Matt T asks when did two Cabinet ministers last resign on the same day? Trivially, the answer is on or after 2 May 1997, when the entire Major cabinet resigned. One could argue that the answer could be the reshuffle in June 2003, when Alan Milburn resigned to spend more time plotting against Gordon with his family, and Helen Liddell may have resigned rather than be downgraded. Otherwise, try the October 1999 reshuffle, when George Robertson went off to head NATO, and Frank Dobson went to insult presenters on GLR.

That was then: this is now. The cross between an elephant and a rhino still hasn't resigned from the cabinet, and it turns out that he hasn't even offered to resign, according to a report in to-day's Daily Blair. This would explain his platform in to-day's Eastern Daily Press: I will tough it out, says Elephino. Het Grauniad says that senior figures want Mister Tony Blair to name his resignation day. Rachel North-London, a sort-of figurehead for the Anyone But Blair band, makes the connection between the foreign prisoner problem and Mister Blair's obsession with reducing asylum figures a few years back. And, just for the record, Iain Dale recounts Labour's Top 50 Sleaze Scandals.

It's election day on Thursday, and we have how to back Anyone But Blair in every ward of the West Midlands. I've revised the advice on how to vote in Sandwell : Abbey (now Vote LD) because Bob Piper is a lying toe-rag.

About two-thirds of the seats contested this week were last fought in 2002, when Labour lost some ground to the Conservatives; the BBC's vote projection suggested the Tories were a point ahead, with the Lib Dems about 6% behind Labour. The other third were fought in 2004, when all the Metropolitan councils in England had all-out elections. Labour did very badly that night, losing almost 500 councillors. The only successes for the party were in a corridor up the M6, from Wolverhampton through Stoke and Wigan to Carlisle.

All this means that there's not a tremendous amount of room for the Tories to tilt at in the big cities, and their main hopes come in London. For parity to be restored, Labour needs to make gains in places like Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester. Don't be distracted by Labour acolytes suggesting that they've "only" lost 200 seats or so; this would probably translate into a Conservative overall majority nationwide.

permanent link
posted 01 May 2006, 15.42 +0100

* It's been a pleasantly warm week-end, which has to be good news when your central heating system is suffering from a malfunctioning timer, and hence is not allowing the boiler to fire up when the thermostat or the hot water say they want some hot water. The gasman will cometh on his next working day, Wednesday. It's at times like this that I'd sacrifice one of the May bank holidays in favour of ones in February, June/July, and October.

* I see that the world snooker championship will probably be won by Dott, making it the first major sporting title to be won by a cartoon character since the 1984 French Cricket championships, where Shaggy and Scooby medalled.

Back on Saturday night, when I probably still had a functional boiler, it was a concert by My Latest Novel. They're great on record, but the live set really brings out the wide, expansive nature of their sound. And there's a certain Gaelic sensibility running through their work, which I suppose inhabits the space between Arcade Fire, Runrig, and the Raveonettes.

permanent link
posted 01 May 2006, 16.23 +0100

Another day, another fine BBC idea. This time, it's the combination of the Audioscrobbler software and the Beeb's Livetext database, to produce a database of recent tracks. It's there for 6 Music, and has recently been extended to Radio 1, Radio 2, and 1xtra.

Of course, this whole project is limited by the Scrobble's limitations. We get to see the people who listen to similar music as these stations, but not the performers that are popular amongst these people but don't feature on the radio. A shame.

There's a lot of irony in Het Grauniad writing a piece about how bad spellers are taking over the world. Did Suzy Dent's work dye in vein?

Dott finally won the snooker, but it dragged on and on and on so long that you could have performed the entire Ring Cycle in the time it took those two to put a few balls down some holes. Anyway, to-day's obAnimaniacs reference comes from Good Maths, Bad Maths, explaining why the creationists are still wrong. The reason? They don't know science.

permanent link
posted 02 May 2006, 19.48 +0100

Stephen Pound was all over the news yesterday, bigging up the elephant/rhino cross (why is he still in office?) while casting aspertions on the competence of John Prescott. Could it be because Mr Pound is the PPS to Hazel Bleary? Couldn't be because he's on the Elephino's pay-roll...

Retired judge Gerald Butler says that criminals weren't considered for deportation, they were recommended for deportation. Polly Filler says that Labour are hopeless and advise people to, er, hold their nose and vote for them. This directly contradicts her advice last year, to back the movement to Proportional Representation. Or the rationale for holding your nose - vote Blair, get Brown. This hasn't happened, looks a more distant prospect now than it did 13 months ago, and may well not be the rosy future that Polly would like it to be. No, if you want to send a message to Labour, don't vote Labour. For readers in the West Midlands county, ward-by-ward tips are here.

Readers are cautioned against following this link, containing the Prescott details that weren't published because they're too gross. Again, do not follow this link unless you want to see extremely gruesome images. Look, that link should carry all the health warnings of the Slimby™ picture and more, it's that disgusting.

permanent link
posted 02 May 2006, 20.07 +0100

To Diane C., yes, you do deserve so much better, and I'm absolutely certain that you will have something better very soon indeed. Nowt but support from here.

In slightly better news, the gasman did indeed cometh, knocking on the door just about 10.50. By 11.35, he had replaced the pump that had seized up and caused the timer unit to blow a fuse. And I now have the luxury of being able to shower in hot water. Hurrah.

It has been the most glorious mid-spring day; the sun's shining, there's a warm breeze, and all I need is an excuse to complete the wireless network and allow myself to work on a just-outside broadcast. Blimmin' tired, though, I've not had a proper night's sleep since Friday.

How much does your aeroplane ticket stub say about you? An awful lot, especially if you're travelling to the FARCE. And, guess what. These failed colonials think that they can hand out your personal details like shop-bought pick 'n' mix.

Shame on Air Canada, breaking the link between Newfoundland and the UK that was promised at Confederation. Profit is no substitute for your treaty obligations. The journey time will increase from five-and-a-half hours on the direct flight to a minimum eight-hour trip, and that's if the connections are watertight. It's almost enough to make one travel to the wild wild west, like Halifax.

And those who would rather be on UTC -2½ may be interested in the CBC's new podcasts for all regions of the country, Newfoundland This Week, The North This Week, and The Wild Wild West This Week. Apparently, there are also casts for each of the provinces further to the left, but they do rather merge into one once you're past Port-aux-Basques anyway.

Hurrah to comedian Iain Duncan-Smith, who donated two grand of winnings from to-night's School's Out to schools in Armenia. Tonika bangs the drumma!

You read it here early: yesterday's piece about John Prescott's limitations has now appeared in the Indytab's diary.

For our viewers in the North, I note that CNBC will be repeating the Conan In Finland episode on Thursday of next week, the 11th.

For all our readers, the Karmah record I tipped a week and a half back is to-day's Record of the Day Today. According to the talent scouts: The elements are the Police Every Breath You Take guitarline, a rap that is just the right side of cheesy, and the Beats International chorus. Does it work? We think so - and it's an engrossing listen finding out. It's an Italian production from 1997 that did very little back then but its time has come. Hear it online for the next few weeks.

permanent link
posted 03 May 2006, 21.22 +0100

It would be interesting to contrast to-night's election results against those from nine years after Mrs Thatcher came to power. Regrettably, the BBC's INFAX archive doesn't carry full details of DISTRICT VOTE 88, the main results programme for the elections in 1988. We do have a summary of what was shown on the following night's Nine O'Clock News.

Var s Labour celebrate their win at Southampton - Graphics - s' people celeb at unidentified place. Mcs votes being counted at unidentified place. - graphics INTV mcs Dr John CUNNINGHAM MP, Labour are delighted with the results INTV mcs Peter BROOKE MP, Conservative Party Chmn was a thoroughly satisfactory result.Gains made by them & Lab were at the expense of the SLD & minor parties. INTV mcs David STEEL MP, SLD Joint Ldr, are down on their total-but pleased considering the 'painful & difficult year' the party has had. S' results are read out at Bradford-Conservative win. John COLE REP TO CAM in studio. NB: 6.00pm version kept at 127/88/13ec dur 02m45s Different results being announced (Bath & Derby) Also incls CFX. NB: 1.00pm version kept at 127/88/14EC dur 02m15s Includes SLD supporters in pub in Stockport & recent progress at Bradford. Also incls CFX.

According to various records of council control, a number of authorities moved from No Overall Control to being ruled by Labour or Conservative, with relatively few going the other way. This is consistent with the 1984 Alliance vote collapsing following the botched merger into the Social and Liberal Democrats, leaving a rump Esdipi in a few areas.

Here's my brief thoughts for to-night's results, expressed in terms of Labour losses:

Lost seats kept below 100, only a few councils lost -- Recovery from the general election; keep a close eye on London and the SE, where Labour did particularly badly last year.

Losing around 200 seats -- Roughly on a par with 2004; councils will fall. This was the expectation going into the campaign.

Losing around 300 seats -- A psychological barrier: Labour will now be at or below 25%, and having its worst performance for a generation. Blair might well survive, but he would have to sacrifice Prescott and/or Clarke, and perhaps name his day.

Losing around 400 seats, and councils outside London -- this is the pattern of votes to cost Labour its overall majority at Westminster. Public calls for Blair's head by the week-end.

Losing 500 and more seats -- it's a complete Labour wipe-out, on the scale of the 1968 landslide that let John Major onto Lambeth council. Blair would surely have to go.

The Tories would be looking to take perhaps 150 seats, and some councils in London. More than 250 gains, or 40% of the national vote, would be a great result and enough to form a Westminster majority. The Lib Dems would also be looking for three-figure gains; anything over 150 would be very good for Campbell. Gaining more seats than the Tories would be fantastic, but very unlikely.

Readers in the West Midlands will want to be listening to Ed Doolan's Election Night Special on Radio WM from 10pm - it's the best guide to everything happening. Thanks to the extended voting hours this year, first results probably won't be in before 11, but we'll have most of them in by midnight-thirty. And you'll be able to check off the gains and losses against the West Midlands Voting Guide, where all the marginals and safe seats are indicated. Alternatively, the complete guide to all Metropolitan Councils is here, and The Times' Election Map will be indispensible.

permanent link
posted 04 May 2006, 20.11 +0100

One of m'learned friends writes...

A federal plan for an avian flu pandemic?!

A plan for something that might possibly happen, such as Nouvelle-Orléans suffering a catastrophic flood, or widespread outbreaks of foot-and-mouth or bovine-spongiform-encephalopothy? At least your primi inter pares are capable of coming up with a contingency plan. As opposed to the UK's government, for whom planning a party in a brewery is too complex, and don't even think about their approach to their secretaries.

someone tell me this is just another attempt at fear and distraction? please? is he about to blow some shit up and is just afraid we might notice?

Of course this is another attempt at fear, distraction, and general sleight-of-hand. I'm not entirely sure what the junta is trying to cover up this time - the complete collapse of Iraq, another ratcheting-up of tension in Iran - for the imminent toppling of the friendly regime in London is rather occupying minds here.

As for how one can not have a crush on god-des: see icon.

Not sure about this: Pheasant has farmer on run.

permanent link
posted 04 May 2006, 20.12 +0100

So, the results are in, and mixed fortunes all round.

Clear winners: Conservatives. 316 more councillors than they had a month ago, and a dozen more councils. I said yesterday that 250 gains would translate to 40% of the national vote, which leads to a notional Conservative overall majority at Westminster. It's a good night, not a great one; there's still not a single Conservative councillor in Liverpool, Manchester, or Newcastle. Certainly the party's best night since 1992, quite possibly since 1987.

Clear losers: Labour. 319 councillors have lost their seats, eighteen councils have gone. It's a poorer result than 2004, and over the psychological barrier of 300 seats that has led to major changes. I'll come to the cabinet reshuffle in a moment.

Bad night: Lib Dems, just a handful of net gains. Lots of gains in London are balanced by losses in the northern cities and elsewhere. They can bury it by saying Labour did worse, but they've lost ground in straight fights to the Tories.

Good night: None of the above; the Green party defended 6 and won 19, taking them to 95 local councillors to add to MEPs and MSPs. A decent night for the racists, picking up a handful of seats here and there.

Here are the changes:

LABOUR LOSE TO NOC (14)
==================

Barrow-In-Furness Lab since 03
Brent Lab since 98
Bury Lab since 95
Camden Lab since 71
Derby Lab until 02, and following defection last year
Hounslow Lab since 71
Lewisham Lab since 71, Lab retains mayor
Merton Lab since 90
Newcastle-Under-Lyme Lab 04, 79-00
Plymouth Lab since 03, still have half council.
Redditch Lab since 04 and 83-00
Stoke-On-Trent Lab since 04 and 96-00, Lab retains mayor
Tower Hamlets Lab since 94, ALL/LD 86-90, Lab before.
Warrington Lab since creation in 97

In London, where polls take place every fourth year, these were the worst results since the 1968 meltdown, even worse than the Falklands Factor elections in 1982. Elsewhere, Labour is losing councils that aren't quite heartland, but are areas that would tend towards Labour. Warrington, Redditch, Derby are places that the Tories would need to be winning to do well at Westminster.

LD LOSE TO NOC (2)
==============

Islington LD since 02, still have half council.
Milton Keynes LD since 02, Lab 96-99

CON LOSE TO NOC (3)
===============

Gosport LD 91-98; C had nominal control through vacancy and still have half council.
Harrogate NOC 02-04, LD 94-02; C still have half council.
West Lindsey C since 04, NOC 98-04

Can't say there's much mileage in any of these.

CON GAIN FROM NOC (10)
=================

Bassetlaw Lab until 04, never previously C
Chorley Lab 95-99, last C in 82
Coventry Lab 79-00, last C in 78
Harrow Lab in 98, NOC 94, C 74-90
Hastings Lab 98-02, LD 96, NOC 80-95
Havering NOC since 86, C 78-82
Hillingdon Lab in 94, C 90
Mole Valley NOC since 82
Shrewsbury & Atcham C since 02; lost majority through vacancies
Winchester LD 95-03, last C in 86

Bassetlaw, Chorley, Coventry are also places that would need to be represented in any Conservative government. It's a surprise that they've not held Hastings or Winchester in decades, and perhaps bodes well to regaining the Commons seats.

CON GAIN FROM LAB (5)
=================

Bexley Lab 02, C 98, NOC 94, C 68-90
Crawley Lab since creation in 73
Croydon Lab since 94, previously C
Ealing Lab 94-02, C 90, Lab 86, C 78-82
Hammersmith & Fulham Lab since 86

More success in the London area, these boroughs are all straight fights with little LD presence.

LAB GAIN FROM NOC (1)
=================

Lambeth Lab in 98, 86-90

Even in 94 and 02, Labour were within sneezing distance of power.

LD GAIN FROM CON (1)
================

Richmond-Upon-Thames Con 02, LD 90-98, ALL 86

No Labour presence here.

LD GAIN FROM NOC (2)
================

South Lakeland NOC since 79
St Albans LD 94-99

Overall, then, a slight swing to the Conservatives in the Midlands and points south; very little change in northern England; and no data at all from Wales or Scotland.

Those Cabinet Changes In Full

All of which brings us to the rather large cabinet reshuffle, which includes the remnants left hanging since Herr Plunkett resigned six months ago, and the changes that have become due since.

Foreign Secretary OUT: John Straw. IN: Margaret Beckett

Fresh from messing up the Single Farm Payment scheme, and because the Safety Elephant turned the job down, Rosa Klebb now has the chance to bugger up Britain's relationship with the world outside Europe.

Leader of the Commons OUT: Geoff Hoon IN: John Straw

It's not the foreign office, but this is the man who has to steer through all the government's tricky business. And this sets him up as the Geoffrey Howe to Mister Tony Blair's prime minister.

Europe Minister OUT: Douglas Alexander. IN: Geoff Hoon

Europe gets its own cabinet portfolio, at last. Well, it did at 10am; by 11am, and following some foot-stomping from Rosa Klebb, Europe suddenly didn't get its own portfolio. Why are we thinking of the "Department of Productivity" or whatever they tried to re-name the Lord Chancellor's department the other year.

DEFRA OUT: Rosa Klebb. IN: David Milliband

But can he sort out the single farm payment fiasco, the dog that didn't bark in this election because it was almost entirely urban?

Interior Secretary OUT: Charles Clarke. IN: John Reid

Great. We lose one illiberal bruiser who was promoted above his ability, and get Clarke. Now we're rid of the greatest failure since the last one, and get yet another illiberal bruiser, this time from the Ministry of War. The campaign to get rid of the new failure in the Home Office begins here! Meanwhile, we have a resignation statement to prepare for...

Minister For War OUT: John Reid. IN: ???

Someone called Des Browne, whoever that is.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury OUT: That Des Browne person. IN: Stephen Timms

Former pensions minister. Could be one to watch.

Chancellor of the Ducky of Lancaster OUT: {vacant} IN: Hilary Armstrong

Incorporating the Social Exclusion ministry, which presumably involves giving John Prescott the cold shoulder when he's being boorish.

Chief Whip OUT: Hilary Armstrong. IN: Jacqui Smith

She's not up to much, but at least the new chief whip is out of nappies. The old one is going off to be the Social Exclusion Minister. Speaking of which...

Education Secretary OUT: R. Kelly. IN: Alan Johnson

The Catholic altarboy can now concentrate on his third-form SATs. Or not...

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister OUT: John Prescott. IN: R. Kelly

Promoted so far above his limited ability as to be a complete giggle. Actually, is it me or does R. Kelly come across as grey as did John Major. Anyway, the serial sex pest (that's Prescott) remains DPM, but loses his actual responsibilities; the ministry will now be known as the Department for Housing, Regions, and Other Stuff.

Department of Torpor and Inactivity OUT: Alan Johnson. IN: Alistair Darling

Which dodges one part of the West Lothian question, moving a Scottish MP to a UK-wide department.

Chairman of the Labour Party OUT: Ian McCartney IN: Hazel Blears

We should see less of her. Let's be thankful for small mercies.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander

Replacing half of Alistair Luvvie's department.

No move for Patricia Hewitt, remaining at health, so that's the best election night ever for her.

permanent link
posted 05 May 2006, 20.09 +0100

Stream of consciousness time.

1. An friend returns after three months away; this is more important than Liverpool winning the cup final. (Spoiler! Oh.)

2. The letter that's going around asking for Mister Tony Blair to name his date. There's another in the Torygraph. The Blairite bruiser John Reid (the cross between a rhino and an elephant) was on the telly at lunchtime accusing Gordon Brown of being behind the unpopularity. No, it stems from Labour being shit. D'Ancona suggests that Mr Reid is the emergency "Stop Brown" candidate for the ultra-Blairite.

Mr Reid went on to wibble about how getting rid of Mister Blair would mean Labour wasn't keeping its promises, and would inevitably interfere with the progress that his administration had achieved. This claim can be attacked on many levels. It is predicated on the Labour government being successful at improving public services, when the impartial evidence is undecided at best. The NHS is no safer than it was, education has not improved, and the economy's stability has been built purely by mortgaging the future. And Labour keeping its promises? What about keeping some of the 1997 manifesto commitments, such as this on the health service:

"Labour will end the Conservatives' internal market in healthcare. The planning and provision of care are necessary and distinct functions, and will remain so. But under the Tories, the administrative costs of purchasing care have undermined provision and the market system has distorted clinical priorities. Labour will cut costs by removing the bureaucratic processes of the internal market."

Or this, number eight from Labour's Top Ten:

"An integrated transport policy to fight congestion and pollution".

Or this one:

We are committed to a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. An independent commission on voting systems will be appointed early to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system.

Mr Reid, I look forward to hearing when Labour will be honouring these promises, for you have asserted that it would be impossible for an honourable party not to do so.

3. Popular search terms on this site last month included
albania land
bus coffee
god bless you mr. rosewater download
the so alarming that we've had to put it behind a thick line ann coulter cunnilingus rice,
and the even more alarming johnny vaughan denise van outen especially for you video

4. Questions people are asking: how many top 10 uk singles have the bee gees had to date Two - the fast one, and the slow one.
esli v serdce zhivet lyubov lyrics I would assume it went "Esli v Serdce, esli v serdce, zhivet ly-ubov! Zhivet ly-ubov!" to a fast techno beat.
i have a teensie weensie penis miss You are John Prescott and I claim my free dinner. Which you've eaten.
what are some reasons why people don't vote You are still John Prescott, and I'm hungry.

5. M'learned friend Brig Bother writes about the French show Cresus. It's a mix between Fact or Fib (off of Early Bird, C4Daily fans), the In The Red round from Jet Set, a random round from top Daniels / Monkhouse show Wipeout, the final from Grand Slam (but without the amazing voice-off skills of Nick Rowe), and an endgame that is a bit novel. Oh, and it's hosted by a bloke who looks a lot like Christopher Price.

6. Piers Moron has launched a newspaper for children. First News is a bright tabloid, with a front page that combines sport, celeb, and asking the hard questions. "What's the point of local elections?" is in one box; if only the grown-up press would ask the same question. If only the grown-up press would use its front-pages as well - three large stories and five teasers compete for space. This bears comparison with the Indytab, which rarely has more than one story and two teasers; or the Universal Daily Registertab, typically two stories and one teaser.

The market leader is the BBC's Newsround, which reported on the launch. (Caution: link contains picture of Moron.) It's not the first time that there's been a newspaper for children - the Children's News was published into the 1960s, and there were a couple of junior papers circa 1990 - the Indy came from the Independent stable, but folded after about a year; I think First Times was the rival, but that also went after a year or so. Anyone remember any more about these publications?

7. The Sunset Times reports that narrower motorway lanes will lead to more traffic. Squeezing in four lanes where there were three, making them six inches narrower, and enforcing variable speed limits will combine to reduce overtaking, diminish the stop-start nature of British driving, and ensure the maximal throughput of vehicles. It's obvious, really. The ultimate end will be to reduce the carrigeway to about 10 lanes, each six foot wide, allowing an almost infinite number of pedal cycles per hour through.

8. A very enjoyable edition of Question Muck on Thursday, rather overshadowed by the following election results. It was the Silver Jubilee of Beckett. Panellists were: Shadow from The Games (full name: Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Julia Goldsworthy Empee), making her debut; William Hague (former Conservative leader, making his 7th appearance); Margaret Beckett (former Labour leader, at the time of recording the minister for ruining the English countryside, since shuffled to toady at the Foreign Office with no responsibility for Europe, her 25th appearance); and Richard Littlejohn from Wanted (his sixth appearance).

We had one bloke who gave his apologies for forgetting one of the recent Conservative leaders, another who seemed to be chatting Mrs Beckett up. Mr Littlejohn is always good entertainment, and continued to mix populism and borderline racism. Mr Hague gave a fantastic analogy, suggesting that if one continues to be governed by people who are staying in office to sort out the mess they've created, we'll end up being governed by a bunch of incompetents. Then Mrs Beckett chimed in with a crack at the Tories, just proving Mr Hague's point. Shadow was a shadow, completely dominated by the grand dame of QM and by two fantastic entertainers. One dog that didn't bark, because the show was recorded in London, was the mess that Mrs Beckett's department has made of the single payment to farmers - she wouldn't have survived the hour outside of a city. The long exchange about the environment dragged terribly, but honours must go to Mr Littlejohn. He mused about John Prescott taking up cycling and being followed by a fleet of cars. One of them would contain his packed lunch.

9. Gladiators is getting repeats on Challenge, as usual, and the current shows are the International series that originally aired in early 1995. Don't think I've seen these since they originally went out, and hasn't Shadow changed in the years since!

permanent link
posted 07 May 2006, 18.07 +0100

 20 re Beverley Knight - Piece of my heart
*19 NE Bob Sinclar - World hold on
 18 re Rosenstolz - Ich bin ich (wir sind wir)
 17 18 Depeche Mode - Suffer well
 16  4 Najoya Bejel - Gabriel
 15 re Placebo - Song to say goodbye
 14 10 Diams - La boulette
 13  5 Corinne Bailey Rae - Put your records on
 12  2 Pink - Stupid girls
 11  9 Zutons - Why won't you give me your love
*10 re Pigloo - Le papa pingouin
* 9 NE Dirty Pretty Things - Bang bang you're dead
  8  7 Mary J Blige / U2 - One
* 7 14 Zucchero - Baila marena
  6  8 Juanes - La camisa negra
  5 17 Sugababes - Red dress
* 4 20 Rhianna - SOS
  3  1 Kelly Clarkson - Because of you
* 2 16 Shakira - Hips don't lie
* 1  3 Orson - No tomorrow

Gnash times six, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' lead single rising to number 2 - clearly the opinion that they have become a bunch of funking wankers has not spread to the Grate British Public. Beatfreaks climb to 3, which is better than Rockwell's original Somebody's watching me. Feeder have the highest new entry, Lost and found is in at 12, LL Cool J also makes the top 20. We Are Scientists, Panic At The Disco, Captain, and Forward Russia bring some decency to the bottom end of the listings, and Sigur Ros's climb continues. And ha ha ha at the Big Brothers, a crap rap act, whose new hit enters at position 57.

Albums: Snow Patrol are in at the top, with Tool and Pearl Jam clogging up the top five for one week only.

Here's the good stuff on the singles listing:

 3 21 Beatfreaks - Somebody's watching me
 6  4 Raconteurs - Steady as she goes
 8  5 Dirty Pretty Things - Bang bang you're dead
10  7 Snow Patrol - You're all I have
11 10 Kooks - Naive
17 14 Orson - No tomorrow
18 17 Fall Out Boy - Dance dance
21 NE We Are Scientists - Nobody move nobody get hurt
23 NE Panic At The Disco - But it's better if you do
24 44 Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla
25 19 Corinne Bailey Rae - Put your records on
28 23 Pink - Stupid girls
34 NE Captain - Broke
39 28 Embrace - Nature's law
40 NE Forward Russia - Nine
43 48 Beverley Knight - Piece of my heart
44 37 Zutons - Why won't you give me your love?
52 29 Flaming Lips - Yeah yeah yeah song
53 51 Fall Out Boy - Sugar we're going down
55 53 Sugababes - Red dress
56 54 Source - You got the love
61 57 Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
66 55 Kelly Clarkson - Walk away
71 26 HIM - Killing loneliness
75 re Arctic Monkeys
   - I bet you look good on the dancefloor

permanent link
posted 07 May 2006, 19.00 +0100

Rain cleared east behind a warm front on Tuesday night, to leave strong southerly winds. Temperatures soared on Thursday, but fell as quickly as they rose. Thursday was the first 20-degree day and the first 25-degree day of the year, a very rare occurrance.

01 Mo rain to sunny spells 7/13, 7.5
02 Tu cloud, drizzle       5/13, 1.0
03 We sun                 11/19
04 Th sun, warm breeze    10/26
05 Fr sun                 10/19
06 Sa sun to showers       8/18
07 Su cloud, drizzle      10/15

One degree heating day this week, the winter's total creeps up to 806. And we start the degree cooling days, the excess of daily maxima above 20 degrees C. This week's figure is 6, compared to 1 at this stage last year. 237 was the final DCD total in 2005, 184 in summer 2004.

permanent link
posted 07 May 2006, 19.11 +0100

older writing... write to