Caught a brief feature on Nose 24 (the amateur wing of BBC World) about a farmer who has come up with a profitable sideline: confetti made from dried flower petals. What an amazing idea! The paper confetti is a pain to clear up, and "bird-friendly" confetti never gets eaten by the feathered friends.

Of course, if we drop back a century or so, before the whole wedding industry grew up, the only form of confetti was dried flower petals. "It's a revolutionary idea," says the farmer. Well, yes, but only in the sense of revolving and completing circles.

Still on a religious tip, a discussion on Radio 4 (the official opposition station) about Cameron BB4. The softly-spoken Scot has become something of a religious figure after openly discussing his christian beliefs live on national television. "He's got power, not because he's in a position of authority, but because he's got something interesting to say," said one of the talking heads. That might just be the lesson of BB4, the lesson that's been somewhere within touching distance but I've not previously put my finger on.

Elsewhere, leaks suggest that the root-and-branch study into England's onerous school examination system will result in some radical reform. A National Diploma, similar in style to the Baccalaureate, would be available at four levels:

Entry level, equivalent to average achievement by a 14 year old;
Foundation level, similar to reasonable achievement at 16;
Intermediate level, good work for a 16 year old;
Advanced level, comparable with the existing A-levels.

Each level of the diploma would have a number of strands. Those mentioned include general education skills such as literacy, numeracy and IT; specialist study that could include vocational courses; supplementary courses which complement the specialist study courses; and extracurricular activities such as voluntary work, sport, and drama.

Some of these elements would be graded, others acknowledged once they had been achieved. The burden of assessment on students would be reduced, and there would be less reliance on written exams, especially for vocational strands.

The weight given to each element of the diploma would change as students moved through the levels. The leaks suggest eight specialist courses at intermediate level and three at advanced level from 16 onwards. "It's not a three-part sandwich with the same thicknesses all the way through," Mr Tomlinson said.

How the diploma is measured is yet to be decided - a key question for universities and employers. It could be graded using a points system; or as pass, merit and distinction, or first, second and third. But universities could know the scores achieved in the specialist courses as well.

Another open question: how to recognise the achievements of students who leave at 16. Students could move without having obtained a diploma but would have partial credits for the courses they had studied, and that could be picked up at a later date.

October 2005 is the current favoured date for the next UK General Election. I reckon it'll be launched at The Party conference, making October 27 the favoured date. Which means we have a new countdown, and Mr JP has two excuses for a good knees-up.

Soon to be former prime minister Mister Tony Blair may not have any good reasons, with Ms Clare Short the latest to call for him to go. The former International Development minister describes STBFPMMTB as "outrageous," and "absolutely crummy, unthought through, bad."

As an experiment... these were the stories on BBC3's 7 O'Clock News today:

• Skydiver's death last weekend - family appeals for help, police says it's murder.
• Briefs: Boys' education, yesterday's Manchester motorway crash, floods in China
• Dudley pensioner killed after chasing car thieves.
• Dead Cow Charities is going broke after losing a copyright action.
• World news: Channel 1 Russia on a Moscow bomb; LCI France on a Corsica trial; CNN on a Pittsburgh Pirate who whacked the sausage; ABSuck watches elephants doing it like mammals.
• Parents producing their own baby food.
• More briefs: Sudan air crash baby; cheap mobiles; Chelsea signs Jeremy; Ecuador volcano
• GM food is a waste of money, says the government.
• Weather: dry, warm, sunny.

The row between the BBC and Number 10 heats up further, as the corporation tells the unwelcome truth: soon to be former prime minister Mister Tony Blair is a "warmonger" who "oversold his wares". Not my words, those of a chief Spook in the Ministry of Secrecy and Coverups. "Senior Whitehall sources" say that "weapons of mass distraction will not be found."

Robin Cook, who resigned over the unlawful attacks in March, reminds us that "they said quite explicitly that there were weapons ... To establish that that is correct you do have to produce the weapons. You do have to actually produce the factories. You cannot now say 'Well, there were some scientists around who might at some time have had a capacity to develop it'."

Respected former PM Mr John Major lent his not inconsiderable support to an independent inquiry into the case for unlawful military actions, and backbencher Brian Donohoe said STBFPMMTB would have to resign when no WMD evidence turned up.

The European Football Cups - a brief history

Shortly after the Second World War, European football's governing body UEFA decided to capitalise on the arrival of television by creating some midweek contests to flog off. By 1960, the European Champions' Cup (for national league winners), the Cup Winners' Cup (for sides that had won their national cup) and the Fairs Cup (for other highly-placed sides) had become fixtures of the sporting scene, with the cream of the continent's clubs eliminating no-hopers in September, and facing off for the title in somewhere exotic like Warsaw or Barcelona in May.

The Fairs Cup was renamed the UEFA Cup in 1971, but the basic format remained the same. A 32-team knockout contest, each round played home-and-away, most goals after two legs progresses to the next round, away goals, extra time, and penalties split ties. After four rounds, the final is played at a neutral venue. The UEFA Cup has 64 teams and five rounds, and the final is played home and away, but is otherwise the same.

Two things happened in the mid 80s to challenge this cosy arrangement. First, more and more countries entered teams to the contest. A qualifying round needed to be played in August to reduce the main draw to the required 32 sides. Then the first round draw of the European Cup threw up Roma -v- Barcelona. The champions of Spain and Italy meet, with the winners able to play the Icelandic champions. Powerful TV interests threw a wobbly, as their home sides were going out after playing only two matches, and this didn't make it worth while paying huge money for television rights.

Stung by such criticism, UEFA tinkered with the format of its competitions. In 1990-91, the European Cup gained a Group Stage. 32 clubs still made it to the First Round, eight survived to the group phase. These hotshots were split into two groups of four, who played a mini-league of six matches, home and away against all opponents. The two top teams gained places in the final, TV companies gained two additional nights of advertising revenue, and everyone was happy.

Well, that was the theory. In practice, anytime your group is made up of the champions of France, Scotland, Belgium, and Russia (as happened in 92-93) your contest is in trouble. The 93-94 contest featured a half-hearted one-legged semi-final between the group winners and runners-up, but this mess was never repeated.

For the 94-95 European Cup, everything changed. The top eight champions went straight into a group phase, with the next sixteen playing off in a qualifying round for the remaining eight places. The group phase lasted until December, with the top eight coming back in a straighforward quarters, semis, and final arrangement from March.

To accommodate the changes to the European Cup, and the expansion in UEFA's membership following the breakup of the USSR and Yugoslavia, the remaining national champions cascaded to the UEFA Cup. From 1995-96, when the losers in the European Cup qualifying round took places in the UEFA Cup, two qualifying rounds were needed to sort out the chaff from the chaffier.

Still the television companies wanted more, and they got more. The 97-98 European Cup now had six groups of four, with a convoluted qualifying process of three rounds, and the top eight nations able to enter their runner-up in the third and final qualifying round. The six group champions and two best runners-up progressed to the quarter finals. The UEFA Cup still needed two qualifying rounds.

But what of the Cup Winners' Cup, I hear you cry? Fashion had moved away from this tournament, as it clung to the quaint notion of one country, one entry, one television contract. It didn't bring in much money, and so had to die.

Yet another reform kicked in for the 99-00 contests. The CWC was no more, with the 49 cup winners entering the UEFA Cup instead. Such was the overload in that contest that UEFA finally expanded the cup to seven rounds, but still needed to involve half the entrants in a qualifying round to reduce the entry to 128 clubs. Further fun is guaranteed when eight more dropouts from the EC enter the contest at the third round stage, ensuring the first round only features 96 clubs.

Up at the European Cup (now formally retitled the Champions' League), there were now eight groups of four, with sixteen clubs taking automatic entry - ten national champions, and six runners up. Third and fourth placed sides were entitled to enter in the qualifying round, while the minnows still had to work through three rounds to enter the group phase. After the group phase - now finishing in November - the top two in each group formed four more groups of four, from which the top two progressed to the quarters. Only in April, then, did we get simple cup action.

This year, there's yet another reform. Because the number of people who actually understand the current European Cup structure is very small, and the number of boring and meaningless matches very high, the second group phase is replaced by a simple knockout amongst the sixteen clubs. Because the group phase is stretched out until December, and the third placed side still cascades into the UEFA Cup, five rounds of the latter contest must take place after Christmas. It'll be a mess.

The current fashion in football is to reduce the number of matches for top players. As a direct result of this, the 2004-05 UEFA Cup will suffer yet another overhaul. 80 teams (down from the current 96) will contest the first round, so look for a two-round qualification process. The First Round Proper will be a straightforward knockout, with the 40 remaining sides splitting into eight groups of five. Each side will play two home and two away matches, according to a formula UEFA has yet to rig devise. The top three from each group will be joined by eight EC failures for the knockout phase, reducing from 32 teams to one in three months.

This will, apparently, reduce the pressure on leading players. Nine key matches in one contest in fourteen weeks will clearly help.

Just to really confuse, the formats for the 2006 World Cup and Euro 08 contests have been announced. Groups of six and seven for the former event, groups of seven and eight for the latter. With play-offs for the runners-up, that's a possible 16 matches just to qualify for the continental tournament finals. When UEFA will agree to some sort of pre-qualifying remains to be seen. The no-hopers, the likes of Liechtenstein and Andorra, brighten up the competition, but they have no reason to clog up the qualifying process.

What would Weaver do? A Champions' Cup of national champs; 1-8 qualify directly for the group phase, 9-40 through one qualifying round. Six groups of four, top two plus four best third-placed sides go to the round of 16, then it's straight knockout.

A Secondary Contest of 128 sides. 16 losers from the CC qualifiers, plus champs 41 and below (10 at present), cup winners (52), national runners-up (50). Straight knockout, seven rounds.

And a UEFA Cup, also of 128 sides, every league gets one place, and giving extra places to higher leagues. (For instance: 1-6 get 5 places, 7-15 get 4 places, 16-25 get 3, 26-34 get 2, 35-50 get 1.) Seven rounds, straight knockout.

There's no logical reason why these seven-round contests shouldn't begin in August, and be staggered a little through the season so they don't all take place in the same week.

Blimey...

It's really far too expensive to send things to Canada South on a regular basis. Shame.

Did the MILLION POUND RADIO SHOW first air in 1985, when the Pound Note was still around?

This first aid lark is tiring work. I'll need a sick day once it's completed (;

Yes, Angelina, we all know you do women.

The kids outside are really noisy, and have been since 4. Right through to 9:30.

Bit of a phyrric victory for Ali Campbell, the chief spin doctor for soon to be former prime minister Mister Tony Blair. MPs clear Campbell of exerting "improper influence" on the drafting of the government's "intelligence" dossier on Iraq, the Commons foreign affairs committee's report saying he played no role in including a controversial section saying Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction were deployable within 45 minutes. This result comes only on the casting vote of the committee's chairman, and the finished report attacks the government over its handling of the affair, and is scathing in its criticism of the February report, saying Tony Blair had "misrepresented its status" to MPs.

Yep, STBFPMMTB has misled Parliament. Time to go, duckie.

In a frantic attempt to distract the media, the government renews its attack on the BBC. The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said: "I believe that the BBC should now apologise"; the Corp told Straw to "bugger off", and committee member Sir John Stanley said the BBC row was a "sideshow and a distraction." Well spotted, sir!

The report concluded that on the decision to wage war on intelligence alone, "the jury is still out".

In the first dossier, published last September, the 45-minute claim was given undue prominence and said the language used was "more assertive than that traditionally used in intelligence documents".

It was "too soon to tell" whether the government's assertions on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would be borne out, but they also concluded that it was wrong for Mr Campbell or any special adviser to have chaired a meeting on intelligence matters and said the degree of independence given to his Iraqi Communications Group contributed to the affair of the February "dodgy dossier".

The MPs concluded that "the 45 minutes claim did not warrant the prominence given to it in the dossier, because it was based on intelligence from a single, uncorroborated source. We recommend that the government explain why the claim was given such prominence. We further recommend that in its response to this report, the government set out whether it still considers the September dossier to be accurate in what it states about the 45-minute claim, in the light of subsequent events."

Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay voted with the lone Liberal Democrat and the three Tories against five Labour colleagues on the 11-member committee to replace a conclusion clearing Mr Campbell with a paragraph stating the committee could not "resolve this matter satisfactorily" without access to all relevant papers and witnesses. Mr Donald Anderson cast his chairman's vote to include the statement clearing Mr Campbell, and promptly denied his committee was "toadying" to the government. Yeah, right.

Menzies Campbell for the Lib Dems said: "This report raises as many questions as it answers. The committee has done its best in the four weeks available to it, but a more rigorous inquiry is necessary. The case for an independent inquiry chaired by a senior judge is overwhelming."

Unfortunate Quotes Of Our Time:

"Nonentities on Big Brother" - Teletext letters has a high opinion of its contributors.

"I'll write more when I'm sane" - so your blog's going to fall silent for at least a year, probably much longer.

"Where's the justice in starting a war just because you'll benefit from the outcome" - Jack Bauer, 17.2 ep 19. Aired in the US in early April.

This is being done in your name, United Stations.

The two British terrorist suspects facing a secret US military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay will be given a choice: plead guilty and accept a 20-year prison sentence, or be executed if found guilty.

The news comes as Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, prepares to urge US Secretary of State Coelin Powell to repatriate the two Britons. He will say that they should face a fair trial here under English law. Backed by Home Secretary David Blunkett, Straw will make it clear that the Government opposes the death penalty and wants to see both men tried 'under normal judicial process'.

Lawyers acting for Moazzam Begg, 35, from Sparkbrook, Birmingham, and Feroz Abassi, 23, from Croydon, said that any confessions gathered while the men were kept without charge or access to lawyers in Bagram airbase in Afghanistan and Camp Delta in Cuba would have no status in international law and would be inadmissible in British courts.

Gareth Peirce, who acts for Moazzam Begg, said: 'Anything that any human being says or admits under threat of brutality is regarded internationally and nationally as worthless. It makes the process an abuse. Moazzam Begg had a year in Bagram airbase and then six months in Guantanamo Bay. If this treatment happened for an hour in a British police station, no evidence gathered would be admissible,' she said.

Stephen Jakobi of Fair Trials Abroad, which is leading the campaign for the two men, said: 'Our concern is that there will be no meaningful way of testing the evidence against these people. The US Defence Department has set itself up as prosecution, judge and defence counsel and has created the rules of trial. This is patently a kangaroo court.'

In a clear signal of the high levels of concern within the Government, the acting British ambassador in Washington, Tony Brenton, will raise 'official concern' with the White House.

Among those representing the two British men in the United States is Michael Ratner, of the Centre for Constitutional Rights, who believes the tribunals are weighted in favour of securing guilt verdicts. 'The trial system in Guantanamo Bay allows a whole series of serious breaches of defendant rights that would mean that they could never come to trial in the US.

'First, it allows the wiretapping of attorney-client meetings, although those wiretaps cannot actually be used in evidence. Then there is the fact that the Pentagon "Appointing Authority" - probably US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - has the ability to remove a judge at any time without giving any reason.'

The concerns follow allegations by Amnesty and other human rights groups that US detainees in Guantanamo Bay have suffered severe abuse, including beatings that may have led to the death of two men held at the US detention facility at Bagram.

In March, Amnesty wrote to President Bush to complain about the treatment of detainees after US military officials reportedly confirmed that post-mortem reports in the cases of the two men who died at Bagram gave cause of death as 'homicide' and 'blunt force injuries'.

And if you expect me to visit a place that has such low regard for human rights, dream on.