Chris Saul's Blog

Wednesday May 07, 2008

Boris kicks off

Boris Johnson's kicked off his new term as London Mayor with a ban on drinking on London Transport.

I expect most Brits will generally knuckle down and behave themselves, as we tend to do what we're told, after grumbling a bit. I hadn't realised drinking was much of a problem. I would have presumed that there are already laws that protect people from behaving badly on the trains and buses, whether they are drinking or not. Shouldn't those laws simply be enforced?

I can't help feeling that this banning malarkey is all a bit un-British. Do we really have to ban things in particular? Don't we already have some nice laws which say, in essence, 'come on chaps, behave decently, will you?' Will a crowd of rugby supporters off to Twickers really not be able to sup a few ales on the way over?

I look forward to seeing a besuited City Gent sitting on the 18:32 to Guildford supping a particularly fine claret out of a brown paper bag.

More taxi chat

'Too much traffic Cairo, sayr. Dubai too much traffic?'

'Yes, too much traffic in Dubai.'

'Here in Egypt we have system...'

Horns blare all around us.

'...we have beeb beeb system!'

Monday April 28, 2008

Are you a Goth?

This tragedy, as described via the BBC, beggars belief.

I remember when I was around 16 and 17, cycling around and sitting with friends around Richmond town centre. You'd regularly get groups of what we called 'Kevs' (short for Kevin) roaming around looking for 'Goths'. Goths appeared to mean anyone who wasn't wearing a shellsuit and a baseball cap and didn't live on any of the nearby council estates. We had 'The Whitton Lot' and 'The Ham Mob', amongst others. When they weren't fighting eachother and drinking Special Brew, they were drinking Special Brew and looking for 'Goths'.

It goes without saying that not everyone from the local council estates was a shellsuit wearing moron, but the Kevs all happened to come from there.

One evening I remember being approached by a bunch of Kevs. 'Are you a Goth,' they asked. Being incredibly quick thinking under my floppy hair, I simply replied 'No, er, I'm not'. 'Cheers mate. Do you know where there are any?' was the odd reply.

I wasn't able to inform them as to the whereabouts of any local Goths.

One evening I got punched in the face by one particular Kev who sat down next to us for a bit before standing up and belting me. We ran off and got the Police, who came back down to the riverside instantly after interviewing us. I identified the guy who hit me and he was arrested and charged. I also made it, with the two friends I was with, to Richmond Magistrates' Court. He'd pleaded not guilty - standard practice, as advised by defence solicitors for these kinds of crimes as the witnesses don't usually turn up. We were there though and he changed his plea, being ordered to pay me around £200 at about £5 a week.

The Police praised us for bothering to turn up. Most witnesses didn't bother and they were pleased to nail this guy, who was a repeat offender, but never convicted. I'd thought he was in his early twenties, but he turned out to be just fifteen years old.

It seems in this, clearly far more tragic case, the Police did their job well too.

I really have no ideas how this kind of awful behaviour can be stopped.

Sunday April 20, 2008

New look BBC site

I'm quite keen on the new look BBC news site. The rationale behind the new design is explained here - they seem to have met their goals well.

I would prefer the pages to be a little more compact - the old site packed a lot in without the need for scrolling but kept things legible.

Having video media nicely embedded into the page and using Flash to display it is an excellent addition. Launching a separate pop up that required Windows Media Player or RealPlayer was always a pain.

Too many ads in my opinion. I block them all using Adblock anyway, but the pages still have empty sections where the ads would usually be. Quite frankly, I'd pay money to access an ad free version and to get access to BBC TV online. Once you leave the UK you start to realise what good value the licence fee actually was...

The BBC's sites have always shown the way in terms of usability and judicious use of Flash, animation, video and so on. I'm glad to see they're not losing their way!

Thursday March 27, 2008

No fuss please, I'm English

I think Roy Hattersley hits the nail on the head in this column.

I probably feel a bit more British than Mr Hattersley, particularly living outside of the UK, where we all get lumped together anyway and minor national differences become less apparent - unless it comes down to fellow Brits teasing me about my posh English accent. At least my dulcit tones are better understood by 'foreigners' when compared to the mumbled grunts of those compatriots of mine who come from regions North Of The Watford Gap. I may sound poncey, but at least I can communicate.

All this oath swearing nonsense baffles me. It's an effort to make people feel or be British, by making them do something that's totally alien to the entire nature of being British in the first place.

Here's an English example that I'm sure I've mentioned this in my blog before - a group of friends and I were discussing St George's day. St Patrick's Day was being celebrated in London, thanks to London's Mayor's bizarre policies, but St George's Day seemed to be being overlooked in England's (and Britain's) capital city. Did we care? Well, sorry, but yes. The conclusion was that we didn't really feel the need to celebrate St George's Day - but it would have been nice to have been asked.

Which I think sums things up nicely. Anyone for a cup of tea?

Friday March 21, 2008

Monoglot nation

Cambridge is set to drop the requirement for applicants to have studied a foreign language to GCSE level.

I can understand why they have to do this and have no problem with their efforts to get more students from state schools applying. My problem is the way Britain, or rather its Labour government, are destroying language learning in this way. The requirement to take a language after the age of 14 was dropped in 2004. Now, four years on, we see the results - Britain's second best university forced to accept students who have not studied a foreign language even to basic levels.

Name one other country whose policies actively discourage language learning? This is sheer idiocy.

Tuesday March 11, 2008

The Poles are coming!

There's an interesting from the BBC about immigration to the UK, focusing on the area around Peterborough.

I like the comment from a certain Hema Patel, suggesting immigration should stop now. I can understand the sentiment, but I wonder how far she's looked back in terms of her own family's history?

Mrs Saul's mother works as a quality checker in a clothing company in Milton Keynes. Apparently most of their unqualified workforce is now Polish - they do a better job and are more reliable than the local British workforce.

I can't condone unemployed people getting paid benefits when they're surrounded by work - what I don't understand is why the local people interviewed in the article are still entitled to benefits when there is work to be done locally. I thought the rules were that you had to accept a job of some kind after a certain number of opportunities being offered, but maybe I'm wrong.

Immigration generally seems to be a good thing for Britain, but it's clear that little planning has been made with regards to with upgrading public services to cope - I have no idea how that can be handled. Tax revenue will be a long time coming in terms of allocating budgets to local government.

Sunday February 24, 2008

Tagged

I have been tagged by both Mr Aaron and Alexander.

Here we go -

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)

Todes-gruss by Zane Radcliffe. We have just had some German visitors...

2. Open the book to page 123.

Done.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

Blinde Pferden haben empfindliche Nasen. (Blind horses have sensitive noses).

4. Post the next three sentences.

>>Was wills du damit sagen?<< Callum schnueffelte demonstrativ an seinen Achseln.

Birna schuettelte den Kopf.

5. Tag five people.

That's quite enough book tagging for now, danke schoen und gute Nacht.

Wednesday February 06, 2008

Just getting things done

I love this column by The Times columnist Matthew Parris.

In short he praises a UK government minister who 'just gets things done'. She's not into a miraculous vision for re-birth and renewal, seismic shifts and reform agendas.

I've pasted a key couple of paragraphs below for those who don't want to read the whole article.

I love this attitude! I try to apply it to my job at Sun. Aim high, but in the absence of mega resources, let's try to do simple stuff to make things work better.

Copyright, trademark, etc,The Times

...then something else extraordinary happens. Asked on Newsnight to describe her vision for change, she replies: “I don’t have a vision for change.”

Jeremy Paxman is completely stumped. “I just want to make things work,” she explains.

“Ah – you mean the Reform Agenda?” “ ‘Reform’ is a bit strong,” she replies. “There are some useful improvements to be made. It doesn’t require any fundamental change or reorganisation; we just need to sharpen up our act. Results are what count.”

For over all this time, Audrey Williamson has never once made a speech about vision, change or visions for change. She has never claimed she has a dream, or a “passion” for education, the NHS or anything else. There is little in her oratory about rebirth or renewal, new beginnings or a town called Hope. Principles, values, core values, moral compasses, prophecy and all the visionary and inspirational qualities that politicians peddle these days are absent from her vocabulary. So is the language of revolution and transformation. She has not promised a “new” Britain. Vows, pledges, promises, covenants and constitutions are crayons too bright for her palette. Mrs Williamson just wants to make things work.

Sunday February 03, 2008

The AK47 and the Toyota

Look at the photo in this article on the current revolution going on in Chad.

Once again, there's a Toyota pickup in full view - the old Taliban Tank seems to be as ubiquitous as the AK47 in conflicts such as these. I wonder if Hezbollah will add it to their flag as well?

Monday January 28, 2008

Congratulations, Richmond Daily Photo

My father has just completed one year of photos on his daily photo blog of our home town Richmond upon Thames, near London.

One of the things I enjoy about reading blogs is 'listening' to people's written thoughts on subjects you wouldn't normally talk about, or, conversely, reading things people have written which you might normally have talked about with them. Reading people's thoughts and comments is quite different to having a chat with them - you get to see sides of a person you wouldn't normally see, or which you didn't know existed.

Keep it up, 'rooney!

Thursday January 24, 2008

Here girl

This article is hilarious.

I love the clash of images - the cold, dark Goth-style dress, the gloomy music, the pale faces and black clothing... And a bus pass for t'bus in Yorkshire, like.

I'm sure her parents are pleased - what a nice young man she's stepping out with.

Tuesday January 15, 2008

Avatar insight

Kevin Chu, whose blog is always good fun to read, has excelled himself with this post.

Fortunately I appear to be 'normal'.

Wednesday January 09, 2008

Mystifying American Politics

It's that time again where I tell myself that I must improve my knowledge of US politics.

All these candidates I'm reading about in the paper are from different parties, aren't they? That must be why they're all criticising eachother and claiming that the other person's policies are rubbish?

Nope, they're all from the same party. How odd.

Friday December 21, 2007

Hooray for the Queen

The Queen becomes the oldest monarch in the history of The United Kingdom today.

The article in The Telegraph sums up her reign beautifully. Says Peter Hennessy, the Attlee Professor of contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London:

"In those years she has presided over the most dignified withdrawal from the superpower status, which is no bad legacy. The way she has adapted, without succumbing to faddish fashions, is a gift of genius."

I'm a big fan of the Queen. She just seems to fit within modern democratic Britain, providing far more advantages than disadvantages. Should people be in the positions of wealth and influence they are in just because they are born into it? Probably not, but I can't really think of a decent alternative in this particular case. I shudder at the idea of the UK having a president. Hopefully the Queen's successors will carry on in the same vein as she has.