2013 Season within reach

Ahhh, nice steady club run on the bike today, but 2013 starts with a bang on the 6th with the West Kent Reliabiltiy Trial. 50 or 60 lumpy horrible miles and what will probably be lousy road, fighting to stay in the bunch because knowing that getting dropped not only means failure, it also means probably being absolutely lost in the middle of nowhere.

These are wonderful old school events. Cheap and cheerful, a throw back to an era before gps and chip timings. There are four of these local to me over the next month of so, West Kent, followed by the Bexley CC, my own dearest OPCC on 3rd of Feb, followed by Sydenham Wheelers.  That then moves seamlessly into the start of the Time Trial season on what are laughingly called 'sporting' courses. Normally hilly, dreadful roads played out in weather that is either wet, freezing or both. All of this should deliver me fit and raring to go by the end of March. That is the plan anyway.

There is part of me that likes the deardful weather and the crap roads. The pleasure of getting back soaked and filthy to a hot drink and bacon roll in a warm village hall, and talking old bollocks with you mates. Fantastic.

I love the early part of the cycling season, not just as a rider but as a fan. Milan San Remo, the Cobbled classics and the race to the sun. All before the Giro is even a twinkling in the cycling fans eye.

Bring it on.

Be careful what you wish for -Deporting Piers

In the wake of the recent slaughter of the innocents I did reflect that however heartfelt our feelings in Britain, the Americans probably don't give hoot what we think about their right to bear arms. Yes, it seems incredible that the 2nd Ammendment (I will not get into the debate about what this actually says or means) should be seen as worth the lives of one let alone 20 children. Even more bonkers that somebody can suggest the solution is more guns. However my feeling was, they don't care what we British think, so being outraged is empty emotion. There is enough wrong in our own back yard for us to focus on.

Then, an ex  pat Brit manages to make (some) Americans care a great deal about what he says on gun control. Unfortunately that man is Piers Morgan ffs. The net result is a part of what needs to be a serious and considered debate becomes a pantomime about them trying to send him back.

Liberal discomfort

http://twitter.com/suzanne_moore/status/283806585753595906/photo/

'Stone the Rapist to Death in Public.'
Having a delicious Liberal discomfort moment. Can cheerfully stand four square behind Women in Pakistan standing up in support of rape victims. But noooo please don't get all medieval on how justice should be done.

Wiggins Vs Froome 2

So with the wisdom of Solomon Team Sky have said that the leadership of the team at the Tour will be decided on who has the best form.

Ok, so Brad has a few seconds in the timetrial then starts to crack on a climb. Does Froome stay with his leader or go? If Froome goes then does Brad accept he is now Chris' super domestique?

Oh it is going to be so much fun.

Pop Up Stores, Just for Christmas

Read about Pickles Plaza, a Pop up store serving staff from the DCLG. The aim is to promote pop up stores, a trend it is hoped will be the cavalry coming over the hill for our highstreets. They will at least make a change from chicken shops, betting emporia and those nice Marie Curie people.

Lets be blunt, we have had pop up stores going back to the medieval market. They are called stalls. And for the consumer pop up stores have exactly the same problem. Getting a refund.

Its Christmas, we are buying stuff our relatives don't want. That is fine if the jumper comes from Marks, it is nearly as good has hard currency. But if I treat my nearest and dearest to a nice scarf from the pop up shop in the Whitgift (£5 each or 3 for £12!!!) if these little scamps have popped off in two weeks time how will they get their money.

Paying The Piper

It was great to hear that cycling in Britain has been awarded another £30 odd million in funding to build on its success. But I was interested in the comments of the writer Nick Bull, picking up something that the Sprinter Theo Bos was saying.

Because we now have so much resource going into track cycling, is it becoming like the Football Premier League. It is a game only the richest nations could compete against us in? We have become the Man U of the track. We can be challenged, but only by a handful of nations with mega bucks to spend. It is a testament to Team GB that we have got to the stage where this question could be asked. But Theo Bos' point if I understand it is this, if the track is basically owned by a handful of wealthy nations is this good for the sport worldwide? Will nations with more limited resource abandon the sport?

I am not sure if there is any evidence to back this up, but it would be sad if this were the case.

A Middle Aged State of Mind

I have recently read Jennifer Egan's 'Visit from the Goon Squad' and 'One Day' by David Nicholls. They are radically different books but both had large parts written about times and to an extent place that were part of my growing up.

One Day, with the two central protagonists making their way in early 90's London felt familiar. The pre mobile world, full of inter railing and The Word type TV shows, but still very much pre New Labour. Egan's chapter focused on the San Francisco punk scene had a resonance, but a different one. California punk in the mid 80's was something I admired from a far, entirely build on the records and interviews with the likes of Jello Biafra and Black Flag. I felt connected with it even in my South London home.

What struck me was that both stories felt written by and for somebody of my generation, the 40 something looking back. The middle aged analysis framing the narrative. Both seemed to miss the genuine innocent excitement that we felt. When we bunged off our crappy demo tapes, and got gigs at rubbish pubs and sent John Peel an post card so he would know that we were there, we did not know how the narrative finished.

I am not sure what point I am making, maybe that it would be good to read something written about that time without the middle aged state of mind.

Wiggins Vs Froome?!

So Brad, having said he would target the Giro, and talked about helping Chris Froome for the Tour has decided that all the team stuff is well and good. But hey he wants to defend his crown after all.

In this years tour when Brad was the sole leader, probably the biggest threat came from the man pacing him up the climbs. Brad's talk now of maybe having joint leaders seems a recipe for unhappiness but not necessarily disaster. The track record of teams with joint leaders or two top dogs is interesting. Cunaego and Simioni, Ullrich and Riise had Oedipal moments. Of course the LeMonde Vs Badger stuff is legend. However in these cases at least somebody from that team won.


But are their any good examples of where two top guys on a team fought each other and by doing so let another team take the prize? Based on the Vuelta if Contador and one or two others come into the tour in top form the Sky boys would be well advised to have a clear plan otherwise who is leader could become pretty academic as the gradient ramps up.

Nurses and other public servants

Reading Ann Clwyd's description of her husband's death, or more accurately the time leading up to his death is undeniably painful. Her wish for him to be as comfortable as possible when he could no longer help himself strikes a chord with me. My mother died around the same time as Ann Clwyd lost her husband, and so I have a pretty clear understanding of the emotions she must have felt. Being an MP her natural way to address what she feels is to launch a campaign for greater compassion in nursing.

However, our experiences diverge. Are nurses more or less compassionate than they were? It is impossible to know. While I can empathise with Ann's anger and her wish to do something, I cannot say I come the the same conclusions. The treatment Ann describes does sound at be neglectful, but that does not mean it is a universal problem within nursing. During the final year of my Mums life she, my bother and I encountered many nurses, doctors and other NHS staff, together with others who showed wonderful care and compassion. My Mum particularly valued the support of a team of oncology nurses at StHelier Hospital.

Whether one can teach compassion is questionable. What can be done is set clear standards for patient care that can be measured. What can also be done is ensure hospitals are properly resourced and are not chasing empty targets. What can be done is to ensure decent line management supervision of staff so that standards can be set, and maintained without the need for a vast supporting beaurocracy.

My own largely bicycle related encounters with the NHS have never suggested a lack of compassion. A lack of organisation, yes. Some poor interdepartmental relations, yes. The hospital where Ann Clwyd's husband died have serious questions to answer and issues to resolve, but I think to suggest there is a general lack of caring in nursing is wide of the mark.

Gosh- The Price of Fame

Winning the Turner Prize has got to be the biggest and coolest endorsement an artist can get from the critics. I think Elizabeth Price's work makes her a brilliant winner. But that she was a member back in the mists of time of possibly the most critically derided band in British history, Talulah Gosh makes me even happier.

Others have said it already, but Talulah Gosh's no macho, melodic pop made them easy meat for the music press back in the mid 80's. This was all pretty unfair. Listen to their signature song, Talulah Gosh and is is far from shoddy. It was an era when their were precious few woman being taken seriously in the likes of NME and Melody Maker, when they were desperate for the next boysy bunch to come along and help them shift papers.

I kind of feel is a kind of circuitous validation that Price now is the critical toast of the town.

Scum Villages (and other bad ideas that sound not bad)

Maybe it is because it is the Dutch or it is about Amsterdam that has mean a proposal to house anti social behaviours in 'scum flats' or 'scum villages' has attracted attention in the UK. I hope the idea does not try and swim the north sea. It is a classic notion that makes sense until one engages a brain.

Yep, that the horrible, anti social, racist, homophobic households and house them in converted shipping containers. Yes, if I had a horrible violent man next door I would want him taken away, I might even be that fussy where.

I will not get into the problems of defining who the scum households are, and the legal efforts needed to move them. My main gripe is it is the wrong cure. These people are not James Bond villains, stroking white cats. Nor are they really super tough gangsters. They are mostly going to be vulnerable, poorly educated losers. Sending them to some form of punishment housing will do little. The solution, is sadly a very liberal sounding one. Family intervention, to build the households chances of staying in education and holding down jobs is they most effective long term solution. Even if the plan were to move these people to a penal colony far away the truth remains, they have to live somewhere and we have to deal.

This idea has history for the Dutch, and has been tried before. However they found last time that concentrating all the nasty people in one place made for a bigger problem.

Please guys, forget your prison hulks for nasty people. Cure the disease not the symptoms.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

So Movember has come to a close. In my office the women in the finance department all came in sporting fake tashes in support of the their male colleague. At a recent club run the array for facial hair made us look like refugees from the Boer War.

Movember is a fun way to raise money for a good cause. But is was another event that really caught my eye this week. In I think Toronto there was an event 'Walk a mile in her shoes.' It was an event where men, by walking a mile in womens shoes demonstrated their support for victims of domestic and gender violence. I was taken by this funny playful idea. The sight of big blokes in business suits and red stilletos was great. Gender and domestic violence is a topic we dodge, often marginalised as a 'womens issue.'

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes was a brilliant way for men  to show some solidarity and raise awareness.

A cynical friend suggested the event probably attracted the kind of man that enjoys wearing womens shoes. Well if it does thats cool. For me it would be pure martyrdom.

Follow the link and take a look.

http://www.walkamileinhershoes.org/

Move on Ricky

I didn't watch Ricky Hatton's comeback and am very glad I made that choice. The reports tell me that it was nearly everything I feared it could be. At least he gets to walk away. I hope this retirement is for real and that he a scratched whatever itch it was that made him return.

Good luck Ricky. I am sure you are a big enough person to find something else in life that is worthy of you.

Who are they to judge

Yesterday I heard a heated debate about whether or not wealthy privileged politicians are qualified to talk about the poor and poverty. It seems obvious that whether qualified to or not, they have to. It is part of what governments should do.

What they should not do is make sweeping judgemental statements (and policy decisions) based on ill informed prejudice. The classic is Norman Tebbit's 'Bike' speech, patronising those poor sods stuck in communities where his party's policies had laid waste to all industry. From the current Nasty Party we are seeing and hearing more and more of this kind of stuff as they drive through their welfare reform agenda.  Being fair to Tebbit, at least he could claim  with some honesty a humble background. That is something that many of those making pronouncements today cannot.

So what should Politicians do? Those of us who cannot claim first hand experience of poverty should, to reverse John Major's words, condemn less and understand more. This does not mean dodging tough decisions, it means making better decisions. Of this I offer exhibit A - The Bedroom Tax. The docking of benefits for households under occupying by one bedroom or more.

In London there is a huge shortage of family sized accommodation and we do need incentives for those under occupying large homes to downsize. However in many places, for example St Helens there is no shortage of 3 bed houses and the social and market rents for a three bed house are pretty similar. Often landlords have let 3 bed houses to couples, or those with one child because there were no other takers, and/or no smaller accommodation available.

Therefore we have a policy that will attack the already low living standards of poor people in some deprived areas of Britain where the goal of downsizing is neither necessary or desirable. Rather than tub thumping some open minded reflection is required.

What the Squeezed Middle is Thinking - Jesus!

Can't pay for your coffee and croisant, worried about paying for your kids art and music lessons, fretting about the mortgage on your huge house. These are the concerns expressed by a self confessed 'Squeezed Middle Class Mother' in todays Guardian. The story is of a couple of graphic designers struggling with a big mortgage in these austere times.

With heart tugging emotion we hear her child ask 'Mum, Dad are we poor?' The writer laughs off the suggestion at the time, but knows the terrible truth.

No, No, No, NO! Stop it! You are not, may I repeat, Not poor. You are not as rich as you think you should be, or as well off as you once were. Maybe the demand for freelance graphic designers is a bit low right now, but by no rational measure are you poor.

Poor is living in a garage, poor is worrying about having money for food not art classes. Poor is also about lacking the contacts, education, skills to ever a good job in the future. None of this applies to the wailing squeezed middle. These are tough times but the perception of 'poverty' is dangerous.

This middle class appropriation of 'poverty' allows us to demand special dispensations, suggest we cannot be expected to do anything for those in the Estate up the road, that we have the right to fight to defend our perks. We can slip into a charity begins at home mentality that ignores the reality of what is going on around us.

It is not nice not being able to afford the lifestylye you once had, and it is hard not being able of give your children all you would like to. But wake up and smell the costcutter coffee. Poverty is worrying about being able to send your kids to school in a uniform that won't get them laughed at, and living in a world where there is only ever  money for the basics. It is not about having to ditch the ballet lessons, and having to think twice about the skiing trip.

Home Sweet Home

Over the last couple of years I have seen poverty starting to bite the most vulnerable harder. The first tangible sign for me was seeing the adverts for the food bank appearing on estates. No food, no money for food?
It hit me hard that in Britain being poor could still mean hunger.
This week a friend shared a photo takin in East London. It was of a lock up garage that a family were living in. There was the bed made up, the pots and pans. I have seen garages used as shooting galleries by drug addicts. This was nothing of the kind. What was crushing about this photo was how neat it was, how the people living there were trying to make it a home.
Most decision makers don't meet the poor. The whining 'squeezed middle' are where the swing votes grow. These are tough times, but we are still a rich enough nation to afford ensure all our people have enough to eat, and get to sleep in a room built for humans not machines.

https://twitter.com/AndreaBaker_PH/status/268811386946195456/photo/1

Top 5 Most Disappointing Things Growing Up

I never liked stories about kids even when I was a kid. Famous Five, Swallows and Amazons, anything by E Nesbit. From a very early age I wanted to be an adult. It seemed much more fun, filled with far greater possibilities. Why be Dennis the Menace if you could be Batman, or James Bond, or well any cool adult? This view did rather deny me the chance of seeing the world with a child like wonder.

A couple of years ago I was sat in my office chatting to a colleague, a man in his 50's. As he looked out of the window something caught is eye.

'Wow, what a wonderful (insert Latin name) fungus on that tree!'

His genuine delight at the wonders of nature both impressed and depressed me. Depressed because although I could see on an intellectual level that this was an impressive thing, I did not feel his joy. So  this curmudgeonly vein I thought it was time to round out my top 5 most disappointing growing up experiences. I started warming to this theme after reflecting on the threat of three more  episodes of star wars.

So here goes

1) McDonalds. It is 1977 and I am 10. My best mate at school is having a Birthday treat and I'm invited. Logan's Run, followed by a trip to McDonalds. I had no idea what McDonalds was but my friend told me it was great.
2) Panto. 1973 and we have a school trip into Newcastle to see Aladdin. My chocolate bar melted. this scarred me. I have I lifelong suspicion of live theatre as a result.
3) Chessington Zoo, Before Chessington World of Adventures there was Chessington Zoo. I seem to recall the nearest they got to big game was a goat, and they had a big slide.
4) Star Wars. Not as good as Logan's Run. Or Planet of the Apes. I hadn't seen Soylent Green at that stage, which is probably a good thing.
5) The Royal Tournament. The programme promised a reenactment of the Battle of Trafalgar. We got two poorly made models of ships making canon noises while a Royal Navy band played in the middle.  A note for the nostalgic, the digital age means that entertainment now lives up to the hype. Can you imagine if Avatar had turned out to be two women in blue tee shirts mucking about in a florist. Actually......

To balance this off I should maybe do a top five least disappointing things but working on a list that starts 'it doesn't make you go blind after all' probably isn't helpful.

Free Transfer and Globalise this

It probably says something meaningful about our globalised existence that we have international footballers being courted by several nations for their allegiance. It probably says something depressing but understandable about England that turning out for Finland, Jamaica or Ivory Coast could be a more appealing option.

But maybe, what is revealed is that nationhood is really like being a football supporter. Once we never travelled far and supported our local team. Now there are fervent Man U fans in Kaula Lumpar. Once we were kind of stuck with our country of birth, so we may as well make the best of it. Now with a following wind we can blow around the planet, wherever we lay our ipad that's our home.

As one who tends to find even benign displays of nationalism a bit tricky this is quite a refreshing concept. So given this idea I started musing about if not England, which  nation would I choose? Belgium kind of appealed but they are a bit strange. I think that Flanders/Walloon split has something to do with it. Ghana? Nice people, don't eat the salad.  After about 3 minutes consideration of the Lonely Planet Guides in my book case I came to a conclusion. Like following Palace, I have been English so long now I am kind of stuck with it.

I hope for the sake of having a watchable England side over the next few years Raheem and Wilfred make a similar choice.

Taxman Cometh

I find it hard to accept that the HMRC are struggling that hard to get their paws on what Starbucks et al should have paid. As noted elsewhere they are much happier hounding the little guy who cannot afford a high end tax lawyer.

Twenty years ago I was working in France on a campsite for the equivalent of about £85 per week. I was paid in cash but my employers reassured me that they took care of the tax side of things with the French.

Sadly when a year later I had to complete at Tax return the HMRC took a very different view and enthusiastically pursued me for their share of my massive earnings. Ok, fairs fair and I should have looked a bit more closely at my employers advice. However if pound for pound the HMRC invested the same effort in pursuing Amazon as they did for my meagre offer their tax bill would not be an issue today.
What I see is a cosy relationship with big business. Take the money off us poor sods on PAYE, hound the self employed builder and cheerfully ignore the big fish funnelling their profits through tax havens. Why? Because they have the money to fight and the friends in high places.

Newsnight as Toast?

I guess that after the collapse of the allegations against Robert McAlpine some will claim that Newsnight is damned if they broadcast damned if they don't.
It is time for all the media to stop and think what good is it actually doing with this stuff. My guess is that Newsnight were desperate for a big win following the Savile case and the case in Wales looked to fit the bill. The fact it involved allegations against a senior Tory must have helped to. Not just boring old everyday abuse, that does not get the spotlight.
Where have we got to? A victim of abuse, and a falsely accused alleged abuser have been ill used to put it mildly. This is and probably never was about supporting victims of abuse. Instead we will get more of our press fighting like rats in a barrel and bottom feeder MP's trying to draw attention to themselves.
It would be nice now if somebody, or publication could show a bit of leadership and guide us out of this swamp.

New Season Starts Here

First weekend in November is when Ioffically start thinking about the next season's cycling. Got hopes for doing a big ride in Europe, and finally getting my timetrialing together for the first time sine 2009.

After the Maratona and watching the Tour  2012 fizzled out for me, and the last couple months doping confession and denialathon is best described as waring. So a great time to be making a new start.

To get things up and running for 2013 had planned to tackle a Wiggle Sportive around the Devil's punchbowl. Give that I have barely touched the bike in the last month the idea was to give myself a sharp wake up call.

Anyway, set off with rain beating down, by the time we got to the M25 cars were sending up huge swooshes of spray and I could feel the wind dragging at the bikes on the roof. Decided at that point discretion was the better part of valour and turned for home.

So 2013 season preparation  got started today with an hour on the Turbo, with the power meter laughing I my pathetic efforts.

Ok everyone, sing up
'Things can only get better'

Never Loved Star Wars

On the list of my childhood disappointments from 1970's somewhere below Chessington Zoo but above Vimto stands Star Wars. All the hype and the oppressive pier pressure. I still clearly remember the feeling of is that it? It was serviceable fun, but not  that much better than Logans Run. All the sequels and then the prequels were just so much evidence of the law of diminishing returns.

At school I remember Renato saying 'oh might be 6 episodes'. I dismissed this, only for him to be proved right twenty odd years on.

I grew up to mistrust those with any overt enthusiasm for it. I really cannot believe anyone is looking forward to yet another bit of this dull old biscuit. If we are lucky there will be more racist stereotype characters this time. The I can at least enjoy George Lucas being roundly abused.

Goodbye Danny Baker

It is funny that when Danny Baker arrived on radio it heralded the era when aweful gorgons like DLT, Simon Bates and Mike Read noisily threw themselve off air. It is 20 years later Danny Bakers turn to feel the reapers sythe and it is nice in its way that he has taken it we no more grace then is forebares.

There was a time I listened to his shows, but he was the voice of modern radio 20 years ago. There is only so long this stuff stays fresh. The BBC cost cutting comments I guess are an excuse, as his £300 per show fee that has been quoted is hardly going to save the Corporation. My assumption is that he just sounded to much like yesterday for a station trying to stay relevant.

Bad luck mate, but it comes to all of us in the end. Rage into the dying of the light.

Pitch of Profanity

Why is it that most of us manage to get through the working day, however taxing without racially or otherwise abusing our customers and colleagues, yet it seems beyond the capabilities of those involved in football?
Again, if I called a colleague or customer a monkey, cunt or nigger there would probably be swift investigation, and in the event of a guilty verdict a swift dismissal. It is a shame that those involved in football find it so easy to mouth platitudes, but when the chips are down display only narrow self interest.
Like with cycling and doping I am very bored and disillusioned with Football's inability leave its racist past behind. Come on guys we can do better than this.

Shame about Sean

I was particularly saddened to hear of Sean Yates departure from Team Sky. It was always on the cards given his long association with Lance, Bruyneel and a career that coincided with the early EPO years. However he was so often the lone Brit in the Peleton, and the kind of rider I admired. Strong time trialist, a tough guy whose job it was to ride on the front of the bunch and dish it out.
There is a wonderful photograph of him on a grey wet day, rain jacket on, tongue sticking out leading the peleton.
He was also somebody who came from the grass roots of British cycling in the years before there was lottery funded support for young riders. He continued to race TT's here and was a presence on the scene.
If the sport is going to sort itself out there can be little room for sentiment. It is a sad moment all the same.

Costa - Standing up for Goliath

Over the weekend there has been a lot in the news about what the Observer dubbed the ‘David and Goliath fight’ between the traders of Totnes and Costa Coffee. The traders of Totnes have succeeded in their campaign to keep Costa out.

This story has been portrayed as something out of an Ealing Comedy or a Bill Forsyth film. The little people making a stand against the inhuman corporate machine. Sorry I am not going to swallow this brew.

In this narrative Costa are portrayed as some kind of Barista manned death star.  This is hardly fair. They are (in my opinion) the third best of the big chains and have brought half decent coffee to locations that previously only offered cups of warm dust.

What it looks like from where I stand is a group of politically connected local coffee shops and their suppliers mobilising against legitimate competition. Why if the residents of Totnes so much prefer their independent coffee shops would they have anything to do with the corporate new kid on the block? Surely the customers would stay away, Costa would lose money and ultimately move on?

While some of the articles have suggested there are already enough coffee shops in Totnes, the site Costa acquired must have had planning permission for this use. If not the Council could have simply excluded them by refusing to approve the change of use.

My assumption is that the real fear is that the broad based appeal of Costa is something that the residents of Totnes would in practice rather like. This would eat into the profits of all these independents that the people apparently love, and those who supply them.

Independent providers do bring diversity and nobody will starve because of Costa’s choice to skip Totnes. However I cannot get the warm glow from this that some have found. A business that would have provided employment, a legitimate competition to the existing traders and people might have liked has been excluded. Hooray!

TV Reality

Lying on my nest this evening I had the misfortune of spending time in the company of 'Cowboy Builders' on Channel 5. Now, I have every sympathy for anyone who has been the victim of a dodgy tradesman, and in this case the offending artisan deserved all he got. However the journey I found repellent.
Bad builders are not exciting enough it appears. The presenters set about creating a monstrous narrative that a bad extension was destroying the victims' family.
'So how old is your daughter?'
'nine'
'So she has spent two years in this chaos.'
'sniff'
Now sorry. whatever this bad builder had done, it was not destroying the resiliently cheerful girl's childhood. But the presenters were clearly desperate to batter some tears out of the parents and mined away at this angle until they got the result they wanted. Noxious stuff.
My previous foray had landed me 10 minutes in the company of something called (i think) Emergency Bikes. A programme so mundane that a Police Officer stopping a man without a tax disk was worthy of air time. We can all rest safely in our beds in the knowledge.
Accept it. We need a revolution. Surely the cultural climate is barren enough for something wonderful to happen next.

Whatever Happened to all the Heroes?

The wretched fallout from the collapse of Armstrong's empire continues with the news that he has been stripped of his seven Tour titles. Predictable and depressing. Our sports greatest event does not have a past anymore. Well not in this century anyway. My guess is that in the end we will just accept Lance's victories in the context of their time.
Right now there is a massive hole where heroes should be. Where heroes once were. Until we learned they were not really heroes at all.

My Livestrong dilemma

As  the world of Lance turns to dust I am left with a small personal eyewear dilemma. I love my Livestrong Oakley Flackjackets, but can I wear them now with the same pride? There must be thousands of us with Livestrong cycle kit crises right now? Help.
Yes supporting the cancer community is still as valid a cause today as it was two weeks ago, but the Livestrong brand was about something beyond being a cancer charity.

Booker Result

I recently heard some curious thoughts on literary prizes from an author who has been both the judge and recipient of major prizes. Her view was that judging often comes down to a straight scrap between two books and that normally the less interesting one wins.
What would this model mean for the  2012 Booker?
Bring Up the Bodies is a sequel and focuses on a very popular period for historical fiction. Umbrella is almost deliberatly challenging to read, with a focus on mental health in a far less romantic setting.
For me these would be the two books fighting it out. My guess is that of the other four writers, three would have been happy just to be on the list.
Is it fair to tag Mantel's as the less interesting book? I would say no, but it is the less interesting winner. As part of a trilogy Bring up the Bodies stands on the shoulders of Wolf Hall. If Wolf Hall had made the shorlist before and not won then this would not be an issue for me. However, if a book is going to be given this massive leg up I would prefer, and it would be more interesting for it to go to different voice. Especially when that voice is Will Self.

Why would there be a bias toward 'less interesting?' My informant's view was that judges subliminally want to pick something that will suit WH Smith and the big retailers. Something that will work well being promoted on the check-out at Tesco. On this count I would suggest that Bring up the Bodies would out gun any of the other candidates. But why would this matter? I don't know but the only conclusion I could reach it that the bigger the splash made my this years winner, the bigger the prestigue of the award next time.

So my guess is that while this years shortlist was exciting, challenging and diverse there was only ever going to be one winner.

Booking

Great to have seen the readings from the Booker shortlist hopefuls tonight up at the Royal Festival Hall. Six engaging and very different books. Will Self, with some support from Hilary Mantel voiced the view that as  writers ( well them at least)  don't have an audience or market in mind when they are creating their work.
While this is maybe why they are able to produce the work they do, I would suggest that there are plenty of people in publishing thinking exactly 'who is the market of this, who will buy.' It also struck me as really odd that these 6 books are in a fight to the death for what is a fantastic prize. They are so different how can one say X is better than Y without introducing some fairly random criteria. If writing is not a competitive sport what place can this kind of competition have? However Bookers power and interest levels suggest we want to see books ranked and we can agrue over the bodies.
It will be interesting to see who gets the nod tomorrow night.

Sick of the truth

I admit it, today I am sick of the truth. That does not mean we should not hear it. With the USADA report now published all cycling fans worst suspicions have been confirmed. t am surprised that I am shocked but I am. Not by the scale of the doping, we had already got wind of that. No, it is  the details. The spirit crushing cynicism of it all. Old and should be wiser heads pressuring the young to join in, within a sport where riders believed (even if it turns out not to be true) that Lance Armstong and his kind could buy the UCI. As Lance famously once said 'Its not about the bike.' No Lance it wasn't.
US Postal and Lance weren't the only ones at it of course, it just seems they were the best.
I resent the way that Armstrong used his charitable work as a human shield against the truth. Used his lawyers to batter those with a suspicion and used his influence to end careers of those who displeased him. The bare faced lying. The presence of a culture so rotten it could take hugely talented, brave young athletes and well turn them into what they have become.
If this bit of truth is to have a long term value it needs to be the start of a genuine top to bottom truth and reconciliation process. Not just the athletes and coaches, but the those who run the sport.
Tonight I have an image in my mind of somebody busy re-editing Tour De France DVD's to find shots of some guy who finished  in the top 20 and is now the winner. Hey, good news for the French, Moncoutie won after all! Hurrah

You can retire but you can't hide

Today that the sins of the past seem to be careering back into view. The scale of Jimmy Savile's crimes and the willingness of those around him to, at best, turn the other way is staggering. At the same time, just about every North American cyclist who pinned on a number at the Tour De France in the Armstong era has fessed up to doping. Lance hasn't actually fessed up, but he is not fighting it either.

Well better late then never eh.

Just a thought on changing value and attitudes. The  80's film Gregory's Girl, starring John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan was a gentle comedy about a gawky boy, who falls in love with a girl that plays football.

If I recall correctly, (Please correct me if I am wrong, it is a long time since I have seen the film) Gregory ends up getting the other girl while Dorothy the footaballer, well she is last seen heading towards the showers with her slightly sleazy PE teacher. It probably explains something about why girls did not come forward in the 70's and 80's. It was an era when randy PE teachers and naughty scoutmasters were seen as harmless figures of fun.

Enough Now - What John Terry Said

I am not hypersensitive, and enjoy swearing as much as anyone. However... We all know what John Terry said to Anton Ferdinand. Or if we don't we are somebody sufficiently protected from the whole ugly business that our ingnorance is probably a blessing. Therefore, can newspapers please stop repeating, gratuitously those three words.
The Guardian today managed to over three articles repeat is half a dozen times, throwing Ashley Cole's tweet a few times for good measure. It may be factual but it does little to enhance our understanding of what went on and what should happen.
Is it something of a taboo breaking thrill for jounalists (most who I suspect are male and white), to be able to wallow in this?

50 years ago today...

It is 50 years since the Beatles released Love Me Do, and there is an interesting perspective on this from Hunter Davies. He will be part of a celebration in Savile Row today, attending on behalf of Dutch TV.
Davies comments that Beatlemania is much stronger abroad. Outside Britain they are 'more knowledgeable, enthusiastic, less cynical, less blase.' The Beatles were not my generation, and while I have to acknowledge their massive significance this has never approached love. Maybe being British we do just take them for granted.
A couple of months back I was on a work trip to Liverpool. We had found a pub in the centre of town to watch the England game, and after that wondered what we should do. Somebody (not me) suggested going to the Cavern Club (not the original one, just nearby).
On stage there was a local guy banging away at a big acoustic guitar. He had a good but unexceptional voice cracking out Beatles standards. The audience contained few English people, and very few Liverpudlians. So I was about to file away the experience under 'tacky tourist traps (Beatles).'
But after a couple of songs I realised something very odd was taking place. This was not a conventional gig where an artist performs for an audience. The man on stage was more akin to a preacher leading the worship. Because the gaggle of nations present (Spain, Italy, Japan..) in a natural and completely uncynical way had come to share their love for The Beatles music. The ages ranged from those old enough to have conceivably seen the Beatles play, to some who were probably a bit young to be in a bar at 11pm.  People sang along, sang to each other. They knew the words and the songs and were enjoying sharing that. The man on stage was simply conducting this orchestra.
So I think Hunter Davies has got a lot right. Maybe some of the Beatles ongoing relevance is that their music has this huge reach, we are just a bit blase about it.

A L Kennedy in Croydon

The Croydon Waterstones Book Group is a great idea. It is a chance to meet up with some new people who share a fondness for reading and talking about what they have read. Also by linking up with the shop it gives access  to  some of the writers.
Tonight we had the pleasure of meeting A L Kennedy to talk about amongst other things her novel, Day. I was a bit apprehensive as I generally make a point of avoiding meeting artists and heroes. Shuffling up and saying 'I loved your book, album, sculpture, goal against Brighton' has seemed a short route to a  boil my head cringe. My taste in music is partly to blame. My favourite band is The Fall and  avoiding trying to make friends with Mark E Smith has proven as sound policy.
My apprehension about tonight was sharpened because it was a small group, and  I was fortified with only one glass of wine. Denied safety in numbers or drink I felt exposed.
It actually turned out way better than we could of hoped for. A L Kennedy was funny, charming, sharp, every bit the person you would want the writer of Day to be. She had that gift of being able to talk naturally to a group of people she had never met.
In one of the weekend papers they do a questionnaire for celebs that asks who would they invite to their dream dinner party. People cheerily reel off names like Ghandi, Morzart and Les Dawson. I have absolutely no idea who I would invite.
Well I do now. If I could fetch A L Kennedy along it would not matter who else turned up, decent conversation would be assured.

Fairness to Floyd and Tears of a Clown

I suspect Floyd Landis is not in the running for the 'worlds most lovely person award.' There are plenty for cycling dopers, but when Floyd was trying to dodge the bullet he did a few not very nice things. Asking the public to donate to a defence fund when he knew he was guilty anyone? However I find the ruling of a Swiss court against him both depressing and hilarious.

Depressing first. Basically it was a libel case brought by the UCI because of nasty things Floyd said about Pat McQuaid (Current UCI top banana) and Hein Verbruggen (previous top of the bunch). They are a thin skinned bunch the UCI and seem to have a tigerish litigious attitude to anyone who says things they don't like. It would have been nice if they had shown the same vigour  15 years ago in tackling doping. We as lovers of the sport may have been spared seeing hero after hero modelling feet of clay.

The hilarious bit is what Floyd is NOT allowed to say. Remember these are things the court has ruled Floyd must not say;
'The UCI.....accepted  money from Lance Armstrong to conceal a doping case'
The UCI 'are clowns'
The UCI are 'no different to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.'

I have an image in my mind of Swiss judges weighing the arguments as to whether the UCI were or were not clowns.
'While you do appear to have a large red nose, the lack of creepy face paint and oversize shoes has led me to conclude on balance that you are not in fact a clown.'
I guess the Gaddafi one was easy. He is dead.

Next on the messenger shooting conveyor belt is Paul Kimmage.

Fits the Kimmage

Paul Kimmage, author of the Rough Ride, it one of the finest sports writers and journalists. The market is ten a penny with ghost written autobiographies filled with what I believe Paul accurately described as bullshit and lies. He took a cold hard look at his sport and his career. His story was far from a romantic. What he did not know then was we would now view his era as an innocent golden age. In his day they made do with amphetamines. Around the corner was EPO. EPO worked.

Everyone with a passing interest in procycling will be aware of its problems with doping. Kimmage, a writer familiar with the true nature of the sport has been brave. When Armstrong was at his peak he was there  reminding the public and the sport of the darkness behind the curtain. For not going along with the party Kimmage was often vilified. The collapse of Lance Armstrong's defence, and the revelations of convicted dopers has shown that Kimmage was not far off the mark. One would expect that within the sport he would now be viewed with respect if not affection.

Sports governing bodies are thin skinned beasts. The UCI, over a decade failed to get any kind of grip on doping in the sport. From this distance they look like men terrified that the truth would slaughter the golden calf. But egos are  large, and maybe the perks are too big. So rather then acknowledge what they could have done better, and throw their resources into making a better future, they try to shoot the messenger. The link below tells the tale.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/534966/kimmage-uci-just-want-to-shut-me-up.html

As a cyclist and cycling fan I want to express my anger and disappointment. From the action they are trying to take against Paul Kimmage the UCI have shown themselves to be incapable of recognising their own failings. To believe they are capable of putting their house in order is pure fantasy.

Casual Observer

If found James Runcie's intervew with J K Rowling on BBC 2 last night strange viewing. I am sure the BBC was thrilled to have face time with Rowling just before the publication of her "first adult novel" Casual Vacancy.

While Rowling talked a good game around responsibility and hypocracy, she does come across  as rather cold subject. There was a touch of  empathy implying personal pain just below the surface. This was offset/undermind by a steely manner that brought to mind Margaret Thatcher. A tetchiness of somebody who is used to people agreeing with her. This rather chilly tone was enhanced by the grand setting, and Runcie's often unctious questioning.

Rowling is a novelist, and is not claiming to have written Das Kapital. Therefore I did not expect her to get a Paxo style roasting. However much is being made of the gritty nature of the new book, and she is seldom slow to mention her own experience of living on benefits. Therefore when truisms like 'everything is political'  are trotted out I did expect the Runcie to do a bit more than make approving noises.

The most interesting part of the interview came towards the end when reflecting on how the book would be recieved. Early in the interview she had talked of the freedom that the success of Potter had given her. How liberating it had been to write the book that she wanted to write. Thinking about how it would now be recieved was clearly much less liberating. We are all free to write what we want to write in the privacy of our own laptops. It is when it gets published that it gets more complicated.

It is right at the end, that Runcie who had to that point behaved like a Palace correspondant in the presence of the Queen slipped in a little blade. Words to the effect that 'I think you are in for a bumpy ride.' The interview closed to a mirthless laugh and a wan smile.

Who am I to criticise

The Booker Judge Sir Peter Stothard despairs of bloggers reviewing books. Bloggers being unreliable arbiters of quality are damaging literature. We should instead place ourselves in the hands for proper critics such as him. I presume he means himself as he is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement. I have to say that this stance is deluded and arrogant and fundamentally misses the point.
Most readers I would hazard do not find out about new writers by studiously studying reviews in the TLS, and never have. Most of us will hear about new books from friends and family. 'Have you read..' I really can't stand... Or we will happen upon it in a bookshop or at an airport. Or we will hear about it on a TV chat show.
For the more hardcore, we are members of book groups where we actively discuss what we are reading.
All these are probably more significant sources of influence than reviews by proper critics.
Maybe I don't hold literary criticism in high enough regard. Growing up reading the NME I learnt quickly that the views of music journalists were not exactly trust worthy. I have no evidence to suggest that literary critics are any wiser.
The rise of online reviews at Amazon and  bloggers has made the voice of the punter in the street visible to the likes of Sir Peter.  It is something he probably never had to consider before. But rather than a new pollutant in the pure waters of lit crit, it is an enduring feature of the landscape.

Truth and the UCI

I was reading a great review of Tyler Hamilton's autobiography. I have to say that if telling the truth feels as good as Tyler tells us, it is a shame he did not start a bit earlier. However one of the ideas being kicked around the in the article was that cycling needs a truth and reconcilliation commission like that in post aparthied South Africa.

Now whatever professional cyclings issues are, I don't think they are akin to the challenge of unpicking the wrongs of aparthied. However of all the ideas being mooted since Lance retreated to the Alamo this does seem the most workable. Alternative ideas seemed to revolve around deleting the last twenty years from history, or awarding tours to the one as yet unbanned rider in the top twenty.

So basically, come forward tell all and you get absolved seems a sensible way forward. Name the names and clean out the wound. Whether of not the UCI will ever have the guts to wash its dirty laundry thoroughly is another question. It always feels that are more damage limition, than truth and reconcilliaton. They seem happier thinking up new and exciting things to sue Paul Kimmage for. Hey Mr McQuaid shall we try 'being an Irish bloke who tells us things we don't like hearing.' Bingo.

There is also the cheering news that the 2016 UCI world Championship will be hosted by Qatar. It will be great. Just a short journey and we will be  able to stand by the side of the road cheering on the riders, surrounded by thousands of passionate cycling fans, while drinking a cold beer. Oh bugger that's not Qatar, I was confusing it with Belgium.

A world less pants

Things a bit tough at the moment, with my Mum not being well and family and friends putting in a lot of support. But this evening  I was the recipient of a lovely unprovoked act of kindness. My Mum's neighbours, the Aslams spotted my car outside. They know my Mum is not well. About 5 o'clock the daughter came round to tell me that her mum was cooking me some chicken biryani. At 6.30 they both arrived with a huge pan, plus yogurt with instructions on how to reheat if it was too much for one sitting. Absolutely delicious, nourishing body and soul.
One of those experiences when the world seems just a bit less pants.

Karma - its the little things

Sometimes in life one just has to take it on the chin. Sometimes, just sometimes the big sack of fate swings around and clobbers the other guy.
2 nil down at home, Palace were labouring away, and the despondent support could just fume and rant. Cardiff  had nothing to do  but sing and taunt Dougie Freedman while their players ran the clock down. When the ball flew into the midst of their support, of course there was nothing more hilarious for them to do than keep it. For a long minute or so happy people from Wales tossed the ball amongst themselves. Finally just as another ball had been found they returned it, just in time to delay the restart of play.
All the home support could do was make rude gestures and moan.
Half an hour later, by some strange miracle, Palace were not only resurgent but sitting on a 3-2 lead, as the ball arched into the noisy  home support in the Holmesdale. Did they return the ball in a sporting way to allow the game to continue swiftly. Did they f......
The golden rule - he who laughs last.....

Whiter Shade of Pale

Now I am probably not the heaviest consumer of grooming and beauty products. Well apart from the stuff we cyclists use to strip the hair from our legs. But there cannot be many people on the right side of sanity who think that 'Lactacyd White Intimate' is anything but and bizarre waste of money.

What does it do? I makes you genitals whiter. And the purpose being? It apparently matters in Thailand where being dark is associated with working in the fields, which I presume is not seen as a positive. So people don't want to be accused of harbouring a farme'rs vag.  Given that I doubt that people work in the fields in the buff, the darkness or otherwise of ones intimate bits seems rather a strange thing to worry about.

Madam, put the bottle back on the shelf and go and spend the money on something nice that you will enjoy.

There is probably some rather horrible shadism behind this, but I am not qualified to comment.

Beyond Boycie

Confession, my enthusiasm for Only Fools and Horses dimished quickly after the first couple of series, as for me it became more sentimental and less funny. So I was familiar with the character of Boycie, played by the actor John Challis, without him being somebody who as figured large in my life. But recently joined the Croydon Waterstones book group, and through that got invited along to the launch of Boycie and Beyond, the second installment of John's autobiography. It turned out to be lots of fun.

I went with no expectations, actually I expected John to be some braying Sarf London comedian, with a bag of dodgy jokes. In fact he was a charming, thoughtful man, a much gentler personality than his role would suggest. I said as much to the person standing next to me. They were generous enough not to remind me that John Challis is an actor and Only Fools and Horses was not a fly on the wall documentry.

Worlds Apart?

The decision by Charlie Hedbo to publish inflamatory cartoons about Mohammed in the current enviroment was crass. While it could be potrayed as a defence of free speach it is a feeble one. Deborah Orr is right to highlight the vast arrogance being demonstrated.
However her message that the west and the Islamic world should leave one another alone is problematic, if superficially attractive. Firstly these are not two seperate worlds. Where should a British Muslim stand? Taking it further neither the west nor the Islamic world are in themselves homogneous. The Guardian editorial today highlights that two Islamist parties in Egypt have distanced themselves from the recent protests. It is a long time since an artist was charged with blasphamey in Britain but not so in Russia.
The reality is that we are hugely interlinked and diverse. Understanding and responding to why some parts of the Islamic world are ealily gavanised into violent protest by what seem trivial slights would be a sensible start.

Fuzzy thinking

It has been a funny couple of weeks when it comes to the popular perception of the Police, or maybe more accurately the media portrayal of that perception.

The aftermath of the Hillsborough report, and the sacking of the Officer who struck Ian Tomlinson  did not offer an encouraging image of our Police. A force, where individual officers seemed to view rioters and blameless passers bye with the same contempt, and a Force willing to conspire at the highest level to cover up their errors and shift blame.

There is no reason to presume that things have got better as a result of any positive action on the part of the Police. For the family of Ian Tomlinson, as it was for Rodney King, it is the ability for the press and public to record what the Police do that has made them accountable.

But then two PC's are murdered. They were unarmed and going about the business we want them for, tackling crime and making our world feel safe. And  we discover that Andrew Mitchell views the Officers that keep him safe with contempt.

In the summer of 2011 politicians were quick to try to criticise the police response to the riots, and claim responsibility for the resulting strategy.

Maybe within this lies the fundamental problem. Brave under rewarded officers taking big risks for little thanks, against a 'looking after our own' culture that fails to challenge thuggish violence and incompetence. Where do we go? The fresh air of scrutiny that modern communications allows will help. Recently in Bromley a young black man was able to use CCTV footage to rebut a bogus allegation of 'resisting arrest.' It would be much harder for Officers to be instructed to ammend their notes when mobile video and audio recording equipment is in everyones pocket. But this only feels like part of a solution.

Fings don't always get better

Nick Clegg's enthusiastic apology for something around tuition fees did leave me reflecting on my own experience. I never felt that blessed at time but in hindsight...

I left school and got a job as a trainee surveyor with Tarmac. As part of the deal I got day release to go and study at college one day per week. There were no ties in, I did not have to indenture myself to them in return. So in the fullness of time I went an got a better paid job with Roger F Kilby. Kilby too were happy to fund and give day release for me to become qualified.

However I fancied giving the student life a whirl so went and did a degree. With Kilby I got a well paid summer job and my local authority not only paid for my fees but gave me a little grant to live on. This was topped up by some nice gifts from my parents.

Within a couple of months of graduating I had a well paid job, and had paid off my modest college debt. Those debts were not for books and fees but due to my fondness for music and beer.

This was not in some socialist utopia, this was all happening in Thatcher's and Major's Britain.

In a world where people are stacking shelves for free as work experience, and parents trying to bankroll the whole college process, I have to count myself pretty lucky. If I had know how lucky I was back then I might have appreciated it a bit more.

Lad for the Ladettes

Read that Bradley Wiggins is up for putting his own money in to support a British women's pro cycling team.
Only to be applauded but does just hammer home the stupefying inequality in the sport. Think Andy Murray having to contemplate bankrolling the Women's competition at Wimbledon.
Itv, Sky, UCI, Eurosport - we need a reaction, it's time to smell the coffee.

Gutted for Pooley

Really sorry that Emma Pooley missed out on the podium in the Womens TT worlds. It would have been great for he to close her season on a high. This year she has pulled off some great results with her trade team, but in her national team she  has had to work for others.
This is one of the harsh inequalities on our sport. Women riders have to rely on the Worlds and the Olympics to get any serious attention, while for the men it is the Pro Tour where the big money is.
It is a shame that Pooley is, at a young age and with so much talent is considering retirement. At the same time, she is bright and has choices. It is easy to see how the rewards outside cycling could be attactive.
Until women's pro cycling gets proper TV coverage it is never going to attract the money. This is soomething that really needs to change.

Passing the Test

A couple of weeks back I took time here to have right old grump about time trialling and how it was cheerily letting the cycling boom pass it by. Since then I have been brooding and thinking that if I have not postive suggestion I should belt up. So it got me thinking, what would I change if I could.

 The sport is run by lots of really dedictated people who put a huge amount in. No of this meant as a disrespect to them. That said if anyone mentions residual ill feeling resulting from the conflict between the British League of Racing Cyclists and the National Cycling Union I cannot promise to be polite.

Ok so here goes;

1)      Merge CTT with British Cycling. BC is a well-funded highly successful and growing body supporting the sport. Time trialling loses a great deal and gains little from operating as a separate body.

 

2)      Develop links with Triathlon around our shared discipline. Tri has a younger and move mixed following.

3)      Develop modern customer friendly online entry system that allows entry on line and on the start line.

4)      End the requirement for entrants to be members of cycling clubs. TTing is a simple and accessible entry to the sport. Riders may come to join a club once they get involved. The priority is getting them involved.

5)      Radically change the competition rules around BAR. The desire to record fast times drives organisers and riders to run event of flat featureless courses. The fun and true test of skill offered by many sporting courses is missed. Move to a system of scoring based on placing rather than time.

6)       Introduce age group prizes rather than the rather the impenetrable Vet standards.

7)      Encourage new types of organisations to promote events like Wiggle and Evans are doing for sportive and MTB events.

8)      Use modern technology such a chip timing

9) For a great event an entry fee of over £8 might be great value, you never know. TTing is a sport with people riding £3k bikes moaning about being on a fixed income when it comes to paying for a cup of tea.

 

There you go, got that off my chest.

Welfare Reform

Maybe I should not read too much into coverage in The Guardian but it does look like both the delivery of Welfare Reform and its consequences are moving up the agenda.
I have always assumed that welfare reform is not a big vote winner for the Coalition, at the same time not a big risk. This is not like the Poll Tax where the middle classes were impacted. However, clearly a chaotic implementation would be bad news.
There is much whispering in the sector that the DWP's project is not running to timetable coupled with the story that Cameron would have like to have moved IDS along.
The reports today  that the number of households in B&B is on the increase has to be a cause for alarm from all sides. The cost of providing emergency housing in B&B is huge, and wasteful. The impact on the families who are placed in this housing is horrendous. Is this a blip or the shape of things to come as Councils try to balance off their statutory obligations to the homeless against the changing welfare landscape?

Jon T-Locked in on the Tour of Britain

Thrilled that Jonathan Tiernan-Locke kept it togther to take the Tour of Britain today. First British rider to do so in its relaunched form and against arguably the most prestigious field we have seen for our domestic tour.
The fact that Tiernan-Loche did it riding for Endura Racing, one of the home based squads, when there were several Pro-Tour Teams represented, made it all the sweeter. The British Cycling production line has done so much for our sport in recent years, all the same it is nice to see somebody fighting their way up the old way.
Of couse seeing Cav taking stages in the Rainbow jersey was great, but hey, it is what the guys does. Tiernan-Locke's story is incredible, side lined for years with due to a virus, having to work his way up from the bottom on his return, then this year picking up a whole batch of stage race wins.
The fact that he is a proper climber just adds to the excitement about what he could do next. People seem to be talking about him as another Robert Millar.
We will have to see, but it is great to think about.

Don't do it Ricky

Boxing has always seemed like a sport that one should retire from young. For those with the talent, make the cash, look after it and retire with a nest egg. It is a risky game, where even the top guys can get seriously damaged.
To that end I am sad to read the Ricky Hatton is giving it another go. He will make money, his fame and stature will ensure that. The big purse does not always go the the fight between the best, it goes to the fighters who can attract the biggest crowd. Mike Tyson continued to be great box office long after he had shifted from being a champion to pantomime villain.
Hatton is a better human being than Mike Tyson. After the tales of cocaine addiction and fights with his dad, it is easy to see why he would want to win his self respect back. As a great boxer, it is easy to see why at return to the ring looks like the way to do it. However history tells us that he is unlikely to match past glories, and it could all end as a humiliating car crash, or worse.
Ricky, take a step back.

Face Value

In the waves of apologies that followed the Hillborough report yesterday there is something that bothers me. Yes we had confirmation that the Police told lies to shift the blame onto the fans. Kelvin McKenzie apologised for printing the smears.
However, given that 96 people had died why were the Government and much of the press so willing to accept those lies?
It has been the failure to challenge the lies by those in power that has protracted the process for the victims.
My guess is that the smears chimed with pre existing stereotypes of football supporters and of Liverpudlians. That made the lies an easy sell.

Pie Taster

The Milk Marketing Board cook book did what it said on the tin. If it could work butter, milk or cream into anything it would. I have only ever tried to make a steak pie from first principles once in my life. The evening turned out to be so bad that I never bothered again.

I was living in a horrible flat in Winchester with Lynne. My job had come to an end so I was stuck home alone during that day. I had been given the MMB cook book for Christmas. With nothing better to do I decided to have a crack at making a steak pie. It was not great to be honest. The dish was too big for the amount of filling I had, it only went halfway up. The crust was dense and hard.

We ate at a table in the middle of our room. White walls stained with mould and running with condensation.  Lynne had a go at her bit of pie when she got back from college. She did not seem keen.

I was lying on the bed reading the NME. I remember clearly there was a huge article on the band Therapy? They were in America and we photographed throwing shapes in the sunshine. I seemed a million miles from our damp room.

‘We need to talk; I think we should split up.’

I guessed that this might be coming. She had been quietly laying the ground for some time. I starred at the paper, like a school kid struggling for the answer. She said we were a great team, but did not love me. She had tried to tell me this before, encouraging me to stay in France that summer. But I closed my ears. Now she told me straight, in that shitty flat in Winchester, in January.

There was nowhere to go, no spare room. It was a long night. I have never fancied making a pie again.

Testing Psychopaths

Recently finished reading Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Test. It will be the next book up for discussion at the Croydon Waterstones Book Group. I am looking forward to what others think because I am having a difficult time with it.

Centred on a questionnaire that is used to determine where somebody is a psychopath we follow Jon around various institutions, prisons, conference centres and coffee shops.

I heard Jon Ronson speak at World Book Night, and he is a cracking performer. But the book annoyed me in the end. His approach feels like something from the ten years ago, the ‘Investigative Innocent’. It works like a kind of Anti- John Pilger. Basically the journalist hangs around with people who are famous, self-styled experts, or obviously deluded. It works best if they are all three. Then ask nice reasonable questions in a non-threatening way. This is why I suspect it plays well in Britain, when deployed against brasher, more outspoken cultures.

For me the investigative innocent began with Nick Broomfield in ‘The Leader, His Driver and the Drivers Wife.’ For TV this approach has been dragged to the depths by Louis Theroux. So much so it is hard to imagine there are any weirdo’s left in American prison that have not been visited by some cheery British ingénue.

A similar approach to lighter subject matter is used by Tim Moore in Revolutions, Dave Gorman or Jonathan Randell in Twelve Grand. In these books an average middle aged white male (normally a journalist) decides to follow some whimsical journey. Later there is an effort hammer a level of profundity into the outcome.

It would be unfair to suggest Jon Ronson is a copyist. He has been at this genre for some time. He is one of its best. But the Psychopath Test feels derivative and dare I say, pointless.

 Nick Broomfield’s film was so powerful not just the approach was fresh and new. But also there was a point. At that time Eugene Terre'Blanche was the leader of an organisation that threatened to drag South Africa into a bloody civil war. By the time the like of Louis Theroux got to him he was seen as a buffoon, an irrelevant side show. Nick Broomfield was the one who unmasked him. There was a point. The innocent investigative tactic worked.

The main gripe with the Psychopath Test is that it was hard to see the point. There were some brilliant interviews, some really interesting history. There were some worthwhile thoughts on the dangers of labelling people, the pressure from Big Pharma and media interest in the deluded. There was some limited and inconclusive exploration of whether there are psychopaths in senior corporate roles.  But apart from an engaging whimsical journey was there a point?

Tour of Britain - And the winner is, erm, well hmmm

Maybe with the Tour de France and the Olympics I got too used to things not being a bit rubbish. The Tour of Britain and the ITV 4 coverage has dealt with that.
 Yesterday the covege just burbled away to the likes of Rob Hayles rather than giving any meaningful info on who the teams were and who might win. Then when Cav crashed, they gave up filming the race in preference to watching he Manx Missile stand around looking pissed off. It was almost as an afterthought that they cameras went back to the race.
The commentators then  spent long minutes not sure what to say, unsure even if it was Luke Rowe who had won, and could not produce any general classicification.
Now we all know that Eurosport can do this stuff in their sleep, so it cannot be that hard.
Then today the organisors get in on the act. Getting Luke Rowe onto the podium to hand him the leaders jersey. All well and good. But he was not the leader!! It was Boy Van Poppel. They did not know who the leader was. Sorry, that is poor.
Please we have an opportunity to push onto another level with cycling in the country. Can we get our act together please.

Justice Delayed

There is optimism that a report due next week will reveal an approximation of the truth about Hillsborough. In recent years we have seen similar enquiries and hearings around the murder of Stephen Lawrence, war crimes in Kenya, and Bloody Sunday.
What seems to come back time and time again is that when the Police or Army have something to hide, they can bury it for a long time. In the case of Kenya, a very very long time. This can only happen because of political support at the highest level.
Maybe in 15 years time we will find out what really happened in the aftermath of Jean Charles De Menezez shooting?

Don't Bret, he's not worth it

I suppose it is fitting that the author of American Psycho should get is kicks attacking a corpse. Why else launch an attack on David Foster Wallace four years after his death?

Barbara Ellen's response in today's Observer is great. On Easton Ellis 'I think he should be more concerned that he is becoming a literary version of Elton John....'. Now that is the stuff of nightmares.

Grant Google Schapps Spin

Grant Schapps was one of the more colourful Housing Ministers we have had, and while he did clearly seem to have a particular grudge against the social sector, many of his ideas were challenging and refreshing. He made a change from the usual array of empty suits who have filled that role over the last decade. So I find find the reports of his antics this week a bit disappointing.

Various websites linked in the press  to Grant Schapps have been black listed by Google for breach of their rules. His  efforts to  distance himself from the sharp practise of these companies makes pretty painful reading. The 'they are nothing to do with me since 2008' protestations are pretty weak when his Wife, Mother and Sister are actively involved.

He wrote self help books under the nom de plume, Michael Green. When challenged about profiles  making reference to 'Michael Green' being an MP he maintained that they were  merely out of date. And while his wife an others write under the name still, he does not.

None of this does much to improve the popular image of politicians. If he believes what these websites do are legitimate why not stand by them? If he does not, simply saying 'its not me, its my wife' is pretty damning.

I am sure he will have lots of fun as Party Chairman.

Grumbling away

Lots of stuff bouncing around today about people favourite Olympic memories, from the lighting of the torch through to the medals. In my curmudgeonly way, I just want to name one low point. Something that has niggled away at me since the first weekend of the games. Something that the huge opiate of all the great stuff managed to soothe, nearly.

I have nothing against Kazakhstan but why did Alexander Vinokourov have to win the men's road race? For me he is the most under punished unrepentant doper in cycling. For him to take such a wonderful prize pisses me off. He is a reminder of a generation I hope is history.

My lack of tolerance for the man is partly fuelled by the fact that before he was unmasked for his doping he was one of my favourite riders in the peleton.

Now that I have though myself into a bad mood I may as well carry on.

One of the things that used to be nice about watching cycling and Britain being a bit crap was that it was one sport I could enjoy without the nationalist angst. I could root for riders for no better reason than they were great, or were battling. I could shift allegiance freely without a care in the world. Now we are not shit anymore and I feel myself getting sucked back into the kind of feelings that creep in when watching football, rugby, cricket or even tennis. It means that rather than freely appreciating a brilliant attacking Vuelta a result is everything feeling starts to creep over me. Stop it Andrew.

The Harder they come

A few years ago,(I think in the Tour De France but probably wrong) a couple of riders had a punch up at the end of the stage. They were both skinny climber types and it was clear that neither was a master of the martial arts. The spectacle of two skinny men in Lycra basically slapping hear other with feeling was probably the wimpiest fight ever recorded. Until now, nearly.

So David Cameron mocked Ed Miliband for not being very butch. To be honest, if such things matter at all, it was a little bit pot calling the kettle black. It brought to my mind an image of the pair of them squaring up to each other. Not exactly the Rumble in the Jungle.

Luck of the draw

I just read on Twitter that Eddie Izzard, (apparently but not surprisingly in nail polish) is dishing out medals at the Paralymics tonight.

So you are an elite athlete having won a gold medal. At the moment of your greatest triumph, probably a bit of TV you will want to revisit for posterity up steps the Hooded Claw, in the guise of an unloved politician. The applause for you is shared with boos for them. Next night, some other elite athlete get their award from a much loved popular entertainer. That athlete gets to enjoy their moment of unambiguous rapture.

One of the justifications for using unpopular politicians was that the demand for medal givers was so high they had to shake all the crumbs out of the cookie jar. If it has to be that way maybe the athletes should get a say in who hands them their gong?

On a related theme, I hear Horse and Hound Magazine (a journal that looms large in my life) is in the doodoo for sticking a New Zealand rider at the Burghley Horse Trials on their cover, instead of a victorious British  Paralympian.

Their justification was that on their website they got more hits on the Burghley article. Fair point really though I feel they are missing the zeitgiest. The Paralympians don't need a sympathy vote. H&H is free to put what their readers want on the cover. I am free to think that they are a....

Easy does it- small things that make life better

I applaud EasyJet for launching allocated seating, removing one of those little things that makes flying a drag. I don't expect any romance in flight in the 21st century. However I would rather it was not like getting a 75 bus at Lewisham.
EasyJet sparing everyone the queue and bundle for seats, excellent.

Whoever you vote for.....the government wins, maybe

I am no lover of Michael Gove or George Osborne. In fact Osborne does such a perfect job of looking like a pantomime villain that I am sure he is kept on to make rest of the cabinet look more user friendly.  I have to say a found the booing of him at the Paralympics a bit wearisome, especially as Gordon Brown got a cheer. Like the dull anarchists who threw water over John Prescott way back when.

Come on guys it was not that long ago people were queuing up to check rotten fruit at poor old Gord.

What worries me is that despite the short comings of Osborne and his colleagues there is a empty space where a credible opposition should be. It is like Neil Kinnock had won the 1992 election but with the roles reversed. We have a weak Tory led government, managing problems that go far beyond our own borders, facing a labour party who still have a huge amount of sorting out to do before they are ready.

Don’t buy a flat if you want to live in it

Not sure who this advice is for, or if it is coherent. It is more a call to arms. We need to find a better way to manage leasehold property in England.This goes along with my advice - if you have a choice don't work for a lawyer, unless you are a lawyer.

On Saturday I got into a heated discussion with my friend Simon. He was furious at the service provided by the Housing Association managing his block. They kept making mistakes in his service charge and then there was this issue of the paladin bins. He and his friend Reg had done some research and discovered that they could buy the bins more cheaply than the managing agents were renting them from the council.

My view is that the managing agents were probably managing a huge number of blocks, that the management fee income they were getting was probably not covering their costs. Basically they were probably getting more than they paid for.  I asked, would you pay more, say three times as much if they guaranteed to not make mistakes and take an interested in betters ways of procuring the bin? Well, no not really.

Would they want to enfranchise and manage the building themselves. Well no because it is only me and Reg who cares.

The dovetails with the experience another friend was having with major works. Significant works is required to the balconies in her building. They have enfranchised and therefore the management company is made up of residents. Should be straight forward? Well no, because not all the leaseholders are resident. Some are buy to let landlords who do not want to foot the bill of the work. Others are on fixed income and don’t have the money up front.

The work is now much delayed and more than one shouting match has taken place.

But if they had collected a provision then there would be no problem. Well not that easy. Provisions work best if collected over a long period of time to fund replacements. On a new build block recently I had to manage complainants unhappy about the level of the service charge. In particular the provision for future replacement. Typical of the comments;

'I am not going to be here in 50 years time, I don’t want to pay for the roof replacement.'

Of course go back to what the lease says. This normally only leads to lawyers who spend money that does not exist enforcing terms. Or the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Again a short trip to legal expense.

Basic problems with how we manage flats

1)      For the individual leaseholder. While have right to be consulted has limited control over the timing of major works. If provision has not been collected they can be many thousands of pounds. However those selling flats try to keep provision low to enable sale, therefore inadequate funds are collected. Also unlikely that block will be managed to reflect their personal desires an prejudices.

2)      For the private managing agent- while one can charge a management for on what is spent this does not generate the kind of surplus that enable to do more than the minimum. Few leaseholders will pay for ‘more’ service.

3)      For the enfranchised management company- Not all residents are on the same page, and getting agreement from your neighbours can be a fraught place.

Net result is everyone is dissatisfied.

So, don’t buy a flat. Or we should find a better was of managing leasehold.

It’s the winning that counts not the taking part

An article in the paper today was discussing the increased risk that paralympians will dope to win.  I have to say some of the techniques discussed were gruesome. If you want to know how breaking your toe or sitting on a spike can improve your performance check out today’s Guardian. If that is what it takes guys then you are welcome to it.

 This followed on from Oscar Pistorius’ noisy complaints about the outcome of the 200m and Jody Cundy turning the air blue in the velodrome.

As we increasingly recognise paralympians as elite athletes I guess we should not be surprised that they start behaving like elite athletes.

Authonomy and The New Merlins Cave

It was 1986 when I played Ron’s New Band Night at the New Merlins Cave. Ron was much less appealing in the flesh than he had been on the phone. He looked like a prototype Gerry Sadowitz, with lank dark hair and a beaky face.

There were 8 bands due to play and we were being stuck on first. Something that pissed us off at the time though as it turned out was a blessing. We were worried that going on at 8 would mean we would be finished before that place filled up. We were not familiar with new band nights.

There is a story about one gig Crass played with the UK Subs back in the 1977. Nobody turned up so Crass watched the Subs and the Subs watched Crass. And basically that is how new band night worked. Apart from a couple of girlfriends there was no audience other than the bands themselves.

A few days ago I loaded some short stories and poems onto Authonomy. It gives readers the chance to check out unpublished writers for free. For the writers it’s a chance to get your name out there. Authonomy has a fair bit of credibility as it is run by Harper Collins and offers the sizable carrot that their editors may review your work.

People must be interested in seeing new talent, or reading exciting new authors right? Well to a point. It feels a lot like new band night, in all the good things and all the bad things.

Most new bands are probably not worth traveling any distance to see.  With unpublished writers there is just so much out there to wade through before one finds gold. In fact that is why we like having somebody sort the wheat from the chaff for us.

At new bands night one applauds generously in the hope and expectation that one will reap what you sow. With Authonomy a similar game emerges. To get the Editors eye you have to be popular. My guess is that 95% of the readers are also writers. So there seems to be some frantic networking. ‘Review my book and I will review yours’. ‘Wow you are a brilliant writer, now please put my book on your bookshelf.’

This is not inherently wrong. As Harper Collins note, if you want to make it networking counts. If one hopes that by simply posting work of heart-breaking genius one will be discovered it is probably a good opportunity to be disabused of that notion.

Sadly, like my band and all the other bands at the New Merlins Cave I suspect most of the writers on Authonomy will not have their dreams fulfilled.  But if you don’t try you will never know.

Radio CRO

Spent an hour with Tim and Tracey at Croydon Radio this morning. The station went live in June and it is great to see what has been achieved. A short walk from Reeves Corner but a millions miles from the negative images of last year.

My interest was via Waterstones. They had come up with the idea of interviewing writers who were coming into do signings. A win win  for all involved.

What struck me was the huge potential Croydon Radio has for anyone who has a passion or an interest they what to share. Basically if there is a programme you want to make there is a decent chance they can help. They are particulary interested in themes that promote what is great in Croydon, but they don't set many limits on what that could be. They cover music, poetry, current affairs, comedy and factual stuff about what is going on.

Despite it all being voluntary they are set up with a really professional approach. I probably spoiled that with my contribution to the show.

My added bonus for going down was a lovely cappuccino in the Cafe at Matthews Yard. A cracking space to read and chill.

Winners and losers

Thrilled to bits about Steve Cummings win in the Vuelta today. Just the kind of stage win he deserved, over the line alone having done his share in a super strong breakaway. Great that he was able to take his chance to grab something for himself.

Flip was seeing Jody Cundy miss out on a gold in the paralympics after not being awarded a restart. If ever there was a nailed on favourite. Team GB is certainly paying in karma of that mens team sprint win!