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Any artist who's work makes you smile, is worthy of praise.

Having grown up in Plymouth at the time Beryl was becoming famous I am saddened by her death. She was untrained as a painter, yet like Lowry painted scenes and types of people instantly recognisable to those from a similar background. Above all she had a sense of fun, knew what people were like under the public facades they kept up, hence the often mildly sexual (I think -saucy - is the preferred term) aspect to her paintings; fat bums, droopy bosoms and all. That doubtless is why she struck such a chord with the public. (Its probably no co-incidence that she and her husband frequented the pubs on the Barbican at a time when they were mainly visited by trawler-men, holiday makers letting their hair down, soldiers from the local barracks and bar-room girls.) Her work is instantly recognisable and has a likeability factor that resonates with many people. To link with another of today’s topics, I doubt she’d have met with the approval of Mary Whitehouse, but I think most people knew which one of the two they preferred and that Beryl reflected her times the better.

Was her work great art? Not in the same league as a Turner or Constable perhaps, but likely to be admired long after many contemporary Brit Artists (and I do like some of their work too) have faded into obscurity.

Finally a nod to Bernard Samuels, director of the then lively and eclectic Plymouth arts centre, for being willing to risk hosting her first exhibitions and bring her work to a wider audience.

In 1994 a Â鶹ԼÅÄ2 " Late Show's" producer Clare Bevan made a superb
Mary Whitehouse documentary I hope Newsnight managed to get it out the Archive ?

The Prime Minister meets some oil executives, comes out of the meeting and announces an expansion of Nuclear power ..... what the hell happened!? Did he throw his teddy?

ITS THE TIMESCALE STUPID

I have read (always unwise) that uranium ore will become ever lower in grade as the good stuff is mined out, and will take a lot of extracting. Is it possible that Gordon has got his sums wrong again, and by the time we have built a power station or two, the cost of fuel will make them uneconomic? Perish the thought. Also, isn't all the uranium "somewhere else" - like the oil?
Is Clunk Brown clunking again?

It looks like the descendants of Mary Whitehouse got to my blog about free supermarket bags on Friday. I expect that last night's contribution will soon follow.

You can tell when the Corporate Nazi's are loosing their argument, they start playing thought police. The Harry Enfield spoof advertisements I referred to recently have just been removed from You Tube.

Apologies for posting such a trivial question with no relevance to the news, but does anyone know what the music was that was used repeatedly in the first report this evening, about energy, over a grid of images of energy-related pictures?

I do hope Newsnight will not gloss over Mrs Whitehouse's homophobia, as the dramatisation did. She was closely involved in the Festival of Light campaign (indeed that was her connection with Cliff Richard, which the drama did mention, out of context), almost bankrupted the first gay and lesbian newspaper and intended to destroy what was a vital lifeline for many isolated people in what was then a very hostile country, and particularly picked on any media representation of such people, in any context. Some thought she was simply a woman of her class and time, but in fact she was vindictive and hate-filled simply due to prejudice. She sought the unelected power she exercised, as the drama showed, for that, very dark reason. Please don't whitewash that.

Uranium has 85 years to go! Unless the more expensive reactors are built, then it lasts 1500 years.

Would one of these anti-cluster ammunitions folks be able to explain to a 20 year old British Soldier why they can not use cluster bombs/rockets on a enemy that has used them against them ?

This pandering to these and various other special interest groups have been the problem with this Labour Government and its results we are seeing today !

It's about time Labour realized 90% of these special interest groups are not in touch with reality !

PS. Mark is right , there is no nice weapon of war , there never has been and never will !

PPS. Should we ban bullets ? because if a soldier drops some rounds while in battle , 2 years later after the battle a small child might pick them up and it might go off and hurt themselves or others around them !

Where does this type of argument end ?

WAY TO GO NEWSNIGHT

I completely forget what the piece was about, but the slow pixilation of the background, followed by dimming to semi-dark (accentuated by the quaint hand-over-eyes by the presenter, usually redolent of BRIGHT light) all made this a tour de farce.
And the interspersed "test card" of boxed electrical bric-a-brac left me dancing with something-or-other. There really should be a place in the Turner Prize competition or even an Olympic event for such genius.

PS Mullerman. Point taken on stocks. Will the owners let us have any?

SOMEONE MENTIONED THE WAR

Once, Mother Nature looked on as men fought
remarking: nothing seeds quite like success!
And though brute-force was all a winner had
such seed – embraced – would yield a brutal lad.

But perched precariously atop that ape:
a cerebrum hell-bent on cleverness;
beneath a bonehead skull, soft grey deceit
in nihilistic glee schemed brute defeat.

Once, man-power and an innate will to fight
behove a man to take the sovereign’s coin;
with luck he would return from foreign field
not die there with his innards all revealed.

He fought in daylight that his God might see
the valour he displayed in battle joined
and when it grew too dark for slaughtering
he sought a little fruitful roistering.

Now that has changed - thanks to technology
and high-tech kit supplants the scout’s keen eye
attacking in the dark was once thought mean
but with night-vision goggles – mean is green!

The boffin brain loves war’s technology
that brings about a level killing field;
today a slight squadette – driving a tank
sees off a six foot, murderous, sperm-bank.

Soon robot squaddies - loyal to a “man�
not on their stomachs marching - but on chips
will long no more for homelands when they fall
as all terrain’s the same when in the virtual.

In that new dawn the nerds will rule the waves
Great Britain’s destiny: to be effete
with geeky meek inheriting the Earth
outranking that dumb brute who once had worth.

Then Mother Nature, sad at Woman’s flight
from motherhood and nurture in these days
will deem manhood’s departure that last straw
and from this vale of tears she will withdraw.

12

I don't think it would explain to a 20 year old British Soldier why cluster weapons can be used by a enemy on them, but they could not respond in kind .

But thanks for responding all the same .

What would Mary Whitehouse have thought about Beryl Cook?

Yesterday on this blog the issue was noted of EU-originated rulings being being pushed through to make it much more difficult to question and/or challenge significant (and on past evidence, often poorly-considered) major issues being pushed through, such as... nuclear power.

'4. At 7:04 pm on 28 May 2008, mullerman wrote: The Prime Minister meets some oil executives, comes out of the meeting and announces an expansion of Nuclear power ..... what the hell happened!?'

Quite.

energy policy

in germany micro generation linked to a two way grid [so people can sell surplus back] employs 1/4 million people and generates 24 billion euros. the uk govt refuse to have a two way grid as they do not believe there is any evidence it would work. sums this govt up.

tv violence

is it artistic valid? Look at the classic films like casablanca or brideshead revisited how much sex swearing and obsessive violence is in that? if they don't need it why do others think it is essential to have it?


much of the tv is soft porn or violent porn. there is no 'greater context to it. so there is violence in shakespeare but is that what he is writing about? No. so its false comparison to compare violence in eastenders and shakespeare. eastenders and other violent shows has no higher moral framework other than titilation.

much more dangerous are radio like bbc1 xtra that pump out gangsta and hip hop brainwashing. If they wouldn't give drug dealers or jihadi preachers their own radio station why do they give it to their music that is based on that preaching?

16. At 11:58 am on 29 May 2008, bookhimdano :energy policy

There's the rub. Who knows? And why do the majority of the population (inc. me) not?

The German example you share seems inspirational, proactive, positive and profitable.

Yet, apparently... 'the uk govt refuse to have a two way grid as they do not believe there is any evidence it would work'.

Now belief is all well and subjective. Surely to heavens it is not beyond the wit of media to help us get to find out what the actual facts and/or truth is? Then the people can lobby for what is good for pocket... and planet.

I would dearly love some clear information and discussion on this (and others), and not a 'tis/t'isn't twofer with extremes from the dogmatic activist or box-ticker/lobbyist/subsidy junkie end of a debate.

And even if we do get actual engineers and/or number crunchers, if they still have opposing viewpoints might we hope for a host with experience and training enough to actually get to definitive answers we can act/vote on than a 'that's all we have time for' ratings segment that gets filed and forgotten in days?