Adebayor's started so well for Man City
Archives for May 2008
The 9am bit of the show Part II
I'm adding a brief list of recent subjects we've covered at 9am - partly I suppose in answer to comments from you on the earlier "9am bit of the programme" posting. "Repetitive" "moaners and whingers giving the gov a kicking", "direct line from the BNP" were some of the criticisms from you.
12th May - we interviewed the mother of the murdered 16 yr old Jimmy Mizzen.
13th - Should you pay to park at work?
14th - you questioned the Home Secretary live
15th - How bad was the trouble at the UEFA Cup Final?
16th - Do you applaud the BA boss for turning down his £600,000 bonus?..
Aasmah's review of "Sex and the City"
Here's what the lovely Aasmah Mir thinks of the new film.
Listen to Aasmah's review of "Sex and the City" (6m 11s)
So... have you seen it yet?
Appealing and winning
We're talking about parking tickets this morning and how you successfully appeal against them. John Daker emailed me this photo.
John says "the attached parking sign in Harrogate led me to believe that as a visitor to the town I could park for 2 hours. I received a parking ticket and successfully appealed against the fine on the grounds that it was ambiguous."
We live in a moral vacuum..
In a new the says the decline of Christian values is "destroying Britishness". Have a read of his article
The 9 o'clock bit of the show
It's the most important bit of our programme - I liken it to the front page of a newspaper - so what is the nation talking about, what are people reacting to, and should we ignore the news agenda and go with a subject or issue that we know is bubbling under the surface of the conventional news agenda?
Find out how much your road tax will be..
Are you clear how much you'll be paying from next year? The changes in vehicle excise duty only affect cars registered after March 2001. In order to work out how much extra you'll be paying
You can also check your car's CO2 emissions on your V5c vehicle registration certificate. It's on the second page in section 4 under "vehicle details"
Meet the other Simpsons
What a family. 13 children, decent mum and dad - both of whom work - by the sounds of things, a very pleasant family. Have a listen to them.
Derek and Deborah Simpson from East Kirbride on life with 13 children
It surprised me a little that at the end of the interview there were a few text messages asking how much they claim in benefits. People make assumptions about big families, don't they?
The answer was none. As they explain in the interview the parents work. Yes, like every family with children, they receive child benefit.
Raef from The Apprentice
As promised, here's a snap of me with Raef.
Terry Pratchett talks about Alzheimers
Last year Terry Pratchett revealed he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimers and has since pledged half a million pounds of his own money to fund research into the disease.
When we spoke to him he said that as far as he knew, he'd never met anyone else with Alzheimers - so we sat him down with three other people who are affected by the condition and set the tape rolling. You can hear their conversation on Friday's programme - and we'll post it all here on the blog. But have a listen to this clip now...
Terry Pratchett discusses Alzheimers (1m 9s)
UPDATE - Friday 23 May
Here's the audio of Terry's meeting with other Alzheimer's sufferers
Terry Pratchett talks about Alzheimer's (11 mins)
If you're affected by Alzheimers get in touch with us. What's it like to care for someone with the condition?
Confessions of a Liverpool fan
Liverpool fan Carlton lives in Manchester; in fact he resides near Old Trafford. He dislikes Manchester United to such an extent that he tried to get the "Old Trafford" part removed from his address.
He wanted to unburden himself on today's programme, ahead of the Champions League final. It took courage, honesty and strength to say what he had to say live on national radio.
An invitation to Gordon Brown
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has posted on YouTube inviting members of the public to "ask the PM". .
As you may know, we've been trying to get Mr Brown on the programme for ages, to talk to you - and to answer your questions.
So we've posted this on YouTube...
Tell us about the decision you made to have an abortion
=== UPDATE: 13:11 Tuesday ===
Thank you for taking the time to contact me today to talk about the reasons why you had an abortion. There were many moving stories on the programme - don't forget you can download the first hour of the show as a podcast.
I've selected one caller for you to listen again to: it's Gemma (not her real name), from Bury St. Edmunds. She's in her 70s now and had a back street abortion in the 50s.
Listen to my interview with Gemma - 2min 34s (requires RealPlayer)
=====
MPs will debate today whether women who are 20 weeks pregnant and over should be stopped from having an abortion. This morning we'd like you to tell us why you have had an abortion.
How difficult was it to make your decision? What was it like at the time and what has it been like since? Do you feel you have made the best choice for you and the unborn baby... do you have regrets?
We'd also like to hear from men too this morning - how has an abortion impacted on you?
What stops you ringing me?
If you have a look at my Mohammed writes that's he too shy to 'phone in.
Who are you supporting tomorrow night?
If you're NOT a Chelsea or Manchester United supporter, who do you want to win in the Champions League Final?
Would you have Blair back?
Just been reading the latest polls in the Sunday 'papers -and it crossed my mind to ask you, would any of you have Tony Blair back?
Adrian and his leukaemia
26 year old Adrian Sudbury has leukaemia and has now been told he has weeks, or possibly months to live.
You were very moved when he spoke on the programme today.
Have a listen back to our interview with Adrian here (14mins)
Do have a look at his blog:
And did you hear Jeff from Southampton - a Portsmouth supporter - offering Adrian his FA cup final ticket for tomorrow? So generous. We'll let you know if Adrian goes...
Dwain Chambers and his drugs
This morning Dwain Chambers will tell UK sport about the banned drugs he took. The Times .
The cocktail of seven different drugs has been outlined in , the man behind the infamous Bay Area Laborartory Co-operative (Balco) which offered drugs to various high profile athletes.
So what do you think? Dwain Chambers has honoured his promise to help UK Sport catch future drugs cheats - is he doing the right thing?
5L listener makes The Sun's front page
Nathan from Harrogate rang the Home Secretary when she was on the show yesterday. He got her to admit that under her own new guidelines on cannabis, she would have been prosecuted when she smoked it as a student.
It's lead today.
He's not the first listener to create a story like this, I hope he's not the last.
The £120 tax cut/bribe
I haven't got a sense really of what you think of the raising of the personal allowances by £600, leading to an extra £120 in the wage packets of 21.5 million people this financial year. I'm sure most people are delighted to pay less in tax, but is it enough to get Labour voters back on side? Does it matter if it's a 'bribe' if it makes you feel a bit better off? Or do you think it's pretty cynical - and if so, does that matter either?
The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on knife crime
The home secretary was on the programme today. In this clip she addresses the issues raised by John from Erdington about sentencing....
A night at the Sonys
Simon Mayo won Speech Broadcaster of the Year last night at the in central London. He made a lovely speech and broke his glasses as he accepted his award.
Our programme was "edged out" (ie we didn't win anything) in the listener participation category. However I was beaten by my other half and his programme - so there is some joy in our house...
Your memory
Do you have a capacity for remembering bizarre things - car reg plates from all the cars on the street you lived on when you were growing up; telephone numbers of everyone in your class; the top ten from any given week between 1980 and 1990? Do post here if this is you...
The Home Secretary's on the show this Wednesday
..to talk to you. Since taking on the job last summer Jacqui Smith has refused to give the police a pay award recommended by an independent body, upgraded cannibis from a C to a B drug, introduced plans to extend pre-charge detention to 42 days, published a violent crime action plan, urged officers to remove alcohol from those drinking in the streets and admitted she bought a kebab at a takeaway in Peckham late at night to prove she wasn't scared of walking the streets of London.
What should we do to help those in Burma?
90 year old Gordon rang the programme to explain why British people should help those who survived the cyclone in Burma. He fought the Japanese there in 1941.
Listen back to the interview here
Has Gordon persuaded you to donate?
Do CCTV cameras make you feel safer?
The reason we ask is because a senior police officer says they have failed to cut crime. He calls the system an utter fiasco - only 3% of London's street robberies are solved using security cameras. He says criminals aren't afraid of them and police officers often avoid trawling through CCTV images "because it's hard work".
Have you turned your back on Labour?
If so, do explain why...
