The Glass Box for Friday
Welcome to the Glass Box for Friday - the place where you can comment on what you heard on PM, interact with other listeners and get responses from the people who make the programme. If you need an example - have a look at Thursday, where the editor has spoken!
We hope this will be a useful tool for you and for us. Just click on the "comment" link. If you've never commented on the Blog before - don't worry. There's a simple registration process you only have to go through once.
Don't worry either if you didn't catch the whole programme, or were busy doing other things and not giving us your full attention. If there was something that "caught your ear" we want to hear about it.
The Glass Box is named after the booth outside the PM studio where we all discuss the programme at 18.00 every weeknight. We try to be honest and constructive. Sometimes there is criticism, and the criticised get a chance to explain themselves.
And so it should be here. The people who make PM will read the comments posted, and will sometimes respond. Please feel free to post your thoughts. There is a link to previous Glass Boxes on the right.
Also on the right, you'll find lots of other links you might like. The Furrowed Brow for example is the venue where you can start talking about anything serious: The Beach is a fun place, and there are links to Blog entries with photos, audio and links.
Dear Eddie,I was listening to your report this evening on how warm April has been,and as I live in the countryside I `ve noticed how dry the farmland is ;and it`s only April!Some of it`s dust dry.Normally,the land is still pretty wet this early in the year.As regards it`s impact on my lifestyle I`ve begun wearing the obligatory baggy Summer shorts for several weeks now!
It was nice to hear the Liberty lawyer speak for such a long period of time, and to speak in such a balanced way.
I'm sure all the people in this are doing what they think is best, and it's a mess of conflicting imperatives, which she nicely summarised. As she also said, an independent judiciary that doesn't do what the executive wants if it's not legal is a sign of a healthy democracy, surely what part of the "fight against terror" is about?
Nice interview, and a good choice of speaker from my pov. (POL perhaps, since I was listening, not viewing?)
The Mansons???
Honestly - I'm going to stop listening if you continue to make me spit my tea across the room.
Don't mess with Corrie Cauldfield.
She rocks!
Fifi ;oD
Eddie, I think you may be a little "de-mob happy", referring to all the team as the Mansons. Still, having just heard Corrie calling you Paddy, so I guess you may be right!!
So many foreign correspondents tonight!
Is PM being repeated in the early hours on the world service I wonder?
Surely the greatest offence committed by cyclists is the wearing of too-tight lycra. If I were a truck driver, the sight of my other half in his fluorescent yellow garb would compel me to drive straight at him...
Re: Ellen, haha - It can be distracting ;-)
What a pleasure to listen to the views of the retired Ambassador on the state of the FCO regarding ojectives and never-ending reviews. Whilst my husband, now also retired, was HM Consul in Mallorca he too was asked annually to list his objectives. It never seemed to occur to London that the work of a Consul in the main consists of peoples misfortunes, tragedies and deaths. It would have been tempting to say that his primary objective was to hope the death rate by accident, misfortune( or heaven help us a plane crash) went up so that the statistics could reflect that the numbers were going up thus ensuring that the graphs showed a consistently upward trend.
Agree with Lewis and Feefs
The Liberty lawyer was a perfect choice - good call.
Glad to see that Corrie is back. Great to hear her.
Religion is not THE source of morals, it is A source of morals. Removing faith from schools outside of RE lessons would not therefore lead to a moral collapse in society. End faith schools now.
David Watson is correct; it is a form of madness to have 'faith schools' as in essence it causes divisions in society. We should all repect other peoples cultures, as Darren has recently told us in Big OZ - he is an incredible Aboriginal man who works in the Shark bay area (WA) of Australia...unfortunately however there is not one shred of hard scientific empirical evidence that God exists or heaven and hell for that matter - it is all here on this small little Planet and no where else (sorry friends).
Brian V Peck
Hi, I was listening to your program today and I was thinking: If people switch of their heaters because of climate change, and if people don't watch as much, won't that help STOP climate change? So maybe climate change ISN'T such a bad thing in the long term!
Re cycling dangerously - I started cycling to work last summer from Kew to Covent Garden. I was aghast to realise that about 75% of fellow cyclists ignored red traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and indeed pedestrians. I quickly learnt that the greatest danger was from other reckless cyclists; I was crossing the road walking my bike on a green pedestian light. The traffic had of ocusre stoipped but a "lady" on a cycle kept going, missing me by a centimetre or so. Catching her up later I pointed out that being a lot heavier, she might have been serioulsy hurt. She told me to go forth and mutliply, but in a very cut glass accent.
Recently I heard comments read out from the blog (which I'm having trouble finding) about people commenting on the fine summer like weather we've been having. Yes it's nice being able to do things outside, and wear the summer clothes, and I love the sun on my face and the heat. But I'm concerned about the consequences of this. We're coming into a drought situation in a lot of England and I'm a bit alarmed about it. The plants feel it to, notice how everything greened up overnight with the rain last week? The soil is cracking in APRIL! We should be alarmed about this and not be so blinkered. This is the ugly side of climate change for while we've got an early summer, somewhere there's floods and serious drought as well-and creeping closer to us. I would like to see a bit more media comment on the reality of our situation. Just going on about how nice it is is like saying I can still drive my gas guzzler 'cause climate change gives us nice weather or is happening somewhere else. Think what it would be like without rain? I don't want my grandchildren living in a desert.
I thought the stand-out item on Friday was the chat with the former ambassador. What an absolute joy to find someone of his seniority willing to speak out against political correctness and the absurdness of 'assessors for everything'.
Well done sir!
And we normally hear Shami Chakrabaty (spelling) giving someone a hard time and looking like a politically correct extremist. So much more refreshing to hear her take a balanced approach for once. More like this please Ms. C.
The interplay with Corrie Corfield nearly had me in a ditch between Kings Lynn and Newark. I was in tears. Moments like that, and the "one happy family" crack continue to convince me that PM is the best thing on talk radio.
One of the best programmes for some weeks.
Si.
k #15,
I normally just read this blog, and it's madness.
But I'm irritated by those that deny climate change. On other threads there are arguements I feel I cannot get involved with, but "nice weather" appears to mean "no rain".
As for Eddie's mis-identification of the newsreader on Friday as Charlotte, rather than Corrie, come on, it's Corrie who came up spades when handing back to "Paddy [O'Connell]".
OK, Eddie had a come back, well done for him.
k #15,
I normally just read this blog, and it's madness.
But I'm irritated by those that deny climate change. On other threads there are arguements I feel I cannot get involved with, but "nice weather" appears to mean "no rain".
As for Eddie's mis-identification of the newsreader on Friday as Charlotte, rather than Corrie, come on, it's Corrie who came up spades when handing back to "Paddy [O'Connell]".
OK, Eddie had a come back, well done for him.
Madness - it's what we do...
I take " it's madness" as a compliment. I'm sure we all do.
Madness? They were one of my husband's favourite bands. "It Must Be Love" was our song... *sigh*. Thanks for that thought.
Good lord - you are taking us back Appy? -- and that oher hit Madness had - The house of fun -- I was trying to recall the lyrics - and I have to say a tad shocked when I read a verse or two!
N-n-n-n-n-n-no no miss
You misunderstood
Sixteen big boy
Full pint in my manhood
Im up to date
And the dates today
So if youll serve
Ill be on my way
Mind the Gap!
Ah Jonnie, Madness had many hits, not just those two! Remeber the wonderful "Baggy Trousers" for instnce? "All the teachers in the pub, passing round the ready-rubbed, trying not to think of when the lunchtime bell will ring again..." I was a bit young for them really, but learned to love them in retrospect, but yes, "House of Fun" was basically about a boy turning 16 and going to buy condoms, and his euphemisms being misunderstood.