Badly Drawn Boy

A great song and video and his acoustic version is fantastic too:

Shameless

I used to love 'Shameless', the Channel 4 comedy-drama set on a Manchester estate, so I was eagerly anticipating the new series which began lastTuesday. What a disappointment though. Two of the strongest characters, Kev and Veronica, are no longer in it, being incarcerated in a Romanian jail for attempted baby smuggling. The Maguire family have moved in next door in their place but their characterisation has been overcooked to the point of parody. It's like watching a pantomime at times with too many villains. The tenderness and affection that used to shine through the murkiness seems to have disappeared now and the characters are increasingly difficult to empathise with. I understand that creator Paul Abbot is no longer involved and that might explain some of the problems. I suppose it may pick up with a bit of luck but I'm not sure how long my patience will last. I'll watch tonight's episode and see how it goes.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller

Is she the new Michael Fish?

“A lady phoned to say she had heard a rumour an attack on the London Transport system was imminent. Well, I can assure that lady that there is no attack on the way in the foreseeable future.”