Wintery Sunday

It was more like winter than mid spring today when I woke up. The rain was failing, the wind was blowing and the temperatures were in single figures. There was a bite in the air you associate with winter. Not the day to be out on a bicycle riding the Rutland Classic but that is what some hardy souls were doing and it was a shame we couldn't watch ride through the village like last year.

You don't need sunshine to wake up to when you have Lucy's smile around, and today proved that yet again. It was lovely to go into her room and see a big smile as she gathered he bits and bobs, giving some to me, before we headed downstairs to wake up while we had a drink and watched television. Today we watch the children's programmes on Channel Five and when the adverts came on she pointed out the things she would like for Birthday, even though it is months away.

It was a while before Emily and Catherine joined us, and we played until they made their appearance and the girls had breakfast together. It was just after breakfast that Lucy and myself headed out to the shops. It was her mummy's birthday and there was a card to buy as well as a present to pick. So off we went avoiding the puddles along the way, returning with our purchases some thirty minutes it later. As soon as we got in Lucy wanted to complete the card and I pack it with the present in her bag to take back to the city later in the day.

With the special shopping out the way, it was time for Lucy to return to having fun with her sisters. Given the weather that was always going to be indoors today. This ranged from imaginative play and playing on the computers with her sisters, as well as a bit of time watching what is turning out to be her favourite DVD of the moment "Tom and Jerry".  This took us nicely through to lunchtime after which we had a visitor, Emily's friend Millie who Lucy simply adores. She didn't leave Emily or Millie's side until it was time for the rush. 

The rush is just that, a mad time, a bath, hair washing, hair drying, hair brushing and finally getting dressed to return to the city,  In all we have it all down to a fine art so it takes as little time as possible but it still remains fun. All the same it makes the end of Lucy's time with us and soon we were heading out into the rain again and back to the city. Again Lucy had to be kept awake on the way back, and again she had that grumpy face all the way home. She just wanted to have a sleep. Soon she was gone and I was heading back home. 

On the way back I had the time to look at what the recent rain had done to the countryside. The amount of water in some of the streams had turned them in to raging rivers that had flooded near by farm land leaving sheep wondering why their field had turned into lakes. The pictures above are of a stream that flows through the village of Ashby Foliville. It was amazing how fast the water flowing under the bridge that crosses the stream and trees that were once standing on the bank had their lower trunks below the water level. 

When I got back home the house seemed quiet and subdued. Gone was the little and with it the house moved into a different gear. I got on with dinner and the evening turned into night. The girls just did their own thing to bedtime and soon Emily and Catherine headed off to bed. I was left reflecting on a nice weekend.

It has been lovely to see Lucy again and have the girls together and I can't wait until it happens again. It is what I dream of. Sisters should ideally be together and things are far from ideal for them. Family's are so important, but not lets go down that line, my views are known. The thing is the moments we all have together are precious to me.

Britains Got Talent - Week 6

Well we had the week with the dog act in it a few weeks ago and now it seemed it was kiddie week in Britain got talent, with the majority of the acts being under eighteen. It was like the producers decided put them all into one show.

Now this where the difficulty comes in, I'm not sure if some of them should be on the show, not because of lack of talent, but because they are aren't ready. In this case Malakai Pau who was really nervous on the stage and although I admire his bravery on getting back on the stage the fact remains he probably wasn't ready for such big stage. The question is were doesn't entertainment end and exploitation start. This felt close to the line, even tough he had an amazing voice.

So after my little rant, who am I going to pick this week, I feel that Malakai was probably one of the best acts of the night, but then I wouldn't want to see him break down on the live shows and what would it do if he made it to the final when the pressure would even be greater. So for that reason I'm not going to pick him. So instead I going to pick Molly Rainford, who is not only a singer with an amazing voice, and on par with Malakai, but she is also a song writer. She wrote the song in the video when she was 9 years old.

The other acts I liked tonight included Nu Sxool dance troupe who were so confident before they did their act and for good reason, because they turned out to be really good. The there was B Minor a girl group aged between 13 and 14 who sung with some beautiful harmonies. Finally comes Jive Aces who were rather entertaining, if a bit out dated. Unfortunately we didn't see enough of Callum Oakley a young comedian to make my mind up if he deserved the judges praise, but maybe we will be seeing him again soon.

I did see in the press that someone complaining about the lack in the variety in this years show and I'm afraid I have to agree. A lot of the acts seem to be either singers or danced based this year, but maybe that is what is marketable within the Cowell money machine.

Unusual Saturday

It has been a rather unusual Saturday and not one I planed at, and for once it wasn't the weather that disrupted the day, in fact it was a far more unexpected event. All the same we made the best of it as we always try and do.

It was lovely to hear the Lucy's voice first thing in the morning and to go into her room to collect her and her things. She always has such a smiley face. Soon we were downstairs and snuggled up in my chair watching television together with our drinks as we both woke up. After half an hour or so Lucy, she was fully awake and after some breakfast  the fun began as we played games together. 

Eventually we were joined by Catherine, who after breakfast, got roped into the games we were playing and I managed to escape to do some cleaning. It was during the cleaning that disaster struck and the handle on the kitchen door broke. Being the main door we used we were effectively locked in the house. Nobody could remember the last time we opened the front door or where the key was. So it was on the phone to get someone to let us out. 

Lucy had both sisters at home to occupy her and keep her company and she founds loads to do with them. ThankfullyIi had all the food in for lunch, because the man who came to open the door and fix the door lock didn't come until after lunchtime. She was fascinated by what was going on after she lost her shyness. Soon we were free again and the door was fixed, for good measure we even managed to sort out the front door too, after a search for the key to unlock it. 

The afternoon, or what was left of it was spent at home, but that wasn't a bad thing given the weather we have been having. It was nice to have a day at home and we all had a grand time and that is all that matters at the end of the day. Eventually we had to head out to the shops to get some food and Lucy managed to twist my arm and get some extras that weren't on the shopping list for her sisters.

When we got home I got on with dinner and Lucy settled down on the computer to play on the Cbeebies site while I cooked. After dinner the girls got on with playing with each other until it was time for Lucy to head off to bed. After her stories and kisses and cuddles she went off to sleep. Leaving her big sisters to catch with friends before heading to join her in the land of nod. 

Although it has been an unusual day it has been a good one. Happy and smiling faces always make for a good day and there were plenty of those on hand. I love having them together and tomorrow is another day I hope is full of fun.

Short Day

It is that friday when the girls are together for the weekend, although this one is slightly shorter than most. With Lucy returning from her holiday today the time she is spending with us with me is a little shorter than normal.

After a busy day it was around mid afternoon before I set out for the city. I could have set off a little earlier as it turned out but I had left it a little too late to send a text to her mummy to confirm the pick up time. I still had things to do. Although it was nice to know I could have picked her up earlier. I arrived in the city just before three. It was lovely to see Lucy again. It had seemed so long since I last saw her. I had really missed her, but I expected I would after such a lovely Easter Holiday. I was told Lucy was tired after the holiday and on the way back to the countryside she fell asleep.

By the time Lucy woke up I was parking at the supermarket and soon we were in the shop getting food for dinner and lunch tomorrow, plus a few extra odds and ends. Normally Lucy likes to sit in the trolly but today it was just too wet so she walked nicely round the store with me as we did the shopping. Soon we were done and heading home to be welcomed by George and his wagging tail. With Catherine out with friends and Emily going to a party those greetings had to wait, in Emily's case until the morning.

Lucy soon found her toys and started playing and telling her tales of her holiday along the way. Bit by bit. You could tell she was tired, and after a while she settled down in the computer to play on the Cbeebies website to exercise her mind rather than her body. As soon as Catherine came home, and got a hug from Lucy, I got on with cooking dinner. I wanted to make sure that Lucy got an early night so she would be nice and rested for the day to come.

As soon as dinner was over and Lucy listened to a couple of bedtime stories on the Cbeebies site she went off to bed. It wasn't long after her stories from Catherine and myself, and her kisses and cuddles, that she fell asleep. After Lucy was in bed Catherine did her own thing until her Emily arrived home. After telling us the tales of her party and popping into see Lucy both the older girls head off for bed.

It has been lovely to see Lucy again, like I said, it seemed longtime since I saw her last. It was a shame I didn't get any pictures of her or her sisters for the blog today but there really wasn't time today but that can wait until tomorrow. I just hope the day isn't a complete washout and we at least get out for a bit into the fresh air. 

The British Weather

It has been cold wet grey and yucky for the last week and it is set to be the same for the most of the weekend and most of next week. It really seems unseasonal and it feel more like late November than late April. Some would say it typical of the British Weather but I can remember weather like this at this time of year for an age, but then I use to come from one of the driest parts of the country.

Given that a large part of England is short of water you would have thought she wet weather would be a good thing, but at this time of year the rain doesn't help solve the water shortage the country is facing. The fact is it is the wrong time of the year and although some of the water makes it to the reservoirs most of just evaporates or used my the growing plants. 

During the week I popped by Rutland Water, where I was lucky enough to see an Osprey, and you can see how low the water there is. Reports are that the water level is fifteen percent lower than it normally would be this time of year and some of the nearby reservoirs are even lower than that. 

Although I don't mind the rain too much the cold is a bit of a downer for the time of year. I'd rather have it a little warmer, so let us hope after the wet spell has finished we have some nice sunshine when May comes along for a bit to make up for it.

A Lost Weekend - Music Festival

Continuing the theme of of up and coming festivals in the local area this year there is a new music festival in Rutland. Organised by Richard Garton it is attrachted attracted sponsorship from The Grainstore Brewery, hmvtickets, and gigamtic. It looks like it going to be a fun event.

The festival runs from 20th until the 22nd July and will be located at Sykes Lane site near the banks of Rutland Water. Given the location it will be one of the most picturesque music festivals in the country. The festival has been named "A Lost Weekend " and it has attracted enough acts to keep two stages busy for the three days. In fact there were enough acts to keep even more stages busy, but I guess it is it first year. It is hoped that it will attract around three thousand music fans a day.

Personally I think it is a wonderful idea and the site is ideal for the people of the three nearby cities, Peterborough, Nottingham and Leicester, as well as for the people of Rutland itself. The nearest music festivals to Rutland are ones like Summer Sundae and Glastonbudget all based in Leicester. Not sure I will make as the cost is out of my league at the moment, but hopefully it will run again next year and I can get along and see some of the bands. It is just what I need, I love live music and maybe I can take all the girls.

Former Butterfly House - To Let

One of the first places I ever went to in Rutland was the Buttery House and Farm at Sykes Lane on the edge of Rutland Water. I remember have a smashing hour or so looking around before going with the girls to the adventure playground there.

Since then the Butterfly house was closed down to the general public and for a while it was open only to prearranged trips. More recently the building had been used as a visitor centre for Rutland Water while doubling as a outdoor clothes outlet. It also contained a number tanks containing various fish. 

It is now up for Let again and sits empty waiting for a new owner to give it a new lease of life. Although I can see it being a Butterfly house again, it just to small by modern standards, it would make a good out doors sports outlet, possibly hiring out bicycles. It even has a car park near by that people could use as the set off cycling around Rutland water.

Whatever happens to it, I just hope it doesn't remain empty for too long. The summer is nearly upon use and if someone wants to make a profit from the site before the winter is upon us they will need to get their bids for the site in soon. I;m sure with the right idea someone could make money from it, especially with some major events happening near by over the coming months.

Village Beer Festival

This coming weekend there is a beer festival being held by the local village pub, currently the only one of the two pubs open. The other pub still seems to be undergoing renovations and hopefully will opens it doors once again soon.

The beer festival starts at noon on the 27th April and runs through until 8pm on the 29th April. Besides lots of beer there is cider, BBQ, live music all weekend and lots of general family fun. It looks like it going to be a grand weekend at the pub as long as we get some half decent weather. I was hoping to attend myself and try a few pints of beer, but being the weekend I have the children it looks like I will be sitting at home wishing I was out at the pub. All the same, if you live in Rutland then why not pop into Langham and enjoy a pint. It is a lovely pub and they do great food too.

The Posh Boys

There are not many times I can remember agreeing completely with the views of a Conservative MP, there are normally things that stop that happening. Recently there has been a couple of notable exceptions, the first was by a former Conservative Home Secretary which I mentioned in earlier post about Government snooping and the second is Nadine Dorries while talking about the David Carmon and George Osborne on the BBC this week.

Conservative back bencher, Nadine Dorries, said of David Carmon and George Osborne that "they are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no ­contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". A statement I couldn't agree more with. What was better is that she went on to point out that they are both on a power kick to see who can get furthest up the pole and set themselves up for a very cushy life when the game’s all over. Honesty like that is rare in politicians of all parties but to come from one those party is in power is almost unheard of. 

Of course David Carmon in reply said "There isn't a day in this job that you don't learn some important lessons and you've got to make sure you stay in touch". This however doesn't seem to be the case when you look at the Governments recent record on tax cuts for the rich, the effective introduction of a granny tax, the petrol crisis, fuel escalator which will make British Petrol the fourth most expensive in the world,  the tax on hot food from bakeries, to name just a few. The Government is out of touch with real people and their problems, concerns and worries.

I must agree with one commentator that there has never been a Prime Minister of our country that is so out of touch with the needs of the electorate. It just amazes me that they are so uncaring about the needs or the people they represent, but given what happens in the Conservative controlled Rutland Council Council may be I shouldn't. Too many people are in politics to get what they can out of it with no regard to the views of the people that put them in power. It seems to be a symptom of the selfish society that we have created that puts the self before the collective good.

In the two years the that this government have been in power they have put cuts to public spending that even the iron lady herself, Margaret Thatcher, wouldn't have dared to do. The public secure has been decimated and people are losing essential services in all area's of the public services, including education and health. Disabled people, including those who are terminally ill, are having their benefits cut by the back door, some poor families are losing thousands in working tax credits and others are being forced out of there homes because of changes to housing benefits, the list is endless.

It is clear that David Carmon, George Osborne together with those around them are not listening to the people and they have no compassion for them. During the reforms the Prime Minister has been unstoppable and has refused to allow the sensible, compassionate opposition, from inside and outside the collation to sway him. He has ignored the advice from professionals, focus groups, charities and in some cases business leaders. He just carries on with his gung-ho approach, regardless of peoples views and in so doing has destroyed the lives of millions.

On thing that has always been true of the Conservative party leadership is that they have always surrounded themselves with other wealthy and privileged people. Although David Carmon might know the price of milk, because someone told him, those people don't have a clue. They have no understanding of what it is like to be poor, to have a one pound in your pocket to payday, or have to cancel a direct debit because you need to pay some impotent bill or you need to buy food for your family. They never been in the position that they had to buy Tesco Value products and some of them have probably never been to a supermarket, and if they have they would have been counting every penny. They have no idea how hard it is to live the Britain that has been created over recent years.

Where would disagree with Nadine Dorries, was probably use the of the term "posh boys" to describe them even if it made a good sound bite. Just because you are posh it doesn't mean you are uncaring or arrogant. I'm sure there are lots of, so called posh people that do good and I have read stories of some them donating food and clothes to the ever increasing number of food banks that have appeared to feed and clothe the poor since this Government came into power. Some of them are compassionate and even from their privileged positions understand the plight of those less well off than themselves, however these are not the ones surrounding the people in power.

David Carmon and George Osborne, have had the private education that is said to make leaders, but as leaders they have no sense or understanding of what people they lead are going through. They have no understanding of poverty neither in theory or practice and the world they are creating for the common man. They are helping to create problems that will take twenty to thirty years to solve, but ones they won't have to face themselves, because they will never know what it is like to be poor and by the time they realise what they have done they will be sitting as Directors advising another Conservative Chancellor, in the background, to give them a tax cut.

The fact is they are both out of touch with the British public and although Nadine Dorries is now being ridiculed by others in her own party she was spot on with her comments about David Carmon and George Osborne. They both "show no remorse, no ­contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others". The sooner they are out of power and others with compassion from whatever party take over the better.

Graffiti - An Old Problem

Graffiti is often thought of as a modern problem, but in fact for people to leave their mark goes back much further in time as these examples show with the oldest nearly four hundred years old. Although these go back nearly four hundred years it not that uncommon to find other examples from the eighteen hundreds in old churches.

These are just a few examples that I found carved onto various tombs and grave covers in St Mary's Church in Ashwell. If you are passing buy the Church pop in and have a look yourself. There is a impressive hallow wooden effigy of a knight in amour that dates back to 1320,  the time of crusades in the Holy land.

ZX Spectrum turns Thirty

It is amazing how times have changed in computing over the years. One machine stands out as doing so much to bring computing to the masses in the United Kingdom and that machine is Sinclair ZX Spectrum and anyone still owning a working one will raising a glass because it is thirty years old today.

The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was realsed to the public on the 23rd April 1982 and brought the cost of computer ownership affordable to millions. It started a revolution that created the British software industry that still produces so of the console blockbusters on sale today. It made programmers of out millions that understood how to squeeze every ounce of power out of computer hardware.

The computer was programmed in Sinclair BASIC which was designed to be easy to use and made the most of the limited memory capacity of the machine. The version of BASIC it used was meant to be time saving allowing key words to be typed by pressing a single key, however this wasn't always the case when one had to search of a less common keyword. Back them data and program storage achieved by utilising an audio cassette recorder and an ordinary television set was used as a display.

The graphics were at best blocky by modern standards, and the resolution was limited by memory and the capabilities of standard television sets, however the basic principles of how the graphics were generated are still used today. Given the limitations of the graphics the games had none of the detail of those of today, however the gameplay was just as good and some of the games became classics such as Jet Set Willy, shown in the screen shot below. 

The ZX Spectrum managed to out preform its competitors in one basic area, price. There wasn't another computer of the same sort specifications on the market less than twice the price. This made it a massive success and it was achieved by innovation and by keeping things simple, such as the use of a rubber keyboard which kept the moving parts to a minimum. Many people said the keyboard was like typing on a dead flesh, but there was no other way of reaching the cost targets set be Sir Clive Sinclair.

One thing is for sure it started a generation programming as soon as they open the box and plugged in the computer. Unlike today you could be typing in our first program before a modern computer had even booted. It had all the simplicity that was needed to get people hooked and they would spend evening after evening typing away making their own games or copying games from all the computer magazines that were around at the time. The legacy of all this is the software industry we have in the United Kingdom today that produces some of the best software in the world.

I still have a working ZX Spectrum+ which will celebrate it's thirtieth birthday in two years time. It is still working as well as the day it was built. I powered it up again just last month to check was still working and true to from with in seconds the machine was booted and ready to use. What is more I can see it working in sixty years time as long as there is a television set that I can plug it into.

M is for Music - Genesis

I have never been a big fan of the music of what I call modern Genesis prefer their earlier works more, while Peter Gabriel was still with the band. Somehow for me they lost their way and the sound that made them uniquely different from other bands, but they are still good at times. This did stop going to one of their concerts when I was offered free tickets many moons ago. 

   

I saw them play at Roundhay Park in Leeds with countless thousands of other people from the North of England and beyond. Thankfully they played just enough of the old stuff to remind me of their past, as this clip from a later concert tour shows, so not all was lost for me. Having said that they are still worth watching if you love quality live music. They are nothing but entertaining and the concerts are full of energy and feel fresh, which can't be easy when you have been going for so long. Their concerts now seem far and few between but when they do come along they live up to their reputation. It is a band I would recommend people to see if you don't dislike their Music, you might be surprised how much you end up enjoying yourself. I know I did in the end.

Light Pollution

Today is World Earth Day and I thought I would write a post on of the issues that none of the Political parties have never, until now, taken a serious interest in is light pollution caused by street lights, advertising signs, the spotlighting of buildings etc. For some reason they haven't seen it as an issue, but the fact is light leaking out into space is just wasted light, and as such it is wasted energy.

The photo above was taken from space and it show the extent of the problem in the United Kingdom. The  orange light is the lights of towns and cities being sent out into space which also pollutes the atmosphere making it difficult to spot stars and consolations in the night sky from the ground. It is a problem that both the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Campaign for Dark Skies has been campaigning about for years.

It is estimated that less than half the population in the United Kingdom cannot see many stars because the night skies are still "saturated" with light pollution. Much of this light pollution comes from street lights which costs councils £500m per year and makes up as much as 10% of each council's carbon emissions. Although some councils have tested schemes in the past to reduce the lighting when they are not needed these have never proved universally popular.

The situation is now so bad that it is estimated that just over 2% of the population enjoy truly dark skies. It means that many of the children growing up today will never have the privilege of seeing the milky way or the shear beauty of seeing millions of stars above them in the night sky. For those studying the stars and the planets it is a complete nightmare. Even where I live you can see the orange glow of the two nearby towns which makes it difficult to see some of the stars to the south and north of the village. Even so the improvement of what I can see in the night sky compared to when I lived in a city is amazing.

At last the Government have started to listen and national guidance has been issued to encourage local planning authorities to reduce light pollution through design improvements. However this covers new planing and it could be years before existing lighting is modified or upgrade to those laid out in the guidelines. There are cases where lighting is needed for safety reasons but that doesn't mean that we need glaring lights everywhere.

The evidence shows that we need to take action now to roll back the spread of light pollution. Not only it is it a problem of not seeing the night sky but the lost light is a waste of energy, it disrupts wildlife and affect people's sleeping patterns. Lets hope with all the new building work around the country that the councils take account of the new national guidelines and things are not made worse.

Britains Got Talent - Week 5

As we enter week five of the auditions we see some sensible scheduling by the television companies allowing families to watch the Voice on BBC1 followed by Britains Got Talent on ITV1, although the BBC show did over run by three minutes to mess things up. Lets hope next week we can see some sensibility by the programme makers and they can get it right. Now, on to the important task of which act was the best this week.

That honour goes to Loveable Rogues with their performance of the song Lovesick, they were cheeky and charming. There was something rather loveable about them. They were followed by Kai and Natalia with their mesmerising modern latin ballroom dancing which I thought I would dislike when they announced what they were going to do. Like David, I have never watch strictly and never would and so to get me to like them was a feat. The union jack dance act towards the end were fun but not as good as those of the past and twelve year old with the guitar at the start was rather sweet for someone of her age and she had a interesting voice. Also worth more than a mention was Cascade who were by far the best of the dance acts of the night. What I liked about them was energy and the touch humour.

In all in all it has been a good show tonight and what it needed to win back some of the audience it has lost which will be further helped once the scheduling problems caused by the BBC are sorted out. I can't wait for next weeks hopefuls to hit the stage to entertain us.

More Rutland

The day might have been showery but it you can never keep a good man down. Here are a few more pictures of Rutland. This time a few pictures of some of the lovely villages in the county and a few shots of Rutland Water.

What is nice about Rutland this time of year it is relatively quiet which makes taking pictures of Rutland water without the clutter of sailing boats easy, the other thing is it might not be the warmest time of the year but the air is clear and the countryside stunning. 

Well Done Southend United

A few people might have noticed the odd football post appearing in the blog from time to time. Those that know me better will know I have followed Southend Untied for many a year, and tonight we have something to celebrate. I have taken a lot of stick for following them but I proud of the football they play and what they have archived.

Tonight with a three nil win over Barnet we secured a place in the league two play-offs.  It might not be the greatest achievement, like winning the league, but given were we have come from and the mess the club was a couple of years ago financially it shows we are going in the right direction again. All we need to do now is keep winning and make it past the post and into league one in the play off final at Wembley.

Louis Theroux Extreme Love

Anyone that has deal with Autism, as a parent, carer, or educator will welcome the the new two part documentary Extreme Love that was shown on BBC2 last night. More than that it will give us all an understanding of the struggles the children have to deal with as well as the families they are part of.

I have been a fan of Louis Theroux's work for many years and it is great that he made this documentary that will bring to the general public and understanding and awareness of this condition. To many it is just something they have heard of and have no understanding of at all. Hopefully this will bring the condition into the public eye.

In the program Louis Theroux travelled to America to visit the homes of parents with autistic children. There he witnessed scary scenes of parents wrestling their kids to the floor, which made for disturbing viewing at times, but this contrasted by moments humour breaking through the tiredness of the battle these parents face. What was impressive was parents commitment and that is what Louis Theroux took away from his visit.

It was a real eye opener of a programme and it showed how many of these children in the right environment while showing the challenges that the parents without any help. It is a shame that in the United Kingdom the type of school shown in the programme don't exist in here because of Government inclusion policy that requires teachers to educate autistic children in a classroom with "normal" children. The special school focused on social interaction and teaching basic life-skills. It was a remarkable place and a model we would do well to copy.

The only criticisms are that you could have of the programme was that it was made in America and not in the United Kingdom and it could also have focused a little more on the condition itself. Having said that from what I have seen the programme has been welcomed by families with autistic children throughout the country and I hope it has done much to raise awareness of the condition in the United Kingdom.

The Apprentice Mess

I wouldn't normally write about a particular episode of The Apprentice but after years of watching the show, last night I was shocked by the lack of business sense in the how the winning team were picked, based on alone sales rather than profit. The whole premiss of the programme was flawed, that the best team wins and the losers are sent to the greasy spoon to await their fate.

The two teams were given the task of coming up with a fitness idea that could be sold as franchise to gyms and fitness centres. Once they came up with their idea and made a DVD of the concept they pitched the idea to three big players in the market. Basically what happened is the winning team in this weeks show gave away free gym equipment in the form of Space hoppers, hula hoops and skipping ropes without the cost of the equipment being taken off the sales figures to get actual the profit they would have made. This disadvantaged the other team who would have made a higher profit if these costs had have been included in the calculations.

The winning team made a basic business mistake about costs. After their first pitch where they were asked about equipment costs they at first made up the figures. Realising they didn't have a clue they then decided they would include the equipment for free in future pitches. They didn't even think of how this would affect the cost or their profit. Their whole business model was flawed and they should have been punished for it. They won on their third pitch that when Virgin Active said they would buy into their idea bring implement it in one hundred and twenty two clubs. The fact is the equipment costs would have really cut badly into their profits at the price they were offered.

When it came to the boardroom, Lord Sugar pointed out their mistake but he failed impose a penalty on the money they made through sales to allow for it. By letting the team win he rewarded them for their incompetence and he sent the wrong message to the business world that he campions in the show.  Surely he doesn't want people that can't work out basic cost to work for him or be in business with him.

When I posted about the start of the series five weeks ago I said "You can just see it the show being aired on prime time Chinese State Television as an example of how not to do business" what I didn't realise was that it really could be the case after tonights show. The thing is, they won't just be laughing at the contestants. What was Lord Sugar thinking of when he let this one go.

Hope Murphy

On Saturday I selected someone called Hope Murphy as act of the week and instead of selecting the cover on the show as a video I picked one of her own songs. I'm not sure she will win the show, you know what the British public are like, bust she deserves some attention from the independent record labels. So here are some of her own works rather than covers to add weight to the argument.

I find myself, asking the question will winning the show be good for her? Once she is taken in to the Simon Cowell music machine I wonder ifl she be allowed to develop her own style without having some style imposed upon her She is still young and developing musically. She is clearly a talented singer and songwriter, she just needs work to find a style that is her own. To do that she needs someone that will be in there for the long haul and not for the quick buck. Simon Cowell and his music machine might be the wrong thing for her at this stage.

If she does win, or Simon Cowell takes her under her wing, I hope I am wrong in whatmy fears I have expressed here. Simon Cowell has a good ear for singers and I have seen do wonders to people he rates on TV talent shows, like American Idol, but I sometimes wonder if he is to quick to exploit them and make them conform what he feels people want. If he has such a young artist he needs to given them time to develop so they have a future in the music industry and don't have to appear on the The Voice ten years later hoping to restart their careers after a being a one album wonder.

X Factor - Mr Bore Returns

According to the press it would appear that, Take That star Gary Barlow, aka Mr Bore, is return to the judging panel of the this years X Factor. Gary Barlow himself tweeted: “I’m so happy to tell you all that I’m back on the X Factor this year! See you at auditions.". I'm sure all his fans will be glad to know he is back, but personally I feel he had more to do with the failure of last years show than anyone else on the panel.

According to Simon Cowell's biographer Tom Bower, Simon was outraged by the last series of The X Factor and almost sacked Gary Barlow as a judge after feeling that the show was boring and stale. A statement of fact that I agree completely with, and one of the big reasons was Gary Barlow. He was given the role of head judge and he came across as being boring, scripted and uninspiring. He seemed to lack the personality to pull off the role he had been given on the show. 

According to press reports Barlow was signed a deal worth as much as £2 million to return to the hit show and increase of half a million from last year. To be honest I think Simon Cowell is wasting his money, I would have charged him for being on the show after last years performance not paid him more. In my opinion Gary Barlow should stick to what he does best, singing and song writing, and give up his career in television, because he just doesn't make the grade.

I'm not going to write off this years show off yet but this isn't a good start. There are far better people out there than Gary Barlow to judge the show. Let's hope Simon Cowell has something up his sleeve to save the X Factor, but after this move and last years contestants who were almost unwatchable and so untalented, that even independent labels weren't interested in them, things aren't looking good.

Political Apathy

Yesterday the national parties lunched their campaigns for the coming local elections. With the number of people turning out so low it a wonder why they bother to do it nationally at all. While the Government is making local politics more important the general disinterest remains amazing low.

Political Apathy is one of the big issues that affect Politics in the United Kingdom. People just don't care what Governments do at a local, regional or national level. There is this feeling that it doesn't matter what I think, the politicians won't listen. The truth is by taking an active interest in politics you can change the country for the good and you can get your views heard.

If you write to your Member of Parliament then they have to at least listen and in most case you will get a reply. In general the same is true of Councillors, although this is not always the case, with some of them doing the job just fuel their own egos. If you have a councillor like that and you vote you at least have a chance of getting rid of them, but not if you don't vote.

There is a famous quote by one of the greatest minds that has ever lived that is as follows:

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything" - Albert Einstein

It is a quote that everyone that says they are politically apathetic would do well to think about. For it is the lack of interest in politics that causes allows the evils in this world to gain power. It is complacency, disinterest and apathy that are destroyers of the free world.

I know it is not just the people not voting that are to blame for the political apathy in the United Kingdom, some of the blame falls squarely on the politicians who fail to engage with people for a number of reasons. Looking at general elections there are a number of reasons the stand out about why people don't vote. The most common reason is that some people live in safe seats where one party has won year after year so voting for a opposing party makes no difference. Others include, that people feel it makes no difference as all the parties are basically the same, other feel that the political parties aren't interested in their views or needs, while finally there are those feel that the parties don't work to get peoples votes. These are all issues the politicians need to address and full researched.

Some argue that the people that don't vote are making a statement of about what they think of the political system and the choices they have been given, and this is a valid point. The problem is with this idea is how do you sort out those making a statement from those that just don't care. I know recently I was faced with a choice of two candidates neither of which supported my views, but it didn't stop me voting. All I did was to register my unhappiness in the only way you can by spoiling the ballot paper. At least by doing that I made a clear statement as did other voters in the ward, since then I have tried to get my views known.

There are a number of options if someone doesn't like what the parties stand for or feel they are being listened too. One thing they can do is stand in an election either nationally or locally, the other is to form pressure groups, again these can be national or local. The thing is people can always do something as long as they actually do something rather than doing noting and then complaining that politics isn't relevant. The thing is we all have views and we all have a vote and rights, if we don't use them then your voice will never be heard.

Clearly this is a complex subject and there are lots of issues. Maybe, I have strong views on this. I believe that everyones vote matters, and that people that don't vote are just saying they don't care about the future of there local area, their nation and the future of the country their children have to live in. There has to be a deal however to get people to vote, those in power have to stop lying, they have to be fair and they have to listen and actively win our votes.