Day: December 20, 2010

Why Do We Blindly Following The American Model


“Product placement and annoying sponsorship credits will be introduced to British TV shows in February, unleashing a new era of cynical advertising tactics on UK audiences.“
Why on earth would we product placement, sponsorship alerts and all the other possible irritants thrust into our living rooms.
We already have too many adverts on our TVs. ITV throws up adverts at the most inopportune moments in TV dramas and also during sports events. These spoil the flow of the action and can destroy the atmosphere of a great drama. Sky is worse with seemingly unending commercial breaks. The only benefit being that you can leave the room and make a pot of tea during a Sky break.
At least on BBC and Sky you can watch a movie from start to finish without any breaks so you can totally immerse yourself.
Lets not forget that we already have to suffer DOGs (Digital On-Screen Graphics) on most channels these days. These are already being “enhanced” by the addition of blurb previewing up coming programs. We are not stupid, we know that these are there purely to imprint the brand in our psyche.
Despite what the broadcasters say i.e that the DOGs are there to help us identify their channels when tuning our TVs. What a load of twaddle given how smart the current electronic equipment is . My TV was able to tune all the stations in and identify them all without, I am sure, reading the DOG that was displayed in the corner of the screen.
I have experienced TV around the world and we should feel proud that we have pretty much resisted the worst elements. Our generally blind following of US trends and our now apparent migration to the US style of TV is the thin end of the wedge.
The powers that be in allowing product placement to join all this other visual graffiti are doing us, the great british public, a disservice and I for one, do not want it.

Mail Article Is Misleading


“Distraught children find dead deer entombed in icy lake on ‘magical’ trip to see Father Christmas at country park“
Did any children actually discover these deer ? I doubt it. This is the press sensationlising a mildly interesting story. Yes some children have probably seen parts of some deer projecting from the ice. Did it horrify them or Traumatise them ? I sincerely doubt it.
If  an employee from Whitworth Hall Country Park had reported this I doubt it would have warranted a headline in a national paper.
This is just one of the many sad events that are occurring all over the country while we are locked into this foul weather.
Time for some balanced reporting don’t you think

Brucies Got Talent


If Simon Cowell gets a knighthood and Bruce Forsyth doesn’t that will be a travesty.

Brucie has been entertaining the UK for over 70 years.

What has Simon Cowell done ?

Well he, Cowell has blighted UK television for a start. X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and so forth all prime examples of how money and hype can sway public opinions.

I like a talent show as much as the next person. But the Cowell touch is just too much. These programs are oversold, the acts are over produced. We don’t actually see the natural talent shining through.

I for one am gagging as a result of being force-fed these shows. It’s almost 24/7. There is no let up. You turn on the TV and no matter what show you watch they have to have a guest appearance of the latest Cowell protegé. You can turn from ITV to BBC and see the same folks performing the same songs within an hour or so.

There is so little news that our papers are filled with latest Cowell celebrity “news” to the extent that it precedes real news.

In contrast, Bruce has appeared on our screens for many decades. He elicits real warmth of feeling from the public despite his trademark corny, recycled, jokes. Although every now and agin he does produce a real gem. And he has real talent and charisma, proven by how long he has survived. Also remarkable is the fact, that in an increasingly ageist profession, he is able to continue working.

What is amazing is the fact that he has not yet been nominated for a knighthood.

And why is that ? Is it because he doesn’t line the pockets of our government ministers or more specifically their party coffers.

Over the years it has become increasingly obvious how our governments have become more susceptible to the spin, hype and celebrity promotion of business.

Is this the real reason that the likes of Cowell will be rewarded and Brucie won’t.

Who’s Got Talent ? ….. Brucies Got Talent !!!

Are We Supposed To Feel Sorry For Julian Assange ?


Do you ? Because I don’t.

Assange and WikiLeaks are the worst face of our society today where it seems some people think that it is the publics right to know everything about everyone and beggar the consequences.

What did he expect when he started WikiLeaks ? A pat on the back, awards for journalistic excellence ?

If you run amuck stamping people’s toes you must expect there to be consequences. Or to put it another way, you reap what you sow.

Mr Assange seems keen to propagate the theory that the allegations being made against him by two women in Sweden are part of a smear campaign. Perhaps part of a wider conspiracy that will see him extradited to the US where, perhaps quite rightly, he is scared he will end up.

Recently, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, has indicated that the actions of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have made it difficult to conduct business with friends and allies .

Diplomacy is difficult enough without raising the paranoia levels of everyone involved.
My view, he deserves everything he gets.

Get Juggernauts Off Residential Roads


Before we go any further I don’t really want to get them off the roads completely. There is a place for them but it certainly isn’t delivering to our local Tesco Express.

To be precise, the WATERLOOVILLE LAVENDER ROAD EXPRESS.

Lavender Road is a residential road leading off Frendstaple Road. It is the main access to a number of private homes, an old folks home and the local doctors surgery as well as being the address for the aforementioned Tesco store which has a car park capable of taking nearly 20 vehicles.

This road is regularly compromised by the parking up of  articulated lorries which are waiting their turn to deliver goods to the store.  They are usually waiting because there is already an articulated lorry offloading.

Any vehicle parked in this spot would be causing a hazard but an articulated lorry is well over 40 feet long. If a car was parked in this spot you do have some chance of seeing around it and even some visibility through the windows. An articulated lorry doesn’t give you any visibility through the vehicle, it is significantly wider than a car and also higher.

  1. Quite often lorries parked here do so facing the wrong way. That is to say it is parked on the right hand side of the road, facing the oncoming traffic who, if they are turning left  into Lavender Road, cannot see if there is anything coming towards them until they are already exposed.
    I guess the direction they are facing doesn’t really matter since the obstruction is the same either way.
  2. The folks who were lucky enough to have safely made it into the car park and now wish to leave cannot see round the back end of the trailer (or front) to see those vehicles that are also playing Russian Roulette and about to make the dash along the far side of the trailer.
  3. At peak times in the morning i.e. during the school run this road at its junction with Frendstaple Road becomes very busy. With an articulated lorry parked just short of the junction to say this road becomes congested is an understatement

If there hasn’t already been an accident caused by these trucks I will be very surprised.

The current weather / road conditions has exacerbated the situation.  I was witness to latest milk delivery when the truck driver was struggling to turn his vehicle around so that he could reverse up to the Tesco loading dock. Needless to say his 40ft trailer did not want to go where he wanted it to go as it skated from side to side on the ice. During his many attempts access to the doctor’s surgery, the old folks home and a number of private houses was completely blocked.

Come on Tesco. This is dangerous. Its time for you to rethink the delivery options to your local stores before you cause the death of one of your customers.