Sunday, January 16, 2011

Stephen Fry is allowed to say 'English'. (But just this once, mind!)...


The other night I was watching self proclaimed uber-brain, millionaire luvee socialist and tiresome twitterer Stephen Fry on QI XL.

I have always watched - basically because I find the programme 'Quite Interesting' I suppose. Saturday's programme lived up to its title - and especially this revealing conversation between Fry and his guest panellists regarding the Bayeux Tapestry. It sort of sums up everything about Fry and the Brit' loving, English-hating BBC. I've scripted the thread below the picture - and if you want to see it for youself, click here and go to 18minutes, 18 seconds into it.

Stephen Fry: (Looking at a picture of the Tapestry) 'Can you tell the British from the French in that picture?'

Rob Brydon: 'Are the British the four-legged ones at the top?'

Stephen Fry: I should say 'English' rather than the British of course'...

David Mitchell: 'The English are the ones not on horses?'

Stephen Fry: 'That's pretty much true - but also the other giveaway is moustaches.... Some of our English fighters were on horses but the British.... the ENGLISH... (smiles). I'm allowed to say 'English'.... I'm so unused to it, being allowed to say 'English'....

So why is that Mr Fry? Why are you not allowed to say the word 'English' except under very specific circumstances? Could it be BBC Guidlines? Afterall, you do have form on this don't you? Remember how you misquoted Cecil Rhodes on BBC Breakfast Time?

Oh, and by the way Mr Fry, The English were not fighting the French at the battle of Hastings, they were fighting the Normans - Norse men descended from Viking stock...

I have sent a complaint to the BBC - and have specifically asked them why the genius that is Stephen Fry would say 'I'm so unused to it, being allowed to say 'English'

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Peter Davies, mayor of Doncaster. A few thoughts.

The other night I was having a bit of a FaceBook trawl and came across a link on (English Democrats Chairman) Robin Tilbrook's page. The link took me to a piece written by EDP's Doncaster Mayor, Peter Davies on a site which most of the population have never heard of called ‘Critical Reaction’....

I read it with interest. Originally published in April 2010, Davies tells us how proud he is to be English and what it means to be English. He also tells us about England being balkanised by the EU, the West Lothian Question and our democratic deficit.... Whilst agreeing with the sentiments, I felt the mayor of Doncaster's declaration of love and concern for all things English was too little and definitely too late. To be honest, I have thought for some time that he had signally failed to highlight to the media (and defacto to the English general public) the injustices which Doncaster (and by definition, English) citizens suffer on a day-to-day basis(especially, straight after he was elected in June 2009).

In short, I thought it has been a golden opportunity missed. I left a comment on Mr Tilbrook's page giving my thoughts about it. The comment was considered, relevant and cogent to Davies' piece. It was not rude, nor filled with ignorant bile, it was just an observation about Davies' apparent inability to ever mention the E-word and E-word related issues during his many mayoral pronouncements.

Within 30 minutes the comment had been deleted. A comment so mildly critical had been airbrushed out of FaceBook world - I guess it was deemed just too off-message to be left alone (presumably, it didn't fall into the 'I think Peter Davies is really wonderful' category). Somewhat surprised, I left another message complaining about the tactics of deletion - comparing the action with the behaviour of a government censor. That too was deleted. My final comment asked Mr Tilbrook what were we fighting for? Don't know about anyone else, but I thought one of our immovable and non-negotiable pillars of principle was the preservation of free speech in England...... Again it was deleted. (I guess free speech is fine - just as long as you agree with the page administrator eh?)...

Understandably, I was irritated at such behaviour - and as a direct result of that over-the-top censorship, I have decided to write this piece about Peter Davies, mayor of Doncaster.

In my opinion, Peter Davies; Mayor of Doncaster has been a real disappointment for the English Democrats in particular - and the English movement in general. The shock of the new, his unbelievable victory in June 2009 at Doncaster produced a frenzy of media interest. The national press were beating down his door for a scoop; he came out of the blue and stole the prize right from under the noses of the establishment claque of mainstream parties. He represented a party that few had even heard of - and a cause which if sold to the public in the right way would change politics in this country for ever.

Davies' victory was the story - and it was a golden opportunity to let rip about the democratic and fiscal unfairness of people in England. Unfortunately, Davies didn't really seem to read the script. He seemed to be obsessed with giving us a diatribe in bluntness from a no-nonsense Yorkshireman. One thing's for sure, there was no way he should have been allowed to give us the benefits of his thought processes on the whys and wherefores of council-subbed gay parades in Doncaster and the apparent praising of the Taliban regarding their family and parenting skills. For by doing so he left a gaping goalie-free open goal for the political establishment via their media stooges to heap derision and scorn upon this well-meaning man. Predictably, they filled their boots.

And before long, Davies' left-of-field victory ceased to be the story - supplanted instead by the ruthless reportage of his somewhat individually held views.

During the first few months of his mayoral tenure, there was precious little evidence of a party line being adhered to. And that is the real tragedy, such a wasted opportunity to get the message out there. It should have been a perfect fit - Doncaster, a small town in Yorkshire with big problems is a microcosm for the ailments of England. Instead of telling us what he thought of the Taliban he could have stuck with subjects relevant to his remit - the people of Doncaster.

Doncaster's elderly have to flog off their homes to finance their residential care - just like many hundreds of thousands in the rest of England - but not in Scotland.... The sick of Doncaster still have to shell out £7.20 for a prescription, just like they do in the rest of England but not in Wales, and soon not in Scotland also... Doncaster's students are being unfairly fleeced via ever-rising tuition fees, just like students in the rest of England - but not in Scotland and to a much lesser extent in Wales... etc, etc, etc...

Doncaster's pain is Carlisle's pain, Bedford's pain, Rochdale's pain, Hartlepool's pain and ENGLAND's pain to Scotland's & Wales' gain... And the mayor of Doncaster had an unfettered opportunity to tell the 50 million people of England of that fact.

As soon as Davies won, a comprehensive campaign of information should have been rolled out. Nothing should have been allowed to see the light of day without approval from the collective body. It should have been about comparing and contrasting the standards of services of similar sized towns in other countries of the UK. Doncaster-relevant would, by definition be England-relevant. It was time for the English Democrats' to take hold of the situation and manage this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It looks like they have utterly failed to do this. There appears to have been little or no strategic advice proffered - and if it was, it doesn't look like it was accepted. This is a real shame. Doncaster's problems are England's problems - and those problems have come about because of insufficient funding, incompetent infrastructures and the lack of any national accountability. It should have been a perfect fit. Davies, whilst talking about the problems of his Doncaster citizens would also be talking about the other 50 million people of England. But it was not to be. Instead, Davies assumed the role of the gobby pub bore. A man with an opinion on any subject you liked.... Which is fine if your audience is an old bloke with a pint of Guinness, a three legged dog and a busty barmaid called Edna... But not if you have the Establishment hacks of Fleet Street waiting for any opportunity to rip you to pieces and blow your credibility into the stratosphere..

I know what Davies thinks of council funded gay parades and the parenting skills of mummy and daddy Taliban - but what does he think of his Doncaster citizens getting far less of the UK spending cake per head than someone in Glasgow, Swansea or Londonderry?

I know what Davies thinks of the European Union, but what does he think of his Doncaster citizens having to sell their homes to finance their residential care when they don't have to do that in Aberdeen or St Asaph?

I know that Davies thinks global warming is a bit of a con - but what does he think of Doncaster students looking at a tuition fee bill of 27 grand for a three year course when it's free gratis and for nowt for a student in Inverness?

We don't know because apart from his general broad-brush article in the hardly known, ‘Critical Reaction’, Davies has as far as I am aware never uttered a word about any of it to the national mainstream and local media. Which is a bit of a surprise - especially as he is representing the English Democrats - a political party whose raison d’ĂȘtre is the enhancement of English empowerment. And that empowerment is only ever going to happen if the great majority of the people in England actually know the facts in the first place.

Like I said, an opportunity missed.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

John Setanmu wonders why English students are getting screwed..

In an interview with the Sunday Times today, John Setanmu, Archbishop of York asks the following question, 'In a UK governed by the Queen in parliament under God, why is England differently funded for university education?'

Answer: Because people in England don't have a national parliament looking after THEIR interests, Mr Setanmu.

Archbishop Setanmu continues, ‘We need a society that values every individual equally whether they live in Glasgow, Glamorgan and Gateshead’....

No we don’t John. We just need an English parliament...

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Lord Barnett Regrets...

The thoughts of Lord Joel Barnett... (in conversation with Gyles Dilnot, BBC).

GD: ‘Is the Barnett Formula a thorn in Lord Barnett’s side these days?’

LB: ‘Well, in one sense it is – in the sense that it’s so unfair and my name is attached to it’..
... Maurice Saatchi told me I should be very proud – some people don’t have these things named after them... Well, I’m not proud of having my name attached to something that’s so unfair now’....


Full interview here

Monday, November 29, 2010

Letter of complaint to the BBC - 24/11/10

Last weekend we in England had to sit through yet another diet of Celtic Rugby Union whilst our own team of England's matches have been sold off to Sky. This is the second weekend it has happened and to be honest I as an Englishman am totally insulted and fed up with this blanket coverage of other countries matches. WE'RE NOT INTERESTED!!!

I don't care about Wales playing (whole of the game shown live last Friday night) I don't care about Scotland (whole of the game shown live last Saturday) - I care about England (no live games shown anywhere on the BBC). And if the BBC cannot afford to outbid Sky then I just wish you wouldn't serve up another country's team as some sort of dullard substitute. CAN YOU IMAGINE SCOTTISH VIEWERS PUTTING UP WITH WATCHING ENGLAND v SAMOA ON TERRESTRIAL BBC WHILE THEIR OWN MATCH IS SHOWN ON SKY?

I find it unbelievably insulting that the English viewer just doesn't seem to count..... But as there is no 'BBC ENGLAND' to fight OUR cause, I don't suppose I am that surprised at the arrogance of it all.

We are 85% of the UK poputation and should therefore be afforded a little more respect. Instead of paying the Scots and Welsh rugby authorities to cover their games - why not save the extra money up (as their matches are being shown to a much larger audience in England they will be paid a much bigger fee than if the respective games were shown purely in their own sparsely populated countries) and try to outbid Sky for England games...

ps - PERRRRLEEEZE do not use the excuse that there are lots of Scots and Welsh people living in England - there are lots of English people living in Scotland and Wales so what does that prove? And anyway - if you were catering for minorities, wouldn't you be covering French, Italian, Argentinian and Rumanian rugby matches as there are many of their ex-pats here also...

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

My Sunday Times letter...

This is my letter, published in the Sunday Times, (6/11/10). The sentences in italics were the bits they edited out...

Sir / Madam,
Regarding last week's article on 'Educational Apartheid of English students by Scottish Universities'
please remember all the other little exclusions that we in England have to routinely endure on a day-to-day basis (apparently in order to keep this gloriously unequal 'Union of Equals' together).

For example there's 'Health Apartheid' - prescription charges of £7.20 in England, free in Wales and soon to be free in Scotland, and expensive cancer drugs off-limits to those in England while freely available to everyone else in the union. Then there's our 'Democratic Apartheid'. England, founder of the modern two-tier parliamentary system is the only country in Europe without a national parliament and First Minister - that in itself is a shameful indictment of those self-serving turkeys in Westminster. We need a body who WILL fight for us in England - and we need it right now. An English Parliament is the only solution!

Monday, November 01, 2010

The Welsh National Opera – (60% funded by the English Arts Council, naturally)....

Sunday mornings means wading through the half a forest worth of supplementary woodpulp that comes with the hernia-inducing Sunday Times newspaper. Most of it is pretentious dross, but now and again you can come across a story that buggers belief – this one is yet another for inclusion into the ever-increasing volume entitled ‘The Union Dividend’....

It's taken from yesterday's Culture magazine’s ‘Biteback’ column written by Richard Brooks...
I wonder if the fat lady is about to stop singing for Welsh National Opera. The 'Lady' is the Arts Council, which gives the WNO a whacking £6.7 million a year. Yes, the Arts Council of England, not its Welsh equivalent, which itself hands over £4.5 million a year to the Cardiff based company. Now, I accept that the Welsh company will perform 25 nights in England over the next year, but all operas, staged in places such as Birmingham and Bristol, opened in Wales, so the production start-up costs, the most expensive element, originate there.

WNO's money comes from the Arts Council, West Midlands. This seems unfair on others such as the innovative Birmingham Opera Company which gets only £350,000 a year, or the Warwick Arts Centre, which receives £525,000. Let's hope the Arts Council of England sorts out this daft anomaly and stops being so generous to the Welsh, particularly at a time of severe cuts....

BTW, in case you were wondering, this is supposed to be the English Arts Council’s Raison d'ĂȘtre as posted on their website...
Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, distributing public money from the Government and the National Lottery...

And as things are now so tough, Arts Council England have posted this page on their site telling us how they will implement 29.6% of budget funding cuts over the next four years.
Liz Forgan, Chair of the Arts Council, said: 'These are severe cuts, made worse by the fact that around 80% of them have to come in the first two years of the settlement. We are determined to lead the arts through this tough period, using all our knowledge, expertise, and brokering skills, and drawing on the resourcefulness and imagination around us'.....

To aid their quest to find money wherever they can (presumably they've already looked down the sides of the reception sofas) I have helpfully emailed them – letting them know where they can save a whole shed full of cash over the next four years from their West Midlands coffers....

To: Liz Forgan, Chair, Arts Council England.
From: Alfred the OK, English Arts lover..

Dear Liz Forgan,
I’ve got a great idea which can save you at least £26.8 million from your English Arts Council budget over the next four years. PLEASE STOP FINANCING THE WELSH NATIONAL OPERA.... Simples!
It isn’t smart, it’s not clever - and it isn’t even English.

Regards, A the OK.