Beer, Beer, Beer

A friend sent me this link the other day of a really cheerful little video. Have a look, I'm sure it will make you smile and the music is infectious!

See it here !!!

War Veterans

It was quite touching yesterday to see 2 of the remaining 3 war veterans who fought in the great war meet the Queen, one being 111, the other was 106. Their message was simple "We want people to know how much we owe them. They gave everything."

We all know that thousands upon thousands gave up their life in the great war, the flower of Britains youth back then went to certain death in the trenches, men who had more morals from a time when people were more civil.

The veterans through longevity of life must have seem an enormous amout of changes in science and society but I wonder what they really think of our country today?

Free

Its fantastic news that BBC journalist Alan Johnstone is free from captivity at last after 114 days. He looked slightly tired but other wise was as sharp as ever whilst giving out interviews to the press. I caught the ITV news bulleting where Julian Mannion warmly shook his hand as Alan looked up and recognised him, their camaraderie evident even though they represent different stations. I'm pretty sure when Julian concluded the report he had a lump in his throat as he held back tears.

Even during the hostage videos of him Alan looked calm under pressure and almost like he was still reporting rather than being a hostage - a true professional.

I'm pretty sure that in the near future Alan will be back on out screens reporting in that interesting yet concise way he seems to.

Best of luck for the future Alan.

When in Rome

Rome is back on BBC2, in fact its halfway through season 2 and what a rip roaring series its been! Full of intrigue, divided loyalties, conflicts, subversion and pure decadence.......oh and did I mention the gratuitous sex and violence?

Class acting from the likes of Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson as Vorenus and Pullo as their lives become ever more complicated and manipulated by Romes powers that be. Atia of the Julii played by Polly Walker remains as seductive and ruthless as ever and my personal favourite is Mark Antony played by James Purefoy, an arrogant machiavellian if I ever saw one.

David Bamber plays an excellent Cicero, always plotting and counter plotting and pulling some great facial expressions whilst doing so.

Last but not least is the sometimes malevolent looking Octavian played by Simon Woods, who incidentally reminds me of a young Malcolm McDowell.

Ok for the pedentics out there the series isn't historically correct but who cares when shows of this calibre come along to grace our often mundane tv screens!

Smoke Free

Well today England goes smoke free and about time! Some accuse the Labour party of creating a 'nanny state' but as regards the smoking ban I think they've done something sensible.

No more coming in from a night out with my clothing smelling of smoke, no more sitting in restaurants or cafes with people lighting up next to you as you eat.

Seemingly its worked in other countries and there's no reason why it shouldn't work in England.

To the smokers I say it has never been a better time to quit, you know it makes sense!

A quick guide to the smoke free law can be found here