Foreign Office advice on Kenya
is .
Archives for December 2007
Hugh will report from Pakistan tonight...
...and sends these words and pictures:
"Ironic image on a seat-back tv screen on the plane to Islamabad. Paradise postponed.
Empty Islamabad early on Sunday, the third day of official mourning for Benazir Bhutto.
Christmas decorations in an Islamabad hotel.
Roadside news vendor and customers in central Islamabad.
The Noor family, who invited me - a total stranger until 15 minutes before this photograph - to their home for tea. Tahira (centre, sitting) told me Benazir Bhutto was the best hope for "mobilising the masses against corruption". She does not believe elections here will be free and fair. Her brother Altaf described Benazir as "the mother of democracy". "
Hilda Gibson, Land Girl
appears on our final programme, as our final interview tonight. If you want to hear the interview in full, please click on this link.
The Hogmany Glass Box
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme - even on New Year's Eve - in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Happy New Year, Australia.
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology...a feed of TV from Oz and a camera phone...we bring you this:
1743 UPDATE:
Howsabout this?
And read about green balls , and see it here..
Some Christmas hangovers...
Jonnie sends this:
"Some of the panto cast have adorned it with their presents beneath. I couldn't find my camera but the prince (Tim Bonser) helped out with his. We lit the candles and turned off the electric ones. In reality it looked very ethereal. To preserve my photographic reputation, I didn't however take the picture."
And now I am back in the office, Frances O, I had another pop at the four snaps you sent but still can only get one of them to work. Sorry! Frances wrote:
"Hi, Chris, Eddie and all, Here are some advent pics. I've just been on a four-day digital photography course. One of our projects was to shoot objects important to us in unusual places. I took a favourite party dress to a rather grand Adam-ceilinged room not so far from BH.
It soon took a fancy to the Christmas tree..
PS: We never did get on to how to send images... I've tried to make them a smaller size. Please be patient with me!"
The Furrowed Brow
The place to talk seriously about serious things...
Some belated Advent pics.
Now that I am back on broadband here are some more of the pics we were sent for Advent. It's not all of them because mysteriously, when I've downloaded them from my emails, it takes me to "Microsoft Office Document Imaging" automatically, where lo and behold the pics don't appear. Special apologies to Frances O who sent four and they're all bloggered.
Talking of bloggered, I mentioned in an earlier post about January 7th. I hesitate to mention it because we've been promised improvements to the Blog before but nothing comes of it. However, there are now some tip top people who're working on solutions to the ever present 502 error problem. I'm hopeful that from the 7th, you will be able to comment freely without the 502s. There will be a new (once only) registration process in which we'll need your bank details, blood group and who to contact in an emergency (or something) but after that we SHOULD be ok. The downside is that the Blog archive, although it will continue to exist at the 大象传媒, will not be available. To make it available would have delayed the Blog improvements by months. We had long discussions about this and opted for the relative speed of January 7th. I hope you agree. Let me know.
I might get someone technical to explain all this properly in due course but in the meantime, those pics.
Chris wrote:
"Happy Christmas. Here's my pic-of-Noel ............ I snapped it last week at Chateau Cassan near Gabian, near Pezenas in Languedoc during the 'marche de Noel' there. Best wishes for the New Year, Chris"
And what about these? "......a couple of pics from Thursford. Santa getting steam up and Rudolph with mates ready for night out. DI Wyman"
The Glass Box for (ahem) Friday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box: Even over Christmas.
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
The New Year Beach.
Relax and celebrate...
The Glass Box for Thursday.
If you have a comment on tonight's programme, leave it here please.
Well it's Christmas Day
so Happy Christmas!
and I have been trying to download this without the help of broadband.
I had intended to put all the unposted pics here this morning, but it's taking nine minutes to download one on dial-up so please forgive me. The rest will follow later in the week!
Franes O...it was to have been yours with this intriguing tease..
"Hi, Chris, Eddie and all,
Here are some advent pics.
I've just been on a four-day digital photography course. One of our projects was to shoot objects important to us in unusual places. I took a favourite party dress to a rather grand Adam-ceilinged room not so far from BH.
It started by just hanging around..."
Sadly it wasn't to be. Here is one from my archive for you. Will post the other later in the week.
Thank you for all your support this year...and roll on January 7th...
Christmas Eve
brings this:
"Hi Eddie and Team>> It's probably too late for the Advent Calendar photo thingy, but > here's one I took with the new camera on our recent trip to Budapest. > Well, to be honest and pedantic, on our only trip to Budapest as yet.>> Val P>> PS Did you get the postcard?>> PPS Merry Christmas to one and all, may Santa bring you a stocking > full of anti502spray :o) "
Postcodes!
There are now more than 19,000 postcodes on our map showing where PM listeners are listening. I do recommend you install Google Earth to see it in all its glory. Just been having a whirl round the world looking at where everyone is. Great fun. The map, and download details are here and remember there are still a few thousand to add to it. Friday was the cut off point, so if you emailed or wrote after that I'm afraid we can't include you.
The iPM blog continues even after the end of our seven week run, and it has lots more stuff to read, including on other fun maps to be part of, how your broadband speed is probably not what you think, then internet favourites of the stars, and concerns over the security of the 2011 Census. Have a rummage...
December 23rd
brings Jonnie's annual festive treat:
"Here is this year's Cransley Christmas tree. I did try and utilise someadvice from Fearless Fred and played around with the manual settings onthe camera - But the candles still look a little like electric lightbulbs?"
1240 UPDATE: I have no idea why today's pic suddenly appeared here too. Think I've fixed it.
As a Christmas treat...
...we have a bit of audio for you. It follows in the tradition of an earlier posting, in which we made the most of the use of the word "crap" which was in a story at the time. It was a lovely montage of a number of well known Radio 4 voices saying "crap".
As you know from the news of the week, and the controversy about a song by The Pogues, some other words were being said on the radio a lot...
December 22nd.
Gillian sends Season's Greetings:
"Santa Rally, Trafalgar Square, Saturday 15th December. What do we want? CHRISTMAS!!!!
When do we want it? NOW!!"
GPs' pay and surgery hours.
What do you think?
As a follow up to his report on DNA and Omagh last night
Michael Buchanan returns to the subject in the programme tonight. He writes:
David and Terry Reed were convicted of murder at Teeside Crown Court in August of this year and given life sentences. The trial judge said the forensic evidence against them, the controversial Low Copy Number Test that was heavily criticised in the Omagh verdict, was "absolutely critical". We've been looking at the case for several weeks, and it seems there are some questions about the brothers's conviction."
Postcodes!
By five o'clock we hope to have greatly increased the number of postcodes on our iPM map. More details and a link will follow. George and his colleagues are also working on a fix for the glitches which have put some people who live in Inverness down in Torbay etc.
Stand by!
The Glass Box for Friday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
December 21st
Alison McCabe says: "Meet Rupert"
The Christmas Beach.
What is the Christmas Beach?
It鈥檚 a place to go when the stresses of your real life need relieving. Sometimes it is fairly quiet and you might feel like you鈥檙e the only one around, but you can leave your 鈥榮nowprints鈥 for others to find later on. Othertimes it is the home for a real Christmas party, with constant gossip, leg-pulling, rumour, innuendo, chit-chat and weirdness.
If this were a forum (and it sort of is because we post responses to each other, not just to Eddie, hence our term for ourselves 'Froggers', a combination of forum and blogger) then the beach would be the off-topic area.
It's a tropical location, no matter the time of year it's always warm and pleasant there, except at Christmas when it can get very cold.
Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular, the evenings balmy. It has a number of different locations; the Nick Clarke waterfront bar; the smokers corner; Fido's Run for the dog-walkers; the Naughty Step and many others.
How do you find your way around? There is no direct answer to the question.
The Christmas beach is a moveable feast, literally. It will be renewed by our Lord and master Mr. Edward de Mair once a year.
Froggers often leave bottles / glasses / trays of egg nog on the bar for others to sample, not to mention big / small mince pies.
There is a herd of reindeer who frequent the sands, which froggers are very fond of. There are sun-loungers, so you can take it easy and catch some rays. Quite often the late-night attendees will have a barbie.
It's a fun place, with only one real rule; Be nice to each other; we are ALL chums here. New Froggers are ALWAYS welcome.
The real debate happens on the other threads. The beach is a place for banter, whimsy, relaxation and friendship, where jarring comments are not particularly welcome. There are certain very mild protocols, which you tend to pick up as you go along. So slip your shoes off, feel the sand between your toes, have another mince pie, relax and enjoy yourself. Merry Christmas.
Prostitution.
Harriet Harman wants a debate - feel free to add your comment here.
The Glass Box for Thursday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Rock, Paper Scissors
The claims to have cracked it. On the programme tonight we'll hear from the author of the Official Rock Paper Scissors Guide and Founder of the RPS World Championships.
BONG!
Stephen and Ruth Hall emailed us to say:
"Please find attached a recording of our children - Edward and William aged 2 and 3. They listen to PM every night with us while we sit and eat our evening meal. They are particular fans of the bongs and always join in! Thought you might like to hear it and even play it one evening to surprise them!!"
Thanks to
Fearless Fred for this...MOST kind. Thank you.
By the way, we have been sent a piece of audio that had us rolling around on the floor laughing. Well not literally, but it made us smile and laugh. We will post it here soon. I wonder if it will have the same effect on you.
(oops - fixed it now. Sorry!)
December 20th
Humph says
"Hello to everyone on the PM team and a Merry Christmas to you all. With downward pointing "branches", from which we normally suspend shiney objects, this is referred to as the Christmas Tree. The normal shiney objects are the cylinders that you see, which contain air samples collected in the stratosphere for atmospheric chemical studies. The additional shiney objects are just there for seasonal effect.
P.S. Please do not let the Safety Services people see this photograph. Do not worry, they are not intelligent enough to know how to access the internet. However, the bird on top had not completed a Risk Assessment form, and should not really be there.
Postcodes.
At home a little late this morning waiting for "be there before 10am" workmen, it gives me the chance to have a proper look at our Postcode map, since at work, Google is banned from our PCs. It is so pointless and yet such fun to scour Britain and the world, finding PM listeners in so many places. Have you zoomed in onto Victoria, Australia? Or South Africa? Or all our chums in the US? Where have you found listeners?
Chris - Mr Blog - advised us on the programme last night of some useful applications you can use to accompany our silly scheme. There are details here. You can listen to our scoot round the globe and hear how I reacted to spotting a listener in Kabul.
As ever, we thank you for your patience. If you think the map looks busy now...wait till we have all the postcodes up there. We stop accepting them tomorrow, so email is now the only way to send them...though we already have many many hundreds that have been sent in the mail.
Just send your postcode to iPM@bbc.co.uk. Put "POSTCODE" in the subject line. As we've said a few times, we are after the postcode where you usually listen to PM. If you're driving, as many listeners are, give us your best estimate. If you're abroad without a postcode, please send us as much detail as possible.
Keep checking back to the map which will always be accessible from the ipm page...there's a link on the right on the main page.
Happy with your broadband speed?
As you may know, iPM has been talking about this for weeks, and now Ofcom would like to hear from YOU. More details here.
The Glass Box for Wednesday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Christmas is coming and
people who subscribe to the newsletter have started sending in cracker jokes.
Q: What do you do when you see a space, man.
A: Park in it, man.
(David Anne Jude Evans)
There were two cats - an English cat and a French cat.
The English cat was called 'one two three'.
The French cat was called 'un deux trois'.
They decided to have a swimming race across the channel.
Who won??
Answer:
One two three cat won, because un deux trois cat sank!!
(Sean Muirhead)
"What's small brown and sticky ?"
A stick
(Richard Pain and Mandy Rea)
Got this one last week in a cracker I pulled:
Q Why did the pilot land on a house?
A Because they'd left the landing light on
But my ALL-TIME favourite of ALL-TIME is:
Q If buttercups are yellow, what colour are hiccups?
A Burple!
(Andrew Disbury)
Q. What do you call a blind dinosaur?
A. A 'Doyouthinkhesawus'!
(Anna Franklin)
What's green and stands in the corner?
A naughty frog
(Kevin Luff)
What do you call a donkey with three legs?
Wonky!
(Alison Page)
Why did the French train derail?
Too loose le trek.
(Stephen Brady)
Oh and here are some of the Christmas cards we've received...
thanks to Charlie, Little Miss Poppy and Witchi
Then there was this glorious one from Gossipmistress (can you name all three?)
And Dr Hackenbush has created this:
Thank you all!
Hugh in South Africa
sends "a sample of some of the South African places and people featured on PM last night..
Soweto b and b owner Dolly Hlope.
Some of Dolly's neighbours.
Nambitha restaurant, Soweto.
Sakumzi's Restaurant, Soweto.
Sakumzi Makubela, owner of Sakumzi's.
Christmas at Soweto's vast new shopping centre, the Maponya Mall.
Family at Maponya Mall.
A new house in Soweto.
A house in the predominantly white suburb of Richmond. Or is it a prison?"
December 19th.
Gillian says "this pic was taken on the afternoon of Saturday 8th at Lichfield Library's Christmas Fair. It shows Christmas tree decorations made by the children at the Craft session. It has all the sparkle you would expect at this time of year!
The PM Postcode map
now has more than EIGHT thousand postcodes on it and we've made it easier to use. More postcodes will be added soon. In the meantime...check THIS.
The Glass Box for Tuesday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
More postcodes
arrive in every mail delivery. This is the one from this morning.
We've put up four thousand postcodes here and we'll add all the rest in the coming days. We hope to have more for you to see today. We've now had more than 20,000 postcodes sent in. Eeek.
December 18th.
David McNickle sends
"My Nativity scene"
and
"An origami Christmas tree I made"
Hugh in South Africa.
He writes: "Here are some photos from Maqaveni - the informal settlelement featured on PM this evening - where they have at last got more than a thousand new homes. PM (and BH) listeners may remember Maqaveni - I've been dropping in fairly regularly since 1994.
1: One of the old (and better) shacks at Maqaveni. No water or toilet or electricity.
2: A new home in Maqaveni. Water, toilet and electricity.
3: New homes where the sugar cane used to grow.
4: Osana and her brother Lokhelo, happy with their new house.
5: Children outside one of the old shacks
6: Medical student Siya Mgadi (white hat) and his friends near the new houses. He can now study with electric light, instead of with a candle in a shack. "
The Glass Box for Monday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
We've a report tonight on the writers strike in the US.
There's already been a bit of coverage on the iPM Blog.
Flooding.
is the summary of the interim report on the summer floods. You can read the full thing . We'll talk about it on the programme tonight. If you want to add a comment - or indeed if you can. The darn thing appears to be bloggered again.
Because the Blog appears to be broken again
I thought you might enjoy this to cheer us all up:
December 17th
and Susi Willis sent this to us on the 6th. Judging by Susi's email address, she is in Spain. Oh and one of the pics gives a clue
"Taken this a.m. At 11.00. Close by the Port is this church, my local. Named the 鈥淧arish of the Sea鈥 and shaped outside and in, like a fishing vessel, it has just put its鈥 Nativity scene on display although the lighting effects won鈥檛 be turned-on until this coming week-end and then only from 19.00 hrs daily. I鈥檒l try and get a picture then as well; provided I鈥檓 not as drunk-as a monkey that is."
Susi sent several...I like these best. Thank you Susi. Are you still drunk?
December 16th
brings another snap from Roberto Carlos Alvarez-Galloso in Miami...
Are you on the PM listener map?
It's HERE!
Remember, we're adding postcodes all the time...and PLEASE zoom in on the map. In the "wide" map it may look as if there aren't any blue markers...but look closely and there are. And do check out our international audience. Where will you find a PM listener on the planet?
December 15th
David McNickle says this is:
"Me and Santa, 1950s, Cleveland, Ohio."
Shaun Attwood
appears on our programme tonight to talk about his time in jail. You can read more here, and hear a fuller version of the interview with him and his parents.
The Glass Box for Friday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Monks.
Monks and priests across the world often wonder how to make their faith relevant to the younger generation. In Japan a group of Buddhist monks may have found the answer. They've secured a regular spot at a jazz bar. Our Tokyo correspondent Chris Hogg went along to have a listen. You can hear his report in the programme tonight and as a treat Chris has sent some pics..
"...a sign I saw on the way to the bar ... the monks in action .... and then afterwards winding down by pulling pints."
999 calls
that probably shouldn't be. We're doing something on tonight.
December 14th.
Fearless Fred brings us today's advent photo(s).
"You remember how well my office got into the spirit of things last Christmas? Well, this year we're REALLY gone OTT. The little trees have lights!
If you have an Advent photo for the blog, send it to pm@bbc.co.uk and please put ADVENT in the subject line.
Fifteen thousand postcodes
have been emailed to us. Hundreds arrive in the post each day. And TOMORROW on iPM we'll launch the big map!
Someone asked me yesterday if the deadline for sending your postcode is tomorrow. It isn't. We'll stop taking postcodes NEXT Saturday, the 22nd.
Tomorrow's map will show as many postcodes as we've been able to process and we will add to the map constantly. We're trying hard to make sure no-one's postcode falls through any gaps, so I urge you if you've sent your postcode to the wrong address (eg: pm@bbc.co.uk) or posted it on the blog (naughty!) to send it to ipm@bbc.co.uk and we'll do our very best. There'll be more tonight...
The Beach
What is the Beach?
It鈥檚 a place to go when the stresses of your real life need relieving. Sometimes it is fairly quiet and you might feel like you鈥檙e the only one around, but you can leave your 鈥榝ootprints鈥 for others to find later on. Othertimes it is the home for a real party, with constant gossip, leg-pulling, rumour, innuendo, chit-chat and weirdness.
If this were a forum (and it sort of is because we post responses to each other, not just to Eddie, hence our term for ourselves 'Froggers', a combination of forum and blogger) then the beach would be the off-topic area.
It's a tropical location, no matter the time of year it's always warm and pleasant there.
Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular, the evenings balmy. It has a number of different locations; the Nick Clarke waterfront bar; the smokers corner; Fido's Run for the dog-walkers; the Naughty Step and many others.
How do you find your way around? There is no direct answer to the question.
The beach is a moveable feast, literally. It will be renewed by our Lord and master Mr. Edward de Mair each Friday morning. This is because we have found in the past that when the number of posts exceeds about 600 the entire thing becomes unwieldy and unstable. A case of the beach turning to quicksand.
Froggers often leave bottles / glasses / trays of their favourite tipple on the bar for others to sample, not to mention big / small eats.
There is a herd of camels who frequent the sands, which froggers are very fond of. There are sun-loungers, so you can take it easy and catch some rays. Quite often the late-night attendees will have a barbie.
It's a fun place, with only one real rule; Be nice to each other; we are ALL chums here. New Froggers are ALWAYS welcome.
The real debate happens on the other threads. The beach is a place for banter, whimsy, relaxation and friendship, where jarring comments are not particularly welcome. There are certain very mild protocols, which you tend to pick up as you go along. So slip your shoes off, feel the sand between your toes, relax and enjoy yourself.
Sailing and the case of the Ouzo
What do you think?
The Glass Box for Thursday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Iraq goes to Denmark.
Michael Buchanan reports for us tonight. He writes: "The British government is currently wading through hundreds of applications its received from current and former employees in Iraq, who believe their lives are in danger simply for working with foreigners. It likely to be months before we know how many Iraqis will actually be allowed to move to the UK. Denmark, which was also part of the invading forces, has chosen a different approach. The Danes flew almost 400 Iraqis - former employees and their families - to Denmark in the summer. They've now fast tracked their asylum applications and the Iraqis are now beginning to start their new lives."
Among those featured in Michael's report:
"This is Yousif, a lovely smiley young man who you can hear singing. He moved to Denmark in July with his parents Zaid and Hind."
"Zaid used to work for the Danish Embassy in Baghdad, and because of that, his life was in danger as insurgents sought out people deemed to be "collaborating" with the invading forces."
Hugh in South Africa.
You may have heard Hugh reporting from South Africa last night. Now he's bothering us again, with some photographs, and a few choice words.
It's so quiet here in the Free State (south of Johannesburg) - apart from distant thunder, and fabulous birds, all you hear is the wind in the grass.
This is Dirk Steenkamp and his wife Miekie, at their farm near Vredefort (it means the fort of peace). Dirk was badly injured three weeks ago - a whirlwind removed heavy branches from a tree, and one of them hit his chest; he suffered six broken ribs, and one rib punctured his left lung.
Simon, a civil servant, and his 5-year-old son Lokhlonono ('Lucky') getting a lift home. At the end of the forty minute journey, Simon offered to pay me. That's happened to me several times here. Of course I refuse.
More than two million new homes have been built, but most black South Africans still live in very basic homes in what are still effectively townships.
And many still live in shacks like these, with shared outside 'bucket' toilets in huts, and shared public water taps."
Postcode mania
continues - we've had more than 12,000 by email and more and more are coming in by post. An iPM blogger has added a really interesting comment which we're following up. It's fun!.
We spent quite a lot of yesterday working on an item about how Fabio Capello doesn't speak English. We were going to set up a discussion on the difficulties of coaching a team/holding a news conference when you don't have the local lingo. After several hours several sources told us his English is fine. We might hear for ourselves later today.
December 13th
brings a small selection of photos from our good friend Roberto Carlos Alvarez-Galloso in Miami, Florida.
The Police and Pay
What do YOU think?
We're still keen for more postcodes...especially by mail
See what we've been sent so far!
The Glass Box for Wednesday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
December 12th
and Fearless Fred says "okay, so I'm cheating a bit by using photos that I took outside the front of my house during the snow storms of February, but I think they look suitably "Christmas-y" (although when was the last time we had a white Christmas in the South??)."
We've had more than ten thousand postcodes
sent to us and that doesn't include those that will come in the mail. So thank you.
The map we're creating will be unveiled on Saturday during iPM. The iPM blog has more right now...including a follow-up to the item on broadband speed. We'll do more on that this weekend.
Apologies once again for the broken blog. We know people have had a lot of trouble posting. Thank you for your patience.
Anyhoo - we got this helpful email after one of our items last night...from Laurence Hooper: "Those who missed out on Magna Carta's brief foray at the Bodleian yesterday can see it for free and with minimal queuing in the John Ritblatt Gallery at the British Library, where one of the 17 surviving copies is on permanent display. Five minutes walk from Kings Cross St Pancras tube."
The Government's Big Plan for Children
in England. We'll discuss it tonight. Read it for yourself . Or read the .
Of course we'd love to have your view. Please click on Comments.
Climate Change
What would be a fair way to share out the blame for climate change? Well, if you look at emissions on a countrywide basis, China looks as much of a culprit as the United States.
That annoys China quite a bit. Their emissions PER PERSON are a sixth of those in America. India's a big polluter too - but per person its emissions are among the lowest in the world.
One area on the map jumps out - the Gulf. Population levels are low but emissions are huge because of all that oil and gas.
People's lifestyles are also a problem. In the programme tonight, our environment analyst Roger Harrabin went to the Emirates and dropped in on Mohsen and Rania Saad and their four year old, hosepipe-wielding daughter Clara.
Postcodes!
Well, at time of writing we have received more than seven thousand postcodes from PM listeners in the UK and around the world letting us know where they are when they're listening to us. In tonight's programme, Chris from iPM - we call him Mr Blog - will join me to talk about how we're going to use the information.
If you haven't yet sent us yours, there's still plenty time. Saturday is only the start of our project to put listeners on our map...we will add more postcodes as they come in.
Here are the details about how to send us yours.
The Glass Box for Tuesday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Led
Zep were on the programme last night. David Cheal of the Daily Telegraph joined us in anticipation of the big show. is how he's written about it today.
December 11th
and since I saw TWO giant trees on the way through TV Centre this morning I thought I would bring them to you.
I think we should all look out for these trees on TV shows over the festive season.
The Glass Box for Monday
is the place to comment on the content of tonight's programme.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR POSTCODE...READ THE LINK BELOW...
Put yourself on the PM listener map!
We'd love to know WHERE you listen to PM. Then we can put you - and all our other listeners on the big PM listener map. It's all being organised by our interactive, hyperactive sister programme iPM.
Taking part is simple: Click here!
Please don't add your postcode on the PM Blog or the iPM Blog - instead please follow the simple instructions here.
This week sees the start of our latest wheeze.
We want to know where you listen to PM. And if you tell us, we'll put you on the map.
All you need to know is the postcode where you usually listen to us...if you're driving, then make an educated guess.
DO NOTHING NOW! But later, we'll tell you what you should do with your postcode (ahem) and what we'll do with it. Rest assured it's not some scam to sell you things or find out what you earn. No salesmen will call.
December 10th
brings this Advent snap "taken exactly a year ago, the night before Fifi put on her Santa suit and climbed aboard a Triumph Thunderbird with her pal Dave. Along with hundreds of other bikers, they rode up to Grantham, and then to Melton Mowbray, to deliver donated toys for sick kids. This year, weather permitting, Fi will have a giant teddy bear strapped to her back as she whizzes up the A1!"
The Furrowed Brow
is the place to talk seriously about serious topics of YOUR choosing.
While we battle some error message demons
we thought you might like to hear an interview that "fell off" last night's PM. It sadly often happens...news breaks (in this case the end of the trial of Mr Fallon) and things we'd planned to run - and in this case trailed - get squeezed out.
The blog though lets them live another day.
Here is an interview we recorded, with the original introduction:
"What were some of Britain's biggest supermarkets doing colluding over the price of milk butter and cheese?
Asda, Sainsbury and some big dairy companies have been fined a total of 116 million pounds after the admitted price fixing.
Sainsbury's chief executive, Justin King, said he'd fully cooperated with the inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading and said the supermarket had never intended to do anything wrong: I've been hearing from Kevin Hawkins who speaks on behalf of all supermarkets at the British Retail Consortium."
Land Girls: want to read more?
The great thing about blogging is it brings together all sorts of people who can share what they know...it's the whole point of our sister programme iPM (Saturdays at 17.30).
On the main Hilda strand there was this posting from a man who knows a great deal about the Land Girls - Stuart Antrobus. He wrote: "Congratulations on a wonderful interview.
My favourite poem by Hilda is REMEMBER US which was recently broadcast, on my recommendation, by 大象传媒 Radio 2 on the programme of songs and poems written by non-combatants on the Home Front during the Second World War, called "A War Less Ordinary",on Sat. 10 November at 9.15pm.
I've spent the last five years researching the Women's Land Army. If you'd like to know more about land girls' lives, enter my name into Google and click on the links to my Bedfordshire Libraries web pages."
If you would like to see Stuart's site...just click .
December 8th
UpTheTrossachs says "Ben enjoys a treat every now and then. Chocolate is a big hit."
The Glass Box for Friday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
Hilda Gibson 2!
We have spoken to Hilda this afternoon...her daughter has read to her some of the comments on the last posting. Hilda told us she was very surprised by the reaction, but delighted. We will also print the contents of the many emails we've received about her, and forward them.
We knew Hilda had written many poems, and asked if she'd mind if we posted another one here. She very kindly agreed. Here is one, written before the news of the commemorative badges...
"No Medals Will Be Won
Oh to be a Land Girl back in you know when;
The cows inside the cowshed and the pigs within the pen;
Bad tempered roosters crowing, hens laying germ-free eggs;
Pecks and scratches here and there, and flea bites on our legs.
Timber corps is busy; sawing 鈥 felling trees.
Seems more like a labour facing Hercules.
Farewell to the rodents demolishing our crops,
Goodbye to things that creep or run and everything that hops.
Oh mother, send me calamine: my face is pink and peeling.
Hot sun pierces through my Aertex shirt; strange patterns now revealing.
Rising early morning animals to feed.
Long hard days of threshing; harvesting the seed.
Oh mother, send me mittens for the frost is on the beet.
My hands are numb and raw with cold: I鈥檝e chilblains on my feet.
No drilling, no saluting, never the rank and file.
Not so much clothed in glory as dressed in country style.
We bring no glowing accolades. For us no cheers will start.
Ours is a gift worth more than gold: a proud and steadfast heart.
Hilda Kaye Gibson"
December 7th
and our daily advent pictures go on. If you have one for us, send it to pm@bbc.co.uk, putting ADVENT in the subject line.
Gossipmistress says: "This is our Receptionist's dog all dressed up and ready to go, along with reindeer helper and delicious (non-branded) chocolate gift!
The Beach
What is the Beach?
It鈥檚 a place to go when the stresses of your real life need relieving. Sometimes it is fairly quiet and you might feel like you鈥檙e the only one around, but you can leave your 鈥榝ootprints鈥 for others to find later on. Othertimes it is the home for a real party, with constant gossip, leg-pulling, rumour, innuendo, chit-chat and weirdness.
If this were a forum (and it sort of is because we post responses to each other, not just to Eddie, hence our term for ourselves 'Froggers', a combination of forum and blogger) then the beach would be the off-topic area.
It's a tropical location, no matter the time of year it's always warm and pleasant there.
Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular, the evenings balmy. It has a number of different locations; the Nick Clarke waterfront bar; the smokers corner; Fido's Run for the dog-walkers; the Naughty Step and many others.
How do you find your way around? There is no direct answer to the question.
The beach is a moveable feast, literally. It will be renewed by our Lord and master Mr. Edward de Mair each Friday morning. This is because we have found in the past that when the number of posts exceeds about 600 the entire thing becomes unwieldy and unstable. A case of the beach turning to quicksand.
Froggers often leave bottles / glasses / trays of their favourite tipple on the bar for others to sample, not to mention big / small eats.
There is a herd of camels who frequent the sands, which froggers are very fond of. There are sun-loungers, so you can take it easy and catch some rays. Quite often the late-night attendees will have a barbie.
It's a fun place, with only one real rule; Be nice to each other; we are ALL chums here. New Froggers are ALWAYS welcome.
The real debate happens on the other threads. The beach is a place for banter, whimsy, relaxation and friendship, where jarring comments are not particularly welcome. There are certain very mild protocols, which you tend to pick up as you go along. So slip your shoes off, feel the sand between your toes, relax and enjoy yourself.
Police pay
What do you think?
Hilda Gibson
"The Land Girls - the Women's Land Army who worked on farms to feed the nation during world war 2, .
A badge commemorating the service of the Land Army and the Women's Timber Corps will be presented to surviving members.
PM has been hearing from one of the Land Girls, Hilda Gibson." (who's not one of the women pictured here, by the way.)
And here is Hilda's poem:
THE LAND GIRL LOOKS BACK
60 Bright summers and 60 Green springs
60 chill autumns have melted away
Some wrinkled autumns have vanished
In flames
Hair that was golden is turning to grey
Nightime in Norfolk was silent and still
Sunsets were glorious filling the skies
Endless horizons and demon east winds
Whirling the fast freezing snow in our eyes
Someone was fighting by proxy for me
I took his place in the village he knew
Gown shop to hen huts from feathers to furs
Hardships were plenty, luxuries few
Calm and content in a world full of strife
Etched on my memory, a time of my life
Hilda Kaye Gibson
The Glass Box for Thursday
In the PM office we meet every night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
We think the Blog might be functioning again...
See how you get on
Just recorded an interview on this story..
and I urge you - if you only listen to one thing in the programme tonight, please listen to this. It's scheduled to run around 17.45.
"The Land Girls - the Women's Land Army who worked on farms to feed the nation during world war 2, are to be recognised by the Government.
A badge commemorating the service of the Land Army and the Women's Timber Corps will be presented to surviving members.
PM has been hearing from one of the Land Girls, Hilda Gibson."
1550 UPDATE: We will post the interview in full on the blog in a while.
This email has just been sent to us and, it appears, every news organisation in the world. What should we do?
Mother,
Today I went to Ratna Park area in Kathmandu to buy some sweater for me and while coming back in City Bus, which was heavily crowded from Ratna Park to Bouddhanath Stupa area where I am staying, somebody opened the chain of my bag and stole all my money from my bag & I am saying all my money, COMPLETE, I had FOURTY EIGHT THOUSAND Indian Rupees (which if converted to Nepali currency would be Seventy Six Thousand Eight Hundred Nepali Rupees) in my bag, the amount I had brought with me from India, all my money I was always carrying with me in my bag, because of unsafe Guest House Rooms, I never left any money back in the room, I always carried all the money with me in my bag. Now I AM ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT MONEY, totally without money except 3000 Nepali Rupees with me in my pocket. Now I AM ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT MONEY.
I don't know what I will do now. I think my end is near.
I am crying while writing this to you. I don't know what to do, now, somebody pick pocketed my total money. Now I AM ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT MONEY.
I THINK MY END HAS COME.
I THINK THIS IS MY END.
I THINK THIS IS MY END.
I THINK THIS IS MY END.
December 6th
Sorry to do yet another one from me (we do have lots from froggers but more are still welcome - send them to pm@bbc.co.uk and put ADVENT in the subject line) but coming in early this morning, I thought you'd like this, taken at TV Centre...
1135 UPDATE: Apologies for the fact we have bloggy problems again. What I posted earlier stands...we hope to have a temporary fix before long. In the meantime...I'll let you know about the health of the blog today in this space. Don't want you getting maddening error messages.
1600 UPDATE: We think it might be working again!
Oh and kissing on the cheek(s)
I should have posted this link last night...
Soon on PM, your chance to place yourself on a map similar to those featured in the link. All you need is to know where you are!
Abortion and the GP experiment
What has been your experience? What do you think?
Conferences and awaydays...
are they a waste of time? What's YOUR experience? Listen to our debate and let us know by clicking on comment...
The Glass Box for Wednesday
In the PM office we meet ever night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too. Click on The Glass Box link on the right of the page to read previous entries.
We'll talk about prisons tonight
in the light of report.
The man running the PM Blog is
And there is, at last, some news about the blog for all of us....that the months of terrible problems could be drawing to a close.
People are working very hard on a temporary "fix" for this Blog's problems. At a meeting this morning we got more details of what might be possible. We wanted a system which would look and feel like the one we have, only more reliable. We think we might get one, in the next few weeks.
In the longer term, it might be possible for regular froggers to be able to post comments without being moderated first!
There's still a lot to do and we're grateful to the people who're now on board, working hard to sort the problems that have plagued us for so long.
Oh and I should add that Blogsy and co are not stopping at a temporary fix...I'm hopeful that in the first three months of next year we'll have something that will work for good. Our people have great ideas for making the Blog a better place. I feel a song coming on...
December 5th
This from Mad Mary - whose birthday is also today. Happy Birthday!
The Glass Box for Tuesday
In the PM office we meet ever night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too.
Could you
find Tristan da Cunha on a map?
We're doing a story on it tonight.
Here it is:
Look! It's our old friends Andy and Maff!
From today's .
This made us all hoot.
Thank you, Kate Webster.
It started with Lissa...
...and now there is a brand new person in charge of the PM Blog.
His identity is a mystery.
He wants to be known only as ...
...
...
...well I'll tell you later...
December 3rd
snapped this morning at TV Centre. Christmas is clearly over...
The Glass Box for Monday
In the PM office we meet ever night after the programme in this Glass Box:
We talk about the content of the programme and try to give an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't...the things we missed and the places where our ambitions were not met. THIS virtual glass box you are looking at is where you are invited - indeed encouraged - to be honest about our hour. Members of the production team will read it, and the editor should comment too.
Value Meals.
While we adjust to the news that the blog is probably bloggered again...can I relate a tale from last week?
Went to a garage to get a fizzy drink and a sandwich. Took them to the counter and was asked to grab a bag of cheesy quavers too. I said I didn't really want them. The guy on the till insisted that the whole thing would be cheaper if I let him scan the quaver barcode.
I am familiar with the meal deal thing - that somehow you pay less for the two items you want by pretending to buy a third. But when I said, "look I don't like quavers...why not ring them up and I can put them back so someone else can have them?" he got quite shirty.
In the end I had to "buy" them, and then ask friends if they wanted them. They didn't.
Am I going mad?
I hesitate to type this
but I have tentative hope that, perhaps, just perhaps, a properly working Blog is round the corner.
I'm going to type that again.
Actually, you know what? It would be quicker to cut and paste.
Perhaps, just perhaps, a properly working Blog is round the corner.
Nothing is confirmed, but an email is doing the rounds which suggests that a temporary fix to the problems we've had could be at hand. We think it can be done quite quickly. It would mean that - brace yourself - you would be able to comment without getting error messages. There might be some drawbacks - moving to the new system quickly means you would lose (perhaps only temporarily) access to the Blog archive. We might be able to get your access to it again, once a proper "fix" comes in.
I'm very excited about the notion that we might have something that works. We thank the people who're working on it for us. I'm writing this now, having just seen the email. I will let you know more as soon as I do.
December 3rd.
Stewart lets us see "Santa arriving at Ogden water, Halifax. UK. His reindeer and sleigh landed on the other side of the reservoir, hence the buggy."
December 2nd
...the now traditional snap of the TV centre Christmas effort. We'll take one in the dark later in the month...
The Furrowed Brow
is the place where, if you can, you should speak your mind on anything of a serious nature.
The end of Evel.
Variety's write up is .
The accidents the article refers to are below.
And here he is, being interviewed by a young Shaun Ley.
December 1st.
As is now traditional, PM listeners send in a photo for advent and between now and the 25th we'll post one a day.
Big Sis says this is a "picture taken last year of two of my stepchildren meeting Mr. Santa. As you can see, the dodgy beard didn't faze them at all. Oh for the innocence of childhood! :o)"
To send YOUR photo, email it to PM@bbc.co.uk - PLEASE put ADVENT in the subject line.
MONDAY 0735 UPDATE: December 2nd and 3rd WILL appear on the blog later. (ahem)
The Beach
is here. Sorry for the delay.
Patience
is something which PM blog regulars have in abundance. For many months, the technical screw-ups have been met with good humour and wit. WE have been cheered by some of the stuff people have come up with.
What's been happening, gradually, in recent months, is that a system that broke occasionally has become a system that barely works at all. Something that BROKE about 5-10 per cent of the time now WORKS about 5-10 per cent of the time.
I will not use this space to rehearse again how infuriating it is for us to be unable to function properly. That it has been allowed to happen is, I can assure you, not because the PM programme team, and a number of people not on the team haven't tried. Goodness knows we have. But we were also getting bloody fists from banging them on the table in frustration and we decided to stop for a while.
In truth, the technology remains as bloggered as it was. But we have been assured that clever people are working very hard to fix it.
We know this will not happen soon. But here's my suggestion.
I think this Blog is fantastic. I'm going to carry on posting like the bloody thing works. If you can put up with the almost constant trouble, I hope we can still do something with it. Starting in a moment when I post the first Advent photo.
In the meantime - and is this an omen?....they are working right now on refurbishing the REAL glass box. The chairs have been removed and there is a man in there drilling. Here is a photo which may or may not show that...
Thank you for being so patient.
SAT 1635 GLASS BOX UPDATE:
OUR BRAND NEW GLASS BOX FLOOR, AS MODELLED BY TWO PEOPLE WHO MATTER:
MON 1015 UPDATE: It's now completed!
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