“The Guardian received calls from startled readers in London, Bedfordshire, Yorkshire, Manchester, Blackpool and Leicester.”, says the Gruniard website today.

Why would your first thought on being awoken in the middle of the night by an earthquake be, “I must ring the Guardian!” ?

I seriously worry about Society when I read stuff like that.

The quake occurred at 1am and woke me up, but as it had been windy I just assumed it was that, although on reflection it did seem to be more of a rumble, a short gap, and then another one.

The last one I remember was in 1986ish, and occurred as I was brewing up before school at 7.50. It felt like a train going by and reminded me of the aftershock from Flixborough once I heard on the radio that it was a quake.

A fortnight or so into the investigation surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann Simon Schama postulated thus on Question Time;

“If Madeleine had been the daughter of a black single parent from South London, and the occurrence had taken place at Butlins, would there be the same level of media interest?”

There was a sharp collective intake of breath (we were still at the Diana Stage), a pause and then a ripple of acknowledgement washed across the audience.

Shannon Matthews disappeared from her home in Dewsbury a week ago today.

Not ONE mention on Sky News who at this stage in the McCann case were anchoring their main bulletins from Portugal, nor on the Today Programme or News 24. A trawl of Ceefax produced the same result. Nothing. Diddlysquat.

This from the Mirror;

“A man helping in the search for Shannon Matthews was found nailed to a cross.

A neighbour who found him said; “He was shouting “Jesus Christ over and over. He was drunk so I told him to get up, but he said; “I can’t””.

Police deny any connection to her disappearance.

Shannon’s Mum Karen (32) said she and her boyfriend Craig Meehan (22) could not bear to go home.

A pal said; “They are beside themselves”.

This coverage would be funny if it did not epitomise the contempt that the Red Top Press has for it’s largely Working Class readership.

The scenario described is to suggest that life in Working Class areas is one big episode of Shameless, as you can well imagine Frank Gallagher in such a situation.

Feckless, drunk and immoral bludgers, the lot of ‘em.

Just the demographic that New Labour have in their sights as described by the lamentable Caroline Flint last month when she called for those who won’t work to be made homeless.

Then there is the description of Meehan as the “boyfriend”. Not partner. It makes the mother seem all the more irresponsible and immoral. “She takes boyfriends!” Then there is the mention of Meehan’s age, thrown in for added moral outrage.

On top of that the friend of the family is described as a “pal”. Throwaway, expendable, worthless.

And those three words describe the attitude of the media to the White Working Class and why Shannon’s desperate situation barely registers in Tabloid Land.

The Express/Mail faux Middle Class readership are made to feel frightened by the McCann case as “IT COUD BE YOU!” feeding their idea that they are on the same socio- educational rung as the McCanns.

They aren’t, but this contemptible niche market in the Press con their readers into thinking that stuff Inheritance Tax affects them, and make them feel like they should be concerned. And vote Tory accordingly, whilst casting an insidious aspersion that this family, and the Mother in particular were the architects of their own misfortune by the way they live their lives.

More pertinently how we are made to assume that a chaotic lifestyle is abroad here. We have no idea of course, but the seeds are planted. 

 What the Matthews case shows in microcosm is how fractured Society has become, and that Working Class people are increasingly portrayed by the media in the same way that Orwell painted a picture of life for the Proles in 1984.

If the hooter had been delayed by another ninety seconds or so, then Hull Kingston Rovers would have pulled off one of the greatest comebacks of the Super League era, but as it was smart, streetwise play from the Wire saw scrum half Michael Monaghan land a drop goal which ultimately saw Warrington home.

But all this excitement seemed an impossible dream as the visitors ran in six un replied to tries, blitzing into a 28-0 lead as Rovers subsided in abject fashion.

Hull KR simply failed to master the basics of rugby league football in the first half hour, and were ripped apart by a Warrington side who simply converted the chances offered to them by non existent sliding defence, silly un forced errors and an inability to get out of a strange torpor which seemed to wrap itself around the collective psyche of the team.

There was much gnashing and grinding of teeth on the South Terrace, not to mention some fruity language when the sixth try was run in. We were justifiably cross, but someone piped up with, “Well I think we are doing OK, actually!” which produced a gale of laughter and put matters in perspective. None of the frankly bilious vitriol that you hear at soccer.

The turnaround was amazing. Quick, incisive and imaginative football saw Warrington’s erstwhile sturdy defence shredded on a regular basis, and these were scores borne of flair and vim, not the result of poor play from the Wire, who by the end were dead on their feet, almost but not quite shattered by a truly remarkable performance from a side who MUST aim for a top six finish this year.

Rovers have a two week break, and I back the best Coach working in Europe to sort out defensive matters which have dogged Hull KR in the Catalan game, and now here.

 This game was a great advert for the humour and loyalty of the best fans in this League and it was a pleasure to stand with them absorbing the atmosphere, but come Derby Day Black and White revenge will be high on my agenda.

Hull K R: Briscoe, Fox, Welham, J. Webster, Steel, Fitzhenry, J. Webster, Vella, Fisher, Aizue, Newton, Galea, Murrell.
Replacements: Crossman, Mills, Gene, Cockayne.

Att: 8,760

A 3-D presentation of U2's global "Vertigo" tour. Shot at seven different shows, this production employs the greatest number of 3-D cameras ever used for a single project….

I was the only person in the theatre for this film, a totally weird experience and I went out twice to check that I was in the correct screen, as they didn’t run any adverts or trailers before the main event meaning that a 1pm start became 1.20 and I was sitting there in splendid isolation for twenty minutes.

It was a good job that I arrived early, as there was only ONE till open in the whole place, and there was a massive queue for Rambo. Everyone was moaning like mad and the poor Simpsons Spotty Kid was copping all sorts of flack. Totally out of order. The Duty Manager was “unavailable” so he had to deal with it all.

Anyway…. I felt a bit strange about going to this as the Vertigo Tour in 2005 came just as things couldn’t have gotten any worse regarding my illness. The kids at my school bought us a pair of tickets for the show in Cardiff, plus two nights in opulence at the Celtic Manor Hotel and it seemed like some kind of ending. A tremendously emotional experience.

U2 are “my” band. The Joshua Tree released in March 1987 couldn’t have spoken more about how I felt as an 18 year old left behind by the suicide of a parent, (With or Without You, Running to Standstill) as a young and angry Lefty (Bullet the Blue Sky, Mothers of the Disappeared), a helpless bystander to the butchery of Thatcherism and the Miner’s Strike (Red Hill Mining Town) and a witness to the tragedy of the war in Northern Ireland (Exit).

Uncanny. And at that age you seek far more meaning in art and music than is healthy any way. Or is that just me? All that guff regarding “Sound Track To My Life” applies here.

U2 aren’t innovative (how much can one man get out of a guitar reverb box? A whole career in the Edge’s case), they aren’t great musicians and Bono is certainly no great shakes in the vocal department, but they just seem to be able to tap into the existential side of things, drawing the listener into an emotional experience which speaks to them on an individual level and brings it all together in the live show for which film can’t even recreate 1% of the vibe amongst the audience.

The 3D thing is a bit hit and miss, breathtaking in places and distinctly average for the rest of the time. And make sure you sit in the middle as the floor lighting is a major problem near the aisle.

There is part of me that worries about a U2 live show, it’s all a bit Nuremberg and I wonder whether it’s a symptom of the Secular Society and Emotional Consumerism, but I have to say that Bono was a massive inspiration to me, passionate and wanting to change the World for the better. Actually doing something rather than bitching and moaning from the sidelines.

Having said that I found the middle section of the show a bit tiresome, Bono on his soapbox about how in the Middle East “we are all children of Abraham”, and a lot of unsubtle symbolism on the screens and his costume.

 U2 are at their best when the songs are centre stage, and I am glad to report that this is the case in the film. It’s a good reflection of the show we saw, but at Cardiff I was delighted by the inclusion of The Electric Co. and I will Follow, absent here. But the film includes a cracking version of Miss Sarajevo.

 Even if the musical and vocal limitations are apparent this concert film is once again proof that U2 have that X factor that elevates their music into the stratosphere, and why they are they are the epitome the good bits of everything that rock and roll stands for.

A hunter stumbles on a host of dead bodies, a large amount of heroin and the small matter of $2 million in hard cash, but this is only the start of his troubles….

The Coen Brothers are master filmmakers and I would not hesitate to place the Big Lebowski and especially Fargo in my all time Top Fifty.

They have this amazing ability to capture character and atmosphere with the minimum of script and words are never wasted. Every scene and the character interaction are integral to what is going on. Fargo in particular uses silence brilliantly and the Brothers demand, and receive only the best from their cast.

The opening of No Country For Old Men once again captures the soul of America via the cinematography, conveying the innate weirdness of life out side the mainstream city scapes which largely define our perceptions of the place.

Lewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin), trailer trash extraordinaire is the (un) lucky man who makes the grim discovery whilst out hunting near the Rio Grande in Texas.

Deciding to keep the money brings the unwelcome attention of Oscar nominated Javier Bardem who plays the chillingly psychotic killer Anton Chigurth, a man not willing to give up the money lightly and will go to any lengths to punish those who get in his way. A weird home made bolt gun being his weapon of choice.

This role is brilliantly written and laconically, but menacingly played by Bardem and deserves to be short-listed for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Gong. Watch out for the gas station scene, a Coen Brothers trademark of minimum producing maximum effect.

The picture is well paced and we get into the skin of the characters, although Kelly McDonald is a little Cletus (Simpsons reference) for my liking, and she is obviously influenced by Sissy Spacek in Badlands, but that’s being nit picking about a fantastic ensemble performance.

I liked Tommy Lee Jones as the slightly barking Sheriff, but my main gripe about the film regards the ending.

Matters seem to be concluded but the narrative continues and I started to speculate about how the makers were going to end the thing, which means the natural flow of the picture had gone somewhat.

Thus I left the cinema feeling a bit unresolved, and our discussions in the car (and what a car it is. Pete has an X plate Jag) centred on dissatisfaction with the ending.

 Having mulled over the matter, I think that No Country For Old Men is a very good film and I would go along with the acting Nomination regarding the Oscars, but Best Picture is another matter as I have seen a few superior films this year.

A man is arrested and put on trial in Kafka’s surreal and acknowledged masterpiece, the only trouble is that mild mannered Bank Clerk Joseph K has no idea of the charge.....

It is very tempting to make a smart remark such as; “Jack Straw should read this!” whilst sounding like a “I’m SO well read” clever clogs, but I’m afraid that anyone who reads this book will come to the same inevitable conclusion that Kafka hits the nail on the head regarding what happens when the State acts with impunity and runs roughshod over basic Human Rights.

In such circumstances Society degenerates into an uncaring, snitching, manipulative parody of what makes things good when we act together, creating a Yes Culture amongst those, even right at the bottom of the pile who have a vested interest in the Status Quo.

Joseph’s persecutors, and even those who pose falsely as friends have no axe to grind, they find him neither offensive or criminal, but they do him over because that’s just the way it is. Nothing personal. Just pragmatism.

And that’s what scares the beyjayus out of me, because I find myself questioning what the hell I am doing looking the other way as a member of the Governing Party regarding Iraq, ID Cards, the effective suspension of Habeas Corpus and the constant rolling back of Civil Liberties and various other disturbing things.

It’s easy to shrug and say; “That’s life, pragmatism rules and it keeps the Tories out”, but what ARE we doing? WHY are we doing this stuff? What are the Left and the Labour Party FOR these days?

Scary stuff, but not half as scary as the victims of Forest Gate, those banged up in Belmarsh and Guantanamo and the potential scapegoats if the Government gets it’s way and you can be locked up for 56 days without being told what the charge is.

Kafka wrote the Trial in 1920 and this European Jewish guys portrayal of a Totalitarian State is just gobsmackingly prescient given the subsequent rise of the Nazi- Soviet dictatorships which display this pernicious and callous disregard for the individual.

I steered clear of the interpretations, but I can see that this is an existential piece of work and I think that Joseph is reflecting on what it means to be human, and that the situation is allegorical regarding the existence of God, and in the final scene Kafka is drawing these themes together.

You can see how this style of writing which explores the feelings of the characters rather than a plain narrative, was a massive influence on Sartre, Camus and the mid 20^th Century philosophical scene and later on the simplicity of language has been taken on by Kazu Ishiguro.

 The Trial is a very easy read, but it is shocking at just HOW relevant this book is nearly a century after it was penned and it makes me think about my relationship with the Labour Party.

But then I can spare such philosophical self indulgence, those living on the margins, who we do the most to help don't have that luxury.

Pragmatism? Sticking the fingers in the ears and going "LAAAAA" when the troubling things above are mentioned? Probably, yes.

This from yesterday's Observer;  

“Hospitals were last night accused of keeping thousands of seriously ill patients in ambulance 'holding patterns' outside accident and emergency units to meet a government pledge that all patients are treated within four hours of admission.

Those affected by 'patient stacking' include people with broken limbs or those suffering fits or breathing problems. An Observer investigation has also found that some wait for up to five hours in ambulances because A&E units have refused to admit them until they can guarantee to treat them within the time limit. Apart from the danger posed to patients, the detaining of ambulances means vehicles and trained crew are not available to answer new 999 calls because they are being kept on hospital sites. “

And this is what happened to me early on Saturday morning…..

On Monday I developed a severe headache but being a bloke I decided it would be more fun to say nowt, and instead make my friends and family suffer my ill temper.

But by 3 am on Saturday I had to give in to reason, or rather the reality that this sort of thing, for an ataxia sufferer can turn into Something Very Unpleasent, and it felt like the meningitis I had suffered the last time I was in the Royal London Hospital….

I finally rang the emergency doctor at 6.15am. He immediatley called an ambulance which arrived within five minutes.

They radioed ahead regarding my illness and the previous menigitis.

The Consultant was waiting as I was unloaded. He took blood straight away, examined me and appraised himself of my immunological state.

The results from the blood analysis were back within twenty minutes and showed negative for meningitis, but strongly positive for bacterial infection.

He pressed on my eyebrow and acertained a severe sinus infection. Embarrassing but a relief non the less.

Next iv anti biotics, saline and painkilling drips and within three hours matters were back under control.

He suggested going onto the Ward until Monday, but as the rest of the treatment is orally administered I persuaded them to let me come home with the promise to phone if there was a problem.

Brilliant, and evidence why the NHS is world class, when it works.

As for the above newspaper story; it is further evidence (as if it were needed) that the target obsession must stop, and stop now.It was correct that on taking power in 1997 we told the public what we were going to do about waiting lists, and then prove it, but now the targets are THE end in themselves, and that can’t be right can it?

Att: 60,049

Att: 18,407

Dr. Rowan Williams has proved finally, and with irrefutable evidence just why the Church of England is a totally shambolic irrelevance, chuntering and burbling on in the corner like an embarrassing elderly and incontinent relative.

Williams sees it as “inevitable and unavoidable” that Sharia Law will gain official status in the UK, as many Muslims “cannot relate” to the British Legal System.

What he really means is “will not relate” to UK Law.

He goes on to state that the “more extreme” tenants of this brutal and misogynistic way of doing things “should not be adopted”.

Define extreme Dr. Williams.

Is it “extreme” that FOUR men have to be witnesses before a charge of rape can be brought? This is the law of the land in Saudi Arabia, a nation which late last year was granted a full State Visit to our shores.

Or how about polygamy? A Muslim man may, in all good faith, leave his wife, marry another and refuse wife number one a divorce under Sharia Law as recognised by mainstream Islam in the UK.

And then there is the issue of the veil. If the State legitimises what we in the West define to be acceptable for Muslims, which in its self is patrician and patronising, then those within the Islamic community that seek even more social division will have succour.

What next? Dry areas in UK cities where Muslims are in the majority? Making halal shops the only available source of food in such circumstances?

Ridiculous, divisive and unworkable.

He went on to say that; “introducing Sharia Law would mean that Muslims no longer have to choose between two systems”.

Why not? I have I missed something here? If British Citizens, or those coming to the UK wish to have all the benefits that come with living in the UK, then they must surely have the responsibility to live by the Law of the Land?

It’s just basic common sense that the way to achieve social cohesion is to have a basic set of shared values and respect for the law, whilst celebrating different traditions in an atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance.

It seems that the Anglican Church places popularity above giving leadership and a sense of security for its followers.

Whilst the Roman Catholic Church has a myriad of faults, it knows exactly what it stands for and those of us within the family of the Church, no matter what we think are left in no doubt what is expected of us.

 I can go with that. An occasional dose of hypocrisy and moral ambivalence never hurt anyone.

Caroline Flint, arch Blairite Housing Minister today proves that, despite eleven years in power we are STILL allowing the Right Wing gutter press to set the political agenda.

In a move aimed directly at the Mail/ Express wanabee Middle Class readership, (generally those who perceive them selves as Middle Class but without enough education to perform, and consider themselves “deprived" if they can’t afford to go to Florida) Flint stated that she wants the hard core who refuse to work to lose their council homes.

Yes. Right. Like that is REALLY going to happen.

"Ministers and local councils have a statutory duty to house homeless families with children and so they can't boot them out of their houses without then providing alternative accommodation.

"What we've heard is classic Labour spin - designed to sound tough, but is in reality meaningless."

Absolutely spot on. Couldn’t have put it better myself. Who said this?

Grant Shapps, Tory Shadow Housing Minister. Ooops.

But then Shapps has more grasp of reality than most of his Tory, and indeed Labour peers having worked his way up from humble origins, and finds himself (unusually) on the Front Bench through merit rather than the well worn Tory path of Private School, Oxbridge and the City.

But the sheer contempt that Flint shows for those in social housing is just breath taking.

I’m not in denial about the issues surrounding the dependency culture, but my varied life experiences in North Hull, Sandy Hill Estate and through my pupils families tell me that the hard core are a small minority, and in common with the rest of society pride and family values come first, which is diametrically opposed to the values of money, consumerism and the “me” culture which pervades the world of the Mail/ Express readership.

Flint’s statement epitomises the ethos which still affects the Labour Party, that of being in power is some kind of aberration. We should have confidence in our values, what we stand for and above all what we have delivered in Government.

Stuff the Tory Press, stuff the Mail readership. They don’t vote for us (by and large) anyway.

Billy Bragg sums it up well; “I kept the faith, and I kept voting, not for the Iron Fist, but for the Helping Hand”.

Whilst on the subject of dodgy spin, the Government is trumpeting “free national bus travel for the disabled”, as though it’s some kind of mega new idea and a new departure.

All that will now happen is that one’s local bus pass will be usable in other local authorities. It doesn’t apply on national routes at all.

So a sensible administrative change is heralded as a shiny new initiative for which we, the disabled should be eternally greatful.

The following text message was sent at 14.26 yesterday in response to a message from Chris Rees, which said,

“What’s gonna happen to Wales at Twickers? Your (Ireland) season prospects?”

“Am CONVINCED you will beat England. No prob. Their mid field is crap. You have a good Coach, plus Edwards who is shrewd. Us? Same Coach, same players. Not hard to work out is it?”

Then this from me after the shambles of Ireland scraping home against an admittedly enthusiastic and better-organised Italian outfit by 16 to 11.

“In discipline cost Italy. Inertia rules at the IRFU. Same old shit. Eddie (O’Sullivan) out”.

This from Mr. Rees at halftime when England led 16-6. “Carnage on the cards”.

Me: “Heads up. You can do this”.

Wales run in 20 un replied to points. Cue bedlam in the Queens as I jump up in triumph, which causes some strange looks to be cast my way. Shaun Edwards, as ever, appears inscrutable but inwardly he must be thinking, “Stick THAT where the sun don’t shine, you inertia ridden RFU old farts”.

Me to Rees: “You shoulda listened to your Uncle Dermot”.

 Reply is unprintable, even by this blogs gutter standards….