Centre of supernatural activity at the Narborough Arms are the tvs, and much like the terrifying regularity of events at 3am in the Amityville Horror, much of the tv related haunting in Narborough happens at roughly 6am when the tv in the room mysteriously tunes itself - EVERY TIME - to the BBC news channel. The only way to exorcise the spirit seems to be to turn the tv off at the mains or unplug it.
The scariest thing was the breakfast on the final day, in which the mound of grey bacon looked like a prop from CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, tortured into a lightly cooked intestine ball
WhicH is all being cruel to the new people running the Narborough Arms who had only been there two days when I got there and were quite prepared to laugh at the various phenomena as much as me. If they get one of the spooks to magic up some wifi they could be onto a winner.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Sunday, 6 November 2011
The new assignment is.. haunted
Obviously... It's haunted as well
Downton Empire
While trying to avoid the news I'm alternating watching episodes of Downton Abbey and Boardwalk Empire. It makes a blood drenched crossover climax seem almost inevitable.
I think I'd like to see if Downton nursing would do any good for Jimmy Darmody and Richard Harrow (I'm thinking *no* but the visit from their pal Al would be spectacular), and what the Dowager Countess and Lady Sybil would make of Atlantic City.
I think I'd like to see if Downton nursing would do any good for Jimmy Darmody and Richard Harrow (I'm thinking *no* but the visit from their pal Al would be spectacular), and what the Dowager Countess and Lady Sybil would make of Atlantic City.
The Higher Sunlit Uplands : How sharing the European project will save Europe, the West and the BRIC nations in the 21st Century
It is difficult to be positive after the G20 in Cannes but let's get things in perspective.
We can choose to be positive. After decades injecting ourselves with credit and the economic Nazism that was Chicago School "God is The Market" Economics, we have woken from the dream world and see things as they really are for the first time. If parts of Europe are still rubbing their eyes to the new light (Italy, France) it is now obvious they will be wide awake to the new reality before long.
The Eurozone crisis, who is in and who is about to leave, is a distraction. It is safe to say after G20 in Cannes the monetary side of the crisis will resolve itself one way or another without outside interference. It is now a sled hurtling downhill, the only thing we can do is hang on and brace ourselves for the bottom. Maybe enjoy the ride as well. Robert Peston will be interesting reading for some time.
The real underlying issue is the lack of growth within Europe alongside overinflated Germany. This prompted the Euro currency crisis and following on from the inevitable sovereign debt shake-up we needn't be gloomy. Things can only improve and we can see a slightly brighter future for the EU even from here.
We are a heading toward an EU Inner Zone, comprising the remains of the Eurozone, with a single currency, free movement across borders and centralised economics and increasingly, centralised politics (out of necessity). This will give the Inner Zone the power they need to restructure and the protection needed for cherished historical institutions like the Common Agricultural policy.
Outside this, but not necessarily on the margins, will be a far more economically liberal EU Outer Zone, likely driven by economies such as UK, Poland and Scandinavia. With the UK driving this this is likely to be far closer to the old Common Market, but without some of the protectionism and restriction required, politically, by the Inner Zone countries.
This might seem like a backward step for the Outer Zone, but could actually be the saviour of the European project and perhaps the West, for as the Inner Zone becomes more integrated, the Outer Zone can be loose and accommodating enough to allow increased membership, as trading partners, to economies on the borders of the EU.
The most obvious candidate for new members on the Outer Zone is Turkey."Turkey’s story is remarkable against the backdrop of the economic crisis. Prior to the recession, the country’s growth rate was among the highest in the OECD world. Its aspiration to join the European Union led to several structural reforms that helped strengthen the country’s macroeconomic framework, including the financial and banking sectors."
Interestingly, one of the reasons Greece was so enthusiastically admitted as a member of the EU was partly to keep Turkey out. Here you can sympathise. Adding Turkey's 89 million to the current tight EU membership rules is unthinkable, but will that old EU last much longer anyway?
The main objection to Turkey being admitted to the old EU was the millions of Turkish workers which would flood over the open border but in more liberal but more domestically controlled environment defined by the EU Outer Zone, without free movement of labour, this would be less of a concern. Human rights issues within Turkey are more of a problem, but such concerns hardly prevented the admission of Bulgaria and Romania. With Turkey actually in the EU economy the problem of illegal immigration from the region might improve, or at least would be easier to control. It could hardly get worse.
Turkey would also be vital as a new element to the Outer Zone economies, in that she could be the first formal example of what could be called a Bridge Economy. With the opportunity for new membership and innovation the Outer Zone could use its geographical advantages to further open up the wider EU market to states beyond EU membership. Turkey could be the EU bridge to the Middle East.
The UK has often been talked about as Europe's bridge to the economies of North America. ("We are stronger with the US because we are in Europe, and a bridge between the two" said Tony Blair in 2002). For the EU Outer Zone this 'bridge' could be formalised in an economic sense, with certain countries of the Outer Zone such as Britain and Turkey designated as "Bridge Economies". Bridge economy status would allow an outer zone EU economy to sign bilateral trade agreements outside EU control assuming trade with the rest of the EU remained unaffected.
Bilateral trade deals between the UK and the similarly less restricted economies of North America (and perhaps previously neglected parts of the Commonwealth, Singapore and Hong Kong for instance) can only be good for the Euro Inner Zone assuming the EU as a whole stays together.
In a similar fashion, ailing Spain and Portugal would be encouraged to act as the EU bridge economies with the booming economies of Latin America.
Are we really serious about helping North Africa get back on its feet? Italy and Greece, assuming their situations have stabilised, would have privileged access to would be the new markets in North Africa. Selling Fiats in Tripoli might be easier than selling Fiats in Hamburg.
What's in it for them? The BRIC nations need markets but also the influence of the rule of law, social justice and human rights. Being lectured from an ivory tower by people with whom they have no social historic connection provokes nothing but ridicule, particularly in the current crisis. Should the British be lecturing the Russians on human rights from London when the Finns can display it first hand across their common border with all the benefits of local diplomacy and tact?
I have no specifics, I am not an economist. Perhaps each bridge economy would evolve into a bridge market, and could feature a sub-currency, in which say a "Euro-sterling" used alongside the £ and the Dollar in the Anglozone/Commonwealth EU bridge market, and with the Euro-Peseta in Spain and South America. Lessons learned from the euro would ensure the sub currencies in the bridge markets would be pegged at a level which balances the strengths of the nations using it. Euro-Lira could depreciate at a level to aid the Italian economy to compete but would be strong and stable enough alternative for North Africa to use as an alternative to their own.
Perhaps the sub-euro currencies could even be introduced sooner rather than later, to offset the damage of states leaving the euro.
Like I say, I'm not an economist, but we are in a dark place now and any future is better than no future.
Earlier this year I drove from Gibraltar, a booming bridge between Spain and North Africa, up to Finland, the Eurozone's booming frontier with Russia. Along the way I fell in love with the beauty of Spain, France, Germany and Scandinavia. It is a magnificent project we have created in Europe and we should be proud of it despite the current difficulties. If we are not prepared to share it perhaps we don't deserve it anyway.
We can choose to be positive. After decades injecting ourselves with credit and the economic Nazism that was Chicago School "God is The Market" Economics, we have woken from the dream world and see things as they really are for the first time. If parts of Europe are still rubbing their eyes to the new light (Italy, France) it is now obvious they will be wide awake to the new reality before long.
The Eurozone crisis, who is in and who is about to leave, is a distraction. It is safe to say after G20 in Cannes the monetary side of the crisis will resolve itself one way or another without outside interference. It is now a sled hurtling downhill, the only thing we can do is hang on and brace ourselves for the bottom. Maybe enjoy the ride as well. Robert Peston will be interesting reading for some time.
The real underlying issue is the lack of growth within Europe alongside overinflated Germany. This prompted the Euro currency crisis and following on from the inevitable sovereign debt shake-up we needn't be gloomy. Things can only improve and we can see a slightly brighter future for the EU even from here.
We are a heading toward an EU Inner Zone, comprising the remains of the Eurozone, with a single currency, free movement across borders and centralised economics and increasingly, centralised politics (out of necessity). This will give the Inner Zone the power they need to restructure and the protection needed for cherished historical institutions like the Common Agricultural policy.
Outside this, but not necessarily on the margins, will be a far more economically liberal EU Outer Zone, likely driven by economies such as UK, Poland and Scandinavia. With the UK driving this this is likely to be far closer to the old Common Market, but without some of the protectionism and restriction required, politically, by the Inner Zone countries.
This might seem like a backward step for the Outer Zone, but could actually be the saviour of the European project and perhaps the West, for as the Inner Zone becomes more integrated, the Outer Zone can be loose and accommodating enough to allow increased membership, as trading partners, to economies on the borders of the EU.
The most obvious candidate for new members on the Outer Zone is Turkey."Turkey’s story is remarkable against the backdrop of the economic crisis. Prior to the recession, the country’s growth rate was among the highest in the OECD world. Its aspiration to join the European Union led to several structural reforms that helped strengthen the country’s macroeconomic framework, including the financial and banking sectors."
Interestingly, one of the reasons Greece was so enthusiastically admitted as a member of the EU was partly to keep Turkey out. Here you can sympathise. Adding Turkey's 89 million to the current tight EU membership rules is unthinkable, but will that old EU last much longer anyway?
The main objection to Turkey being admitted to the old EU was the millions of Turkish workers which would flood over the open border but in more liberal but more domestically controlled environment defined by the EU Outer Zone, without free movement of labour, this would be less of a concern. Human rights issues within Turkey are more of a problem, but such concerns hardly prevented the admission of Bulgaria and Romania. With Turkey actually in the EU economy the problem of illegal immigration from the region might improve, or at least would be easier to control. It could hardly get worse.
Turkey would also be vital as a new element to the Outer Zone economies, in that she could be the first formal example of what could be called a Bridge Economy. With the opportunity for new membership and innovation the Outer Zone could use its geographical advantages to further open up the wider EU market to states beyond EU membership. Turkey could be the EU bridge to the Middle East.
The UK has often been talked about as Europe's bridge to the economies of North America. ("We are stronger with the US because we are in Europe, and a bridge between the two" said Tony Blair in 2002). For the EU Outer Zone this 'bridge' could be formalised in an economic sense, with certain countries of the Outer Zone such as Britain and Turkey designated as "Bridge Economies". Bridge economy status would allow an outer zone EU economy to sign bilateral trade agreements outside EU control assuming trade with the rest of the EU remained unaffected.
Bilateral trade deals between the UK and the similarly less restricted economies of North America (and perhaps previously neglected parts of the Commonwealth, Singapore and Hong Kong for instance) can only be good for the Euro Inner Zone assuming the EU as a whole stays together.
In a similar fashion, ailing Spain and Portugal would be encouraged to act as the EU bridge economies with the booming economies of Latin America.
Are we really serious about helping North Africa get back on its feet? Italy and Greece, assuming their situations have stabilised, would have privileged access to would be the new markets in North Africa. Selling Fiats in Tripoli might be easier than selling Fiats in Hamburg.
What's in it for them? The BRIC nations need markets but also the influence of the rule of law, social justice and human rights. Being lectured from an ivory tower by people with whom they have no social historic connection provokes nothing but ridicule, particularly in the current crisis. Should the British be lecturing the Russians on human rights from London when the Finns can display it first hand across their common border with all the benefits of local diplomacy and tact?
I have no specifics, I am not an economist. Perhaps each bridge economy would evolve into a bridge market, and could feature a sub-currency, in which say a "Euro-sterling" used alongside the £ and the Dollar in the Anglozone/Commonwealth EU bridge market, and with the Euro-Peseta in Spain and South America. Lessons learned from the euro would ensure the sub currencies in the bridge markets would be pegged at a level which balances the strengths of the nations using it. Euro-Lira could depreciate at a level to aid the Italian economy to compete but would be strong and stable enough alternative for North Africa to use as an alternative to their own.
Perhaps the sub-euro currencies could even be introduced sooner rather than later, to offset the damage of states leaving the euro.
Like I say, I'm not an economist, but we are in a dark place now and any future is better than no future.
Earlier this year I drove from Gibraltar, a booming bridge between Spain and North Africa, up to Finland, the Eurozone's booming frontier with Russia. Along the way I fell in love with the beauty of Spain, France, Germany and Scandinavia. It is a magnificent project we have created in Europe and we should be proud of it despite the current difficulties. If we are not prepared to share it perhaps we don't deserve it anyway.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
HOLY FLYING CIRCUS vs COMIC STRIP PRESENTS : THE HUNT FOR TONY BLAIR review
Holy Flying Circus covers the storm of protest in 1979 Britain at the release of Christian bating masterpiece Monty Python's Life of Brian, culminating in the confrontation between ranting John Cleese, nice guy Micheal Palin and the Bishop of Southwark and 1970s renta-grouch Malcom Muggeridge.
The first bad sign is when you realise this hugely anticipated drama comedy is being premièred midweek, on BBC4, opposite the Champions League games. It looks like its being buried.
Holy Flying Circus is presented right out front as surreal fantasy and includes Stephen Fry (briefly) as God, but the most surreal concept prompted by Holy Flying Circus is that they could be trivialising Monty Python. That is ridiculous, as is my generations deification of them; but the reaction against Life of Brian was no joke. It demonstrated the gulf between British Christianity and treatment of religion elsewhere. At the time it seemed like religion had been dealt a lingering death blow by a few comedians. Looking back now it was a sudden dip on the road toward 9/11. Life of Brian is silly, but it's not trivial.
Holy Flying Circus is presented right out front as surreal fantasy and includes Stephen Fry (briefly) as God, but the most surreal concept prompted by Holy Flying Circus is that they could be trivialising Monty Python. That is ridiculous, as is my generations deification of them; but the reaction against Life of Brian was no joke. It demonstrated the gulf between British Christianity and treatment of religion elsewhere. At the time it seemed like religion had been dealt a lingering death blow by a few comedians. Looking back now it was a sudden dip on the road toward 9/11. Life of Brian is silly, but it's not trivial.
Initial exposure to Holy Flying Circus is jarring. Post Goon situation surrealism of the 1960s sits uneasily with post 2000 Mighty Boosh character based surrealism. The seriously showy performances by the mostly unknown comics starts to really irritate after a while, with the most obvious example being Darren Boyd playing John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, quite a daring idea that ends up insulting to all concerned.
For all it's many faults Python treated it's audience with some respect. (As a kid I loved that a comedy show assumed I knew the Philosophers in the song without making an issue of it. You didn't get that on Benny Hill). Darren Boyd > as Basil Fawlty > as John Cleese is like being treated like a soap fan who doesn't know the difference between William Roach and Ken Barlow.
That said.. Holy Flying Circus is often funny and worth watching. It looks like a good script that was undermined by a producer and performers trying to recreate the 'imaginations' of 24 Hour Party People. Although virtually everyone else involved is bad, the team playing the Pythons are great to watch, with particular stand out performances from Tom Fisher as Graham Chapman and Charles Edwards as Palin. Also worth noting Micheal Cochrane as the insufferable Muggeridge, who was every bit the pompous twit that he looks in this surreal version. I'm sure second time round I would enjoy it more.
Worth noting that though the anti-Life of Brian protest was itself big at the time, the Pythons vs Bishops confrontation incident was hardly Bill Grundy vs The Sex Pistols. Most of the world knows of it from the brilliant send up on the cutting edge satirical tv comedy of the late 1970s : Not The Nine O'Clock News.
This week we were also treated to the one of return of The Comic Strip Presents.. in The Hunt For Tony Blair. While Not The Nine O'Clock News had political tv satire sewn up on the BBC, Comic Strip Presents.. was an atempt by the then brand new 'alternative' Channel 4 to artificially create its own 80s Python troupe by hoovering up all the new 'alternative' comics resident in London's then super hip Comic Strip comedy club. Rik Mayal, Aidrian Edmunson, Nigel Planer, French and Saunders, Robbie Coltrane and co were all launched on Channel 4's first night in Five Go Mad in Dorset, just a week before their sitcom debuts in the BBCs The Young Ones, without the Comic Strip writer and director Peter Richardson.
The apex of Comic Strip is probably 1987s slapstick gangster masterpiece Mr Jolly Lives Next Door (currently 8.8/10 on IMDB) but the troupe, even more so than Python, is famously hit and miss, particularly on the big screen. The Supergrass and Eat The Rich hardly rate against the Python films.
Comic Strip Presents tv one-offs have been an occasional treat ever since. For 2011's The Hunt For Tony Blair some new faces have been added, most notably Stephen Mangan (Guy Secretan in Green Wing) as ex Prime Minister Tony Blair caught in a 1950s styled fugitive drama. There are others in this, notably Jennifer Saunders as Mrs Thatcher and Nigel Planer as Peter Mandelson, but if you find Mangan's version of Blair funny you'll love it. A simpering idiot parroting content from his gospel/autobiography while protected by a halo of good fortune, it's possible this version of Blair would go down with Thandie Newton's Condoleeza Rice, Will Ferrell's George W and even Tina Fey's Sara Palin as the definitive portrayal, at least for me.
Treading water in the storm
Following the return from Fraserburgh I've been trying to hold out for a longer contract.. somewhere.. which seems extremely risky as the financial world goes into meltdown
I've been using the following distractions
Crimson Skies
Mad Men series 3 & 4
and some new versions of classic Brit comedy (see next post)
and I have developed a thing for Tina Fey's 30 Rock
I've been using the following distractions
Crimson Skies
Mad Men series 3 & 4
and some new versions of classic Brit comedy (see next post)
and I have developed a thing for Tina Fey's 30 Rock
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Preparing for drive from Fraserbrough to Bristol
What's that quote from The Blues Brothers ...
Heading back early Friday morning, this is what I have in the car
German hands free kit
new Music
Kasabian
Mastodon
Older new music
Pj Harvey: U Hu Her
MC5: Best of
Plus new car compilation
I've a hankering for heavy now the weather has changed ( set off from Devon two weeks ago in 25 degree heat, 6 hours of M5/M6 traffic jams listening to SuperHeavy and B52s Wild Planet)
I am addicted to the following podcasts and have saved up weeks of the following;
Best of the left
Football weekly
(both of the above funnier than any comedy podcast)
NPR Car Talk
Filmspotting
BBC Radio World Football Phone-in
And also ...
Dan Carlins Hardcore history, Death Throes of The Republic, drawing non too subtle allusions about the fate of Rome and the current state of US politics.
On previous trip in 08 driving The Walrus (my old Skoda Fabia) from Edinburgh to Reading in a day I listened to Dan Carlins three part history of The Punic Wars, which helped put my life in perspective.
Car prep based on trans continental experience - water, fruit, chewing gum and recent treat - coffee beans
Three sets of sunglasses
Would really like to be driving back over Cairngorms but want to clear Aberdeen before nasty morning traffic. Pit stop strategy on long trips is to time your stops before and to coincide with traffic bottlenecks like rush hour on M6, Birmingham and Bristol
So I aim to stop, probably for breakfast and a nap, at about 8.30-9.30
Have to be careful using Today Show and Podcasts as they make me sleepy, and Radio 5 (or more accurately what it has become) just annoys the hell out of me
I'll try and blog in transit
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