain at night. 

It's blue skies and very hot today and fortunately the forecast for the next two weeks is a lot more settled.

Fortunately the rain held off on Tuesday night for Diggers 60th birthday which was held in an outdoor restaurant in Paphos.

Many thanks from everybody to Terry. It was a brilliant night; great venue, excellent food, good company and of course loads of booze and although we fell well short of the £1000 target, set by the the absent Young Allotmenteer, everybody gave it their best shot. 

Highlight of the night was not Diggers's speech but when he was presented with his bus pass followed by the bill:

That wiped the smile off his face!

We now prepare to move along the coast to Vrachia Beach just outside Coral Bay and hopefully will be enjoying the sensational Cyprus sunsets followed by a bit of howlin' at the moon!

 Hey Ho!

Global James Bond Day

As dates go, October 5, 1962, isn’t famous. They don’t mention it in school history lessons, nobody very important was born or died then and no world-changing events made the headlines.

But on  this day in 1962 James Bond burst on to the screen in the premiere of Dr No.

All together there have been 23 Bond movies and one spoof production (Casino Royale), and the films have grossed over £5 billion pounds at the box office.

Music has always played a big part in the James bond movies and the original theme that opens Dr No has featured in all the films. Written by Monty Norman, it was re-arranged and performed by John Barry and his orchestra and reached number 13 in the UK charts. Barry went on to work on the soundtracks of a further twelve Bond films.

The list of performers associated with Bond themes is impressive:

Matt Munro, Shirley Bassey (3), Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Lulu, Carly Simon, Sheena Easton, Rita Coolidge, Duran Duran, a-ha, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Garbage, Madonna, Chris Cornell and Jack White & Alicia Keys.

Here they all are:

Author Ian Fleming based his creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".

Fleming, a keen ornithologist, appropriated Bond's name from American ornithologist James Bond. His first choice of actor to play 007 in Dr No, was Cary Grant – but he wanted way too much money.

David Niven, James Mason, Patrick McGoohan, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton and Stewart Granger were also on his list. Niven turned down the role because he felt he was too old, McGoohan rejected the offer and the others were also too expensive.

Ian Fleming was horrified at the selection of Sean Connery as Bond, regarding his working-class, building site background as hopeless casting for his smooth, well-educated spy.

Fleming is credited as saying, "He's not what I envisioned of James Bond looks" and "I'm looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man," adding that Connery (muscular, 6' 2", and a Scot) was unrefined. However, Fleming's girlfriend told him Connery had the requisite sexual charisma. Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No premiere and was so impressed, he created a half-Scottish, half-Swiss heritage for the literary James Bond in the later novels.

Sean Connery went on to star in seven films, George Lazenby in one, Roger Moore in seven, Timothy Dalton in two, Pierce Brosnan in four and Daniel Craig in three with a fourth, Skyfall, due for release on October 26th.

Here's a celebration of them all:

We all have a favourite Bond, and mine, by a whisker from Roger Moore who was probably more in line with Fleming's image of Commander Bond, is Sean Connery showed here at his best:

To round of the Bond theme, officially released at 0:07 BST today is the theme from Skyfall co-written and performed by the hugely talented Adele:

But it's not just Global James Bond day, Also, 50 years ago today, and unnoticed by all but a couple of hundred teenagers in Liverpool and a couple of 16 year olds in Trent Road, Ipswich, the Beatles’ first single, "Love Me Do", was released.

Principally written by Paul McCartney while playing truant from school at the age of sixteen, the single reached number 17 in the UK charts, and for the following six years they took the world by storm.

Memories!!!!

 

Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon

I have now been "OnThe Pill" for 7 days and daily monitoring of my chest and stomach measurements has so far not revealed any alarming increases.

Janice's theory is that The Complete Man is targeted at dykes and the dubious warning is in case they get "taken off-guard" whilst under the influence!

The Welsh Bard has his own take on the matter:

Baltzer’s life is in a mess,
Filled with minor ills;
Chris’s life is filled with stress,
So he goes to Boots for pills...

Chris has just turned sixty six,
And he’s always been a bloke
So, if the chemist’s up to tricks,
He doesn’t see the joke...

On the packet, Baltzer reads
The info, ‘til he sees at last,
That every pregnant user needs
To see the doctor pretty fast...

And so his latest health kick ends,
As Chris serves Boots with writs:
He’s male, and doesn’t want his friends
To mock his leaky tits...

It’s far too late for that, you clown –
Your secret’s out, and it’s been logged.
Just take those pills and keep ‘em down,
And let us know when you have sprogged!

Meanwhile, it was "Ground Hog" day for the fifth time at The Princess Hall last Monday night on the occasion of the 2012 Rushmoor in Bloom Awards Ceremony.

Unfortunately, only the Mayor changes and it was another Silver Gilt in The Best Allotment class but considering that I had spent considerably less time "down the plot" this year, it was more than I had expected.

As we seem to spend more and more time away from Farnborough now I have decided to down-size the plot.

Currently I have Plot 24A  and half of Plot24B which I share with my old chum Sav.

Next year I will relinquish my half share and reorganise Plot24A which should make the maintenance a bit easier.

Now that the caravan season is drawing to a close we have two holidays booked - 3 weeks in Pafos in October and 3 weeks in Fuzetta in November/December. Hopefully there will be some good days in January for me to make the changes to the allotment because The Algarve beckons again in February.

Back in Lesley we have entered the Bunn Leisure Best Kept Caravan competition and await the results. With a first prize of £500 and runners up of £300 and £200 at each of the three sites, we thought it was worth making the effort.

It does look really nice and all the credit for the flowers and shrubs must go to Janice. I just buy the plants!

On the Lunar front, The Harvest Moon is coming this weekend! The moon has been waxing larger each night, and full moon is the night of September 29-30, 2012. In traditional skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox came on September 22. That makes the September 29-30 full moon the Harvest Moon.

So why is this moon called the Harvest Moon?

The shorter-than-usual time between moonrises around the full Harvest Moon means no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise for days in succession. In the days before tractor lights, the lamp of the Harvest Moon helped farmers to gather their crops, despite the diminishing daylight hours. As the sun’s light faded in the west, the moon would soon rise in the east to illuminate the fields throughout the night.

Take it away Neil! 

Hey Ho!

Eve of Destruction

In an attempt, probably misguided, to improve my vitamin intake I recently purchased from Mr. Boots the Chemists Son, a product with the grand title of "Boots Complete Man".

Before I took my first capsule I followed the good old adage, "Always read the small print".

Here is what it said on the back of the box:

Boots Complete Man 

• · Formulated specifically for men.
• · Contains 22 essential nutrients.
• · Promotes general health and well-being.
• · 30 Capsules- One a day.

How to Use

• · Always read the product information before use.
• · Take one capsule a day with liquid.

Hazards and Cautions

• Do not exceed the stated dose
• Not suitable for children under 12 years.
• Do not use if foil is broken. 
• During pregnancy and breastfeeding or if trying to become pregnant we suggest that you consult with your pharmacist or doctor before taking this product.

You will notice that I have highlighted two of the bullet points. Am I missing the point here or am I completely out of touch with reality!

Are these capsules designed to turn me into a women and a rather late in life pregnancy!

When I mentioned this to The Young Allotmenteer he suggested that I look on the bright side and at worse after a week of taking the pills I would be able to multitask and make a perfect rhubarb crumble!

What is the world coming to?

The Euro is in crisis, England are taking on Afghanistan at cricket, the Tory Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell is abusing Johnny Plod in public, my mate Gerald Howarth MP has been sacked from his post as Junior Minister of Defence (doubtless Joanna Bloody Lumley had the ear of the PM) and the Royal Family are having to take the European press to court to stop publishing the invasive photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless.

Incidentally it is rumoured that to celebrate Kate Middleton's French media banning order, Royal Dalton are to release a limited edition pair of small commemorative jugs!!!!

What  a nasty world we live in. Here's Barry McGuire's take on the world in 2012:

The original Eve of Destruction was written by P F Sloan  in 1965 and first offered to the Byrds who refused it. Barry McGuires version was released later that year and topped the charts all over the world.

I for one spent at least 10 bob a day to hear it "over and over and over and over again, my friend" on the juke box of a grotty little coffee bar in Ipswich for at least 12 months. At a tanner a play that's a lot of revolutions in a year.

The vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix and was not intended to be the final version, but a copy of the recording "leaked" out to a radio DJ, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit and as a result the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded. McGuire (now 77) recalls that "Eve of Destruction" was recorded in one take on a Thursday morning (from words scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper), and he got a call from the record company at 7:00 the following Monday morning, telling him to turn on the radio—his song was playing.

Let's hear the original one more time just for old times sake:

Still brings me out in goose bumps!

Hey Ho!