The problem with top of the table deciders is that, in Promroiship terms, they always end up in draws. Luckily, however, in the Promroiship, Chelsea have fallen well behind Manchester United over the weeks as the BBC (and everyone else) regarded Arsenal as the title challengers. Yesterdays big match ended up with Manchester United returning to the top of the Promroiship and looking likely to win the inaugural Promroiship title.
Reading, however, are putting up a great challenge, only conceding seven points to Manchester United after their nil-nil bore draw with Wigan featured fifth on Match of the Day, but ended getting the second highest Promroiship score of the day. With the running order being decided more by the effect on the important parts of the Premier League table rather than the quality of the matches (or number of goals scored), we saw some high scoring matches being left very late on with the last two not actually scoring any points in the Promroiship; they might as well have stayed at home. Even Gary Lineker remarked upon this as he presented the last match, a meaningless mid-table fixture between West Ham and Newcastle. Given this, the running order yesterday probably could not be faulted unless you live in the North East and had to wait until the penultimate match to see an exciting local derby between Sunderland and Middlesborough.
Just to remind you, weekly points are calculated using the formula (m-g)*n where
m is the points for position in the running order (10 for appearing in first match, 9 for second etc)
g is the number of goals in match
n is the number of Premier League matches on MOTD
Promroiship Results April 26th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Chelsea v Manchester United...49
Manchester City v Fulham......28
Birmingham City v Liverpool...28
Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton....35
Wigan Athletic v Reading......42
Sunderland v Middlesborough....0
West Ham v Newcastle United....0
The Promroiship Table after Round 17
Manchester United ...510*
Reading .............505*
Arsenal .............469
Fulham ..............470*
Birmingham City......405*
Chelsea .............395*
Bolton Wanderers ....382*
Tottenham Hotspur....375*
West Ham United......368*
Sunderland ..........357*
Newcastle United.....347*
Manchester City .....335*
Liverpool ...........327*
Middlesbrough .......322*
Portsmouth ..........300
Wigan Athletic ......298*
Aston Villa .........290
Everton .............289
Blackburn Rovers.....253
Derby County.........219
* indicates match played in Round 17
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Can't Stop! Hemming Time!
According to the Stirrer, John Hemming has released a new single highlighting injustice in the family courts ("Help the Children?"). His music career has known better days, however, having been a huge superstar in the early 90's. I have a copy of one of his earlier albums.Well, I've never seen them in the same room.
Picture courtesy of John Hemming.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Candidate Apathy
We hear a lot about voter apathy, but what about when the candidates cannot even be bothered with democracy?
I went to the Balsall Heath Hustings last night, looking forward to listening to a debate between the candidates so I could decide who to vote for having recently moved to the area. When I got there, I was very disappointed to find that only two candidates had turned up, namely the Respect candidate and the Conservative candidate. Clearly the candidates for the Labour Party, the Lib Dems, the Greens, the BNP and the Independent Community Party had more important things to do. Apparently Mohammed Azim, the Labour party candidate has not been present at the hustings for the last three years!
This leaves me in a bit of a problem. I was not planning on voting for either of the parties who actually turned up. What should I do?
It looks like I have three options:
1) Vote for one of the parties that turned up. At least they care, even if I do not agree with what they stand for
2) Give the candidates who did not turn up the benefit of the doubt and vote based on election literature, or relevant ward, local and/ or national issues?
3) Follow the example of the majority of the candidates, reject my democratic rights and do something more important instead?
I am being serious when I say my vote is up for grabs, so please, whatever your party allegiance, use the comments below to inform me of what you think the important issues are at this election and who I should vote for. All comments will be considered seriously.
For context, the 2007 results were as follows:
Sparkbrook Ward, Birmingham City Council
A review of the husting is available here.
I went to the Balsall Heath Hustings last night, looking forward to listening to a debate between the candidates so I could decide who to vote for having recently moved to the area. When I got there, I was very disappointed to find that only two candidates had turned up, namely the Respect candidate and the Conservative candidate. Clearly the candidates for the Labour Party, the Lib Dems, the Greens, the BNP and the Independent Community Party had more important things to do. Apparently Mohammed Azim, the Labour party candidate has not been present at the hustings for the last three years!
This leaves me in a bit of a problem. I was not planning on voting for either of the parties who actually turned up. What should I do?
It looks like I have three options:
1) Vote for one of the parties that turned up. At least they care, even if I do not agree with what they stand for
2) Give the candidates who did not turn up the benefit of the doubt and vote based on election literature, or relevant ward, local and/ or national issues?
3) Follow the example of the majority of the candidates, reject my democratic rights and do something more important instead?
I am being serious when I say my vote is up for grabs, so please, whatever your party allegiance, use the comments below to inform me of what you think the important issues are at this election and who I should vote for. All comments will be considered seriously.
For context, the 2007 results were as follows:
Sparkbrook Ward, Birmingham City Council
| Candidate | Party | Number of Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Shokat Ali | Community Independent Party (UK) | 503 |
| Charles John Alldrick | The Green Party | 310 |
| Mohammed Azim | The Labour Party | 2503 |
| Arthur Charles Botterill | British National Party | 106 |
| Anwar Hussain | The Conservative Party | 548 |
| Mohammed Ishtiaq | Respect | 3514 |
| Dilawar Khan | Liberal Democrat | 919 |
| Candidate Elected - Mohammed Ishtiaq | ||
A review of the husting is available here.
Monday, April 21, 2008
A River of Blood
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech made by Enoch Powell in the Midland Hotel in Birmingham. I do not know what to make of Mr Powell, who was probably as far from a caricature of a knuckle-dragging racist as you could get, and was actually a very intelligent guy who had a great understanding of other cultures and could speak around 10 languages. I will mark the anniversary by having a go at his less spectacular self-appointed heir, former PPC for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, local Tory-nut Nigel Hastilow, who not so long ago came up with the original idea that Enoch Powell was right.
In his recent tribute to the speech in the Torygraph, he comes up with the following classic quote, the kind that has been appearing on his blog for the two years or more since I have been linking to it, well before he became famous for that article in the Express & Swastika:
Well let's work it out Mr Hastilow. The Roe River disputedly holds the title of the shortest river in the world (along with the D river). Unfortunately, I cannot find any information on the volume of either, but the Spring that discharges water into the Roe River, on its way to the River Missouri, conservatively discharges around 150 million gallons of water a day.
The average human body contains around 10 pints of blood. I think that is British Imperial compared to the probable American Imperial figure quoted above. For the purposes of the calculation it is unimportant, as I am estimating and the difference is not that huge. There are 8 pints in every gallon, which leads me to conclude that 120 million human beings would have to die through acts related to immigrantion for a river of blood to flow for one day. That is twice the population of the United Kingdom.
Nigel Hastilow need not be to disheartend. We could have chosen a longer river with a smaller throughput. Or perhaps the river only needs to flow for a few seconds. Nonetheless, there would have to be a hell of a lot more immigration and killings related to it before we could describe the result as a "river of blood".
If my calculations above are correct, using this definition as a river, neither 7/7 (52 people) nor 9/11 (3000 people) nor the Iraq War (very conservatively 30,000) nor even the Jewish Holocaust (6 million) come close to becoming a river. You have to start thinking in terms of the Bubonic Plague (75 to 200 million) or the two World Wars combined (20 million in the first, 70 million in the second, a total of 90 million according to Wikipedia; a more consevative 70 million total on this website) to get close. Many right-wingers claim that Communism is responsible for the deaths of 100 million people, while some estimates (particularly by black historians) of deaths caused by the global slave trade in Africans come up with a figure of around 50 - 100 million as a conservative figure (eg see the Black Holocaust for Beginners), although classical counts are around 10-20 million.
Was there a point to this macabre post? I was trying to show that emotive language adds nothing to the real issues caused by immigration. Enoch Powell never used the term "Rivers of Blood" (although arguably he said much worse). That task was left to his modern day wannabes, whose sensationalist drivel makes more noise that real evidence ever could.
In his recent tribute to the speech in the Torygraph, he comes up with the following classic quote, the kind that has been appearing on his blog for the two years or more since I have been linking to it, well before he became famous for that article in the Express & Swastika:
There have been plenty of incidents, from the riots of the Eighties to the 7/7 London bombings, where blood has been shed and where, one way or another, immigration might be blamed. How much blood constitutes a river?
Well let's work it out Mr Hastilow. The Roe River disputedly holds the title of the shortest river in the world (along with the D river). Unfortunately, I cannot find any information on the volume of either, but the Spring that discharges water into the Roe River, on its way to the River Missouri, conservatively discharges around 150 million gallons of water a day.
The average human body contains around 10 pints of blood. I think that is British Imperial compared to the probable American Imperial figure quoted above. For the purposes of the calculation it is unimportant, as I am estimating and the difference is not that huge. There are 8 pints in every gallon, which leads me to conclude that 120 million human beings would have to die through acts related to immigrantion for a river of blood to flow for one day. That is twice the population of the United Kingdom.
Nigel Hastilow need not be to disheartend. We could have chosen a longer river with a smaller throughput. Or perhaps the river only needs to flow for a few seconds. Nonetheless, there would have to be a hell of a lot more immigration and killings related to it before we could describe the result as a "river of blood".
If my calculations above are correct, using this definition as a river, neither 7/7 (52 people) nor 9/11 (3000 people) nor the Iraq War (very conservatively 30,000) nor even the Jewish Holocaust (6 million) come close to becoming a river. You have to start thinking in terms of the Bubonic Plague (75 to 200 million) or the two World Wars combined (20 million in the first, 70 million in the second, a total of 90 million according to Wikipedia; a more consevative 70 million total on this website) to get close. Many right-wingers claim that Communism is responsible for the deaths of 100 million people, while some estimates (particularly by black historians) of deaths caused by the global slave trade in Africans come up with a figure of around 50 - 100 million as a conservative figure (eg see the Black Holocaust for Beginners), although classical counts are around 10-20 million.
Was there a point to this macabre post? I was trying to show that emotive language adds nothing to the real issues caused by immigration. Enoch Powell never used the term "Rivers of Blood" (although arguably he said much worse). That task was left to his modern day wannabes, whose sensationalist drivel makes more noise that real evidence ever could.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
A Tight Finish
(sigh) It looked like being such a good season. After yesterdays matches, however, it now looks as if the Blues will be relegated and the SCUM may end up with the double.
Or a treble. Manchester United closed the gap at the top of the Promroiship after being first on Match of the Day despite taking part in the late kick-off which usually runs later in the show. The BBC clearly believed the draw against Blackburn was more important than the twists and turns taking place in the relegation battle. The Promroiship now looks set for an exciting finish, with only 8 points separating the top three teams. Despite being third, I rate Manchester United favourites now that Arsenal's Premier League title hopes are over, unless Reading can create an upset by being involved in some low scoring relegation battles in the last few games. It may well depend upon how quickly the Premier League title is decided.
Promroiship Results April 19th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Blackburn v Man United...48
Middlesborough v Bolton..48
Fulham v Liverpool.......36
Arsenal v Reading........30
Wign v Tottenham.........24
West Ham v Derby.........12
The Promroiship Table after Round 16
Arsenal .............469*
Reading .............463*
Manchester United ...461*
Fulham ..............442*
Birmingham City......377
West Ham United......368*
Sunderland ..........357
Newcastle United.....347
Bolton Wanderers ....347*
Chelsea .............346
Tottenham Hotspur....340*
Middlesbrough .......322*
Manchester City .....307
Portsmouth ..........300
Liverpool ...........299*
Aston Villa .........290
Everton .............289
Wigan Athletic ......256*
Blackburn Rovers.....253*
Derby County.........219*
* indicates match played in Round 16
Or a treble. Manchester United closed the gap at the top of the Promroiship after being first on Match of the Day despite taking part in the late kick-off which usually runs later in the show. The BBC clearly believed the draw against Blackburn was more important than the twists and turns taking place in the relegation battle. The Promroiship now looks set for an exciting finish, with only 8 points separating the top three teams. Despite being third, I rate Manchester United favourites now that Arsenal's Premier League title hopes are over, unless Reading can create an upset by being involved in some low scoring relegation battles in the last few games. It may well depend upon how quickly the Premier League title is decided.
Promroiship Results April 19th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Blackburn v Man United...48
Middlesborough v Bolton..48
Fulham v Liverpool.......36
Arsenal v Reading........30
Wign v Tottenham.........24
West Ham v Derby.........12
The Promroiship Table after Round 16
Arsenal .............469*
Reading .............463*
Manchester United ...461*
Fulham ..............442*
Birmingham City......377
West Ham United......368*
Sunderland ..........357
Newcastle United.....347
Bolton Wanderers ....347*
Chelsea .............346
Tottenham Hotspur....340*
Middlesbrough .......322*
Manchester City .....307
Portsmouth ..........300
Liverpool ...........299*
Aston Villa .........290
Everton .............289
Wigan Athletic ......256*
Blackburn Rovers.....253*
Derby County.........219*
* indicates match played in Round 16
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Boycott London 2012
As the Olympic torch arrives in India, home of a largest exiled Tibetan community, on its round the world tour, there have been more demonstrations against China's occupation of Tibet following the ones in Europe and America last week. I think it is great that what was intended to be a propaganda coup by the Chinese government has ended up as being a great advert for the Free Tibet campaign. The truth is Beijing should never have got the Olympics, although it has to be said that part of the reason the IOC did award the Olympics to Beijing was because the government claimed improved human rights was going to be one of the legacies.
However, awarding 2008 to Beijing was not the last mistake the IOC made. They dropped an even bigger clanger by awarding 2012 games to London. Hopefully the run-up to two weeks of national embarrassment will be preceded by round the world demonstrations against the awarding of the games to this "world-class city". Here are some of the things one could protest about:
Operation Iraqi Liberation (do not worry, in four years we will still be there)
Free Afghanistan
Free the Chagos Islands
Libere Las Malvinas
Free Scotland
Unite Ireland
Free Wales
Free Cornwall
Free Birmingham
Or even better, perhaps the United Kingdom of Greater London could make the M25 into a moat and declare independence. Then we could all sod off. I am struggling to think of a catchy slogan for this cause however.
Any ideas?
However, awarding 2008 to Beijing was not the last mistake the IOC made. They dropped an even bigger clanger by awarding 2012 games to London. Hopefully the run-up to two weeks of national embarrassment will be preceded by round the world demonstrations against the awarding of the games to this "world-class city". Here are some of the things one could protest about:
Operation Iraqi Liberation (do not worry, in four years we will still be there)
Free Afghanistan
Free the Chagos Islands
Libere Las Malvinas
Free Scotland
Unite Ireland
Free Wales
Free Cornwall
Free Birmingham
Or even better, perhaps the United Kingdom of Greater London could make the M25 into a moat and declare independence. Then we could all sod off. I am struggling to think of a catchy slogan for this cause however.
Any ideas?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Derby Hit for Six
With the big four not playing, it was a chance for those involved in the Premier League's relegation battle to get some much needed exposure on MOTD, with Reading taking full advantage and moving up to second in the Promroiship, overtaking Manchester United, whose recent fixation with Sunday fixtures seems to have derailed their Promroiship hopes.
There could not be much argument with the running order on MOTD last night. The first match featured two clubs invovled in the relegation battle, the next the other team in the relegation zone and then the fourth-from-bottom club against one chasing fourth place. Derby escaped being last by being thumped six-nil by Aston Villa, a high-scoring match which heightened their chances of finishing last in the Promroiship; despite their main rivals Blackburn not playing, they only picked up seven points as a result, lifting them above Blackburn by only two points, a margin they should have increased by much more.
The programme continued with the Sunderland match, a team who are not completely safe, and then two mid-table obscurity matches, ending with a goalless draw at Porstmouth. Pompey may already be in the cup final, but if they do not ruthlessly chase 5th place in the Premier League they could end up with a very disappointing Promroiship position.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of Premier League matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results April 12th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Reading v Fulham...........56
Bolton v West Ham..........56
Birmingham v Everton.......42
Derby v Aston Villa........7
Sunderland v Man City......21
Tottenham v Middlesbrough..21
Portsmouth v Newcastle.....28
The Promroiship Table after Round 15
Arsenal .............439
Reading .............433*
Manchester United ...413
Fulham ..............406*
Birmingham City......377*
Sunderland ..........357*
West Ham United......356*
Newcastle United.....347*
Chelsea .............346
Tottenham Hotspur....316*
Manchester City .....307*
Portsmouth ..........300*
Bolton Wanderers ....299*
Aston Villa .........290*
Everton .............289*
Middlesbrough .......274*
Liverpool ...........263
Wigan Athletic ......232
Derby County.........207*
Blackburn Rovers.....205
* indicates match played in Round 15
There could not be much argument with the running order on MOTD last night. The first match featured two clubs invovled in the relegation battle, the next the other team in the relegation zone and then the fourth-from-bottom club against one chasing fourth place. Derby escaped being last by being thumped six-nil by Aston Villa, a high-scoring match which heightened their chances of finishing last in the Promroiship; despite their main rivals Blackburn not playing, they only picked up seven points as a result, lifting them above Blackburn by only two points, a margin they should have increased by much more.
The programme continued with the Sunderland match, a team who are not completely safe, and then two mid-table obscurity matches, ending with a goalless draw at Porstmouth. Pompey may already be in the cup final, but if they do not ruthlessly chase 5th place in the Premier League they could end up with a very disappointing Promroiship position.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of Premier League matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results April 12th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Reading v Fulham...........56
Bolton v West Ham..........56
Birmingham v Everton.......42
Derby v Aston Villa........7
Sunderland v Man City......21
Tottenham v Middlesbrough..21
Portsmouth v Newcastle.....28
The Promroiship Table after Round 15
Arsenal .............439
Reading .............433*
Manchester United ...413
Fulham ..............406*
Birmingham City......377*
Sunderland ..........357*
West Ham United......356*
Newcastle United.....347*
Chelsea .............346
Tottenham Hotspur....316*
Manchester City .....307*
Portsmouth ..........300*
Bolton Wanderers ....299*
Aston Villa .........290*
Everton .............289*
Middlesbrough .......274*
Liverpool ...........263
Wigan Athletic ......232
Derby County.........207*
Blackburn Rovers.....205
* indicates match played in Round 15
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Will Blackburn Finish Ninth?
As I pointed out in my last post, some computer problems prevented me from posting this earlier in the week, but it will take more than a dodgy processor to stop the People's Republic updating the world on Birmingham's greatest fictional league competition.
With Manchester United playing Middlesbrough on Sunday, Arsenal took full advantage of their Saturday fixture to take the top spot in week 14 of the Promroiship. The other two of the big four also featured in the first two matches on the Beeb's flagship footie programme, with the FA Cup semi-final separating them from thetrash rest of the show. It got me thinking of how I should deal with the positioning of non-Premier League matches (and possibly evening kick-offs, which tend to feature later on the show) in the scoring system should I continue to run this next year. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to post them in the comments.
After the FA Cup break, the BBC decided to concentrate on the relegation battle, but decided that matches with one team involved the the battle (Bolton and Reading) were more important than the match between Wigan and Birmingham, where both teams were (before the match at least) in trouble at the wrong end of the table. With Derby not playing, Blackburn managed to get themselves off the bottom despite featuring in the last match, a mid-table obscurity battle with Tottenham. Will they finish ninth? The BBC apparently could not give two hoots.
Promroiship Results April 5th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Arsenal v Liverpool....56
Man City v Chelsea.....49
Fulham v Sunderland....28
Aston Villa v Bolton...21
Newcastle v Reading....21
Wigan v Birmingham.....21
Blackburn v Tottenham..14
The Promroiship Table after Round 14
Arsenal .............439*
Manchester United ...413
Reading .............377*
Fulham ..............350*
Chelsea .............346*
Sunderland ..........336*
Birmingham City......335*
Newcastle United.....319*
West Ham United......300
Tottenham Hotspur....295*
Manchester City .....286*
Aston Villa .........283*
Portsmouth ..........272
Liverpool ...........263*
Middlesbrough .......253
Everton .............247
Bolton Wanderers ....243*
Wigan Athletic ......232*
Blackburn Rovers.....205*
Derby County.........200
With Manchester United playing Middlesbrough on Sunday, Arsenal took full advantage of their Saturday fixture to take the top spot in week 14 of the Promroiship. The other two of the big four also featured in the first two matches on the Beeb's flagship footie programme, with the FA Cup semi-final separating them from the
After the FA Cup break, the BBC decided to concentrate on the relegation battle, but decided that matches with one team involved the the battle (Bolton and Reading) were more important than the match between Wigan and Birmingham, where both teams were (before the match at least) in trouble at the wrong end of the table. With Derby not playing, Blackburn managed to get themselves off the bottom despite featuring in the last match, a mid-table obscurity battle with Tottenham. Will they finish ninth? The BBC apparently could not give two hoots.
Promroiship Results April 5th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Arsenal v Liverpool....56
Man City v Chelsea.....49
Fulham v Sunderland....28
Aston Villa v Bolton...21
Newcastle v Reading....21
Wigan v Birmingham.....21
Blackburn v Tottenham..14
The Promroiship Table after Round 14
Arsenal .............439*
Manchester United ...413
Reading .............377*
Fulham ..............350*
Chelsea .............346*
Sunderland ..........336*
Birmingham City......335*
Newcastle United.....319*
West Ham United......300
Tottenham Hotspur....295*
Manchester City .....286*
Aston Villa .........283*
Portsmouth ..........272
Liverpool ...........263*
Middlesbrough .......253
Everton .............247
Bolton Wanderers ....243*
Wigan Athletic ......232*
Blackburn Rovers.....205*
Derby County.........200
Monday, April 07, 2008
Downtime
Typical. Had a week off and planned some daily blogging on a variety of interesting topics when my computer decides it has had enough. Luckily, I had already bought a new one. Unfortunately, it runs on Windows Vista which is incompatible with my existing modem. After trying unsuccessfully to find a compatible modem at PC World, I have decided to upgrade to wireless which I can get free if I upgrade my current internet package (it is actually faster and cheaper than the package I am on!). Unfortunately, it will take ten to fourteen days to arrive, which means blogging will be very light for the next couple of weeks, probably limited to updating the Promroiship table. The weekend's results will appear over the next couple of days.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Nifty Fifty
If his first post is anything to go by, this Birmingham-based blog will be brilliant. I used to be a frequent traveller on what is generally regarded as the best bus service in Birmingham. I think killing the planet by global warming may well be more humane.
Hope this blog continues. Too many do not make it past the first year. What we need is a trust fund to help those blogs abandoned by their authors. Or a new reality TV series where someone like Tim Ireland or Iain Dale goes around rescuing abandoned blogs.
Update 16:05: Also linked to The Cowfield, Bob the Black Country Brummie and Methodist Preacher in the Greater Birmingham Blogs area. If you have/ know of a good West Midlands blog please e-mail me at the address on the right-hand bar. If you link to me and have not got a link back please also use this e-mail address to let me know. Please note that I am unlikely to link to blogs of an extremist nature.
Hope this blog continues. Too many do not make it past the first year. What we need is a trust fund to help those blogs abandoned by their authors. Or a new reality TV series where someone like Tim Ireland or Iain Dale goes around rescuing abandoned blogs.
Update 16:05: Also linked to The Cowfield, Bob the Black Country Brummie and Methodist Preacher in the Greater Birmingham Blogs area. If you have/ know of a good West Midlands blog please e-mail me at the address on the right-hand bar. If you link to me and have not got a link back please also use this e-mail address to let me know. Please note that I am unlikely to link to blogs of an extremist nature.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Derby Down but Not Out
Four goal Man United broke the 400 point barrier in the Promroiship, as they and fellow Promroiship rivals Arsenal increased the gap between them and the rest by 7 points. The complicated scoring system really came into its own this weekend, with Derby v Fulham receiving the lowest points total this weekend despite not being last on MOTD. Presumably, even the BBC believed the relegation of a Midlands team was newsworthy. However, relegating a four goal thriller to fifth in the running order, behind a three goal match involving Sunderland and West Ham and a couple of other four goal matches, saw a pitiful return for an uncharacteristically early Derby appearance on Match of the Day. Reading v Blackburn's nil-nil bore draw picked up the same amount of points as the matches at Birmingham and Sunderland, where more goals were scored so the elevated position in the running order was justified. Liverpool's appearance in Sunday's Merseyside derby drops them into would be the relegation places in a normal league. Fans may forgive Benitez for their team's pitiful performance in the Premier League while they regularly reach the Champions League final, but will they forgive such poor performances by the Reds in the Promroiship?
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 29th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Bolton v Arsenal........35
Man Utd v Aston Villa...35
Birmingham v Man City...28
Sunderland v West Ham...28
Derby v Fulham..........14
Portsmouth v Wigan......21
Reading v Blackburn.....28
The Promroiship Table after Round 13
Manchester United ...413*
Arsenal .............383*
Reading .............356*
Fulham ..............322*
Birmingham City......314*
Sunderland ..........308*
West Ham United......300*
Newcastle United.....298
Chelsea .............297
Tottenham Hotspur....281
Portsmouth ..........272*
Aston Villa .........262*
Middlesbrough .......253
Everton .............247
Manchester City .....237*
Bolton Wanderers ....222*
Wigan Athletic ......211*
Liverpool ...........207
Derby County.........200*
Blackburn Rovers.....191*
* indicates match played in Round 13
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 29th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Bolton v Arsenal........35
Man Utd v Aston Villa...35
Birmingham v Man City...28
Sunderland v West Ham...28
Derby v Fulham..........14
Portsmouth v Wigan......21
Reading v Blackburn.....28
The Promroiship Table after Round 13
Manchester United ...413*
Arsenal .............383*
Reading .............356*
Fulham ..............322*
Birmingham City......314*
Sunderland ..........308*
West Ham United......300*
Newcastle United.....298
Chelsea .............297
Tottenham Hotspur....281
Portsmouth ..........272*
Aston Villa .........262*
Middlesbrough .......253
Everton .............247
Manchester City .....237*
Bolton Wanderers ....222*
Wigan Athletic ......211*
Liverpool ...........207
Derby County.........200*
Blackburn Rovers.....191*
* indicates match played in Round 13
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Buggers Broadcasting Christianity
Readers of this blog probably know that I am not the biggest fan of the BBC, in particular the way it is funded. However, I must give credit where credit is due and praise their most recent historical drama in association with HBO, The Passion. Unlike the film of a similar name, it was not gratuitously violent and concentrated on the theology and teachings of Christianity in an accessible manner. Purists may be unhappy with some of the editing of the words and happenings, but I found two things in particular made this interpretation praiseworthy. Firstly, it highlighted the difficult line the High Priest Caiaphas had to tread in ensuring the Jewish protectorate was true to its roots while keeping the occupying Romans happy. It is easy to criticise the High Priest in hindsight, as it is to criticise the modern state of Israel who I am not a huge fan of either, but the truth is nearly all leaders of the Jews in history have found themselves in the unenviable position of having to make difficult compromises between their ancient traditions and their contemporary situation in order to keep the peace. I was also particularly moved by the way the drama portrayed the way Jesus appeared to his disciples after the resurrection, outwardly different but recognisable by his teachings and actions. There are many right-wingers who claim the BBC is biased against Christianity, and while this may be arguable in its political coverage, shows like this and Songs of Praise demonstrate that this itself is a biased view.
However, just to prove quality public service broadcasting does not have to be paid for via a license fee, Channel 4 had another excellent documentary by the Midland's own Dr Robert Beckford, this time on the 12 disciples. He explored alternative histories of Jesus's closest followers to those often expounded by the traditional church, in particular my own tradition of Catholicism. For example, it is well known that St Thomas founded a Church in India that exists to this day, but the programme looked at how the Portuguese under direction of the Pope tried to suppress this ancient version of Christianity because it was not European based. It also looked at how St James was reinvented as a Spanish patriot to become a figurehead for the Christians in their fight against the Moors, and how women may well have been treated as equals in the early church. It is a loss for the West Midlands that Dr Beckford no longer works at the University of Birmingham, nor has a show on Radio WM, as I believe his rational documentaries based on emerging historical evidence are exactly what our religion needs to stand up to the irrational faith-based fundamentalist movements that are gaining so much traction in the current climate.
However, just to prove quality public service broadcasting does not have to be paid for via a license fee, Channel 4 had another excellent documentary by the Midland's own Dr Robert Beckford, this time on the 12 disciples. He explored alternative histories of Jesus's closest followers to those often expounded by the traditional church, in particular my own tradition of Catholicism. For example, it is well known that St Thomas founded a Church in India that exists to this day, but the programme looked at how the Portuguese under direction of the Pope tried to suppress this ancient version of Christianity because it was not European based. It also looked at how St James was reinvented as a Spanish patriot to become a figurehead for the Christians in their fight against the Moors, and how women may well have been treated as equals in the early church. It is a loss for the West Midlands that Dr Beckford no longer works at the University of Birmingham, nor has a show on Radio WM, as I believe his rational documentaries based on emerging historical evidence are exactly what our religion needs to stand up to the irrational faith-based fundamentalist movements that are gaining so much traction in the current climate.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
World Stunned as Death Defeated
"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated"
Mark Twain Jesus Christ
Unlike the reports of His Resurrection.
Happy Easter!
Unlike the reports of His Resurrection.
Happy Easter!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Risen Toon
With the Big Four taking a break until tomorrow, the rest of the Promroiship got a chance to catch up and steal a decent slot on Match of the Day. A first win for Kevin Keegan not only boosted their Premier League survival hopes, but also lifted them to fifth in the Promroiship. Chelsea's day of inaction saw them slip to sixth, being overtaken by local rivals Fulham. Villa may have lost ground on a European place in the Premier League, but a 1-0 defeat featuring second on MOTD lifted them away from the bottom, where Blackburn stay firmly rooted after a 3-1 win damaged their Promroiship standing and left Derby one place above bottom; a spot they seem unlikely to occupy this season in the Premier League.
Promroiship Results March 22nd 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Manchester United ...378
Arsenal .............348
Reading .............328*
Fulham ..............308*
Newcastle United.....298*
Chelsea .............297
Birmingham City......286*
Tottenham Hotspur....281*
Sunderland ..........280*
West Ham United......272*
Middlesbrough .......253*
Portsmouth ..........251*
Everton .............247*
Aston Villa .........227*
Manchester City .....209*
Liverpool ...........207
Wigan Athletic ......190*
Bolton Wanderers ....187*
Derby County.........186*
Blackburn Rovers.....163*
* indicates match played in Round 12
Promroiship Results March 22nd 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Newcastle v Fulham.......64
Aston Villa v Sunderland.64
Blackburn v Wigan........32
Reading v Birmingham.....32
Everton v West Ham.......32
Tottenham v Portsmouth...24
Bolton v Man City........32
Middlesbrough v Derby....16
Manchester United ...378
Arsenal .............348
Reading .............328*
Fulham ..............308*
Newcastle United.....298*
Chelsea .............297
Birmingham City......286*
Tottenham Hotspur....281*
Sunderland ..........280*
West Ham United......272*
Middlesbrough .......253*
Portsmouth ..........251*
Everton .............247*
Aston Villa .........227*
Manchester City .....209*
Liverpool ...........207
Wigan Athletic ......190*
Bolton Wanderers ....187*
Derby County.........186*
Blackburn Rovers.....163*
* indicates match played in Round 12
Sunday, March 16, 2008
An Irresistable Force
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? Or in more modern terminology, what happens when a team that always appears first on Match of the Day meets a team that always appears last? Round 11 of the Promroiship gave us the answer to this timeless riddle.
Derby fans must have been quite dizzy seeing their team first on MOTD, but the beeboid executives had not gone mad; they were playing Manchester United. A one-goal match ensured that Derby climbed 4 places and off the bottom, while Man Utd's Promroiship hopes were done no harm either.
Chelsea not only clawed themselves back into contention in the Premier League, but also climbed to third in the Promroiship, giving the top of the table a familiar feel. Bolton and Wigan dropped into the bottom three and play each other today in a relegation six pointer; but for all their efforts, they will not be getting any points in the Promroiship this weekend.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of Premier League matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 15th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Derby v Manchester United..54
Arsenal v Middlesbrough....42
Sunderland v Chelsea.......42
Liverpool v Reading........24
Portsmouth v Aston Villa...24
West Ham v Blackburn.......12
The Promroiship Table after Round 11
Manchester United ...378*
Arsenal .............348*
Chelsea .............297*
Reading .............296*
Tottenham Hotspur....257
Birmingham City......254
Fulham ..............244
West Ham United......240*
Middlesbrough .......237*
Newcastle United.....234
Portsmouth ..........227*
Sunderland ..........216*
Everton .............215
Liverpool ...........207*
Manchester City .....177
Derby County.........170*
Aston Villa .........163*
Wigan Athletic ......158
Bolton Wanderers ....155
Blackburn Rovers.....131*
* indicates match played in Round 11
Derby fans must have been quite dizzy seeing their team first on MOTD, but the beeboid executives had not gone mad; they were playing Manchester United. A one-goal match ensured that Derby climbed 4 places and off the bottom, while Man Utd's Promroiship hopes were done no harm either.
Chelsea not only clawed themselves back into contention in the Premier League, but also climbed to third in the Promroiship, giving the top of the table a familiar feel. Bolton and Wigan dropped into the bottom three and play each other today in a relegation six pointer; but for all their efforts, they will not be getting any points in the Promroiship this weekend.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of Premier League matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 15th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Derby v Manchester United..54
Arsenal v Middlesbrough....42
Sunderland v Chelsea.......42
Liverpool v Reading........24
Portsmouth v Aston Villa...24
West Ham v Blackburn.......12
The Promroiship Table after Round 11
Manchester United ...378*
Arsenal .............348*
Chelsea .............297*
Reading .............296*
Tottenham Hotspur....257
Birmingham City......254
Fulham ..............244
West Ham United......240*
Middlesbrough .......237*
Newcastle United.....234
Portsmouth ..........227*
Sunderland ..........216*
Everton .............215
Liverpool ...........207*
Manchester City .....177
Derby County.........170*
Aston Villa .........163*
Wigan Athletic ......158
Bolton Wanderers ....155
Blackburn Rovers.....131*
* indicates match played in Round 11
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A Brief History of White
I think the BBC may finally have well and truly lost the plot. The recent White Season seems to be one of the most confused pieces of programming scheduling I have seen in a while.
My review of the first programme was here and mainly positive. While I still think this, Beaman pointed out it was rather biased. Perhaps I had prematurely given the BBC the benefit of the doubt; after all, there was a whole week of shows to prove not all white working class people pledge allegiance to the Swastika, surely?
Next came a programme on Enoch Powell's speech in Birmingham which ends with the words "Like the Roman, I see the River Tiber foaming with much blood" (someone should come up with a catchy title which encapsulates the fear contained of that speech). My instinct was that although the programme tried to exhibit a range of views to the speech, it ended up with a rather orthodox reaction to it (which I happen to agree with). A well argued, revisionist history that the programme could have contained is available here.
White Girl's inclusion in the season was simply bizarre. The subtext seemed to be that white working class people can save themselves by converting to Islam. While their are individuals where this may well have been the case (and this drama was apparently based on a true story), it could be construed as being highly offensive and denigrating to white working class culture by including this in the season.
The Poles are Coming was an interesting look at the Polish invasion since the EU expanded, but left white working class people looking like work-shy dole cheats. There was no balancing view.
The Primary was a fantastic look at a multicultural inner city school in Birmingham, and appeared to show working class white people who (shock, horror!) did not mind people of other races. For a programme included in white season however, it spent very little time with the minority white community in the area and rather a lot of time looking at the others.
All White in Barking was yet another show which concentrated on white working class flirtation with the BNP. However, it did acknowledge insularity in other cultures. Holocaust survivor Monty's heart-rending story should have a programme all to itself.
Now what was the point of this season? The infamous advert advertising it seemed to refer to the white working class being drowned out by other cultures. If this season was supposed to be about the white working class in relation to other cultures, it was simply too one-sided. Where were the (I would say majority) white working class people who are appalled by the BNP and have friends and colleagues from other races and cultures? Or those who oppose the level of immigration in this country but oppose the BNP's exploitation of it? Or those whose children have married people from other cultures and get along well their in-laws? Or those who have extended their hand in friendship even when they have it thrown back in their face?
And excuse me if I am wrong, but it is only the BNP who truly believes that the only issues the white working class face are based on their relationship with people of other cultures. What about white working class people who live on sink estates, living in fear of "their own kind" as some in this season might put it? Or those who are trying to get their children into the best schools despite the best efforts of the choice agenda of the middle class? Where are the working class people who have values of hard-work, self-reliance and decency who abhor the benefits culture? Or those who believe or no longer believe, as the case may be, in the institution of the trade union?
Is the white working class becoming invisible? If this is the kind of programming being used to report about them, then the answer appears to be yes. However, the problem does not lie with other cultures coming to this country; the problem is the bog-standard programming produced by the state broadcaster, which once-upon-a-time used to be the envy of the world.
Instead of advertising this series by writing all over a white person's face in foreign languages, perhaps it would have been more aptly demonstrated by hitting him around the head with an overpriced TV licence instead.
My review of the first programme was here and mainly positive. While I still think this, Beaman pointed out it was rather biased. Perhaps I had prematurely given the BBC the benefit of the doubt; after all, there was a whole week of shows to prove not all white working class people pledge allegiance to the Swastika, surely?
Next came a programme on Enoch Powell's speech in Birmingham which ends with the words "Like the Roman, I see the River Tiber foaming with much blood" (someone should come up with a catchy title which encapsulates the fear contained of that speech). My instinct was that although the programme tried to exhibit a range of views to the speech, it ended up with a rather orthodox reaction to it (which I happen to agree with). A well argued, revisionist history that the programme could have contained is available here.
White Girl's inclusion in the season was simply bizarre. The subtext seemed to be that white working class people can save themselves by converting to Islam. While their are individuals where this may well have been the case (and this drama was apparently based on a true story), it could be construed as being highly offensive and denigrating to white working class culture by including this in the season.
The Poles are Coming was an interesting look at the Polish invasion since the EU expanded, but left white working class people looking like work-shy dole cheats. There was no balancing view.
The Primary was a fantastic look at a multicultural inner city school in Birmingham, and appeared to show working class white people who (shock, horror!) did not mind people of other races. For a programme included in white season however, it spent very little time with the minority white community in the area and rather a lot of time looking at the others.
All White in Barking was yet another show which concentrated on white working class flirtation with the BNP. However, it did acknowledge insularity in other cultures. Holocaust survivor Monty's heart-rending story should have a programme all to itself.
Now what was the point of this season? The infamous advert advertising it seemed to refer to the white working class being drowned out by other cultures. If this season was supposed to be about the white working class in relation to other cultures, it was simply too one-sided. Where were the (I would say majority) white working class people who are appalled by the BNP and have friends and colleagues from other races and cultures? Or those who oppose the level of immigration in this country but oppose the BNP's exploitation of it? Or those whose children have married people from other cultures and get along well their in-laws? Or those who have extended their hand in friendship even when they have it thrown back in their face?
And excuse me if I am wrong, but it is only the BNP who truly believes that the only issues the white working class face are based on their relationship with people of other cultures. What about white working class people who live on sink estates, living in fear of "their own kind" as some in this season might put it? Or those who are trying to get their children into the best schools despite the best efforts of the choice agenda of the middle class? Where are the working class people who have values of hard-work, self-reliance and decency who abhor the benefits culture? Or those who believe or no longer believe, as the case may be, in the institution of the trade union?
Is the white working class becoming invisible? If this is the kind of programming being used to report about them, then the answer appears to be yes. However, the problem does not lie with other cultures coming to this country; the problem is the bog-standard programming produced by the state broadcaster, which once-upon-a-time used to be the envy of the world.
Instead of advertising this series by writing all over a white person's face in foreign languages, perhaps it would have been more aptly demonstrated by hitting him around the head with an overpriced TV licence instead.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Blackburn Last but off Bottom
There may have been some shocks in the FA Cup yesterday, but the Promroiship gave the six teams involved in Premier League fixtures a chance to return to normality in Birmingham's greatest fictional League competition.
Blackburn took the opportunity to climb of the bottom of the Promroiship, being replaced by Derby which seems right given their default position of being last on Match of the Day (when they are playing at least). Liverpool took the opportunity to climb a place but still seem to be placed lower than would be expected. This may possibly be due to the fact that because they are seen to be out of the race for the Premier League, they often appear in the fourth match on MOTD, but tend to be in some high scoring matches. The Promroiship is, of course, based on the debatable belief that the "Match of the Day" should be the match with the most goals in it.
Manchester United and Chelsea's matches in the FA Cup did not count, because it was specified in the rules that only Premier League matches count. It is not obvious how to fiddle with the scoring system to take account of the fact that these two teams had matches that were deemed more important than the corresponding Premier League fixtures. Given the nature of the shock results, however, I think we can forgive the BBC for showing these matches first.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of Premier League matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 8th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Liverpool v Newcastle United..(10-3)*3=21
Reading v Manchester City......(9-2)*3=21
Blackburn Rovers v Fulham......(8-2)*3=18
The Promroiship Table after Round 10
Manchester United ...324
Arsenal .............306
Reading .............272*
Tottenham Hotspur....257
Chelsea .............255
Birmingham City......254
Fulham ..............244*
Newcastle United.....234*
West Ham United......228
Everton .............215
Portsmouth ..........203
Middlesbrough .......195
Liverpool ...........183*
Manchester City .....177*
Sunderland ..........174
Wigan Athletic ......158
Bolton Wanderers ....155
Aston Villa .........139
Blackburn Rovers.....119*
Derby County.........116
* indicates match played in Round 10
Blackburn took the opportunity to climb of the bottom of the Promroiship, being replaced by Derby which seems right given their default position of being last on Match of the Day (when they are playing at least). Liverpool took the opportunity to climb a place but still seem to be placed lower than would be expected. This may possibly be due to the fact that because they are seen to be out of the race for the Premier League, they often appear in the fourth match on MOTD, but tend to be in some high scoring matches. The Promroiship is, of course, based on the debatable belief that the "Match of the Day" should be the match with the most goals in it.
Manchester United and Chelsea's matches in the FA Cup did not count, because it was specified in the rules that only Premier League matches count. It is not obvious how to fiddle with the scoring system to take account of the fact that these two teams had matches that were deemed more important than the corresponding Premier League fixtures. Given the nature of the shock results, however, I think we can forgive the BBC for showing these matches first.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of Premier League matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 8th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Liverpool v Newcastle United..(10-3)*3=21
Reading v Manchester City......(9-2)*3=21
Blackburn Rovers v Fulham......(8-2)*3=18
The Promroiship Table after Round 10
Manchester United ...324
Arsenal .............306
Reading .............272*
Tottenham Hotspur....257
Chelsea .............255
Birmingham City......254
Fulham ..............244*
Newcastle United.....234*
West Ham United......228
Everton .............215
Portsmouth ..........203
Middlesbrough .......195
Liverpool ...........183*
Manchester City .....177*
Sunderland ..........174
Wigan Athletic ......158
Bolton Wanderers ....155
Aston Villa .........139
Blackburn Rovers.....119*
Derby County.........116
* indicates match played in Round 10
Saturday, March 08, 2008
White is Right
I have been looking forward to the 'White' season on BBC ever since they started advertising it and I must say that the first programme yesterday 'Last Orders' did not disappoint. I say this as a working class Asian who grew up among second generation descendants of Irish immigrant labourers. It is important for the BBC to show the concerns of real white working class people so we can see and understand their real concerns, which are usually not the same as those of the BNP who claim to represent them.
Hopefully, it will go some way towards redressing the balance on the BBC, which is perceived to be biased towards the liberal middle classes. We do not need one season of this; we need to have a regular stream of programmes that challenge and educate us about the issues facing 21st century Britain particularly targeting groups that are under-represented by the mainstream media and political establishment (and it is not just the white working classes believe me).
Having said that, some right wingers will never be happy until the BBC broadcasts the Queen reading 'Mein Kampf' in English simultaneously on all available channels.
Hopefully, it will go some way towards redressing the balance on the BBC, which is perceived to be biased towards the liberal middle classes. We do not need one season of this; we need to have a regular stream of programmes that challenge and educate us about the issues facing 21st century Britain particularly targeting groups that are under-represented by the mainstream media and political establishment (and it is not just the white working classes believe me).
Having said that, some right wingers will never be happy until the BBC broadcasts the Queen reading 'Mein Kampf' in English simultaneously on all available channels.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Villa's Season Given Kick Up the Arse
Arsenal must be fed up of the sight of Brummies at the moment. After Birmingham nicked a draw with a dubious penalty and crippled one of their strikers last week, Villa managed a draw this week to close the gap at the top of the Premier League to one point. Playing Arsenal did Villa no harm in the Promroiship either, with this match nearly doubling this seasons points tally and lifting them above Derby. Blackburn remain bottom, still handicapped by the amount of games they have not played on Saturday.
A nil-nil bore draw between Derby and Sunderland was always guaranteed to be last on Match of the Day. I think Mike Whalley should do the honourable thing and declare them the top scoring team on this season's Gubbometer count now. After all, Paddy Power would.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 1st 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Arsenal v Aston Villa........(10-2)*8=64
A nil-nil bore draw between Derby and Sunderland was always guaranteed to be last on Match of the Day. I think Mike Whalley should do the honourable thing and declare them the top scoring team on this season's Gubbometer count now. After all, Paddy Power would.
A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:
(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of matches on MOTD
where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first match, 9 for the second etc.
Promroiship Results March 1st 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)
Arsenal v Aston Villa........(10-2)*8=64
Fulham v Manchester United....(9-3)*8=48
Birmingham v Tottenham........(8-5)*8=24
West Ham United v Chelsea.....(7-4)*8=24
Newcastle v Blackburn.........(6-1)*8=40
Middlesbrough v Reading.......(5-1)*8=32
Manchester City v Wigan.......(4-0)*8=32
Derby County v Sunderland.....(3-0)*8=24The Promroiship Table after Round 9
Manchester United ...324*
Arsenal .............306*
Tottenham Hotspur....257*
Chelsea .............255*
Birmingham City......254*
Reading .............251*
West Ham United......228*
Fulham ..............226*
Everton .............215
Newcastle United.....213*
Portsmouth ..........203
Middlesbrough .......195*
Sunderland ..........174*
Liverpool ...........162
Wigan Athletic ......158*
Manchester City .....156*
Bolton Wanderers ....155
Aston Villa .........139*
Derby County.........116*
Blackburn Rovers.....101*
* indicates match played in Round 9
Saturday, March 01, 2008
New Labour, New Template
Following Hercules at the end of January, I have decided it is time for a bit of a change in the People's Republic and have therefore changed my template following complaints back in November when I joined Blogpower that 'No 897' was difficult to read (yes, planning permission in the People's Republic is as bureaucratic as the old country). 'No.897', which recently has not been showing the banner properly, was originally chosen because I felt it best represented freedom, mainly due to the star in the header. It was also the template of the Cornish Democrat when he applied to Blogpower, but where the wheels of bureaucracy move slightly quicker than the People's Republic (he changed it within a week of joining).
What do you think of the new template? Please leave a comment below and/ or vote in the sidebar. I am looking to make further changes to the layout so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
What do you think of the new template? Please leave a comment below and/ or vote in the sidebar. I am looking to make further changes to the layout so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
