English Opinion

Hey all - I’m back! I’ve been away dealing with my Depression for a month or so and feel an awful lot better than I did when I posted last. More about that another day though. Today I want to post about an amazing lady that died overnight. Jade Goody finally lost her battle with cervical cancer.

I posted some time ago when it was announced that her cancer was terminal, wishing Jade Goody and her boys all the best. However, she lost her long and hard battle for life at 3.14am this morning… on Mothers Dayl. If ever there was a cruel irony to her battle with cervical cancer this was it. She wanted to spend her last Mothers Day wih her boys but never got the chances to do so. She was just 27.

No matter what you think about Jade Goody or the way in which she has conducted her battle with cervical cancer in the public eye, you have to hope that her legacy wil live on. Although she was a reality TV star, it will be her untimely death at the age of 27 that saves more lives than any other event in recent history. Her public battle with cervical cancer has finally encouraged the thousands of women that had never had one before to go and get a smear. This will be Jade’s legacy and will undoubtedly and ironically save countless lives… despite the fact that Jade herself lost her life in the process.

Rest In Peace Jade x

Jeremy Clarkson is a bit like Marmite - you either love him or hate him. I fall into the former category because I think the bloke is absolutely awesome! He is incredibly insightful, funny and has a habit of saying what a high proportion of society is thinking… which cannot be said for most TV personalities today. Most of them are being censored and threatened with the sack should they say or do anything that could be considered even mildly offensive! Take Christine Bleakley, presenter of The One Show, as an example. She used a Soda Stream machine live on air earlier this week and it made a sound that was reminiscent of someone farting (for want of a better term). You could tell that the machine had made the sound but Bleakley got complaints from the Mary Whitehouse brigade, all of whom now see it as their moral duty to take all entertainment off our TVs! Pathetic!

At least Jeremy Clarkson has the balls to stand up to the system… even if he is forced to apologise afterwards!

Clarkson, host of the ever popular Top Gear, landed himself in hot water this week and was forced to apologise for calling Gordon Brown a “one-eyed Scottish idiot.” The jibe about his lack of sight in one eye was definitely in poor taste and he was right to apologise for that… but I’m glad Clarkson halted his apology right there. His choice of wording was incredibly poor and he shouldn’t have said it but everyone has a right to say what they think in this country so the sentiment behind the rant was warranted. He did not apologise for airing his views and nor should he. Clarkson is a proud Brit and, all offensive material aside, he cares about this country, as we all should do considering the Labour Party is on a one man crusade to ruin it!

Clarkson went on to say: “He keeps telling us everything’s fine and he’s saved the world and we know he’s lying, but he’s smooth at telling us.” People need to point out Gordon Brown’s lies for all to see because they are becoming so plentiful these days that it’s hard to see the wood for the trees. Many brand Clarkson as bitter, but he has every right to be… as do the rest of us. This government has effectively thrown away all our freedoms. Big Brother is always watching via a range of systems so we cannot say and do as we please anymore without everything being recorded. Our ancestors worked hard for freedom from feudalism and yet we’re being controlled just as much now but in different ways. We live in a nanny state in which upper class men that have never experienced true hardship seem to think they know what is best and make us tow the line.

And so I say again, long live Jeremy Clarkson! Come on everyone - find the backbone of Britain and say no to the nanny state!

I opened a newspaper this morning and read some incredibly sad news: Jade Goody is now undergoing treatment to prolong her life after chemotherapy for cervical cancer failed. Although I don’t usually comment on the world of entertainment, I felt I had to write about Jade and her incredibly brave battle today… if only to draw attention to the realities of living with cancer.

Jade Goody is 27 but was 21 when she first appeared on Big Brother in 2002. She shot to fame as a result of some of things she used to come out with but was a fighter beneath all the crazy comments. She has been her entire life as a result of her less than stable upbringing. However, now she has two boys and every ounce of the strength she has is being put to the test. Sons Bobby (5) and Freddie (4) have barely had time to get to know their mum and not it appears that she will tragically be torn away from them before they hit double figures.

Jade was disgnosed with cervical cancer in August 2008 and was subsequently given a 40% chance of survival given how the cancer had affected the cells. She gave numerous interviews about her situation in the hope that other women would take notice of just how much cervical cancer can affect their lives, stating how important it is to get checked for abnormal cells via a smear. She also made a record of the struggle as she went for TV to raise awareness and also let her boys know exactly how hard their mum had fought to stay with them. All the time she was strongly asserting that she would survive, that she would eventually get free of cancer and live out her days happy with her boys… unfortunately that doesn’t seem possible for her now because the likelihood is she won’t make it after the cancer spread into her liver, bowel and groin. She hasn’t even been given a percentage survival rate.

Jade Goody is a fighter so I am absolutely certain that she will cling on to life as long as possible. I hope that her struggle and fight for life will succeed but if it doesn’t then I really hope that her documentation of it all will help at least one other person by rasing awareness of the condition. We all need to know about cervical cancer, breast cancer, testicular cancer and other forms that are life threatening if only so we can recognise the signs and symptoms and implement checks. My mother had breast cancer twice and, as a result of her amazing fight and amazing teaching, I have been checking my breasts every month since I was 11. Too many women don’t though. Too many women do not turn up for scheduled smears because they feel violated, do’t like the idea of it or just can’t be bothered to go. When it comes to your health and detecting cancer early, a few seconds of feeling violated is well worth it.

I am Jade’s age. I am 27. I wouldn’t want to die yet so I can’t even begin to imagine how she is feeling staring death in the face on a daily basis. Brave, brave lady. Jade, I wish you luck and incredible strength in the coming months. I hope that you will be able to help others survive cancer and also hope that you can do so yourself. Good luck girl, keep fighting!

I’ve been ridiculously busy the last couple of days so apologies for missing two posts in the last three days. It’s highly unlike me not to write on here but our economic situation is a little precarious so I’m having to take on any and all work that comes my way and look for more. Keeping a roof over our heads is the most important thing at the moment and, being a freelance writer, I have the luxury of looking my own schedule so I’m working about 18 hours a day at the moment. Unfortuantely, all of the above means that I’ve missed some really interesting news items in the past few days so I’m going to write a little about several of them now! 

Mother Allowed 3 Year Old To Smoke

Thie news story really disturbed me. A mother has been charged and found guilty of child cruelty because her 3 year old child lit a cigarette butt and started to smoke it! Yes, the child was 3 and lit the cigarette himself before begging to smoke it. Kelly Marie Pocock’s excuse was that she didn’t notice her child do that but I don’t see how the court didn’t charge her for perjury as well! A family friend was so disgusted by it that she filmed the incident at Pocock’s Merthyr Vale home in Wales on her mobile phone. This was of course used as evidence and backed up by expert testimony that the child was smoking the cigarette far too easily for it to be the first time. The child actually had a habit! God only knows what its done to his tiny little lungs but for a 3 year old to be able to do that even once is absolutely disgusting and Pocock, age 24, deserved far more than the suspended sentence she got!

Jonathan Ross Returns

I was so so so happy last night to see Jonathan Ross back on TV! I’ve missed his Friday night show and apparently I wasn’t the only one. 5.1m viewers watched Friday Night With Jonathan Ross last night and no doubt more will watch the replay later. Of course, Ross being back on TV has dragged his critics from under their Mary Whitehouse stones again but for goodness sake people let it lie! Ross and Russell Brand were wrong to call Andrew Sachs and leave those answerphone messages and have apologised but enough is enough. After all, Sachs has benefitted off the back of it as well. He’s back on TV thanks to his agent capitalising on the publicity. For someone that was really hurt by the whole incident, he was awfully quick to sign several lucrative contracts!

Taleban Nursed Next To UK Soldiers

British soliders that are serving in Afghanistan complained to the BBC this week because they were visiting injured friends in the Camp Bastion hospital only to find that they were being nursed next to the very people that they were fighting… members of the Taleban! I couldn’t believe it when I read this. Although the UK troops have to treat every individual that is injured under the Geneva Convention, it just adds insult to injury to find the very people that are trying to kill you in the bed next to you! I’m not saying that these people do or do not deserve treatment because none of us have any knowledge as to why they are fighting for the Taleban. Some are brainwashed, some are forced to fight and some are sold into the ranks of the terrorist group. However, they should not be treated in the same hospital let alone the same room. I think that it’s an absolute disgrace to our brave troops, who very often do not get th respect they deserve in any form anyway. They deserve much better than this! 

Oscar Nominations Announced

I only have a couple of things to say on this… I can’t wait to see the battle between Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Oscars this year. Secondly, I love Kate Winslet and think that she is a fantastic actress, and throroughly deserving of Oscar this year, but please please please don’t make everyone cringe as much as at the Golden Globes. Be happy, be joyful but don’t forget Angelina Jolie and don’t sound as if your triumph is giving you an orgasm! Cynical I know but I really hate displays like that!

Karen Matthews Jailed For Kidnapping

Karen Matthews has been jailed for 8 years after being found guilty of kidnapping her own daughter, Shannon Matthews. You might expect the family to support Karen Matthews but they’ve actually come out in the media and said that they believe the sentence is not harsh enough. They wanted her to be sentenced to more years in jail and I agree with them. The police search and investigation to find Shannon Matthews cost over £100 million, which is money that I and every other tax payer in the land will have to contribute, and for what? For a selfish mother that had drugged her own daughter in order to get her hands on a £50,000 reward. I can’t believe that any mother would put her own daughter through such a nightmare! Well, to a certain extent she deserves what she got but I don’t think it went far enough. If Karen Matthews is capable of doing all of this to her own daughter then what else is she capable of?

Barak Obama Restores Women’s Rights

Barack Obama has taken strides for women everywhere and retored the woman’s right to choose within days of being in the White House. George W Bush invoked a global gag rule when he was in office as the President of the United States that halted the flow of funding to any institution that offered advice to women about or the facilities to perform abortions. This left many health facilities with a much tighter budget throughout the world so they were unable to offer the best health care to women. I understand that many people are against abortion but I am all for a woman’s right to choose. As a woman, I would absolutely not enjoy being forced into having my rapist’s baby. I would abhor being told what to do if my baby would have no quality of life as a result of genetic abnormalities, and I mean those far worse than Downes Syndrome. I would resent being old what to do with my body by men that do not know me nor care what I am going through because of what is “morally right”. Giving women the right to choose is morally right and I challenge anyone that says they know what they would do if pregnant with a rapist’s baby or as a result of incest. There is absolutely no way you couldknow until you are in that situation. As a result, I applaud Obama and the return of freedom, human rights and common sense!

It is official, if a little predictable. The X Factor is no. 1 in the singles charts for the fourth Christmas running. First there was Shayne Ward with “That’s My Goal”, then Leona Lewis with “A Moment Like This”, then Leon Jackson with “When You Believe” and now there is Alexandra Burke with “Hallelujah”.

Despite an online campaign to deny Alexandra the top spot in the charts, she outsold all other comers and ensured Christmas X Factor dominance yet again. Her version of Hallelujah sold a huge 576,000 copies. It was easily the fastest selling single of the year and beat Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah into second place. Buckley died in 1997 and has long been hailed as the master of the song, despite the fact that Leonard Cohen actually wrote it. His version got to no. 2 on downloads alone as no official version of the song was released. The online campaign to get it to no. 1 was started by purists that believe the song should never actually be covered, even though Buckley himself actually covered it to begin with! Leonard Cohen’s version also got into the charts and sits at no 36 tonight.

Here’s a quick fact for you - it’s been 51 years since the same song occupied spots 1 and 2 in the UK charts. In January 1957, Singin’ The Blues hit 1 and 2 by Tommy Steele and Guy Mitchell respectively.

And another one - It is the first time that Hallelujah, regardless of who sang it, has made it into the top 40. It has never ever been in the top 40 before! Neither Cohen nor Buckley, nor anyone else for that matter, succeeded in getting it a chart spot. Now 3 people have managed it at the same time!

I love Jeff Buckley’s version of the song, and I have to say that it is my favourite version, but I’m glad that Alexandra got the top spot. Aside from the obvious fact she would have broken the trend of being no. 1 after winning the show, she thoroughly deserves it. How many other people do you know that would have goe back to the X Factor again after being turned down 3 years ago for being too young? Very few. She’s sincere, did not play the woe is me card despite her mother having suffered kidney failure and she is an amazing performer. I’m sure many people will have a different opinion but I am so pleased for her and hope she’s as successful as I think she’ll be in the future.

Yet another TV reality show came to an end for the year tonight, leaving me with nothing to watch on a Saturday night! You may think I have no life but I just love watching entertainment shows with a little something different! Between X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing I have been able to forget financial worries for a few hours every Saturday evening when we can’t afford to go out. I really enjoyed tonight’s Strictly Come Dancing final and was pleased when it was announced that Tom Chambers and Camilla Delarup won.

Tom and Camilla beat Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone into second place and Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole into third. So Tom Chambers wasn’t the best dancer in the show but he was always entertaining and his final showdance was amazing.

No doubt though this will not be the end of the news related to it and the tabloids will do everything but congratulate Tom Chambers and Camilla Delarup for their victory.

This week’s news has been rife with rumours of a conspiracy following the decision last week to put all three couples through to the final in Strictly Come Dancing. Although there was always supposed to be three couples, the format was thrown into turmoil when John Sergeant pulled out of the competition. To be completely honest, I was one of the people that just wanted him to get voted off and so was happy about his decision to leave but was happy when all three couples got through to the final because having two there wouldn’t have been as entertaining. However, it was supposed that Tom Chambers would have been voted off had one couple gone last week and so should not have won it tonight… conspiracy!!!

There is no conspiracy at all. The vote from last week was carried over. The BBC realised it would have been less entertaining with two couples… especially as both Lisa and Rachel had been in the bottom two more than once whereas Tom never had. As such, it should come as no surprise that he won it fairly. The tabloids mad a mountain out a Strictly Come Dancing molehill last week and no doubt will do the same again this week but I just want to ask one question before they do…

Who cares?

Those people that complained about the whole John Sergeant thing, the Strictly Come Dancing show last week and no doubt will again now need to get a life. Have they not got anything else to complain about like the rising unemployment, Cholera in Zimbabwe, the Baby P case, flooding in rural areas, rising numbers of repossesions, gun crime etc etc etc? There are bigger things in this world to complain about than a reality TV show that has been designed to raise money for Children In Need!

I thought I’d save my post today until my favourite Saturday night programme had finished and I am extremely pleased to announce that the winner of X Factor this year is… Alexandra Burke!

As I predicted a couple of days ago, Alexandra’s immense talent won out with boy band JLS coming second and Eoghan Quigg coming third. I got the order right too, yay! Cheryl Cole was also a winner in her first series as Alexandra’s mentor.

Anyone that watched the show would wholeheartedly agree with me that Alexandra was head and shoulders above the X Factor competition she faced from JLS and Eoghan. Although JLS sang well and showed class, Alexandra’s version of the Jeff Buckley classic “Hallelujah” gave goosebumps to everyone that listened. She is a fantastic singer and performer and deserved to win. It says something when a female performer does not look outclassed or out of place when dueting with Beyonce.

Speaking of whom, it made a refreshing change to hear that Beyonce had agreed to appear on X Factor because she had been following the show and Alex’s progress in particular. She made no special demands and was apparently highly accommodating. This just goes to show how classy a lady Beyonce is when compared to divas Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, both of whom had appeared on previous shows. Furthermore, she truly performed amazingly and didn’t mime!

I am so pleased for Alexandra. She is in a class of her own and will undoubtedly have a huge hand in British music in the future. She seems like a grounded young woman that has a lot to offer both personally and musically. You deserve it Alexandra!

If you live in the UK then you probably cannot help but notice that it is a big day in the music world tomorrow. It is plastred all over the TV and newspapers that tomorrow is in fact the X Factor final and I for one cannot wait!

I’m a rock chick at heart but I absolutely love the X Factor and watch it avidly every year. Some may say that is sad but I can’t help it. I’ve read plenty of commentary on it over the past few weeks actually and wholeheartedly agree that this is looking like the best final ever because there are 2 very talented acts left, both of which should provide a hot final for everyone watching, including the judges!

I’ve read quite a few TV commentators branding the acts that take part in X Factor as talentless and nobodies, but they obviously haven’t watched the show. If they have then they would agree that both Alexandra and JLS have real talent. I would defy any of them to sing Beyonce’s “Listen” like Alexandra did or Lonestar’s “I’m Already There” as JLS did. It wouldn’t happen.

Of course, there are 3 acts in the final but I don’t think Eoghan should even be there really. Has anyone else noticed that the backing track is always turned up louder when he sings? He has got through on the cutesy factor rather than the X Factor. If it truly went on the latter then Ruth would have been in the final instead. I like Eoghan as a person but I don’t agree with under 18s being allowed to compete. Fame is a harsh thing and a show like X Factor throws people into the spotlight instantly with no protection. I don’t think a 16 year old can deal with that, or even a 17 year old if the Diva Diana stories are to be believed.

I hope Alexandra wins it. She has an amazing voice and seems like a really decent person. Her mother, Soul II Soul singer Melissa Bell, could have handed her recording contract contacts in a heartbeat but wanted her daughter to earn her dream, and rightly so. She has worked hard and has the best voice of all of the contestants so come on Alex! Give Cheyl Cole her first win as a judge! I’m sure Simon Cowell would be happy with that result.

Alexandra to win!

I was sad to see the news when I got up this morning, more than most mornings actually with the violence and social problems that seem to beset our children and teenagers today. I was sad because the newsreader announced the death of Oliver Postgate at age 83.

Oliver Postgate is not a household name but he created numerous children’s programs for British TV from the 1960s until the 1980s. He created Bagpuss, The Clangers and Ivor The Engine amongst others, all of which were integral parts of the childhoods of so many generations.

Postgate created, wrote and narrated all of the episodes of his series back when the money was an afterthought. The TV stations did not pay much for the creation of such shows back then but Oliver Postgate did it because he loved it. He enjoyed encouraging children to learn and interact with their favourite characters. Although technology was hardly advanced, Postgate put in so much effort, even knitting the Clanger puppets himself!

I personally grew up with Bagpuss and was not surprised at all to see that it had recently won an award for the best children’s TV program of all time. Bagpuss was awesome and happened to be one of my favourites along with Button Moon and Sooty! I’ve really strayed into the realms of nostalgia now but, correct me if I’m wrong, there are no kids programs that even match up to Bagpuss any more.

Maybe that is where society has gone wrong. In the Bagpuss era, childhood was innocent. You played with your toys, watched programs like Ivor and Thomas The Tank Engine and generally enjoyed yourself. The innocent childhoods seems to have been replaced by children growing up too fast or even not have a childhood at all. They are treated like young adults rather than the children they are o it is no wonder that they are going out and committing adult crims whilst barely in their teenage years. We need to reclaim that lost childhood for the good of everyone and society in general.

That is the main reason why I mourn Oliver Postgate. He was wonderful man, but with him dies the traditional childhood.

RIP Mr Postgate.

The British Comedy Awards were held last night and produced some expected results and some surprising ones. Two of the winners created more controversy. Although one joke was to be expected, the other most definitely was not.

First up was Russell Brand. The controversial comedian picked up the British Comedy Award for the Best Stand Up, and deservedly so. i don’t think anyone can hold a candle to him at the moment. Brand resigned after he and Jonathan Ross made offensive phone calls to Andrew Sachs during his radio show. Although the content did over step the mark, the public reaction was nothing short of ridiculous given that there were only 2 complaints during the broadcast and most of the complainants never heard the show until the Daily Mail stuck its nose in. Given that Jonathan Ross was supposed to host the British Comedy Awards and stepped down in favour of Angus Deyton, it was only natural that Russell Brand made a joke about Ross’s absence. No complaints there from me, although the press have described it as controversial so I thought I’d mention it!

The second incident involved Alan Carr’s acceptance speech for his Best Comedy Entertainment Personality award. His speech was most definitely cotroversial and wrong in so many ways. In fact, many have described it as rather sick ever since. I quote:

It didn’t work out because they couldn’t cast it. I suppose it is a bit difficult to find rough women. I suppose Shannon Matthew’s mum was busy… Oh yeah, she would be my dream guest. I think she’s a gay icon. People like a bit of rough don’t they?…I must be obsessed with her actually if you look at my Google searches. So I should dedicate this award to her.

Carr was talking abouta series he planned to make but the reference to Karen Matthews, a woman that kidnapped her own daughter for money, and the subsequent dedication is disgusting. That should really put the Brand dedication into perspective. Although the latter hit the news first, it is the former that should bear the brunt of public disgust.

Nobody should even speak of Karen Matthews in a comedy routine let alone dedicate a British Comedy Award to her. Although everything is fair game for edgy comedians, murder, kidnap and torture of children should not be.