Seven weeks - almost to the minute - after the lockout began, the CBC has settled its damaging dispute. The worker's union, the CMG, gives this as the settlement's top line:

"-- We have a strong commitment to permanent staff as the standard for employment at the CBC.

-- We have improved rights for contract and temporary employees.

-- Wages will increase by 12.6 percent over the life of the contract to 31 March 2009. There will be full retroactivity for all employees on the payroll prior to the lockout, including contract and temporary employees. There will also be a $1000 signing bonus.

-- And for the first time for our members in the Northern Service, there will be a premium of $800 per year for those who are required to work in more than one language."

It's not immediately clear when normal CBC operations will resume. Some semblance of normality may return as soon as Saturday, for the season opener of Hockey Night in Canada.

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posted 03 Oct 2005, 19.09 +0100

Culture

For €300 milliard you can develop fuel cells. And subsidize replacement of inefficient cars with more efficient ones. And explore ways of developing renewable forms of energy production. Three Hundred Thousand Million Euro is a lot of money.

And, of course, the war is going to cost more.

(Adapted from a commentary by Jerry Pournelle.)

permanent link
posted 03 Oct 2005, 19.10 +0100

Intellectual

Excellent news for fans of quality radio, as the inexorable rise of Lauren Laverne continues apace. After a thoroughly successful couple of years on Xfm's drivetime show, she's getting a deserved promotion to replace Christian O'Connell on the station's breakfast show. Mr O'Connell is disappearing off to the mushy AM signal of Virmin Radio from the start of next year, leaving a large hole in the most inventive morning programme around.

The rivals? Cliff Moyles on Radio 1 has never been as good as he likes to make out, the banter between John Humphrys and his guests makes the fast-declining Wogan sound sensible. Jamie Theakston is a boring presenter on a boring station, as are Elliott and Claire (BLOB), The Morning Crew (every GWR station everywhere), and Dr Fox has only taken the job on Magic as an insurance policy in case he doesn't get appointed leader of the Conservatives in December. Even Saga has rather buggered up breakfast this year, after letting Les Ross go, and the less said about the tiresome Ugly Phil the better.

Perhaps the most interesting battle will be between our Lauren and Johnny Vaughan at the other end of Crapital Radio Towers. Lest we forget (and, let's be honest, you had as well), Mr Vaughan and Miss Laverne both appeared on BBC-3's hastily forgotten Live at Johnny's in spring last year.

Apparently, Kerrang's one talent, Lucio, is favourite to take over Lauren's drive-time slot. Good call; when he was back in the Midlands, he worked there in a way that he doesn't on X's weekend breakfast. But the main news is that the dream of every 90s adolescent is set to happen. Waking up with Lauren Laverne.

Life is sweet.

permanent link
posted 03 Oct 2005, 19.42 +0100

Radio

To-day's Indytab reports...

People accused of racism often claim that many of their best friends are black. A Tory backbencher is about to go one better, by declaring himself a Gypsy in response to criticism of his attitude towards race relations.

David Davies, the MP for Monmouth, intends to alter the "ethnic group" to which he officially belongs, following criticism from the Commission for Racial Equality about his views on travellers.

The move is intended to deflect accusations of racism and highlight the fact that - according to Davies, at least - CRE guidelines allow him to claim membership of whatever community he wants.

"If I've registered as a traveller, I can say what I think without fear," he explains. "People won't be able to call me a racist. I travel quite a lot more than most of these people, between Monmouth and Westminster and Hungary, where my wife's from."

"There's also an important point to be made here: the rules on self-definition are very stupid and this will also draw attention to that."

Davies's move comes a month after he applied for a lottery grant to make a film on the "ancient customs of the settled community", having learned that the Heritage Lottery Fund had given Hampshire Council £50,000 to make a programme about travellers.

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posted 04 Oct 2005, 19.03 +0100

News

Ronnie Barker passed away yesterday. In his memory, we're to-night lighting four candles.

permanent link
posted 04 Oct 2005, 19.32 +0100

Culture

The latest load of rubbish from Google is Google Sets. In theory, one can put in the start of any set, and allow the algorithmic generators to complete it for you.

We said, "Labour", "UKIP", "Veritas", but the survey didn't come up with any other parties hosted by Robert Kilroy-Shaft. Not even the one for his daughter's wedding.

We said, e, i, pi, 0, G, but the survey didn't come up with any other mathematical constants, just random letters of the alphabet.

We said, "Gobo", "Mokey", "Wembley", and the survey said "Boober", "Red", so they got the easy question right.

We said, "Copyright infringement", "killing Usenet", "petulance", "invasion of privacy", and the survey failed to come up with the correct answer.

We said, "Winston Churchill", "Henry Cooper", "Lady Diana", "Maggie Thatcher", but the survey came up blank.

Google, your set-matching took a hell of a beating.

permanent link
posted 05 Oct 2005, 19.24 +0100

News

I promised a brief re-cap on the BBC's Switchover game. 1290 appears to be the top score, and there are some complex chains of transmitters stretching through Tyne Tees, Yorkshire, ATV, Thames, Anglia, HTV, and TVS. Here's a crib sheet explaining the various implications, roughly south-to-north. If you don't want to know the answers, look away now

Crystal Palace (Tha) --> Rowridge (TVS)
Oxford (ATV) --> Hannington (TVS)
*Sutton C (ATV) --> Oxford (ATV)
Mendip (HTV), *Sutton C --> Ridge Hill (ATV)
Waltham (ATV) --> *Sutton C (ATV)
*Talceston (Ang) == Sudbury (Ang)
Oxford (ATV) --> Sandy Heath (Ang) --> *Sutton Coldfield (ATV)
Oxford (ATV) --> Sandy Heath (Ang) --> *Talceston (Ang) --> Belmont (Y)
*Emley Moor (Y) == Sutton Coldfield (ATV) == Wrekin (ATV)
*Emley Moor (Y) --> Billsdale (TT) --> Chatton (TT)

The remaining implications should be reasonably easy to spot. For the purposes of this game, one can do Scotland, Ulster, and Channel either at the start or at the end, it makes no odds at all.

permanent link
posted 06 Oct 2005, 18.50 +0100

Intellectual

A listing of selected television and radio broadcasts, with a deliberate emphasis on culture and intellectual programmes.

Regulars
Composer of the Week (Radio 3, noon): Ockeghem and Obrecht.
Book of the Week (Radio 4, 9.45am and 12.30am): Untold Stories, by Alan Bennett.
Woman's Hour Play (Radio 4, 10.45am and 7.45pm): The World of Margaret, by Andy Barrett.
Book at Bedtime (Radio 4, 10.45): Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes, read by Clive Merrison. Two weeks.

Saturday

11am Radio 4 Sixty Years of Today in Parliament

Since 1945, BBC Radio has broadcast a daily summary of the proceedings in the Commons and Lords. Mark D'Arcy talks to the people behind a national institution.

1pm Radio 2 It's Been a Bad Week

Well, they kept this one quiet. The Punt - Dennis - Perkins - Benn - Longworth comedy axis returned last week, without telling anyone. This show works far better at 10pm Thursday.

7.10 BBC-4 Friday Night is Music Night

Roy Hudd joins the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by John Wilson, for the first ever TV recording of this radio favourite featuring light classics and period songs. Guests include soprano Janis Kelly.

8pm History Channel Declassified: Rise And Fall Of The Wall

The story of the brutal life and catastrophic death of the Berlin Wall, the central symbol of the longest war of the 20th Century.

8.10 BBC-4 Music for Everybody

Light music was once loved by millions but now is almost completely forgotten. The stories behind the cheerful melodies that dominated postwar British radio. Caution: contains Brian Kay.

9.10 BBC-1 Test the Nation

Know Your English Test. Anne Robinson and Phillip Schofield present an interactive quiz testing the English language. The night's expert is, er, John Humphrys.

Sunday

11.10am C5 The New Tomorrow

Well, they kept this quiet. The follow-up to The Tribe began last week, and is just about threatening to become a quality little drama in about three months, once the kiddies have stopped hamming it up. But one thing will prevent this: the on-screen signer for everyone watching via digital transmission.

8.05 BBC-4 When Britain Went Bananas

Documentary about the introduction of the banana to Britain in 1945 and the mass protests that followed the government's attempts to restrict it to children and pregnant women.

9.30 Radio 3 The Sunday Feature

Cold War in a Hot Continent For much of the second half of the 20th century the superpowers clashed in Africa, vying over newly independent states as they emerged from colonialism. Jane Standley hosts.

10.15 BBC-1 Panorama

Blair vs Blair. In the wake of the July 7th terrorist attacks the government is proposing new anti-terrorist laws, but they are already encountering serious opposition. The programme examines the government's plans and the significant differences of opinion even within the Blair household.

Monday

7pm BBC-1 Star Spell

Eamonn Holmes puts the spelling ability of celebrities under the microscope. Fiona Bruce, Mark Lawrenson, Vanessa Feltz and Brian Turner compete over four rounds of compelling spelling, with just one going through to the Grand Final.

8pm more4 More4 News

The line-up of digital enhancement channels is almost complete. ITV4 launches in 22 days, the CITV channel follows in the new year, but Channel 4's first off the mark with this programme. The daily schedule will include a film at 4, ER and Grand Designs from 6, and the More4 News from 8. Hosted by Sarah Smith, it's clearly aimed at those who might watch the BBC-4 News, but find the programme too annoying to watch. Followed daily (except Friday) by The Daily Show, the programme shown overnight on Comedy Centraal. I'm wondering if one show a week - as CNN has been showing for the past few years - might be more appealing. We shall see...

9pm Radio 4 Nature

What's in a Name? Taxonomy is the science of naming and classifying living things.

9pm BBC-2 Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace

Clinton Three-part documentary series looking at the Arab/Israeli peace process over the past six years. Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak persuades President Clinton to devote his last 18 months in office to helping make peace with PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Not that anyone will be watching that...

9pm more4 A Very Social Secretary

...because they'll be watching this. Bernard Hill, Robert Lindsay and Victoria Hamilton star as David Blunkett, Tony Blair and Kimberly Quinn in Alistair Beaton's wickedly funny feature-length drama inspired by a private affair held up for very public scrutiny. Herr Plunkett is reaching for his liars already. Sorry, that should read "Herr Plunkett is reaching for his lawyers already."

9.30 Radio 3 Voices

Harold Pinter A special edition to mark Mr Pinter's 75th birthday.A new dramatic work with a musical setting by James Clarke.

10.30 more4 Rory Bremner: Sex Money Politics

British political scandals from Profumo to the present day, featuring Rory Bremner, archive material and music.

11pm more4 The Last Word

Mark Dolan hosts the first week of More4's weekday topical talk show that provides an alternative take on the day's events. Joining him will be opinionated journalists, cultural commentators, comedians, and the ilk. There's going to be a fantastic drinking game here, and remember that Mark Lamarr will always count double.

11pm Channel 4 Whatever Happened to The Gender Benders?

The first episode in a three-part series examining the personal stories behind some of the cultural controversies of the 1980s. Steve Strange, Marilyn, Boy George, Philip Salon, Rusty Egan and Mark Almond.

Tuesday

8pm Radio 4 File on 4

Speedy extradition procedures for terrorist suspects are intended to ensure that justice is carried out swiftly. Critics claim they have precisely the opposite effect. Gerry Northam has more.

9pm more4 Kidnap Ronnie Biggs

The remarkable story of "Operation Anaconda" - the 1981 mission to kidnap Ronnie Biggs, the infamous Great Train Robber, from Rio and bring him back to British soil.

9.30 Radio 4 The Long View

Jonathan Freedland presents the series that looks for the past behind the present. The forthcoming Conservative Party leadership contest. (Also 9am.)

Wednesday

11.30 Radio Scotland Fresh Air

Mark Stephen examines how the Scottish energy companies have improved their use of sustainable energy such as marine energy.

7pm Radio 2 Nick Barraclough

Alison Krauss and Union Station in concert at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

9pm Radio 3 BBC Symphony Orchestra

Leonard Slatkin conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a recording of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Three Screaming Popes, written in 1988-9 in response to the angst of Francis Bacon's paintings.

9pm Radio 4 Behind the Superficial

Series about the hidden science in some places which is nowadays taken for granted. As the sun rises over Stonehenge, Mark Stephen discovers the latest thinking about how the stones were shaped and transported to the site and who was behind the creation of one of the world's most mysterious monuments.

10pm Radio 2 Classic Singles

Fran Healy this week, talking about Good Vibrations.

Thursday

7pm BBC-2 The Culture Show

Birmingham is the centre of ballet. Who'd'a'thunkit?

9.30 Radio 3 Night Waves

Paul Allen talks to Mark Haddon about his first collection of poems The Talking Horse and The Sad Girl and The Village Under the Sea, the follow-up to The Curious Incidient of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Friday

11.05 Radio Scotland The Raw Deal

Celebrating the launch of the BBC's RaW campaign, Kaye Adams puts celebrities under pressure as their knowledge of everything wordy is tested.

8.20 Radio 3 Twenty Minutes

Applause! Richard Foster asks why we clap our hands to show our approval.

9.30 Radio 3 Night Waves

Robert Fisk talks to Philip Dodd about his personal memoir The Great War for Civilisation: Conquest of the Middle East.

9.30 BBC-1 Have I Got News For You

Comedy quiz show that grills celebrity contestants on the week's news, with guest host Jack Dee, and team captains Paul Merton and Ian Hislop.

11pm Radio 4 Trafalgar Trail

Nick Utechin goes in search of monuments to Britain's greatest naval victory. Nelson's Column dates from 1843, almost forty years after the Battle of Trafalgar, but other places at home and abroad were quicker off the mark in honouring Britain's greatest seaman.

permanent link
posted 06 Oct 2005, 19.17 +0100

Culture

Last week, Simon Singh (mentioned by some as a possible replacement for Peter Snow now that he's hung up his swing-o-meter) opined that Katie Melua's recent hit Nine million bicycles was scientifically illiterate. Britain's most famous mathematician (well, one could argue that that's Rob Eastaway) (Or Marcus du Sautoy of Mind Games) (Naah, gotta be Puzzle Panel's Chris Maslanka) (Surely it's David J Bodycombe, he gets everywhere these days) (What about Ian Stewart?)

Enough, otherwise we'll be listing the uncountably large number of famous British mathematicians, and then the uncountably large but exactly equal number of famous foreign mathematicians. (Or famous British mathematicians for large values of "British".)

Er, where was I? Ah yes, Simon Singh opined that Ms Melua didn't understand the scientific process. The couplet that roused Mr Singh's ire: " We are 12 billion light-years from the edge / That's a guess / No one can ever say it's true". It prompted him to launch into this passionate defence:

To say that the age of the universe is "a guess" is an insult to a century of astronomical progress. The age of the universe is not just "a guess", but rather it is a carefully measured number that is now known to a high degree of accuracy.

As soon as the idea of the Big Bang was proposed in the 1920s, astronomers set about trying to work out when the bang happened. Initial estimates were, not surprisingly, wildly inaccurate, but by the 1980s it was known that the universe was 15 billion years old, give or take 5 billion years. Today, the very latest data implies that the age of the universe is precisely 13.7 billion years. This is an astonishing result, because astronomers are giving the first decimal place in their estimate of the age of the universe, implying a hitherto unheard-of level of confidence in their measurements.

In short, Katie Melua has no right to call the age of the universe "a guess" or quote it as 12 billion years when we now know it to be 13.7 billion years old. You might think that I am being rather uptight, but the role of the scientist is slowly being undermined with a growing belief that scientific results are merely subjective guesses that go in and out of fashion. In fact, scientific results are a careful attempt to objectively measure reality, and although they may be refined over time, they are always our best hope of getting at the truth.

As observant readers will note, it wasn't so much the "12 billion" number that got the great mathematician's hackles up, but the assertion that scientific research is pure speculation. Does Ms Melua want to damn herself by association with those who put around unfalsifiable theories, like the "intelligent design" crows?

To-day, the song's composer Mike Batt had a bite back. Mr Batt, the most famous writer of songs performed by Wombles, completely and utterly misses the point. He spends half his time defending the titular claim of "nine million bicycles in Beijing", when this was never in dispute; and the other half justifying his use of "twelve billion". The only time he attempts to attack the nub of Mr Singh's argument, Mr Batt falls flat. As for the word "guess", I would point out that his own, very funny, rewrite of my verse ... does itself contain the words "good estimate", which is not a million miles (or 12bn light years) away from a guess.

Actually, Mike, it is a million miles away from a guess. There is strong and compelling, yet ultimately refutable, scientific evidence behind Mr Singh's position. Behind Mr Batt's claim lies nothing that can be tested.

It's a shame that a leading songwriter should prove himself to be not only innumerate, but incapable of rational argument. Still, when you spend half your life dressed up as Tobermory, it's rather to be expected...

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posted 06 Oct 2005, 20.39 +0100

Intellectual

According to a documentary to be shown on BBC-2 next week, Mr President X, a man with illusions of power and delusions of adequacy, claims to have been told by god to launch his campaign of warification against Iraq.

We spoke to Mrs God, who rolled her eyes and gave this comment. "Oh dear. It sounds as though this Bish person has been listening to false prophets again, the sort who are only after a quick profit for themselves. No, I did not give anyone permission, justification, or any sort of support for a war in Iraq. What you humans do on a day-to-day basis is, quite frankly, your own concern, though I do intervene in ways you can't possibly begin to understand.

"I think that this Besh chap may have caught the tail-end of a conversation I'll have three years ago, when Vishnu was having trouble with his neckwear. As a joke, I said, 'Why don't you invade Tie Rack, and get your money back?' It's the sort of thing we deities do.

"But no. I never told anyone to launch a massive destruction campaign. Especially not that bloke. In fact, I don't think any of us have spoken to him in many a long year."

Next week, we talk to Pluto and ask if he's going to let the planet named after him drop back to an asteroid without a fight. And we're going to ask Xena if she'll give that fight.

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posted 08 Oct 2005, 10.33 +0100

Intellectual

Readers may wish to note that I'm feeling more than a little under the weather, and posting may be a little sporadic, and slightly more loopy than usual, over the coming few days.

permanent link
posted 08 Oct 2005, 11.38 +0100

Introspective

The great questions of the Conservative party come back to haunt. What if Michael Heseltine hadn't had health troubles two days after the 1997 election, and gone on to take the party leadership? What if William Hague had stuck to his deal that week-end, and stood down in favour of Michael Howaerd?

Front page news on 2 May 1997 was of the Labour landslide. Front page news on 3 May was Major's resignation. Front page news on 4 May was Michael Heseltine recusing himself from the leadership race, owing to a heart moment. Had Hezza's health not intervened, the resulting contest would surely have been between himself, Ken Clarke, and John Redwood. Perhaps Michael Howaerd would still have stood, but Ann Widdecombe's "something of the night" speech would have driven the stake through his chances. Stephen Dorrell might also have stood, for all the good it did him. The resulting ballot, I suspect, would have seen Mr Redwood sail through to the final two, only to be defeated by the winner of the soft-left battle between Mr Clarke and Mr Heseltine.

Wind the tape forward two days; Hezza's out of the race, and Mr Howaerd thinks he's got an agreement from William Hague not to stand in the race. In our timeline, Mr Hague backs out of that pact, and goes on to win the prize. Had Mr Hague stood down, and Mr Heseltine also, Mr Howaerd might have looked a top bet to take the leadership. But Ann Widdecombe's attack - and let's assume that she still makes it - would either have derailed the Howaerd campaign totally, or have ensured that Miss Widdecombe would be ostracised by the party. Ken Clarke gets passage to the last two, with Mr Howaerd and Mr Redwood running off for the second spot.

In both scenarios, there's a strong chance that John Redwood, and not William Hague, became Conservative leader in 1997. So this'll be a bit of a disaster, then, but it does rule out the possibility of Wotsisface Smith becoming the nominal leader in 2001. Mr Michael Portillo and Mr Clarke would have been the front-runners.

Why do I bring up eight-year-old history? Because the best Conservative leadership candidate for now, for 2005, got the job then, not now. As we've seen at the party conference this week, Mr Ken Clarke is looking every one of his 65 years; while Labour won't be going into the next election with a spring chicken as leader, neither will it propose someone in his 70s as national leader. Dr Liam Fox and Mr David Davis have spent the week buttering up their own activists, rather than setting out a stall to convince the general electorate. Mr Malcolm Rifkind would have made a strong contender in 97 and 2001 had he been in parliament, but - sadly - his year has passed.

It's the Notting Hill set, and their leadership contender David Cameron, that has shown the way forward. His off-the-cuff speech on Wednesday had a verve, a zip, a zeal for reform that reminds me of Mr William Clinton at his most inspiring. The Conservative's finance spokey, George Osbourne, appeared on Moron and Platitudinous last night, and while not quite as inspiring as his colleague, echoed the return to One-Nation Conservatism.

In the final analysis, their policies of social justice and inclusion are going to be the battleground for the next election, and they're the places where Labour has failed to deliver. The only trouble is that Mr Osbourne feels a bit young to be the leader of his party. They needs a slightly more mature person, someone who can be the figurehead for the party's inevitable policy re-think. Come in William Hague, now is your time to take the step up.

permanent link
posted 09 Oct 2005, 14.17 +0100

Politics

The European Court on Human Rights has ruled on the UK's blanket ban to deny prisoners a vote. "Go away and think about it," said the court. That was all. There's no excuse for the tabloid press to froth at the mouth, with utterly false statements along the lines of "Huntley and Brady to get the vote, says Brussels".

For one thing, Charlie "Charlie" Falconer was on Radio 5 within a couple of hours of the result, saying that he couldn't conceive of circumstances where all prisoners would get the vote. Parliament and society will have to think about the matter, and they may extend the franchise to some prisoners under rules yet to be devised, but dangerous criminals won't get it until they get out. For another thing, the Human Rights court is nothing to do with the European Union.

Still, never mind the facts when they fit a pre-determined agenda, eh?

According to the press pack, this year's Nobel Peace Prize was meant to go to Mr St Bob Geldof and Mr St Bono, architects of the deeply flawed G8 Settlement on Africa, a document that wasn't worth the paper it was written on when it was signed, and that's turned out to be all hot air and no action. Instead, the prize has gone to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a group that stood up to the liars claiming that Iraq had nuclear weapons. "No they don't," said the IAEA, and even the corrupt fibbers have admitted the accuracy of that statement.

In New Amsterdam, there are claims of "a specific and credible threat" to the underground system. Would this be the same sort of "specific and credible threat" that the Sunset Times cited back in August, claiming that a tanker would explode in a petrol station by mid-September. As we all know, it's not happened. As we all know, there is no specific or credible threat to the integrity of the NA underground. There is a specific and credible threat to the career of the Nationalist party's leadership, and the career of Nationalist party politicians.

Another nasty earthquake in northern Pakistan leaves over 10,000 dead. The British government has pledged the miserly sum of £100,000. These things only go one way - Gordon Brown gives some loose change, the public gives a stupendous amount, and the government then slaps an extra wodge on the table out of shame. Stick a 0 on the end already, Gordy, stop looking like a skinflint.

permanent link
posted 09 Oct 2005, 14.19 +0100

News

We hear that Emma Nem is getting revenge on Handytones. Sadly, the rapper is only targetting those who make pisspoor tunes out of her work, and only those who don't pay her a bung to make something better than the original. If only the future Mrs Jaeda had taken out a contract on Verisign's Annoying Thing thing.

In other pop news, The Wyrd Sisters are suing The Warner Brothers over a band in the new Harry Potter motion picture. They've been called The Wyrd Sisters for years, and reckon that Yakko and Wakko's offer of USD 50,000 (CAD 5.63) for the inconvenience is a slap in the face. They seem to be getting confused with Skippy's aunt.

Major development this week is the outbreak of hits for three acts making overdue comebacks. Details in...

North Europe's Top Twenty

 20  8 Sean Paul - We be burning
 19  7 Him - Wings of a butterfly
 18 16 Kelly Clarkson - Since you've been gone
 17 14 Dezil - San ou (la riviere)
 16 re Tokio Hotel - Durch den monsun
 15 19 Gorillas - It's there
 14 13 Coldplay - Fix you
 13 10 Pinocchio - T'es pas cap Pinocchio
 12  6 Rhianna - Upon the replay
*11 18 Juanes - La camisa negra
*10 NE Tatu - All about us
* 9 NE Depeche Mode - Precious
* 8  9 K T Tunstall - Suddenly I see
  7  5 Shakira - La tortura
  6  4 Crazy Frog - Axel f
* 5 11 Franz Ferdinand - Do you want to?
* 4 NE Sugababes - Push the button
* 3  3 Pussycat Dolls - Don't you
  2  2 Daniel Powter - Bad day
* 1  1 James Blunt - You're beautiful

We've already waxed lyrical about the genius of Antan Decski, it suffices to note that this is only scoring in the UK, Sweden, Finland, and Latvia. A synchronised trans-continental release could have seen them go higher. It might yet work for Depeche Mode, already top of the pile in Latvia and Poland, and released in the main sales markets last week. The Sugababes, meanwhile, are working their fourth album of the decade, and the lead single is another cool groove of the sort they do so effortlessly.

The Sugababes' track is a deserved number one in the UK, and retains that position for a second week. They've kept the tedious Bert Bills down to second place with his dull-as-anything comeback single. Depeche Mode have a number 4 single, they've never placed higher in the UK. Bloc Party put Two more years in at position 7, their biggest hit by quite a margin. Even better, Mariah Cantsing is only at 9, the great insect vocalist Cricket Martin can only make 11, and Rachel Stevens is 12. James Blunt's re-released High cracks at position 16 second time around, a similar place to where his bigger hit first entered. Remixes from the Prodigy are at 20, with Starsailor's rather good In the crossfire at 22. Cartoon acts are all over the charts this week, with the Gorillas at 15, the Flopstars at 8, and Jo O'Meara at 24, in addition to Cricket and Bertie. And there's more: the Brats are at 23, and former North Europe Number One Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil has a number 32 hit.

On the albums listing, You could have it so much better with Franz Ferdinand is new at the top. Paul Anka's big-band arrangements of pop tunes, Rock Swings debuts at 9. Hope he's going to acknowledge the Scala group, who have been turning pop into choral works for years. Bullet For My Valentine have the only other entry of note, at 21.

permanent link
posted 09 Oct 2005, 14.34 +0100

Entertainment

A settled week, but one that turned out to be cloudy and rather cloying as it went on. Relief and brighter skies came through on Saturday afternoon.

03 Mo cloud               10/13,  0.0
04 Tu cloud               10/15,  0.0
05 We cloud                8/13,  0.1
06 Th fog                 13/14,  0.3
07 Fr cloud               13/16,  0.5
08 Sa cloud, rain pm      14/16,  9.2
09 Su sun                  6/14,  0.3

For the early part of next week, there's a front just to the left of us (literally - it seems to spend much of the week stuck in the Irish Sea and draping itself from Glasgow to Aberdeen). Southerly winds will be the order of the day, so warm temperatures, and I suspect rain will never be far away. The general consensus is that the front will pass over the rest of the UK around Thursday, pushed on its way by a deep low in the Atlantic. An early warning: some of the models for next Saturday and Sunday show severe winds, though it's not immediately clear where they'll strike.

permanent link
posted 09 Oct 2005, 18.38 +0100

News

older writing... write to