life's a beach

Terrible weather here on New Year’s Eve!

 

new years resolution

Sitting in bed listening to the waves crash below my balcony it is in a somewhat relaxed mood that I can look forward to 2008.

I have to say that I really hate all the programmes which always look back at the previous year. In some ways the whole process of looking back can be quite depressing, and I much prefer to look forward to the year ahead. I’m all for a Sinatra attitude to life – regrets – a few, but too few to mention.

As for me, I’m not really into making New Years Resolutions. I remember one of my previous employers launching a big marketing campaign to "Change One Thing" starting January 1st to make yourself healthier in some way – so in that respect I think I will continue in my quest to get a little bit slimmer, a little bit thinner so I can do this, but most of all I think I’d like to continue to be heathy and happy in the coming year.

Anything more than that has to be a bonus really.

I wonder whether any of our politicians will be making resolutions?

Will the Labour party finally resolve to stop using the line "its 18 years of Tory rule" to try to excuse any of their failings? And  do any fellow bloggers have any particularly interesting resolutions? I will be sure to look out to see if the likes of Dizzy, Ellee, Iain Dale, Donal Blaney, ConservativeHome and the excellent writers at the Spectators Coffee House can enlighten us as to what they will be doing differently in 2008.

As I am currently six hours behind UK time I thought I would get in early to wish all Tory Radio listeners a Happy New Year. I hope we provided a bit of enjoyment in 2007, and hope you will continue to "tune in" in 2008!

 

 

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Merry Christmas

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The Queen is apparently "broadcasting" her Christmas message on Youtube, so I thought I’d give you an amusing little piece of audio as a Christmas treat.

Tony Capstick was a local DJ on Radio Sheffield during my childhood, and his son also went to my school. He recorded a few pieces of comedy before his untimely death – and this is one of my favourites.

As I’m currently in the States it brings back a few memories of Christmas in Chesterfield when I was growing up. OK – it wasn’t that bad, and it makes me laugh anyway.

Have a brilliant Christmas and thanks for listening in over the past year!

Just click the download button or listen to the file in our media player.

tory radio on tour

 

I am currently sitting in a beach house overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The sun is just about to set and the tempetature is a comfortable 65. Merry Christmas from Tory Radio.

 

calamity makes acceptance speech

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Whilst this isn’t www.libdemradio.com it is the season of goodwill to all men, women, and even Lib Dems, so for your "enjoyment" here is Nick Cleggs speech following his victory in the Lib Dem leadership content.

Click the download button or listen to the speech in our inbuilt player.

Enjoy.

And for any Lib Dems visiting who want to do something extremely charitable, whilst also ensuring that this Tory really will suffer some pain, just visit this link.

clegg with a 511 majority

Nick Clegg becomes leader of the Lib Dems securing 20,988 votes compared to the 20,477 secured by Chris Huhne.

I have to say that given the Lib Dems see themselves as a major force inUK politics, the fact that it only takes around 21,000 votes for you to become party leader does strike me as very interesting.

I suspect there will be sound defeated Parliamentary candidates that got more votes in a single constiuency than that.

Interesting times ahead.

no political correctness here

Radio 1 may want to edit this song. We think its a good song just as it is.

We will also be wishing people a MERRY CHRISTMAS too and won’t be using the awful HAPPY HOLIDAYS phrase that seems to be creeping in. Though whether Santa will be able to deliver all those presents is another matter. The Carbon emissions from his new sleigh is just appalling!

 

 

hard drive data

I’m off to the States on Friday and will be taking my laptop with me. I don’t think there is any password protected confidential data on the hard drive, which has plenty of free space on it, so if there is any Government Department who wants to take advantage of a few free GB of memory let me know and then I can possibly lose it somewhere on the other side of the pond.

Passport details for the whole of the UK? Everyone’s National Insurance numbers? All suggestions gratefully received.

2007 and what might have been

Well it’s been quite a year. We’ve had Blair applauded off the stage (deserved for that level of acting ability), had Ming Campbell kicked off the stage by those nasty Lib Dems and Gordon Brown heralded and hated within the space of six months. And what of David Cameron, he’s had a honeymoon at both the start and the end of the year with a near divorce in the middle.

Where do we stand going forward then?

Well I’ll make a prediction that Gordon Brown is unelectable. He has all the presentational skills of David Brent and the decision making skills of a lemming. He’s shown himself to be scared of the British public by virtue of the fact that he pulled out of an election and an EU treaty referendum. On the doorsteps I see no enthusisim for him. If I’m noticing it, then I’m sure Labour MP’s are, so what are they goimg to do about it?

In my opinion they’ll do nothing, mainly due to the fact that there is no one to replace him. The mere that that Jack Straw is seen as the only replacement shows how bereft they are of talent. This is a man who helped create the shambles that the Home Office is today. Brown’s young turk are totally without experience and likeability. There is an arrogence attached to them which comes of never fighting a marginal seat and have to go out there and win peoples votes. Put together with a complicated process of getting rid of a Labour leader, and a leader who will never want to go, there’s little doubt he’s fighting the election.

Then I got thinking about counter history and what would have happened had Robin Cook lived. Although they made up before his death, would there have been any possiblity he could have challenged Brown for the leadership. Maybe not, he would have had a senior cabinet post and had reportadly said he was ‘insufficiently attractive to be an election winner’. I wonder though. Could you imagine him getting rolled over at PMQ’s in the same way Brown does? He could have represented a real change for Labour without Iraq baggage and the fact that he hasn’t been 2nd in command in the failing Government.

If he didn’t run, then he would now be talked about as the alternative leader now surely. We will never know, but how The Labour Party must wish he was still here.

european council statement response and questions

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To listen to the response to Gordon Brown’s European Council Statement and the questioning that followed click the download button, or listen to the podcast in our inbuilt media player.