'Hallelujah' - Cover your ears Mr Buckley!

The news that my lifetime favourite song, 'Hallelujah', the piece of musical magic penned by happy boy Cohen, that means much to me and has the ability to move me to a thousand emotions in an instant has been annihilated by X Factor contestant Alexandra Burke, has not pleased me. The fact that her version has made it to the number one spot has pleased me even less!

Ms. X Factor has taken a beautiful, meaningful piece of musical art and turned it into a meaningless piece of commercial, power ballad crap that we will now have to suffer over the festivities each time the radio is turned on....mine is being turned very firmly off for the duration. For me it borders on the offensive, Lord knows what Cohen thinks about it and Jeff Buckley must be turning in his grave poor man! This girl patently doesn't have even the slightest notion or understanding of what the lyrics are about....and it shows!

The only saving grace in the whole sorry situation is that Buckley's version has chased this latest horror up the charts and sits in the number two spot, so hopefully those who think Ms Burke's offering is acceptable will also get a chance to hear what it should really sound like!

...and for anyone who isn't familair with how it should sound or would just like six minutes of pure pleasure, I offer for your musical delectation, 'Hallelujah' by the brilliant Jeff Buckley. Enjoy....


....or for an even better live version go HERE.

Magical.

Rebecca Adlington on stating the obvious!

Watching Sports Personality of the Year on the BBC last night I was much amused by one line.

The gold medal Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington, while making a thank you speech, was heard to utter the words.....

"I wouldn't be here without my parents"

No sh*t Sherlock!!!

Yes, I know what she meant but it still tickled me!

Do the Shake n Vac....

....and put the freshness back!

Remember that stuff? Shake n Vac, the cure-all for the perfect 80's housewife suffering the unimaginable traumas of pet and tobacco smells lingering in her pristine home! The stuff itself might not be remembered but the ad. campaign that accompanied it is unfortunately hard to forget. It was one of those typically naff ads of the decade that had the annoying ability to ferret it's way into our subconscious and despite our derision of it, we all whistled and hummed the damn tune for months, if not years on end! If you don't remember here's a little reminder;


Anyways, can you believe, that stuff still exists to this day! And how do I know? Because I have some, worse than that I just used it (though I promise you without the dancing or hideous skirt)....and believe me, it hasn't improved with age, the smell is more likely to cause asphyxiation than 'freshness', it's horrible.....but today is the dreaded six monthly flat inspection day and as usual I have been up since the crack of dawn with all things clean, and in theory sweet smelling, in my usual efforts to eradicate every trace of our smoking sins in a no smoking property!

I'm pretty sure I succeeded in my eradication but I suspect the heinous perfume offered up by the iconic Shake n Vac dust is probably as much an irritation for any one's alveoli as cigarette smoke and not much sweeter smelling! Did our parents really think this stuff was pleasant way back when?

...and as usual on these occasions, Hammy is in hiding in the bottom of the wardrobe and the darkness has again fooled her little nocturnal body clock resulting in much scuffling and noise making....I think perhaps she needs a little more training in the principles of a 'covert mission'!


*Oh and... GO OBAMA!!

Brand and Ross - Some perspective please?

What's with all this ridiculous hoo ha over Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand then?

The media are obviously suffering a slow news week to be making so much of this story and the 10000 of the good and the righteous, who apparently contacted the 'powers that be' to complain about the incident, must have little of importance in their lives if they can get so hot under the collar over what is in reality little more than a prank that overstepped the mark.....albeit arguably not in a very kind way.

I'm not a fan of Brand, though I will admit to being rather amused by Ross and I can perhaps understand why Andrew Sachs and his granddaughter might feel slightly affronted but hell fire, have people lost all sense of humour and perspective? The stunt might have been a little over zealous and somewhat ill considered but it was hardly a hanging offence now was it?!

These guys, like them or not, are at the top of their game, they are in a branch of the industry that has always pushed the boundaries and always will, it's how the 'art', for want of a better word, evolves and it's not too many years since the pious and petty were creating a similar commotion about Monty Python and like (the link is not lost on me, Python, Cleese, Sachs, see where I'm at here?!!!) and look what happened there!

Ok, if it is felt appropriate then an apology might be in order but to sack the pair of them would be utter codswallop!! Hammers and nuts come to mind.....and even more so given that the whole issue lost any credibility when this morning it would appear Sachs granddaughter has seen fit to talk to The Sun!

She must be feeling "totally and utterly exposed and betrayed" then!

I rest my case.

One thing is for sure...most of us had never heard of Georgina Baillie (that's the granddaughter if you were still in any doubt) before all this, but we certainly have now...funny that isn't it? What is it they say about any publicity being better than no publicity?

If the BBC, long time British establishement benchmark of common sense, reason and forward thinking, capitulate in the face of pressure to sack these guys they will go way down in my estimation. An apology? yes, a severe reprimand? maybe but sacking?..... let's get just a little perspective here shall we chaps!!

'Corpsing' at it's very best

Yesterday, during a news bulletin on Radio 4, the usually very stern and proper presentation that is the norm for this most revered bastion of British seriousness was utterly lost, when Charlotte Green got a fit of the giggles on air, unfortuantley whilst reporting the death of Abby Mann!

Maybe it's just me but every time I listen I too can't help but dissolve into stupidity...it's hilarious, Ms Green 'lost it' completely and help from a colleague only served to worsen the situation.

To hear it click this link and then the 'listen' link on the page. This is corpsing at it's very, very best!

I defy you to not be highly amused! :o)

T5 traumas

Sorry, I don't mean to snigger but really, day one of Heathrows T5 could barely have turned into more of a debacle could it?!

I know I have absolutely no knowledge of how one runs such an operation but I am assuming that BA's Director of Operations Gareth Kirkwood has at least some inkling given his vast salary!


It was hard to tell watching at the footage of the pigs ear that unfolded as the place fell apart yesterday and rarely have I seen anyone look quite so uncomfortable and unconvincing while desperately trying to explain it away to the media.

Over thirty flights cancelled, baggage arriving hours late, or not at all, baggage handling systems that failed almost completely, poorly trained (by their own admission) staff who hadn't seemingly got a clue, poor information, closed check-ins and queues that made the first day of Harrods sale look like utter calm....the list just went on and on!

"We always knew the first day would present a unique challenge", were some of Mr Kirkwood's own words when interviewed by the press...... a challenge apparently that he didn't rise to with much in the way of spectacular success!

....and thus far today at LHR seems to be getting off to an even more abonimable start!

The Mills & McCartney effect

Today is the day that Mr McCartney will discover just exactly how much lighter his bank balance is as the result of his recent foray into marriage and Ms Mills will learn just how much one can earn for spending four years living the high life with one of the world's modern icons.

I'm not particularly fond of either one of them I have to say, though McCartney's impact on the music industry would be hard to refute and Mills ability to turn a personal tragedy into something apparently positive is quite impressive. A personal liking for the individuals concerned is not what worries me about all this though, rather the fact that here we have to grown people, who are big enough and ugly enough to know better, wasting every one's time and our money fighting over something that should have been resolved with much more ease. Let's face it, within reason whatever sum Sir Paul has to part with isn't going to leave him living under and arch in an inner city and by the same token it is going to provide Ms Mills and the child of the union with a pretty attractive standard of living, even by her recently acquired standards!

It was suggested to me recently that the biggest error in all this was McCartney's stupidity in not having a pre-nup drawn up before said union took place....but therein lies the only aspect of the whole debacle that I have respect for. Perhaps it was purely stupidity that caused him overlook any future 'what if it all goes pear shaped' scenario though I doubt McCartney's legal minions would have allowed him to simply 'overlook' such a thing given his financial standing.

Perhaps he just had faith and trust, however misguided it might appear now, in the woman he loved! Call me naive if you will but that's not a bad thing in my book and I prefer what might be perceived as my state of naivety to the alternative option of cynicism, despite the fact that it has cost me dearly over the years.

Pre-nups have always been an odd conflict to me for whilst I can understand the modern cynics point of view that it is merely a realistic approach, believe me, as twice divorced I know realistic, it has along confused me how a couple can stand in front of an official of a denomination (or not) of their choosing and pledge their intended lifelong love and commitment.... whilst at the same time having so little faith in one another that they feel it appropriate to protect their assets from the destruction of divorce, before the words that should bind them happily of are even out of their mouths!!!

Is there not some inherently very worrying and very sad conflict going on there and does it not say a great deal that is not good about what we have become?

So, whilst I may not be McCartney's greatest fan I do however have massive respect for the man's apparent decision not to allow himself to fall victim to the cynical ways of today's rich and famous and instead take the route that he did. In the event it backfired on him quite spectacularly but his actions say much that is good about the man he is.

Ellen MacArthur has done it!

CONGRATULATIONS

to Ellen MacArthur who has just broken the world record for sailing solo around the world with over a day to spare!

What a woman.