Straining over the blog

Valentine's, Tomatoberry and peppers

2012-02-19T13:07:00.006+01:00

This week was of course Valentine's and we went to the Orangery at Kew Gardens - sadly it was a little scaled back from previous years, which although more costly offered (I think) better value - perhaps it's the austerity times? I think the new catering management company has a differnt outlook.

Saturday I did a little preparation work on the allotment before the rain started to fall and also planted (in a pot) a Peach tree.

As you can see below the Tomatoberry has germinated and been transplanted (9 off) into individual pots. I have started Green and Red Peppers in another propogating tray. Celeriac seeds are coming up (again in a propogating tray) and there is already germination of Cauliflowers.

Snowdrops in the garden (on the right).

Running the cleaner

2012-02-16T20:48:00.006+01:00

Well Digeus were as good as their word and I now have licensed copy of the 'cleaner' I have run several times and intend to do so until no errors currently still coming back with more than 50 errors on about the 5th pass).
My PC has crashed fairly often previously and I will see if running this makes any difference to the PC performance.

registry cleaning

2012-02-12T22:00:00.010+01:00

Some time ago I was given great and free the Digeus Registry Cleaner, seems there's now a new version..
I'm told by Ashley Adams that it speeds up your computer by cleaning errors in your Windows.
It removes the junk that accumulates in your Windows Registry, fixes Windows errors which results in speeding up your computer.
With Digeus Registry Cleaner you just need a few mouse clicks and your computer will become as good as a brand new one.

The Key features are:

* It removes unused and invalid entries
* It speeds up the boot up time
*It fixes Windows errors which results in speeding up your computer (great news eh?)
* It even eliminates that nightmare BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)
* It is invaluable when your system starts crashing, hangs, freezes and works slow (we've all had that haven't we?)
* This is one of the most popular registry cleaners on the Internet!!

For more information please visit: http://www.digeus.com/products/regcleaner/registry-cleaner.html.
-With this news they'll give me a copy of the new s/ware and I'll let be able to you know how it performs for me.

Neighbourhood Watch - Lemon and Olives

2012-02-12T15:55:00.011+01:00

Yesterday Debbie and I went to Richmond theatre and enjoyed the Alan Ayckbourn play Neighbourhood Watch - quite an interesting theme and a good cast not too sure of the message .
But certainly covering some issues around net curtain twitching -Francis Grey as Amy stood out.
Snow down on the allotment and ground solid so only able to put up shelves in shed and gather some more rubbish.

On arrival I noticed (not surprising that I noticed!) that one of the window panes had fallen out - not intruders and was able to put it back in- seems it was just gravity and the cold that drove it out.
Below you can see the Lemon tree (left) and Olive tree planted last week.

Have now started some Artichokes (green globe improved) and cauliflower (all year round) in seed trays in the house.

Daytime TV (live)

2012-02-11T11:41:00.004+01:00

I went to an interesting Royal Television Society session on Thursday night.
Learnt quite a bit from the team who work on Live with Gabby (C5) - the programme is produced by Princess productions.

For me TV is nothing if it's not live (actually I don't mrean that but I do reckon that content is merely that if it is not live orat least first run).

Some of the points I got were.

+ The Daytime budgets (and audiences) are small (by peaktime standards)
+ Women outnumber men by about 2 to 1
+ Over 55s are the biggest demograhic section of the audience.

I've not seen the programme but it appears that Matthew Wright who does a programme before Gabby on the same channel shares the studio and there is not even a commercial break between the two programmes!

The other thing that was revealed was how important 'Social Media' is be it Facebook or Twitter for feedback during the show - or how it can inform production and editorial.
Zeebox was mentioned (of course) here I am a little sceptical - I don't neccesarily believe loads of over 55s are already second screen viewers.

Nice little addition

2012-02-07T21:49:00.003+01:00

Wow, very quickly got the author signature for my latest Alain de Botton book (sent first class too)- it's surprising how pleasant it is to get something like this in the post - Thanks Alain or your organisation.

Snow and ambition

2012-02-05T16:00:00.011+01:00

This weekend I might have overstretched myself.
The weather was cold and ground very hard on the allotment but I planted an olive tree and in a planter a lemon tree.
I also purchased asparagus (3 off) and Strawberries (6 off) and have planted these in pots and put them in lean to greenhouse in hope that in a few weeks time I'll be able to plant them out.

I have also got three lots of seeds started in propogator, Tomatoberry, Celeriac (Monarch) and Aubergine (Baby Roseanne F1). Germination is said to be 7 to 10 days so will keep an eye on these too. In the picure you can also see chillies that are growing indoors.

And more on ambition - the news that Chris Huhne is facing prosecution over irregularities concerning a speeding offence of almost 10 years ago (when he was an MEP) has given the coalition government some problems keeping the 'balance' - must be a real concern as the Lib Dems do not have an unlimited supply of potential ministers and as they reach the back of the drawer who's to say that what they bring out will be up to the job or without skeletons?

Also very excited to be able to provide a link to a truly remarkable piece of work by Dr John Jirik putting on record some first hand knowledge he gained in Moscow when Gorbachev was facing a coup in 1991.

Incineration of obligations

2012-01-29T00:00:00.007+01:00

This weekend was a chance to give my incinerator (left) its' first outing - to be honest not totally sure that I've got it sussed - some advice here but for me the paper burnt (of course) but other stuff got more heated than burnt, will persevere.
You can see it looks like it's hot below.
Have also now started putting things on compost heap (less skill required).

More tidying and things to look forward to.

2012-01-22T19:24:00.003+01:00

Managed a few hours - preservative on compost enclosure, weeding and making the edges a little clearer. Incinerator to be delivered soon.

Also I have the Alain de Botton (Religion for Atheists )book and Leonard Cohen (Old Ideas) CD to look forward to courtesy of Amazon (with money of course).

Hedge and trees

2012-01-16T08:48:00.012+01:00

Sunday was another bright day in West London and more progress on wood treatment also we made the addition of dwarf fruit trees (in the picture on the right from Left by the shed) Morello Cherry, Victoria Plum, Conference Pear ( and Apple (A Crisp Braeburn). The mini orchard was from GardenBargains.com - they sound like a good selection will see if they live up to their name! Even if I don't get much fruit at least the blossom should look a picture.
Also some Hawthorn hege (bare root) planted at the back -they were from http://www.hedgenursery.co.uk/?gclid=CO_Uj9XN1a0CFQMntAodAjstoA
Below you can see that the broad beans and garlic are all going okay and the shallots have started to sprout.
I need to do some weeding soon as they are begining to show amongst the soft fruit bushes.

Wood protection and further clearance

2012-01-14T17:29:00.006+01:00

Today was a lovely day in West London and having had a week inside a stuffy classroom in Belgium along with too many frites and and a few beers it was great to get out and spend some time on the patch.

Today Debbie applied a wood preservative on the back of the shed (from Wickes) and I started clearing the debris behind the shed - lots of edging tiles and a fair few bits of plastic emerged. The plans is to add the recently delivered hawthorn as soon as the ground is prepared.

Metal thieves and compost enclosure

2012-01-07T19:23:00.008+01:00

In the week I learnt that the spate of metal raids had hit my allotment site mainly taking plumbing at the site but also various galvanised tanks used on individual plots. Also heard that sheds had been broken into and tools taken you can see here that this is something happening at various sites

Thankfully we were not victims but it does seem rather a shame that such things happen.
I have now made a start on compost enclosure using old pallets and loads of screws and brackets- above you can see how useful my cordless screwdriver is proving and also how dark it is about 4:30 pm (rhs).
I will hopefully finish in the next week or two and might then add some prickly hedge to deter unwanted visitors- probably Hawthorn variety.

Teatime and a twix -Fry's flatpack

2011-12-30T18:11:00.004+01:00

This morning I had a cup of Tea and a Twix too.
Kettle works well and whistles (from Blacks I think) the stove seems pretty efficient - at a pinch you could have beans and sausages.
Listened to the radio while starting work on the compost enclosure.

I don't know if many people saw Jo Brand and Stephen Fry on the normally radio constricted "I've never seen star wars.." it was very amusing to see that there were things that Stephen did not take to easily - particularly building flat pack furniture and physical exertion -very funny to watch.

Tool Holder

2011-12-29T18:41:00.005+01:00

Another improvement is that I now have a home for some of the odds and ends (of course I need more though.)

Shelves to follow and a couple of deck chairs - then be able to have that cup of tea and a biscuit while listening to the Archers.

After that I'll start work on the pallet compost heap.

outside storage box added

2011-12-27T17:15:00.008+01:00

Today I took a table down to the shed - it's a fine old table donated by my Uncle Len and Aunty Joan about 30 years ago when I got my first house and it was fairly old then!

I also added a few more ancillary fixings to help secure things and put a storage box together - got a bargain radio from Currys and a country type clock in the shed but not had that cup of allotment tea as yet.

Just a shed at twilight

2011-12-26T17:42:00.005+01:00

Here's the shed as I left it about 4:15 p.m. just getting dark.

Pretty much finsished the shed construction now and have padlock in place - I've even added coat hooks. Next is a table and some storage system, then weatherproofing. Some little splits here and there but generally quite happy with the overall project outcome. looking forward to making a mug of tea down there!

almost there..

2011-12-24T18:08:00.014+01:00

Saturday (one week after delivery) and I have roof on and the shed is secured to the base.

The shed feels fairly solid and is largely weather proof, need to add some more tacks, edging to the roof and the latch for padlock then it's finished.

Then we can put the storage box up, start the compost enclosure and begin putting the tools down in their new homes.
If we get a spell of dry weather we can start the wood protection treatment too.

At least we have somewhere to shelter, have a cup of tea and hang our clothes!

Fiddling with the roof - first you see it ..

2011-12-23T20:34:00.004+01:00

So I wasn't doing a Topol impersonation but today I rearranged the walls so that they align with the floor and managed to get the first half of the roof up.

There are two sides to every shed and while I'm making progress there still remains a gap in the roofing which I need to fill.

The verticals

2011-12-22T18:37:00.005+01:00

Fortunately I had a helper today (Debbie see left) and we were able to get something that looks like a shed - hoping for a calm night as it's not attached to the base and has no roof yet!

Some adjustments need to be made as I've not understood the instructions properly but getting there and am greatly encouraged.

windows and door

2011-12-21T19:06:00.008+01:00

So another pretty mild day here in London Town and although it was a bit wet under foot I managed to finish securing the floor to frame and unlike Michael Caine in The Itlaian Job I 've been adding a door (as well as windows) hoping tomorow to get some verticals happening and then who knows?

'Floor in'

2011-12-20T16:55:00.005+01:00

Today I had a good go at getting the base level (ish) and have also secured the floor to it. Again I'm limited by how long the cordless drill has oomph.

Weather was not bad and really progressing - it's funny how such projects don't really go to plan and after a while I don't follow the instructions too slavishly. This though is part of the fun.

I expect more challenges as I add the walls and roof. There is another Waltons youtube video here that explains construction.

Shed base and the death of Chris Hitchens

2011-12-19T15:52:00.008+01:00

Now I decided to start the Shed base today and have made some progress (see picture) quite impressed to see that there is a video to help me too.
The job does requires some tools and as I'm away from electricity I'm having to use a rechargable drill.
That and the weather turning wet means I've not yet finished the base but Tuesday looks a better weather forecast.

I was sad to learn of Chris Hitchen's death - he seems to have been an admirable person and I can relate to how he feels about the changes that have befallen society - there was a time when Utopia was something that seemed to be a goal worth striving for - sadly consumerism appears to have removed this from most people's radar. The view that we all should have more and that only competition will improve our 'lives' is shallow but in the current climate to decry it is a heresy too far.

As Hitchens said..

There is no longer a general socialist critique of capitalism --certainly not the sort of critique that proposes an alternative or a replacement. There just is not and one has to face the fact, and it seems to me further that it’s very unlikely, though not impossible, that it will again be the case in the future. Though I don’t think that the contradictions, as we used to say, of the system, are by any means all resolved.

So rare now to see the word even used.

Shed as a kit

2011-12-18T18:10:00.009+01:00

So the good news is that my shed is here - the less good news is that I've got to put it together (actually not really bad news - think it might be fun).
The shed (7 x 5 -shouldn't be too surprised that sheds remain imperial) was delivered by a very nice guy who had driven down from Newark (Walton's base) he called 30 minutes before he arrived as promised and I helped him unload at allotment gates - then for me to move it to 202b (our plot)
Although the shed was ordered from Tesco Direct - I'd think it could be worth dealing directly with Waltons- not because anything has been wrong with service but Tesco is big enough to look after itself and be good to see the little guys prosper.

The picture above shows what it looks like now - I've got some wood treatment to use on it (greens) and a padlock, next to it will be composting and a storage box -hopefully there'll be another more exciting picture for next week.

There are some great shed websites here's one - very aspirational...

The first few frosts don't appear to have wiped out my Beans, Garlic or Shallots - I did pull some weeds up that are near the soft fruit bushes on Saturday as they are still sprouting!

Shedtastic

2011-12-17T09:48:00.003+01:00

So last weekend I did some work in advance of shed delivery.

restrictions mean that a concrete base is not permitted, am using slabs with a weed barrier - will put some sand to level this ahead of construction.

Delivery is scheduled for today (Saturday 17th) and it's bl**dy cold so hope it arrives.

Soft fruit expansion plans

2011-12-04T12:47:00.005+01:00

After a week in USA listening to Christmas Carols (not the main purpose of the visit) it was good to spend some time on the allotment.

Yesterday I added Goosberry and Blueberry bushes.

Happy to report also that broad beans now planted out and further half dozen Garlic plants - weather is still mild so hope that we don't suffer hard frost untiol all established.

US hairdressing

2011-12-04T00:02:00.004+01:00

Spent most of last week in USA - near Washington, somewhat concerned that the majority of restaurants have TV showing and that many American males think that in 2011 it is permissible to wear a pony tail. if you're of a similar mind It's quite illuminating to read this article

I did try and find another person moaning about TV in eateries - surely if there's a big sports event you can eat before or after (I'm fine with Pubs/Bars showing sport - even with some snacks) - seems I'm, alone

More old boy reunions real and virtual

2011-11-27T16:31:00.011+01:00

So I suppose it ius not uncommon to meet up with old friends at this time of the year and yesterday evening a group of former UWIST (now part of the University of Wales Cardiff) flat sharers and their other halves had a great evening of food and chat - the venue was the Charlotte Street eatery that performs so well in the Tapas area - Navarros.
Thanks To Nick C for organising and great to see Jonathan and Claire, Peter and Tricia, Mike and Liz and of course Susanna and thanks to Debbie for accompanying me – hopefully next time we do this Steve and Eve will be there too.
Now the University of Wales was important in my 'education' but perhaps not as much as Lawford Me ad (Primary and Junior) and by the wonders of Linkedin I have found another old pupil of the same era- Roger Harding who seems a very talented actor - check his Youtube stuff here.

Meanwhile at the allotment in the back garden progress continues. Have planted Blackcurrant and redcurrant bushes today along with a Raspberry and Blackberry bush (just about see them on the left) . Weather was really good today and beans look like they'll be planted out soon (pictured on the right) andf these will be followed by early peas.

1Z reunion

2011-11-22T19:45:00.010+01:00

At the weekend as well as planting more garlic, vines (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)and Kiwi on the allotment I was sowing some peas in pots and watching the broad beans slowly shoot(see first picture ).

Alongside this excitement we had a visitor a very good friend who I first met at Braintree County High School around 43 years ago. As you can see (Kevin is on the left) we've not aged at all and both have Dorian Gray type pictures in our lofts.

Kevin is now working for Avon Fire and rescue in some sort of computery job and is able to pontificate with the best of us.
Debbie, Kevin and I had a great lunch at The Bollo (roast lamb etc.) and then Kevin and I went to see Jeremy Paxman at Richmond Theatre where he gave a presentation related to his new book/TV series on the British Empire.
Judgement from me is that he'd make a cracking lecturer - the Q&A was not as good as it could have been due to an inexperienced moderator and some fairly off topic questions.

First plantings at Northfields allotments

2011-11-15T22:38:00.014+01:00

This weekend we did our first plantings at Northfields
Shallots and Garlic (below)for harvesting next summer
Also a Rhubarb crown (on the left) which will not be in any condition to provide dessert until 2013 at the earliest! (don't forget that the leaves are poisonous)

You can see though we have made some progress since we first signed our agreement in August – the difference in November is less weeds and some clear spaces!

2011-11-12T16:59:00.014+01:00

Syon Park Capability
Last week myself Debbie and brother Nick went to a restaurant new to us in West London- nice to enjoy different food of an impressively high standard. Enjoyable despite waiter Cosmo having a small accident with a fairly expensive bottle of wine.

Check out the review and If you get the chance do try it.
And here's the location.

Hidden away in Hambleden

Almost a year after we were bequeathed a wine tasting activity day we went out to the rural countryside and had a splendid tour and an educating tasting session –a chance to try sparkling English wine and a ferocious Ginger wine too.
The Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery is a magical place and our tour guide Rico was incredibly knowledgable about all things drink and food related - all the visitors ended up buying various bottles for future consumption if only to join the list of celebrated imbibers that includes Prince Phillip. More information and instructions on visiting are here.

Nice Hotel

To make our trip relaxing we decided to stay at a fairly local hotel - suitably poncey this former brewery oozed character -Henley is a smashing little town and !!! SEASONAL TIP !!! has a shop where you can get great cards and gifts. the name is The Simon Drew Art Works Shop

Early starting

2011-11-06T15:47:00.011+01:00

So a few weeks back you might remember that I started some garlic from a Tesco garlic bulb - just broke the bulb up and stuck individual cloves in plant pots outside the house - most have them have now sprouted and in a few weeks I might plant them out in the allotment. (see picture of the shooting garlic on the right taken today).

My next go is starting some broad Beans (Aquadulce Claudia from Thompson & Morgan) I've decided to start them in individual potting compartments and have put 8 outside and 8 in lean to Greenhouse thing -will see what happens and report back.

I've also got some peas to sow, a Rhubarb plant and some shallots more as I get them in the ground.

ITN/ITV building

2011-11-05T16:09:00.007+01:00

The other week I was visiting 200 Gray's Inn Road (lower picture)for a business meeting and it was a trip down memory lane.
I was employed by ITN when they moved there from 48 Wells Street (adjacent picture) and I carried on working there on Saturday Mornings doing an Odetics Playout for an early C4 News bulletin for a while after I joined Basys - a few years later I was again there as part of Reuters (having a bit of an induction before going to Reuters Hong Kong) - this was at the time of the Nick Leeson finance story.

Looking at the building I realise how well it has aged in its' 21 years (ITN moved there in (1990)- notable changes are the removal of the hanging sculpture and removal of the bar!

Lenny rocks the Hammersmith Apollo (27th Oct Concert)

2011-10-29T12:27:00.005+01:00

This week as the opportunity presented itself I went to concert by Lenny Kravitz.
Gig going this year has been very much established/historic acts - we've seen Blondie, Bryan Ferry and Dolly Parton - all consummate pro's.
Lenny just about squeezes into this niche for me anyway - I've been listening to his stuff for over 20 years and although this was the first time I'd seen him live it was what you'd expect- except..
* It was good to see an act fairly close up the Apollo is a good venue.
* He seemed to be a genuine fan of London.

Be warned if you go and see him he's loud and there are flashing lights (seriously).
* The encore was brilliant with Mr K going walk about through the audience - really great - it was during a prolonged version of Let Love Rule.
Not so sure aboutLen's taste in support acts Raphael Saddiq - he had some fans tho'
Lenny is also, I'm,please to report a 'right on' guy supporting good things.

JCopia review

2011-10-23T17:23:00.003+01:00

A while before our holiday I received an unsolicited offer of the chance to review some s/ware.
The package is known as JCopia (it’s for copying video’s to hard disk so it sort of makes sense.
The requirement is probably one that is waiting for a handy little tool – not totally sure if it’s finished or there’s more development to come.

From my use so far it offers a pretty good job on Youtube videos allowing the user to save stuff to their own hard disk – but they way things are developing at the moment I suppose you could do this to dropbox or other clould type stores?

Sadly doesn’t seem to work with BBC iPlayer

You can see a promo here

More details at this website

Our 2 weeks in Corfu

2011-10-22T17:02:00.007+01:00

A bit about Corfu -It's just over a week since we got back from a really nice holiday there.
Although it struck me as expensive the overall experience was good value.
We stayed in the Corfu Palace Hotel, very convenient and high standard (and without the irritating notices about towels and sheets being the cause of global warming).
Some nice places to eat and drink along with a trip to Albania increased the fun quotient.
Rather worryingly though we got a note today relating to our trip and warning us of the possibility of legionnaires disease!
Albania
Great tour guide and boat trip was good too.

Garlic growing

2011-10-16T13:07:00.002+01:00

Hi, I'm back and there's going to be a variety of things here. Some gardening stuff starts today.

Just planted a load of garlic (16 pots) from a Tesco bulb.

Will see how it goes - here's a source of some info'

Another day another product review -Snapit screen capture

2010-09-16T19:42:00.009+01:00

Hi,

don't think I'm just becoming the "Digieus B*tch" - but they've offered me another product free for review (If you want to test /review and can write a few words on your blog you can get a free download too - just e-mail Julia at julia.taylor@digeus.com)

This product is another cracker -easy to load and use; I reckon if you're doing technical documentation it'd really be the business - what it does is make screen capturing really simple so imagine you're writing a PC manual and want to describe the functionality few captures bung a few words in -job done.

It's got all you need to enable you to easily capture anything on the screen including windows, menus,

and
full screen, rectangular regions,
web pages

you can take shots of moving images. it supports hotkeys, auto-saving, and clipboard
best of all it automatically copies screenshots to the clipboard giving proper windows functionality (Ctrl C Ctrl V etc).

For example I find a webpage with the image I want. I just hit the "print screen key" (next to the f12 on your keyboard) - define what I want (put a rectangel round it) and then paste into a word document 9from the clipboard) it is as easy as the Jackson 5 would have said as "1,2 3" .. ABC etc .

You've got the ability to save files in the regular standards including BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG and TIFF formats.

I've put a few images in here that I used the Snapit on.

More as I find out the full details - you can check it out here !!

Here's another grab from a great news story!

Windows 7 TuneUp Suite 4.7.680

2010-09-14T21:53:00.005+01:00

I (like a few others!) have been given the chance to review the Digeus System Optimizer – the review is not biased and I take it as a good sign that they’re happy for the package to stand on it’s own merits.

I’m running Windows 7 at home and I’ve been a little unhappy with my PC in the last few months, (crashing and so forth) there are a number of tools out there which are designed to tune and remove troublesome files.
The one I can now comment on is the Digeus System Optimizer it’s a whole suite that is ideal for removing irritations and speeding performance – it’s quick to download and requires no specialist knowledge to set it up.
The first of the tools on my I used was the Registry Cleaner the first run through showed in excess of 1600 invalid entries which I must say seemed pretty staggering from what I can find out these ‘invalid registry entries’ can slow PC performance before deleting I was given the opportunity to back up the registry – as a first time user I thought this was safest so I did this it took a few minutes to create the back up which I put on an SDHC card – then I selected ‘fix selected invalid entries’ and they were gone – all looked good.

The next step was to have a go at duplicate files (as I’ve got a couple of large disks well over 2GB I left this to trundle along while I had a pancake or two). update 15/09/2010 after about 15 hours no duplicates found - I'd be careful when I choose to do this it takes time!

It’s got a help file and for me (a PC user rather than a Geek) it was fine to use some bits take time so be patient and follow the instructions– I’ll be revisiting and trying other elements within the suite. I’ll let you know in a few weeks if my perception is that performance is improved – e-mail me if you have questions or comments.
The package includes the following elements – I’ve highlighted the bits I’ve used so far…

* Digeus Data Encryptor
* Digeus Disk Space Analyzer
* Digeus Drivers and Programs
* Digeus Duplicate Files Finder
* Digeus Icon Manager
* Digeus IE Manager
* Digeus Junk Files Cleaner
* Digeus Memory Cleaner
* Digeus Multimedia Settings Tweaker
* Digeus Optimization Wizard
* Digeus Privacy Protection
* Digeus Process Manager
* Digeus Registry Cleaner
* Digeus Registry Defragmenter
* Digeus Repair System Settings
* Digeus Service Manager
* Digeus File Shredder
* Digeus Smart Uninstaller
* Digeus Startup Manager
* Digeus System Customization
* Digeus System Info
* Digeus System Security Tweaker
* Digeus System Speed Optimizer
* Digeus Unnecessary Files Cleaner

update 2 16/09/2010 - still facing some issues with my display but no PC crash since my fisrst tuing

If you are interested to review the suite you can create a review in any blog/forum/twitter/facebook, etc, just contact alise.johnson@digeus.com with link to the review and she will issue a "reg" code for you

Ombudsman shows clean pair of heels (ITVPlay scandal)

2010-09-13T21:29:00.003+01:00

I was sorry to learn that Bob Winsor was unsuccesful in the hgh court last week.(it's near the end of this article ;the MoS seems the only paper covering this scandal not really sure why that is?)
For those who need a reminder here's a sample of what it's about.

OFCOM's judgement day (or one of them anyway)

2010-08-22T18:39:00.004+01:00

There is some news that the so called 'whistle-blower' Bob Winsor will get his judicial review heard in court in early September.

Bob bravely tried to bring attention to the scandal that was the participation TV fiasco run by all of the terrestrial broadcasters (to a greater or lesser extent) about 4-5 years ago.

Along with some deception there was some action that looked pretty shady - hopefully some light will be thrown on what went wrong.

(For those who are not aware of what went on there's some background on the case here ).

Way out west

2010-08-15T17:54:00.006+01:00

Last w/e we visited my brother in Cardiff, now Cardiff is a city that I thought I knew as it was where I studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering many years ago but it has undergone the change that so much of Britain has in the last quarter century or so.

Cardiff has been for some time a place of paper pushers rather than manual labour but now with the docks gone there is even less of an industrial landscape and gentrification is the name of the game.

There are some fantastic shops a bright new John Lewis shopping centre and many cultural attractions - we visited the Wales Millennium Centre where we had a fantastic meal and enjoyed Calendar Girls (a play adapted from the earlier film featuring Jennifer Ellison - right) we also had a great curry the previous night at Mint and Mustard.

What does this mean for the UK and Welsh economy? Are we placed to compete with Germany (or even France) - I fear not, will dramatic spending cuts help? Again from me a 'no' I don't believe they will.

From Cardiff we went on to Bath a city I know less well and probably one that does not have a great industrial past, but a city now very much based on tourism and services - worrying.

has ITv a pay strategy?

2010-08-03T21:43:00.002+01:00

I was interested to read that Adam Crozier might have a pay TV strategy for ITV - but somewhat puzzled by what it will deliver for ITV.

Much as the UK has been labelled as the junior partner in the US/UK special relationship it appears that ITV is becoming a junior partner in a SKY partnership - as what it is bringing to the table is somewhat questionable I would worry - ITV2, 3 and 4 have slightly downmarket viewers of oft repeated or generic content (often at the low end of SD)how it will work remains to be seen. Certainly didn't help the share price short term.

Perhaps their new CTO Paul Dale will have some brighter ideas (that's chief technology officer if you hadn't guessed)?

A and The death of Labour

2010-07-25T15:12:00.008+01:00

A couple of things (particularly) bring into focus the demise of the British left..

the first is the death of Edna Healey at the age of 92, are there any Labour women who will be remembered as Edna Healey was (by Harriet Harman) as
"a remarkable woman and a true friend to the Labour Party." - I an afraid not for the current list includes women like Hazel Blears and Jaclyn Smith who appear only care to be friends to themselves.
Is it worth asking why this is the case, what has happened that means that so little value is given to the pillars of what was once the Labour Party's ambitions for the UK?

The other topic which has reviled me is Mandelson's book 'The third man' described by many as self seeking it hits a further nail into the coffin of principled Labour - what is the benefit away from the man's vanity and his bank balance?

Will this be rectified by any of the candidates for leadership - I hope it does, but I'm not sure that any have the zeal or principle of Brown (or even Wilson or Blair).

Ealing Festival

Couple of events we've managed to enjoy this year:

1) Tosca - quite impressive that you can have Opera in a tent but the problem with this one is that for Debbie and I no memorable tunes, we'd done some homework and knew roughly what was happening. Despite it being in Italian and with limited orchestral support the show was fun and I stayed awake. Well done to the Opera A La Carte compay.

2) Ealing Comedy festival

Wednesday night we went and sampled a comedy night which featured Emo Phillips, Ardal O’Hanlon and Jo Caufield amongst others.
Emo was well received, part of his act seemed to be taking off items of clothing and putting them in his pockets and then later putting them back on again.

Remotes and small world ..

2010-07-17T17:18:00.010+01:00

Navigating the multi channel world

I was particularly pleased to see that there is consideration being given to connecting smart phones to home entertainment - seems like an evolution that makes sense - I've just got a replacement phone this week I use hardly any minutes but my phone was looking like it had been in a war zone - for about £15.00 a month I now have a Samsung Tocco and 100 minutes call time - seems incredible I used to have (my first use of mobile phone) one of these Motorola jobs and goodness knows what it cost my employers.

What a small world.

We had a great time in Leicester,this week I was recieving the MBA degree which seems to have taken forever to complete.

And if I'd been atFriday's ceremony I would have seen Sir Terry Wogan get his honorary degree!

At the department reception after the ceremony Debbie and I were busy enjoying the hospitality and I heard this voice from another table (directed at me)
"Have you ever been to Antigua?"

It was the father of another student, a policeman there who recognised me from our holiday (Jolly Beach Resort) about 6 or so years ago! They were over to see graduation and have a bit of a holiday - seems incredible that he should remeber me (I had been on my best behaviour I'm sure).
As they say small world..

Here's an un official photo of me (in Miami not in my robes).

Getting Stoned In Iran...

2010-07-11T17:30:00.008+01:00

Take a long hard look at this picture

And here's an admission -another instance where I've been shown to be undoubtedly wrong (it's hardly the first) - protests and petitions do make a difference if you agree with something sign up - it might have a marginal effect but do it.

We (UK and other modern democracies) might moan - life's tough, we work hard, the cost of living is crazy etc etc...
What about the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani the women who had been expected to be stoned to death for committing adultery? Please look at this picture and have a think.

Iran is run by a bunch of crazy buggers who would have been out of step with modernity in the Middle Ages - not sure how reform will come but charities like Amnesty UK are worth considering.

BT – a bright future?

The fact that BT has decided to actively push for new subscribers to its BT Vision service via a loss making (for BT) deal that provides its customers with Sky Sports might on the face of it look worrying. And if you are a shareholder who is worried that it’s made a too generous (three year) deal with its workforce then you might not decide to rush in and increase your holding.

But I think BT is a good long term bet with its new C21N (network) rolling out fast chances are that Virgin and Sky are the ones who are worried - if it could sort out a mobile strategy I’d be even more pleased but as it stands I definitely wouldn’t write them off.

Tribute bands

Having seen Macca a few weeks back it was interesting to compare and contrast the Bootleg Beatles and UK Beach Boys with an original act/acts (albeit one somewhat locked into his past and another I've not seen for 25 years plus). Kew Gardens on a lovely July evening is a great place for a picnic and nostalgic music – the crowd of course were well behaved and there were numerous freebies in form of drinks, fruit and for us 11 tubes of Sensodyne toothpaste (at least it wasn’t Fixodent). The Bootleg Beatles (still going strong after more than 25 years together) had the advantage of a story and humour – the UK Beach Boys the advantage of perfect summer music - neither band could give the shiver down the spine of the originals.
I suppose the grey pound and nostalgia have a place to play here as is the case for Vintage TV due to start September 1st

The month of June

2010-07-04T22:28:00.006+01:00

Ah Ha - I was so busy in June that I didn't blog..

Trip to Miami was fun - it was both further away and more foreign than I'd expected
suppose that the Little Havana was linked to the residents rather than the locale which was somewwaht lacking in charm and character.

Also saw Macca in Hyde Park - have seen him a coupe of times before but was somewhat blown away by his band and the fact that it was a lovely hot day in London - nice to find out that there were some recipients of largess that hadn't been forced down anyone's throat too.

Less impressed by CS&N but thought Crowded House and Elvis C both gave good perfomances.

Victims of Britain's Got Talent?

2010-05-31T21:26:00.003+01:00

Article in the Observer this Sunday highlighted worries around TV shows that seek to get cheap laughs from hapless victims- seems that there are people on TV shows who are there just to make the others look good!

Not sure if it's pure sensationalism when commentators say that there'll be a death before something is done - anyway bit of a shock to realise that the only victims aren't just those folks who are watching.

Project Canvas gets something of an all clear and the press?

2010-05-23T11:19:00.007+01:00

Change is the one constant in media and those who stand still get left behind (and other business clichés).

But and as Mr Lopez would say to his missus that's a big butt - there is some truth in it...

UK by a series of historic coincidences and accidents is able to make something of its media industries and the primacy of English as an international language; its broadcast market has benefited from consolidation in cable and a single large satellite operator, it has too the inordinate benefit of the BBC's scale and ambitions.

Project Canvas the means of allowing simple access to a wealth of audio visual content to the humble living room telly has cleared a major obstacle in terms of the OFT - others can try other means to delay uptake and commercial production of this new Set top box.

The new gov't I would hasten to bet though has bigger battles to fight than worry about some low level whingeing from Virgin and Sky and we must hope that this moves forward at a pace that provides sufficient momentum for our European neighbours to put together similar solutions.

On the subject of this story take a look here I like the graphic and the commentary is good.

And the Press

Is the traditional newspaper moving into oblivion? Are paid professional Journo's under threat (as opposed to threatened) this topic was under discussion earlier in the week on the BBC Radio 4 The Media show - as above it could happen faster than we expect.

Hunt and Vaizey expense comedians to run Broadcasting

2010-05-16T19:01:00.010+01:00

It seems to me that this pair are far funnier than much of the so called TV comedy we have to put up with and I can't help thinking that Cameron has an edgier sense of humour than I realised.

The hilarious DCMS team for the new coalition government is to be a Liberal free zone run by the well off Mr Hunt (worth around £4m from PR business) who as an MP claimed 1p for a mobile phone call (loads more too) and Ed Vaizey who returned the cost of furniture claimed for his second home when it was found to be delivered to his primary habitat (and the furniture cost £2,000).

It will be interesting to see what they expect of the BBC in terms of expenses, the fact that even the right leaning Daily Telegraph considers the party has a 'dog's dinner' of policy on the corporation does not bode well for broadcasting policy.

The DCMS may well also have a battle with London's Mayor BloJo over its kite flying shot at the 2012 London Olympics as a target for cuts.

I would have thought amongst the ranks of the two parties we might have found some more trustworthy politicians to handle the care of broadcasting and our world beating broadcasters!

Cleggeron anyone? And Posh power

2010-05-09T15:10:00.010+01:00

The overall effect of the Prime-ministerial TV debates seems to have been negligible in terms of advancing any of the three major parties but has (perhaps) increased voter turnout on Thursday and debate amongst the masses on politics .

Since the inconclusive result I have been hearing on the radio that the nation has decided and their collective decision is that no party should have an overall majority - I think I missed this option on my ballot form but anyway Cameron and Clegg are working on this and might be on course to cobble together a dog's dinner that suits them but perhaps not the electorate.

Headlines for the agreement being

More spending on schools

and

Electoral reform

How this addresses the record deficit I'm not sure?

Posh excursion

On Saturday I visited, with an old school friend The Royal Court Theatre (great theatre with super sausage rolls) to enjoy the impressive ensemble piece that is Posh.

Posh was written by Laura Wade and is expertly directed by Lyndsey Turner - some have labelled it an indictment of Boris, David and George and their membership of a certain club but I think, with a little light editing it could equally have been a play written about group of left-wing radicals - it was good fun but perhaps a little less of the 'agitprop' would have increased it's effect?

The other irritiation was trying to work out the time the play was set - some things indicated 10-15 years ago others (like the smoking ban) indicated a more recent date.

End to uncertainty?

2010-05-02T18:42:00.007+01:00

it appears that there are business decisions that are on hold waiting for the outcome of Thursdays UK election - these go from major infrastructure programmes to office moves, there is a danger (for business) that the election will not bring a clear end to the Blair years.

The site of a tired and out of sorts Brown is not going to win the Labour party votes particularly when the alternative (or alternatives) is a relatively charismatic and charming upper middle class man (or men if you include Nick Clegg),Will this sway me when I vote for my local MP on Thursday - no, I will choose the candidate I trust and the party I trust.

Will it mean that we have a clear mandate for a new government? To be honest I don't know and that is not really my job, I can not second guess what others will do but I plan to exercise my democratic prerogative and vote.

I hope that it means the major projects planned will go ahead (but not new Heathrow runway) and ITV can gewt the changes it wants- it's going to be quite a week.

Politics

2010-04-25T18:10:00.009+01:00

Well the Paradigm has well and truly shifted (perhaps) with another TV debate by the leaders of the UK major political parties keeping the Lib Dems in the frame for a coalition government or so it seems.

I'm not so sure that people will always vote for the person/party that they feel has won a TV debate, which brings us to the question do we vote for what we believe? (or perhaps we vote for the party that we think will do best for us and our nearest and dearest? )
Anyway 3rd debate this week and I reckon Brown might surprise us.

ITV new boss arrives as mood music improves.

Interesting that the decision to run QVC and gambling overnight on ITV has been made ahead of the arrival of ex Post office boss Adam Crozier by all accounts he's got a fantastic deal and the ad market has started to pick up - lucky or what?
Seems ITV might try and acquire C5 too - it's got some bankable shows and the synergy looks good.

Good Programme on McLaren

Watched the Yentob tribute to Malcolm on BBC iplayer - is linear TV dying even for me?
And the press
Have been given two copies a day of the free cut down independent , can't see it'll be doing too much for their sales also for a change bought the Observer today and thought what a good paper it is.

UK TV Prime time political debate ratings shocker

2010-04-18T11:57:00.003+01:00

Like almost 10 million other UK citizens I watched Brown, Cameron and Clegg respond unscripted to questions posed by potential viewers in a Manchester TV studio.

Many had predicted that the 76 'rules' that were being invoked would mean that the debate would be boring, for me this was not the case and the 90 minutes mediated by a largely unseen Alistair Stewart was almost compelling.

How much of a paradigm change it wil invoke remains to be seen but the immediate jump in Cleggs popularity is in itself an indicator that things will not be the same - I did anticipate that the Lib Dems would be the big winners just by the fact that they are being treated as equals (whiuch they have not been in recent times) they also have a very big advantage in being able to blame the labour and conservatives for all recent woes.

I don't expect the audiences or reactions will be so great to the next two debates (particularly as one is on Sky News).

Let's see how the 2 majors (labour and tories) cosy up to the cleggies in the next 3 weeks.

End of Malc (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010)

2010-04-11T11:20:00.008+01:00

As you get older 64 no longer sounds like an old man - and I think McLaren could not have been an old man.
I wasn't an enourmous Sex Pistols fan although I'm about the right demographic, what I did like was the contrary personality he showed when ever questioned, the fact that as a non musician he felt qualified to make 'recds' and that he mixed together things that shouldn't go with such aplomb - I hope someone will surface to carry on his work as a cultural irritant with the humour that he had.

that Ofcom ruling

2010-04-05T18:05:00.005+01:00

The ruling by OFCOM that BSkyB should drop the price which it offers Sky Sports 1 & 2 to Virgin and BT might seem like unnecessary market intervention for the simple reason that it is.

Despite what some people might think Sports TV channels are not a necessity and in a capitalist market (ish) if Sky choose to charge too much for the channels they will lose customers, they will then have an opportunity to re visit their charging structure if ultimately they are unable to create a profitable proposition they will go out of business (like ITV digital did a few years back and more recently the way Setanta did) and another operator will then be able to put together a bouquet of channels buy some rights that they hope will meet/desires/needs of viewers.

This sort of intervention by OFCOM (an unelected regulator/quango) is a reason that politicians (and not just those of the right) are calling for OFCOM to be trimmed back, one can not help but be cynical of the objectives of government in that it fulfils an agenda relative to News International/Sky.

Be interesting to see how the issue is tackled post election.

Windows 7 tune up

2010-04-05T14:27:00.004+01:00

I got an unsolicited e-mail asking me to provide a link to a so here it is it is for Windows 7 tune up and the words to go with it are :

Windows 7 TuneUp suite is your all-purpose tool for better PC maintenance and security. Plus, it protects your computer from system crashes, repairs and maintains your PC health, removes unneeded Internet clutter, regains valuable disk space, cleans your registry and tweak windows to perform better.
Main Features:
* Support Windows XP/Vista/7
* Eliminates system crashes, freezes and slowdowns
* Automatically identifies and repairs common Windows problems
* Eliminate BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)
* Speeds up boot up time
* Repairs defects by building a fresh registry
* Compacts registry by removing gaps and unused space
* Removes fragmentation with a linear and sequential registry
* Improves system performance due to faster registry load/read
* Finds and deletes duplicate files of any type
* Saves space on your hard drive
* Extends internal system uninstaller with features to find and delete left traces (e,g registry keys, folders etc.)
* Improves your Windows PC's overall performance and stability
* Question based services and drivers tune up
* Automatically tweaks system services and drivers for better performance
* Recovers CPU & Memory usage taken by unneeded services and drivers
* Full control of the programs that are loaded during Windows startup
* Add/remove/edit startup items
* Task scheduler configurator
* Cleans Browser History
* Cleans history index.dat file content in Internet Explorer.

Sounds good doesn't it?

but will it be Independent?

2010-03-27T21:00:00.004+01:00

The news that the Independent has (sort of) been sold throws some light onto the challenges that the UK press that was once Fleet Street is currently facing.

The Lebedev family has to my mind so far made something of a success of turning the London Evening Standard into a 'quality' free paper I reckon it’s better than it was when we were charged for it, particularly after it held the London Evening paper monopoly.Alexander Lebedev is certainly a man who has beenon a journey from his days as a Moscow high flier in the KGB

Now some commentators are saying that The Independent may move to a free/give away model how successful that could be for a quality national newspaper remains to be seen but it does make the changes that Murdoch is making to the Times and Sunday Times online seem even braver (or is that foolish), how much is online revenue worth and does the Times have much that is unique that will make its online readers part with £1 (or £2 for the week) – as many have said before free can be a very attractive price.

Is a quality paper sustainable by advertising alone and how would the Telegraph et al respond?

As a concept the funding of organs of Western democracy by former KGB agents does feel a little odd doesn't it?

OTT - Another future of TV

2010-03-21T19:52:00.009+01:00

I’ve attended a couple of very illuminating sessions over the last week, they both were focused on the broadband connectivity of the TV of the future (and it’s already here in

some cases).

That future is typified by Canvas but is unlikely to be restricted to this tamed version of internet TV (suitably titled OTT/Over the Top TV), the expectation that it will be sanitized and not driven by pirate and adult content may be some peoples wishful thinking.

The first presentation was given to the London section of the RTS on Wednesday by a couple of guys one, Bill Scott from Easel TV banner, and the other Rob Walk from Novarising (who also appears to be part of Easel TV) although not strictly speaking representing Project Canvas it was clear that they had strong associations with the BBC driven initiative.

Bill and Rob were clear that they believed that this TV would remain a 'lean back' experience with limited search facilities and a semi walled garden philosophy that relied on some form of markup language to enable TV guide like functionality.

On Thursday I went along to another presentation this time at The Cavendish Centre in London's W1 this had a slightly random mixture of panelists under the stewardship of a somewhat crazed Kate Bulkley.

The panelists were Kelvin's not so little boy Ashley MacKenzie representing rights holders (he seemed a restrained version of his father and considered that aggregating rights was going to be an are of significance).

Representing the Gorilla in the front room that is YouTube (Google TV?) was Anna Bateson she seemed a little detached, perhaps aware that it was for others to court her favours as being the deliver of internet TV audiences who can afford to play the slightly longer game.

Claire Tavernier of Freemantle was able to represent content and the potential loser of this new dawn, Sky TV had Griffin Parry as its cheerleader. The views of Michael Cornish CEO of Blinkbox kicked off the evening and as something of an industry veteran they were worth listening too.

My views on what I heard over the sessions are:

1) The (slightly) old guard are not fully aware of the paradigm shift that is about to be unleashed (the current youngster will consume media differently from how the present generation do for a variety of reasons)

2) Human behaviour with respect to the drivers with respect to content will be constant namely such things as, sport, adult material and free movies.

3) Search will not be an add on at the periphery - I expect 'smart phones' to be hooked up with killer applications that act as an itelligent remote/gateway come video search engine/purchase tool.

4) The BBC is doing the right thing in fighting to be at the heart of the evolution of the TV screen -it matters otherwise TV can be just about delivering audiences and the viewer is the loser.

5)One thing I think the panelists did get right is that the Samsungs, Sonys and Panasonics have a big part top play in the gate-keeping and enabling side of things.

If you have a different perspective I'd like to hear it and I'm sure it's something that will be a topic for some time.

Coronation Street and Poundland meet in Ealing

2010-03-17T15:05:00.004+01:00

Ealing shopping centre has been battling to keep shops occupied and over the last 3 or 4 years some retailers have deserted the area (or gone out of business).

The fight has to some extent been successful and shops such as Primark and H&M have helped to revitalise the area attracting young fashion seekers on a tight budget.

Tomorrow Poundland arrives in Ealing, it is perhaps not the sort of shop one associates with the 'Queen of suburbs' but as recession hits London it fills a need (as will New Look which will also open soon).

I was intrigued to see that on Saturday Becky of Coronation Street will be making a meet and greet appearance, signing atographs and pressing the flesh, it seems that Coronation Street has links with the shop and it seems a good fit, I wonder if the on air programme will build on this as product placement emerges on to our screens.

Papal fallibility

2010-03-16T22:28:00.003+01:00

Next time I start letting rip into the political establishment or start going on about what awful examples of the human race estate agents are remind me about the Roman Catholic church.

I know it's best to steer clear of religion but here goes.

Having checked out what the Pope is and does I found that there is a concept of Papal infallibility and that the Pope is a successor to St Peter.

I have never warmed to the current Pope (or the one before either, and the Pope's brother seems an unpleasant sort too ) but the knowledge that he was part of a cover up of a child molesting German priest is truly shocking. The cover up has been receiving much coverage, to me it only goes to show the depth of corruption within the RC church establishment.
The church recognising the potential damage that such revelations would have decided to cover up these terrible crimes against children, crimes that have led people to years of misery and in some cases suicide.

So some people might say that this was an isolated case - for those people might I suggest they look at what happened in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady who was party to ensuring that children kept their mouths closed to the abuses they had suffered to protect the law breaking 'fathers'.

He will only resign if the Pope asks him to - unbelievable, do they know nothing of guilt (I thought that was the RC stock in trade)?

I am surprised that the Catholic church can survive in educated western democracies and that those with morals and honour remain within it.

The death of the book

2010-03-08T23:28:00.007+01:00

Let's face it it's only time before the majority of us get an e-reader, an ipad variant or kindle or whatever the trendy brand leader happens to be.
Does it make me a Luddite to feels that this inevitability is a bad thing?
Has the mp3 player made us value music of whatever type we prefer more?

Does the fact that TV can now be delivered to a host of platforms mean that there are better programmes or that we appreciate them more?

I think not although technology is a wonderous thing it does not help us recognise the value of things in fact it probably does the reverse.

When I first started taking photo's with a box brownie camera there were 8 pictures on a roll of film, they were black and white and I took care what I photographed, when I started making my own prints I understood how the process worked and trail that led back to early pioneers like Fox Tablot. Now I have cameras in phones and cameras that can take thousands of colour pictures that I'll never print.

Education as an experience is dying and becoming a process mediated by computers and technocrats.

Why should I despair I have a book lined study and my education was haphazard and human, my record collection remains a mixture of records some bought to impress some because they are cheap and some that I felt, deep in my heart I must own. i recall the record shops where I bought them and the pleasure they gave me - do downloads feel the same?

So an electronic book (and newspaper) with sound effects and moving pictures, why should it cause me such sorrow?

{I hope it's not just that I'm an old fart.]

ITV back in profit but what next?

2010-03-07T13:40:00.005+01:00

After what was a tough and challenging year at ITV the company has reported profits.
New brooms Norman and Crozier now need to build on this success and retain focus, as the UK and the rest of Europe emerge from a deep recession advertising revenue is sure to bounce back but this will not mean that the company can ignore the structural changes within broadcasting.

ITV is a small fish in an increasingly large and turbulent pond and needs alliances and strategic partnerships to avoid being swallowed up by one of the larger players.

As an alternative Crozier and Norman can fatten the company up in preparation for a takeover by RTL or one of the other large European media outfits.

Under Grade big improvements were made and the company has become leaner and more efficient no longer saddled with 'Friends Reunited' it still has the challenge of moving away from its heavily regulated past and must deal with issues such as ITN who continue to make poor business decisions (such as getting into bed with Sports broadcaster Setanta).

ITV continues to make steady progress with its Internet strategy but has some distance to go to catch up with C4 and must consider the new kids like Arqiva's See-Saw.

It should not be forgotten that ITV continues to produce really high quality mass TV including Coronation Street (in its 50th Year) and audience magnets such as The X factor and I'm a Celebrity.. Where though does it go from here? Moving to a pay/subscription proposition is not going to be easy or quick. Although Norman and Crozier know advertising they haven't worked in Broadcasting and they need to continue to deliver audiences - it'll be interesting to see where ITV is in a years time and what the profits are in 2-3 years.

BBC beats itself up?

2010-02-27T09:29:00.007+01:00

Ones suspicions are not unsurprisingly raised by lead stories in News International papers on the subject of the BBC.

It might not be the case that directions are being followed but it does not do too much harm to the 'The times' to earn some brownie points from a certain family dynasty leader.

I'm far from a fully paid up cheerleader to the BBC but do regard the News International agenda on the subject of UK broadcasting as questionable.

In truth the BBC is often attacked for being both successful and unsuccessful, drawing too small an audience on BBC 3 and too big an audience on BBC 1, super-serving the middle classes with Radio 3 and pandering to the masses with Radio 2.

The review conducted by/for Mark Thompson (who incidentally if web comments are any sort of indicators of popularity is deeply unpopular) seems to indicate that for PR purposes radio services BBC Asian network and Radio 6 are to be sacrificed the reports also suggest a retreat on Internet ambitions and a cut on BBC TV imports.

Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that the reports of potential are meeting with approval by the Conservatives?

Now several questions occur one is why is that males in the 35 year old age bracket (sought after by advertisers) should not have a radio network that serves their musical tastes? (and it costs around the same amount as Mr J Ross)

Another question could be why a praised radio service for Britain's Asian should be closed?

And a third - Isn't the dramatic capital projects overspend more significant? (£110 Million).

Perhaps in fact a Chief Executive on a salary of something like £880,000 a year plus perks who has been in post at such a time should be replaced rather than sacrificing the public services the organisation should have at the heart of its existence?

So perhaps the BBC needs to get closer to its audiences but it could be that this can be achieved by other means than making it smaller which incidentally benefits certain commercial interests?

{There's a petition here against the proposed radio closures if you are interested.]

Brand repair & recovery ? (an object/abject lesson)

2010-02-25T23:40:00.004+01:00

What an interesting phenomena were witnessing with the damage limitation exercise being carried out on Toyota's behalf.

Will the press adverts and associated PR fluff cover what some believe has been revealed by the safety recalls of late?

If ever a brand has had to fight for it's survival then this is a prime example.

Mass market cars have become a commodity product with differentiators becoming of negligible significance - so how do we select our bulk standard family car -by reputation and brand the answer thunders back.

Which country and manufacturer produces the most reliable cars - Toyota is what I would have heard 6 months ago but now the response is anyone but Toyota.

As the beleaguered US car industry rubs their collective hands together a recovery operation moves up a gear and Toyota starts a fight for life (make no mistake this is serious).

Time will tell if it can regain credibility and acceptance - The jury is out.

Red Bee and the role it plays in UK Broadcasting

2010-02-21T11:04:00.005+01:00

I went to an interesting presentation held under the auspices of the IET at their West London venue.
I realised that Red Bee was responsible for the transmission of the BBC TV channels but I was not aware that it also provided presentation for channel 4's services (Channel 4 regional feeds E4 More4 4OD and Film4 included) and had carried out the transfer from Channel 4's Horseferry Road to Red Bee's White City centre without missing a beat.

Ian Wimsett Senior Technologist and David Popper the Head of Solutions Build at Red Bee Media gave a full account of how the transfer was planned and managed, they emphasised the importance of TUPE staff and the value of a parallel running programme.

It is in some respects surprising that these outsourcing arrangements are made which seem to provide benefits to the incumbemnt operators as well as profits for the company taking over the operation (other examples include SIS and Siemens).

While Discovery has bucked the trend in Chiswick Park and 'insourced' from Ascent its playout of 50+ TV channels operation others continue to remove staff from their payroll and rely on carefully drawn contracts to make sure they continue to deliver to their audiences.

Is it a good thing or should broadcasters retain responsibility and control of their own destiny?

Ex Braodcasting ministers and former DG second guess the Tory policy

2010-02-06T14:13:00.015+01:00

Cavendish Centre W1 4th Feb 2010 - RTS - The Tories are Coming?

Much as a group of old soldiers join up to relive their glory days a bunch of former broaddcast policy makers got together under the chairmanship of Channel 4 News's Krishnan Guru Murthy to talk about their goldne past

The stellar line up of former MPs Chris Smith and Norman Fowler (both now Lords), David Mellor (ex MP and Chelsea strip wearer) and Lord Birt (former Dalek BBC Director General) spoke about their expectations around a possible Tory Broadcasting policy on Thursday. All agreed that their wouldn't be a sudden lurch but that the BBC trust was doomed.

While Mellor spoke about how he craftily defeated Thatchers plans for the BBC Chris Smith spoke about how it was necessary to have a reasonable length of time on the job (of late the Media portfolio has changed hands with worrying speed ).

City TV could be the one innovation if cross ownership regulations are relaxed and if it is considered worthy of investment (good news for the Guardian Media Group who have been slogging away at this for some time.)

Birt was determined that change was inevitable and thaat the DCMS had not risen to recent challenges -all agreed that ITV would no longer be able to function as a PSB in the soon to be digital only TV environment.

There was some praise for OFCOM but a view that policy should lie with government and not the unelected quango seemed to hold sway.
Time will tell if a future government feels obliged to hold to the Status Quo - if pressure for cuts and sales of assets become impossible to resist change will be inevitable - let's see how it all looks in 18 months time.

New TV Boss creates early controversy

2010-01-31T12:00:00.007+01:00

New ITV CEO

Adam Cozier has had a high profile career to date with FA and Royal Mail leadership catapaulting him into the news.
Like so many in the media firmament he's from an advertising background and knows the value of a brand, he's also got the inside track on UK soccer which can only help.
Not sure if he'll carry through the plan to make some ITV channels pay fayre
Many in the public consider he's not the guy for the job but perhaps it's a little early to say and perhaps he's really there to oversee its sale or split into two?

VoLAV seeking new Chairman.

The public service broadcasting lobby group VLV (Voice of the Listener and Viewer) is looking for a new chairman as Richard Lindley stands down, it's a role that needs the right person young enough to keep up with a challenging schedule but beyond the ambitions that many in the broadcast world harbour into their dotage - be great to see someone suitable installed quickly.

Fools and Horses keeps its West London Links
Although set in Peckham only Fools and Horses much of its filming was done inn and around Ealing, with Acton supplying the Nelson Mandela flats the recent prequel Rock and Chip s Chiswick Town hall had a cameo role as Peckham town hall and filled the role admirably.
There's a load of Fools and Horses locations at this flickr site. It doesn't include the Ealing restaurant ' Noughts and Crosses (now sadly closed) that I remember discussing with the patron some time after he'd seen the programme on a airplane journey though.

Cadbury, ITV ,C4 Boss and my resource page

2010-01-24T11:55:00.012+01:00

Cadbury's

Not sure how bad this is - should a US conglomerate own an iconic brand?
Has Kraft overpaid and will it mean a loss of jobs in UK and a deterioration in the marvelous confectionery that has been their hallmark for more than180 years.
Why is it that Quakers made all that stuff?
My answers
Perhaps, perhaps,
and departing from the Doris Day Stylee
Because ( according to this site) the god fearing people of that particular sect saw it as alternative to booze.

ITV
Another UK company that could be purchased by a foreign giant is ITV. Since Sky has lost its appeal (I'm talking about the ruling on the 19% holding in ITV not the feeble schedules) the commercial TV network looks to be once again in play. Expect a biggish outcry if it goes to a non-UK bidder.

C4 Boss
The new C4 boss is the little known (outside the industry) David Abraham who has been running the UK channels that include Dave and Blighty - seems he's got the commercial part sorted time will tell regarding C4's unique remit. Once there's a new ITV boss in place then thoughts will start moving to a Mark Thompson replacement at the BBC.

My Resource Page

I've started putting up some of the things I've worked on over the last 10 years or so as well as my branding stuff there'll be some gardening bits and business assignments too - if anyone can suggest simple HTML editor and add-ons to make it look nice please let me know.

BBC iPlayer arrives on Freesat viewers screens (some anyway)

2010-01-17T22:57:00.001+01:00

I was interested to learn this week that Beta trials have started on delivery of iPlayer content to Freesat boxes (so far only the Humax variety).
Now it seems that this is really just about using the IP connection specified for Freesat boxes - but it is significant as it means free delivery of the sort of 'value add' that's only available through BT or Virgin at the moment.

Now it seems to me that this is the sort of news that leads me to believe we're close to the start of the next wave of change in how we (in the UK) consume our TV once viewers can easily tap into the world of video on the web TV will never be the same - the question is around how long it takes for it become critical.

Not all the world's TV markets are at the same state of maturity and Britain could put a claim in as the leader in terms of choice and technology.

Any way I've ordered my Homeplug adaptors and will be ready for trialling when the application becomes available on the Panasonic integrated Freesat TVs.

(it seems ITV won't be far behind either even if it's all running a bit behind schedule!)

Educating Archie - the ITV recovery?

2010-01-10T21:46:00.006+01:00

There have been some positive things coming out of ITV of late - and the arrival of new broom Archie Norman as ITV chairman may yet herald a fight back.

Some of the things being spoken about could be good news but Archie is not a television man and surrounding himself with similarly minded bean counters does not answer all the structural problems ITV has.

Size - ITV is not big enough to have the momentum it needs to continue to create big scale entertainment and drama

Pay Platform - with ITV and its advertising paymasters it's been feast or famine of late the danger is that another feast could arrive before it addresses the issue of creating another viable revenue stream, it may alienate some of its older viewers but top notch programmes cost and some of its viewers could be lost without damaging the business.

Pension - ITV like so many UK businesses has a pension black hole - to attract partners/suitors its gong to have to deal with it.

and Brand..

Now once I've sorted it out I'm gong to add a broadcast brand page which will include links to my two Masters Dissertations (yes I've done two) which are around this theme - so you can see that branding is a subject close to my heart (as far as broadcasting goes) - in short without a brand proposition all broadcasters have is negotiated set of rights around some content. But and as J-Lo would say it's a big butt - the brand proposition needs a solid grounding and customers who buy into it. Even the best snake-oil salesman needs snake oil - ITV needs to provide a smorgasbord of telly, which is the dogs B*****s and as well as content that's the deal where the company gets out and shows it cares- so this is where Archie needs to deliver (he's a leader and a people person I've heard it said) - we'll see in a year's time.

Welcome to 2010

2010-01-03T15:55:00.010+01:00

So to anyone chancing on this blog I would like to take this opportunity of wishing them and theirs a happy new year.

Three things that will be of particular interest this year.

1. There will be UK elections and a new government formed this is like to be a Conservative led administration and although this would not be my choice; for the sake or semblance of democracy it is necessary for power to change hands (or appear to) once in a while.

What is going to be historic in this election is the fact that the two main party leaders and Nick Clegg will have a TV forum to debate their vision - will this inform voters or change the outcome, time will tell? Much as TV in the House of Commons is now accepted I think such debates will become part of the firmament of our election process in the UK its so hard to get the genie back in the bottle!

2. The party that wins power will have the chance to reshape UK broadcasting - if the Tories win an overall majority SKY remains fairly safe to efforts to constrain it, this being an likely through the lessening of the power (or reform) of OFCOM, if the election is less clear cut there could be further restraints placed on SKY - soon the SKY appeal with respect to its ITV shareholding will release its judgment. So ITV and C4 will (secretly) be hoping that the Tories win is not too overwhelming- perhaps.

3. The UK economy will be 're-balanced' - over the last 10 years the UK experienced a period of unprecedented growth, this is over and the 'real' economy is expected to take up the load as tax revenues drop and the public service sector shrinks this will be both painful and have a revolutionary impact on our society, how this is handled will be key to the protection of those who are sadly within the most vulnerable groups.

More Freesat HD channels?

2009-12-30T12:01:00.007+01:00

Seems that amongst other things HD TVs are being pushed pretty hard - I've got the Freesat option myself and am a little irritated that Channel 4 is not on that platfrom as yet.

Have asked Channel 4 about their plans and was told by their Viewer Enquiries that

" Unfortunately, there is no satellite capacity for our HD channel on Freesat at present, when this situation changes we hope to make our HD channels available on Freesat."

Now I must say I had thought that Freesat and Sky pretty much shared the same capacity apart from adding some EPG and CA stuff it should not require extra capacity - having done a search I found that there is (perhaps) money changing hands which I guess helps attract and keep Sky HD viewers But it seems that the real cause is that C4 does not have capacity on the correct spot beam on Astra 2D (other beams allow too much spill into other territories) so hope they can
get this capacity soon.
I see that there might be more FTA (free to air) HD in the near future and hope that this will be the case (or will it be all on Freeview?)

Cool books

2009-12-20T12:50:00.008+01:00

Strangely I've read far fewer books this year than normal but I have just completed Levitt & Dubner's follow up to Freakonomics it is a great stimulus to thought/reflection and named rather unsurprisingly 'Super Freakonomics'.

The most amazing chapter is the last one which gives some details of research conducted by Keith Chen into the behaviour of capuchin monkeys - it is quite something.

Like Tim Harford whose book The Logic of Life I'm looking forward to reading Dubner and Levitt are ostensibly economists but in reality they are much more than this. Incidentally Tim Harford's programme 'More or less' that is broadcast on Radio 4 is now back for a fresh run and this week it included an illuminating insight into the folly of energy saving light bulbs.

The other author with an exciting treatise into modern life is the somewhat enigmatic Alain De Botton his latest book, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work will be sampled (by me) over the Christmas holidays - from a skim of the reviews it appears (paraphrasing somewhat here) that De Botton concludes that we work to distract ourselves from the fact that life is all too brief.

3DTV and the Gregster

2009-12-13T12:05:00.005+01:00

Couple on interesting events over the last week:

1) There's a bit of a buzz about 3D, it's seen a few false dawns and its early modern roots go back to the cinema trying to offer something that TV couldn't but it now seems that TV (and display manufacturers) are providing much of the impetus for the current wave.

I went to a workshop and presentation held by the IET most impressive was Charlotte Huggins who as well as being a fantastic ambassador for the topic she's a great speaker and can really communicate her enthusiasm. See her here.
At the end of the event I must say I see it more as a cinema experience than a TV one although perhaps I'll be proved wrong by Sky's launch of a dedicated 3D channel in 2010.

2) Greg Dyke was speaking at the London Centre RTS Christmas lecture, it seems he's now come to terms with the fact that he's not going to be a senior figure in broadcasting but he had a number of incisive perspectives on the present state of UK TV, the ones most likely t o raise eyebrows being that Channel 5 has no independent future the other being that the BBC management salaries are too high.
Rather worryingly Dyke looks increasingly like Kelvin Mackenzie (The former Sun newspaper editor).

ITV as a brand

2009-12-06T18:08:00.004+01:00

How we experience television is changing very rapidly and those who do not not embrace the change risk being left behind.
I recently submitted the final piece of work for my long running effort to achieve an MBA, it was a study that focused on how ITV may have damaged the "ITV Brand" by its pursuit of cash through the ITV Play adventure, somewhat surprisingly I came to the conclusion that no serious damage had been done.
My survey and research provided evidence that ITV was a strong brand and I personally felt at the time of my research that ITV did not leverage the brand to maximum effect.
Of late ITV (ITV 1 at least) has I believe improved its proposition with the use of mass audience fodder such as 'X factor' and Hell's kitchen; such programmes as well as attracting audience help to strengthen the proposition that ITV offers - the branding has correspondingly improved with junctions exploiting the programme relationship. Much of the credit for the improvement must rest with Rupert Howell who has given the lead there.

Now as ITV post Grade looks for a future less reliant on advertising it needs to direct attention at the 'partner channels' (ITV 2, 3, 4 along with CITV) and to make a big splash with either Hulu or Youtube.

As well as a broadcaster it is and has been for some time a formidable content producer the question of how this fits into delivering advertising to audiences (or is that the other way round?) is a question that has no easy answer.

Horticultural Highlights

2009-11-29T13:38:00.005+01:00

Hopefully this won't have driven loads of people thinking they'd find links or tips on legal equivalents to mind altering hallucinogenics.
It is rather to recommend the West London home of Capel Manor college which is situated in Gunnersbury Park at the Ealing and Hounslow borders.
Last week was pretty much a full stop on my connection as I attended the awards ceremony held at Trailfinders in West Ealing. Trailfinders is a great venue (we saw the fireworks display here this year) and food that was provided was very good too.

Sadly only3 of the class of 2008/9 BTEC certificate were there but also in attendance were lecturers and other students which made for a great evening. If you get a chance to do a course there do take it up, it's a fantastic place with marvelous people and gardening is a great thing to do.

Well done Ed on your Prize and Gerry thanks for making sure we recognized our year teachers efforts.

The birth of RADAR - career highlights

2009-11-22T13:43:00.004+01:00

During the week I went to an IET London presentation on how RADAR started, there were a few reasons why I decided to attend, one being that my post degree employ,ment pretty much started off in RADAR (Marconi's in Chelmsford) also that my father had been employed in Radar and had been involved in its early days during WWII.

Now to be frank I didn't really learn too much from the lecture given by a guy in his 90's (Laurence Tandy)but he was impressive in his memory and his energy.

What the talk did remind me of was that many of us have a 'golden age' in our careers when we're in tune with what's happening and that this is a time we can re-live but probably not recreate, I feel fortunate in that, looking back I have more than one, and perhaps even more to come!
( I even had to look up what RADAR stood for - it's RAdio Detection And Ranging)

What we don't see on TV

2009-11-15T12:09:00.003+01:00

Although there are a lot of TV channels available to UK viewers there are a number of programmes that we don't see or that get less coverage than they should.

TV's Prix Europa is a showcase for some of the best TV and this week I went to a London RTS presentation that gave excerpts from some of the prime material.

The content was varied including German women footballers playing their Iranian counterparts (Football under cover) , a Rabbit's eye view on the wall between East and West Germany.

What was most surprising was the programme that raised questions over coverage of African famines.
The famine scam has not had the coverage it war ants and the issue of BBC editorial control is central to the exposé although I'm sure other broadcasters are guilty of similar practice the BBC does not come out odf the story well.
You can find out more and view here

Ministers concern over threat that Tories pose to BBC

2009-11-07T20:59:00.004+01:00

I suppose I’m getting to the stage in my life where I might be considered cynical certainly when the subject of politicians comes up but I must say I thought Ben Bradshaw MP and Minister of State with respect to the DCMS gave a pretty good performance in front of the VOLaV last week.

Brasdshaw made clear that he thought the BBC was far safer with Labour in power than with what appears to be the likely outcome of next years Elections – answering questions he also made no bone about his backing of product placement on UK tv.

I fear the minister is right about the threat to the BBC that a Murdoch backed Tory government may pose but am less sanguine over the advance of product placement than the Exeter MP.

Was there a golden age of TV news?

2009-10-31T17:02:00.004+01:00

Wednesday evening and I went to the former LWT building on London's South Bank to learn about how Sky News covered the Afghan elections - those explaining' in a somewhat Dead Donkey Stylee were Tim Marshall apparently the Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor and someone called Bevan Gibson who labours under the fantastic title of Head of Future Technology- Sky News.

Seems that their coverage relies on the Inmarsat BGANS and store and forward type arrangements.

Inmarsat BGAN is a neat little uplink about the size of a laptop PC that permits Satellite access from practically anywhere on the globe which just about copes with a 'moving head' live TV feed and can be used to trickle full bandwidth video over a link.

Personally I think 24 hour news has provided little benefit to the viewer and thought the questioning of the value of 'live' spots from Downing street and the like showed how little respect is given to the audience.

Sky News will be HD by the time of the next UK election - think this will favour Cameron and Clegg over the dour Scotsman.

This is significant - almost Google for TV

2009-09-29T21:38:00.002+01:00

Now I've been away from some time but this particular story caught my eye.
Lots of hot air has been generated by UGC and more lately 3D - this sort of targetting could be the saviour of commercial TV (or not).
Interesting that Sky are the ones running with it.

Adverts that are relevant have been touted for some time and it seems that the UK will be geting them from 2011
Here's the story

English Pop Troubadour - 30 years on

2009-07-05T11:15:00.003+01:00

Identified by many pop commentators as writer of one of the best singles of all time (Waterloo Sunset) it was a privilege to see Ray Davies perform against the beautiful backdrop of Kenwood.

It's something over 30 years since I'd seen the Kinks perform and the years melted away as Ray re-visited many of his great hits on a soggy Saturday evening (as opposed to a Lazy Sunny Afternoon) particularly poignant is the song Celluloid heroes.

My other connection with Ray is that I nearly went to the Hornsey Art College (now part of the Middlesex University) to Study Video Documentary. So many of the 60's & 70's pop heroes studied art - perhaps this is part of the tension they experience in being pop stars forced to perform old works as opposed to creating new ones?

A Digital Britian on 50p a month?

2009-06-18T21:15:00.007+01:00

So the Digital Britain report is out and as to be expected it's trying to be all things to all men - and fails to be anything to anyone. Lord Carter will now move to a lucrative new job.
It brings public intervention to places where there should not be public intervention and yet messes with the PSB model we have .
It is a bad example of dealing with market failure.
How can anyone think that a 50p a month tax is bold or innovative or really going to change anything.
(I'm not the only person to think that the report is rubbish either).

The good news is that little in it will be actioned as the present government is only going to be in power for a few months and it does mean that we're at least thinking about the issues.

On Wednesday I saw an interesting two headed presentation on the subject - the first was a quick revision on what Digital was; the meat of the RTS London event though was a presentation by Stephen Brigden of Cisco: (here's his blog)
To note some of the big questions and stand out lines:

*BBC's iPlayer has disproved the idea that only short form video will survive in the internet.
* It's unlikely that BTs Vision walled garden offering will destroy ' over the top video' (which iplayer is an example of as are is Youtube and 4OD).
*The killer app that the ISPs were looking for is Video the problem is that it's killing the networks and the idea of a flat fee access is looking unsustainable. iPlayer is the cause of over 7% of the UK network traffic. can this live within the concept of 'net neutrality'?
*Stated service levels have little connection with reality as contention rates are seen to be bogus.
*Video over the web is not just a leisure activity - high volumes of traffic from big news stories, sport and the live budget coverage has proved this.

So as you can imagine Cisco see the solution being a better network with more of their devices and of course the NGA networks.

The failures of OFCOM? (and others)

2009-05-26T14:29:00.003+01:00

Now I've had an interest in the subject of participation TV for some time and I noticed at the weekend that a story was running in the Mail on Sunday regarding the 'whistleblower' Bob Winsor, Bob has been seemingly tireless in his attempts to get to the bottom of unfair practices around ITV Play and others.

Bob was kind enough to send me e-mails covering his latest go at the' cover up' here is the contents: (be interesting to see who gets the new top jobs at ITV)

Subject: finally re public trust

Dear all implicated in parliamentary/Government malpractice,

I would just like to add how far Ofcom and the Government will go to cover-up this (besides sending police on a hoax suicide call, falsifying consumer complaint records and obstructing the fraud squad).

Channel 4 News and ITV evening news wanted to interview me at the height of the scandal but whenever I tried to return their calls Kate Mayne at ITN Legal ordered ITN telephonists watch for calls and to ask me the nature of my story. When I did call I was then told that no news teams wanted to know my story and that they were not interested. Channel 4 News were furious at this attempt by ITN Legal to censor the news.

Similarly, when I was interviewed by Jon Snow Kate Mayne then manipulate a police statement and gave it to Jon Snow to read out as BGTV's right to reply. The reply said that police had found all my allegations to be completely without foundation etc. Polce and CPS both confirm they said no such thing. Ofcom then refused to uphold my complaint about factual inaccuraces on a news programme. Victims then contacted Ofcom and BGTV (this is why the complaints are 49+) but were told by both Ofcom and BGTV that police had found all allegations to be without foundation and so no refunds would be given to victims. To drive this message home Ofcom's Tim Suter then went on Panorama and encouraged consumers to keep on playing (being scammed) by the quizzes.

To cap it all Michael Grade prevented me from giving evidence to deloitte's but when i did eventually manage give evidence to Deloitte's (with two ITV lawyers present) all my evidence was censored from the report and Michael Grade lied to C4 News and Newsnight by stating

'nothing even verging on criminality has ever happened at ITV. This is not me saying this it is the lawyers'.

The only way all of the above could have happened and Michael Grade could be so confident is his lies is through the Establishment, the Government and Ofcom and the select committees protecting him at a huge a cost to the electorate. As for the news censorship and manipulation of a police statement such behaviour is more akin to a dictatorship.

I am very well aware that apparent justice is everything as far public trust is concerned but if MPs are serious about cleaning up parliament, then I suggest something is done about this continuing cover-up. If it comes out later then the public will know that the current clean-up was no more than a PR/damage limitation exercise.

Bob Winsor

A man of Trust ( the BBC's anyway)

2009-05-25T21:41:00.003+01:00

About 2 years ago Sir Michael Lyons took over as the Chairman of the BBC trust the new body formed to keep a watch over the BBC on behalf of the licence payer, last week at an RTS early evening function he shared his thoughts on the BBC and the trust.

Looking a bit like Barry from Eggheads Sir Michael started his lecture with6 points which he considered as the prime commitments that the trust should be concerned with:

1) Standards - The trust should maintain the highest editorial standards and keep a political balance.

2) The BBC should serve all audiences and try to avoid a metropolitan bias. It should be concerned with all the faiths of its audiences and those of none.

3) The BBC should be a leader in terms of content providing what the market failed to deliver, its content should be distinctive- Sir Michael cited The Long March to Finchley as an example. It should continue to provide a technical lead with such innovations as the iplayer.

4) The BBC should do all it can to support UK PSB, it has no desire for a monopoly and wants to help with joint ventures - Sir Michael spoke of the possible CH4/ BBC Worldwide partnership, the work with ITV regional News and its project canvas co-operation with BT.

5) The BBC should give value for money with a rigorous stewardship of public funds and continuing improvements in its efficiency.

6) The BBC trust must ensure that the BBC remains independent and untainted by commercial influence.

Although somewhat less than charismatic Sir Micheal gave the impression of being the right man to chair the Trust.

TV 's future can benefit from looking back ..

2009-05-16T18:07:00.003+01:00

There’s a danger for many that at the mention of the words archive and library they will suffer a near instantaneous draining of all blood from the head and a sudden feeling of sleepiness but Archive is big news in the TV world.

Roly Keating gave a great performance as the speaker at the inaugural Jane Mercer memorial lecture under the auspices of Focal International and with the support of the London section of the Royal Television Society. The lecture held at the former LWT centre earlier this week was well attended and those present had there attention held by the enthusiasm of the speaker

Although diplomatically distancing himself from a previous euphoria where it was considered realistic to release much of the BBC’s treasures as ‘creative commons’ he spoke eloquently about the long term aspirations to enable deep access to significant footage and documents held by the BBC.

Undoubtedly there are issues around the vast cornucopia of material over half a million hours of TV and a similar amount of radio plus rushes, stills and documents. The related logistics and rights clearances for such a gargantuan task is enough to raise a cold sweat in even the most able of archivists and explains why Roly was talking of a timescale of something like a decade.

Unusually for a BBC executive Roly seemed to be happy to speak with a refreshing lack of corporatist flannel and kept to a minimum the repetition of the current BBC's ‘partnership’ mantra but rest assured this is a topic that is as significant as it is immense in the future of broadcasting and multimedia authoring and it seems the BBC has the right man leading on it.

Is there really nothing on TV Tonight?

2009-04-10T13:03:00.005+01:00

TV guides are going to be an increasingly important part of the media scene.

When you go on holiday you actually might want to record TV programmes for when you return but that is really just the tip of the iceberg…

TV listings are now so complex that we need something that is driven by our personal tastes and what we can access (by geographic limitations and what we’ve paid for) – this then needs to drive our recording/storage device- so it could go and burrow away on the Internet access BT Vision (or Itunes for example) and any other subscription services that are available. For me I’d want it to drive my Satellite receiver/positioner (for the satellites I can view and the services that are FTA) and digital terrestrial.

Do you want to keep a watch on certain topics on YouTube and the iplayer too?

Do the services have subtitles – is it a service that updates if programme times need to be adjusted due to late running live events?

Once programmes have been captured you then want to know what you have available for your 'a la carte' viewing.

So are we anywhere near this solution? Probably not but I think there are some projects that are addressing this

For example (let me know if you have more details)

TVTV.co.uk
Radio Times
European TV Listings

The BBC are looking for partners....

2009-04-08T21:22:00.004+01:00

Now forgive me for being cynical but at a time when the BBC are under both the microscope and attack by its opponents is it a coincidence that it starts multiple dialogues all which have about them an element of 'open''co-operation' and 'sharing'?

Kerstin Mogull, the BBC's Future Media & Technology Chief Operating Officer (Swedish) was a late substitute for the Director of BBC Future Media and Technology Erik Huggers (Dutch) at the IET's Appleton lecture (sadly nothing to do with those All Saints sisters) and seemed in her presentation to be very keen to follow the Beeb's line on how it wants to both keep competition and plurality but is driven by a desire to share technological advances.

As well as potentially bailing out ITV in the regional news space it's happy to share iPlayer, Canvas and its production expertise- some say that really it'll share pretty much anything as long as it's not the licence fee - but with the UK's Parliamentarians ignoring the Culture secretary's steer this might still be on the cards and the idea of 'top slicing' would almost certainly sbe omething that an incoming Tory government would take a closer look at.

(why is it that Public services feel the need to continue to ape the commercial sector in their job titles?)

Gardeners' delights

2009-04-06T19:07:00.007+01:00

We've been having a fine English spring and I have been lucky enough to be able to visit some horticultural treasures over the last week - Just click on the named links to see my photo's

1) Beth Ch atto's Gardens in North Essex - you'll find great examples of woodland planting and what Beth achieved with a former car parking area is impressive. Beth Chatto although in her 80's is still going strong - find out about her here.

2) Kew Gardens - Entry now is a bit expensive (perhaps worth becoming friends as we have) now and there seem to be some questionable (to me) additions but the Tree Walk is fun and provides an experience that kids'll love.

3) Ham House a fine example of what the National Trust excel in - splendidly historic and an oasis of peace in London's back yard (apart from the noise of the planes)

Hulu Hulu (what's going on 'ere then?)

2009-04-04T19:04:00.005+01:00

It's easy for us UK types to think that Telly begins and ends with us and that it's only the UK Networks that have the challenge of attracting younger viewers who feel more at home with a PC than a TV.

In fact the USA networks have come together to provide PC catch up TV with a single site and it's called Hulu.

Now at the moment it's only available to those people on the other side of the big pond but a rumour is going around that it will launch in Europe - also if you're desperate to experience the buzz of being the first to see some of those hot US TV shows you might like to try Hotspot to spoof your address.

Hold the Plasma .. I want 3D

2009-04-03T21:27:00.004+01:00

Around the corner from your standard Blu-Ray and large screen Plasmas another mugger wants to hijack your wallet and it's called 3D TV.

Sky are already committing resources to the next big thing in subscription TV and it may well be well be a must have in about 5 years time.

Remember those silly glasses (one red one green) and 1950's people staring at a screen -well with new generation polarised screens it wont be exactly like that but the need for polarising glasses to decrypt the extra information will mean that TV viewing will be an event once again.

How much actual TV will go this way (as opposed to showing expensive Hollywood films) remains to be seen.

Electronic time

2009-03-29T12:03:00.007+01:00

So the clocks have changed here in the UK ( we lose the hour we gained in the autumn).

Time is a strange old thing and generally relative .. when I worked in TV broadcasting I became aware of how long 10 seconds (for example) can be and when I was a child I became aware of how long a boring Sunday evening could be. We are all now obsessed with time minutes and seconds are a relatively recent aberration and we all think we're on tight schedules but waste time watching nonsense on TV.

I had always thought that e-mail was pretty reliable and fast, if something failed to arrive it was either miss-addressed or the spam filters were over zealous but this week I've witnessed a strange occurrence where an e-mail took two and a half days to arrive and it's replacement came far quicker than that!

Looking into strange delays in e-mails there was surprisingly little information on my searches regarding delays in e-mail but I did find that

" E-mail delivery is affected by Internet traffic. This means that if the Internet as a whole is busy, it may take longer for your messages to be delivered. Many companies and servers process e-mail messages before they are delivered. To further investigate, provide a full message header of the delayed e-mail. Here’s how:

1. Right-click the e-mail listed in the message list and select “View message source.” This will open a window with the message source."

so I did that and this is what it told me ..

X-Apparently-To: timothy.bourne@btopenworld.com via 217.146.188.87; Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:18:46 +0000
X-Originating-IP: [85.189.39.70]
Authentication-Results: mta838.mail.ukl.yahoo.com from=vlv.org.uk; domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=vlv.org.uk; dkim=neutral (no sig)
Received: from 85.189.39.70 (EHLO smtp-out-a.mail.griffin.com) (85.189.39.70)
by mta838.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:18:46 +0000
Received: from VLVPC01 (unknown [83.148.137.183])
by smtp-out-a.mail.griffin.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id D96653D00B3
for ; Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:18:05 +0000 (GMT)
From: "******" <*****@vlv.org.uk>
To:
Subject: VLV Visits
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:18:07 -0000
Message-ID: <00d201c9ad54$85670870$90351950$@washbrook@vlv.org.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="----=_NextPart_000_00D3_01C9AD54.85670870"
X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0
Thread-Index: AcmtVITmqe4ac4lYR+i7dBfI2wpzDg==
Content-Language: en-gb

Which didn't really tell me a lot.

Searching further I got a page that explains a bit about how e-mail works if you're interested look here.

MPs expenses hit headlines again.

So the Jacqui Smith expenses story is likely to run on and on, to me the £10 or so spent (by the taxpayer) on films is rather less significant than the £116,000 we've shelled out on her rent .

Copyright and the media.. - this idiots guide..

2009-03-26T21:08:00.008+01:00

I went to hear a very clever guy speak yesterday, his name Hubert Best his subject some of the legal issues around media content copyright in the satellite/Internet on demand universe.

And to quote Johnny Nash from that surprisingly deep I can see clearly now song .. 'the more I find out the less I know' (which is so often the case).

Copyright goes back a long time (hundreds of years) and was originally related to written materials only, but it is important to view Intellectual materials as you would any other product that requires labour to construct, it is important to recognise that the property has value which can be sold given away or bequeathed.

Copyright law used to be territorial i.e. English Law was sovereign in England -not so simple now and we have 'long arm statutes' and the 'Berne Convention' (most countries are signatories)

A few points related to the media age that I noted are:

Satellite transmissions violate country borders without any effort - in terms of the law the place of emission is where Royalties should be paid.

You might think the Internet is for e-mail and sending funny pictures in fact even in 2006 around 75% of Internet traffic was a result of file sharing.

There is a gap between the Anglo Saxon(UK & US) world view and European (this might not be news to you) - Europe considers the author as supreme in all things creative -- hence the fact that the French believe colorising should only be allowed if the director says so and the US reckons if its okay with Turner Classic movies 'no problemo'.

US law also favours First amendment (free speech rights) pretty much to the detriment of all other rules - which means it can take bits of films without the copyright owners permission and stitch them together into whatever they like (this in law was highlighted by Yahoo sale of Nazi memorabilia which French law objected to and US courts overruled.)

US also permits what some might consider as violations where the use is 'transformative' (case was Barbie in work of art - Mattel unable to protect the doll)

There used to be two types of rights that went with a piece of 'creative content' the copying bit (mechanical) and the performing bit - what is the Internet - well it's both in that it can carry a performance (near live) but along the way all sorts of copies exist (in all those Cisco boxes and things).

Now the distribution rights for things like books and DVDs actually exhaust - this means I can buy a copy of Harry Pottter and the temple of doom' read it and then sell it on e-bay as a used book.

But I can't do a copy of the previously mentioned book and sell it on e-bay (unless I want to get into legal hot water).

This leads to a sort of kludge for the web where you have a form of copyright that is known as a 'making available right' this covers
1) copying and
2) a kind of distribution that doesn't exhaust (I can't pass it on).

Now these are just the tip of the iceberg - if you're going to get involved in copyright get advice it's a minefield

Digital Britain report will have some thing to say about rights (but probably unlikely to simplify things).

(hope this hasn't given you a headache)

Politicians - making Estate Agents look good...

2009-03-24T22:04:00.005+01:00

Political Rant

Great, following hot on the heels of our home secretary Jacqui Smith taking the taxpayer for all she can we have Tony McNulty extracting gratuitous amounts of the 'Michael' by claiming around £60,000 because (as far as I can tell) his parents happen to have a house in his constituency - (BTW seems that he and his wife earn between them about one third of a £million per year) .

Outrageous just doesn't begin to describe the behaviour that politicians think as reasonable, thankfully this type of 'grabbing all you can' is now exposed and we might get some MPs who when given a severe reminder of who pay their wages will see sense.

Shockingly many of the happy band see the exposure as a reason to campaign for an extra £40,000 per year-apart from the many MPs that have second incomes or partners who manage to gravitate to well paid state sponsored jobs they also manage to have eye wateringly long holidays - if they don't like the job and the terms they shouldn't apply for it, and perhaps we'd get people who genuinely care about the nation they're meant to serve.

Oh yes and don't get me started on the MPs who manage to get away with employing their own family members.

(end of Rant)

conflicting stories on ITV's strategy ..

2009-03-23T10:20:00.005+01:00

What a story on ITV in today's Daily Express - now it is important when viewing press reports on TV to realise that there are often issues that the proprietor rather than the paper's editorial team wishes to push but this is a new angle.

The idea that ITV should move to a subscription business model does have some logic and is worth further investigation, key concerns would be:
* How does it reach its audience (would it be platform neutral) ?
* Does it keep a minimal Free to Air offering to retain the PSB privileges it currently enjoys ?
* What do its advertisers think?
* Would this be socially divisive/ what would the Government's view be? Consider over 75s already get their TV license paid.
* How would it play out with Sky and their share of the ITV business?

Advantages are that the revenue stream becomes less turbulent and that advertisers are more likely to get the upmarket viewers they so often desire.

Elsewhere on the 'net' there are stories of the importance of Project Canvas to ITV 's future as a free to air broadcaster - not sure if the two stories are connected and the 'scare' of a non- universal ITV is being floated with the hope that it will help to bounce acceptance of Canvas? (which Virgin and Sky are both opposing)!

Work and Exploration

2009-03-21T19:07:00.006+01:00

One of my favourite non-fiction writers is Alain de Botton, as well as being at the approachable end of the philosophy genré he has an unerring ability to hit the zeitgeist when it comes to selecting topics.

Although I've not yet tackled the architecturally angle book 'The Architecture of Happiness' I can hardly wait until April 2nd when the latest work The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is published.

Gather from the rather egg-headed one's website that he's also involved in a rather exciting enterprise called the school of life to me this sounds like a truly admirable idea and surely worth a visit.

On the subject of books I've had my first experience of Waterstones on-line which has been very good, though I'm a little worried that they might be undercutting their retail presence by offering such good discounts and free shipping - having seen the book at my local shop I find it much cheaper online!

The book in question is How to be an explorer of the world by Keri Smith which I think might be aimed at a much younger audience than myself but which looks fabulous fun (although not all the reviewers at Amazon seem to see it the same way) - hopefully I'll update the blog as I carry out the tasks within.

Marketing Man takes helm at ITN

2009-03-18T21:30:00.002+01:00

The new man heading up ITN is former Disney European TV boss John Hardie and it is most unlikely that he's been recruited to preserve the Status Quo at the financially challenged commercial TV news provider.

The current ITN shareholders (including ITV the DMGT and UBM) do not see ITN as key to their future success and one of the big challenges for the new boy will be to bring in investors committed to the expansion and diversification of the Grays Inn Road based outfit.

Former journalistic type Mark Wood had joined ITN from Reuters and his reign of running the operation through challenging times has been sure footed. Wood is said to be leaving the MD post to pursue other opportunities although he'll remain as Chairman until the transition to the new guy is complete and a replacement chairman has been chosen.

Hardie like many of TV's rising stars has a marketing rather than broadcasting background his skills were shown at ITV where he rejigged much of the diverse ITV's 'regional branding to a less confusing single entity.

Setanta in final seconds of extra time?

2009-03-16T22:07:00.006+01:00

News International Media Supremo Rupert Murdoch is on record as believing in the importance of Sport for Pay TV but the idea that you just bid and bid to capture sports rights is not the way to run a lesser bouquet of sports channels.

Setanta the other sports pay tv operator on the UK dominant multi-channel platform is looking in danger of finding itself on the 'subs' bench (and we don't mean subscribers).

In time Sky might regret what they've done to their upstart competitor which now looks like it might have to throw in the towel- it seems hard to believe that OFCOM or the competition commission will be able to continue to ignore the elephant that's in so many viewers front rooms for too much longer.

So expect BT and Virgin to up their sideline whingeing and some sensible changes to be unveiled.

Here are 3 Good things to do?

2009-03-15T12:14:00.008+01:00

Tesco is often attacked for its dominance of UK retail activity but they do seem to be working on a number of green initiatives - the idea of awarding ' clubcard points' for recycling hard to dispose of plastics seems particularly worthwhile. Over 100 articles recycled today!

I've got some spare time so have volunteered to assist in one of my local Oxfam shops.

When you think about how much spectacles cost it's worth passing on unwanted pairs why not give away your unwanted spectacles? I delivered 2 pairs to my local Dollond and Aitchison.

501 Must See Movies

2009-03-15T11:55:00.003+01:00

A Christmas or so ago I got a couple of books of the must do/see genré, I've also accumulated a vast library of free DVDs courtesy of the great British Press.
So recently when there's not been anything appealing in the schedules we've viewed what seem to be regarded as 'Good Films' to be honest I've been a little disappointed - the two films were

A Touch of Evil from the all round Smart Arse Orson Welles - bit melodramatic and a very strangely made up Charlton Heston (meant to be Mexican) in an over long black and white story.

The second film was Glengarry Glen Ross, and this was powerful, (lots of effin' and blindin') and well acted but a bit of a downer reminding the viewer to stay away from financial slaesmen of all varieties.

I'm not sure if it's partly because I really like to films at the Cinema rather than on a TV (perhaps I need a big screen, BlueRay and Dolby 5.1).

I'll probably try and work through some more of the reccomendations of great movies I've not seen and if you have a particular favourite please let me know.