There will be much blogging coming up later, but at the moment I am on the train back home from London and the wifi is a bit flaky, and I am tired and my brain is still going ZOMGSQUEEYAY!!!! so eloquence is in short supply. I think yesterday might possibly have been the best day ever...

They say you shouldn't meet your heroes because you can only ever be disappointed. They, whoever they are, are talking bollocks. Vince Cable is intellectual, erudite, witty, principled, genuine, and basically utterly utterly wonderful, and I am very grateful to Helen and Millennium's Daddy Richard for both arranging the interview and making me overcome my naked terror and go along to it. I'm not saying I agree with Doctor Twinkletoes' opinions on everything - Faith schools are a notable difference, for example - but I can't help but admire his measured and rational method of reaching those opinions and my GODS the man has a brain.

Vinceterview and the following coolnesses will be written up later, after a proper write-up of Conference, and also what happened at the NHM yesterday, which my daddy is going to be utterly green about. But for now I'm relaxing on the train, and still marinading in SQUEE, so forgive me if this entry is a little short on actual content.

Am lounging on a very comfy chair in fracindy's very nice flat in Battersea. Have discovered, by dint of actually checking, just how many people have been replying to my tweets etc. It's possibly worth mentioning that although I tweet relentlessly from my phone, I don't tend to actually check twitter until I get to the computer... Although really, I ought to do something about that, didn't I? Ought to set up twitpics too... Oh well, maybe when I get home.

I got the tourist guide to Ealing last night, which was amusing, and would have been more amusing if it hadn't meant arriving at the pub about twenty minutes after they stopped serving food. And then hunting for somewhere that was open and WAS serving food was fun...

Today, I plan to meet folks at the Natural History Museum and have lunch and do the Darwin thing. But not for a bit yet. I am nice and relaxed, lounging here in my dressing gown, and I don't NEED to move for a while yet, and this is the first pressure-free downtime I have had in over a week. So I'm going to enjoy it.

Those of you I am meeting for lunch? Best way to contact me is phone/text. Number is on Facebook or here, for the non-facebook enabled.

... did not involve me or anyone I know. The only effect it has had on me personally has been an exasperation at having to explain to people where Whinney Hill Park is lots and lots today.

I don't have any juicy gossip, sorry.

I'm in full agreement with June Moorhouse, who is quoted on the BBC website, though. Whinney Hill Park is as rough as arseholes. It's just a shame that, given the way the London-based media are reporting things (it was Whinney Park for a lot of the day) that most of the country thinks the whole of Brighouse is like that. That's like saying the whole of London is like Westminster...

So, yes, my trip to London was to go to El Presidente's campaign team thanks bash. It was all (well, mostly) very civilised, and there was wine, and cats, and Brian Eno, and Lebanese food, and naked Jason Donovan. And I learned a few guilty secrets (Grace Goodlad is a SCOOTERIST!) chatted to various people (hello Helen and Susan!) and drank much wine. I managed to quash my feelings of being surrounded by My Betters for most of the time (apart from running away from Brian Eno very soon after shaking hands with him) and ended up having a really good time.

Stopping at Ros and Mark's baronial mansion (well, semi) was lovely too. I was somewhat nervous as to whether the cats would accept me, but it turns out I needn't have worried. Of course, Byron isn't talking to me now, because I smell of Cat, but it's worth a bit of grumpiness from the spoiltest dog in the world to have met Cincinnati and Katie. I have an odd feeling that my life is complete now that I have been served a glass of water by a baroness in a deckchair-striped dressing gown, too ;)

Lunch at The Ben Crouch was fun, although all too brief. It was lovely to see haloskitten and fracindy (you must both come and visit!) and a shame that various others couldn't make it. Good to be joined by Jon and Mark too. Highlight of lunch was almost certainly the tone-lowering competition which resulted from both Halos and I ordering sausage and mash and the many nudge nudge wink wink sausage jokes which followed... I could happily have sat there most of the afternoon. Sadly, though, I had to dash to Victoria coach station...

I think the main thing that this little jaunt has brought home to me is how much I miss the little trips to London I had lots of when Mat was living there. There are loads of people that I didn't get to see, and think perhaps I shall have to have a journey to That London again quite soon.

Am home from London. Met many cool people, had good time, would have liked to stay longer, if only to point and laugh at Hopalong Ball a bit more. Ros and Mark incredibly gracious hosts, cats very cool. Longer post in a bit when I've had something to eat and a bath and read my 84 emails...

Got around to watching Monday's new ep of SJA today. I could heap on the superlatives (Clydeysense! Heee!) but really, there's one thing I spotted that I suspect few others did, and which I think deserves huge props. Oscar and The Trickster? Did an absolutely PERFECT impersonation of little Rowan Morrison and Lord Summerisle, even down to the emphasis on the word "beautifully". Made me squee like the fangirl I am!

Also, the Shrubbery liked it so much that she insisted on watching it again straight away. I humbly submit that it's worth the license fee for that alone, never mind radio four.

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Am off to That London tomorrow for a partay. Probably no blogging till Thursday. Well, possibly something in the morning, you know me. But certainly nothing substantial till Thursday. Until then, go and tell The Award-Winning Alix Mortimer how awesome she is, because she is.

I shall be in our great capital for a function on Wednesday the 19th inst; I have been offered a place to stay the night and will be travelling back to Yorkshire on the afternoon of Thursday the 20th. Anyone fancy doing a good old-fashioned pub lunch on the Thursday?

I was considering the Marlborough Head, but apparently they've done it up and turned it into a gastropub and got rid of all the stuff that made it interesting, so all suggestions for a pub with good food and proper beer gratefully received. The Viaduct Tavern is very cool, but might be a bit small... If all else fails, can default to the Museum Tavern, I guess, unless they've taken all the charm out of that too.

Requirements for an acceptable venue are

• Decent food
• Proper Beer
• within not-too-far of Victoria Coach station
• Not stupidly expensive

Thoughts?

The Downing Street website that we all thought was great because it was a Wordpress install, and must therefore have been veryveryvery cheap? Cost £100,000. ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS. For fuck's sake! I could do it at home for nothing and all I would need is a computer, and internet connection, and a small aubergine...! Now, yes, that IS cheaper than other government websites, but it's also fucking ridiculous for something on free software with a ripped-off theme.

When is this government going to get even a tiny clue about how the intertubes work? There must be at least one of them who could say hang on a minute....

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And speaking of WRONG in the government, here is a brilliant dissection of them being WRONG in respect of the citizen's equality before the law.

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They're talking about choice in schools on the radio again. Is it me, or is this the perfect example of how most politicians are trapped in the Westminster bubble? Yes, in London, it's meaningful to have a choice of schools/hospitals/post offices, etc., because there's so bloody many of them in such a relatively small space. In normal, not London places, there is ONE of each of these things, if you're lucky. You can't choose between one. You just want that one to be good.

When the government shuts things down in the name of choice and streamlining, IT IS REMOVING ESSENTIAL SERVICES FROM PEOPLE.

Bastards.

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Good news? Mitch Benn is releasing his new single on the first of September, and it has Rock Wankman on it and everything! YAY? Nay. It's frigging iTunes only. AGAIN.

* stabs Steve Jobs *

Just because you aren't Microsoft, doesn't mean that restrictive monopolisation of a market sector is GOOD, you know.

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Hmm. I appear to be rather grumpy today. Sorry 'bout that.

This is something that I will never need. As I have previously mentioned, I have a fabulous boss, and we all know I don't work in an office. Still, I thought I'd link to it as a public service:

Whack Your Boss.

It took me ages to find the seventeenth method, but I still think the scissors are the best.

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Last week there was a meeting of contributors to LC and their allies. Obviously, as these things always are, it was in London, so I couldn't go^#. There has been a dribble of posts along the lines of Useful things to come out of the meeting, and a big post full of photos on LC... But I hadn't seen a report of what actually happened until this morning, and I find it depressingly unsurprising.

Like I commented on the elephant's post, there's little point in trying to create a Liberal-Left alliance around a party that's neither Liberal nor Left, and I don't understand why the powers that be at LC haven't grasped this yet. The blog itself covers a wide range of party affiliations and none, and this is a GOOD THING. So having lectures which are based around how we can rescue the Labour Party seems incredibly self-defeating and exclusionary to this Lib Dem... I wonder how the attendant Greens and Libertarians felt?

Poll #1212600 LC Bloggers Meeting
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

After Reading the Elephant's report of what happened at the bloggers' "meeting"...

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Can you tell the difference between expensive audio cables and coat hanger wire? Probably not. Still, I bet it won't stop you buying the pretty wires with the gold ends, will it?

;)

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^# where are all the female bloggers? - putting the children to bed and not fart-arsing about being patronised by the Top Table, I think.[/heavy sarcasm] The trope that there are no female bloggers pisses me off as much as the one that there aren't any left-wing bloggers. Sadly, while the folks at LC seem to have grasped the fact that there are lots of left wing blogs, but they just aren't being read by the self-appointed Top Table and this needs to be rectified, they still haven't realised that the same applies to blogs written by women...

Got a text from a friend while I was at work today which made me chuckle:

Am walking past Trafalgar Square now and there is a Veteran's Day stage out. The guy just said to the crowd 'Please welcome Boris Johnson' and nobody clapped. Haha. 'Lets try that again' and still no clapping

Poor old Bojo.

* cackle *

Via Will Howells, Tower Bridge has a Twitter account.

I am closing after the SB Gladys has passed upstream. about 4 hours ago from web

I am opening for the SB Gladys, which is passing upstream. about 4 hours ago from web

I am closing after the SB Gladys has passed downstream. about 11 hours ago from web

I am opening for the SB Gladys, which is passing downstream. about 11 hours ago from web

I am closing after the MV Dixie Queen has passed downstream. about 22 hours ago from web

I am opening for the MV Dixie Queen, which is passing downstream. about 22 hours ago from web

* is totally shipping Tower Bridge/Gladys *

Brian Paddick's election diary has been edited and published by the Hate on Sunday. Typically for the Hate there are a couple of errors - the most important one being all over his Facebook profile:

Yesterday
Brian was campaigning in Crewe on Saturday - never give up, never surrender! (11:51am)
May 11
Brian was campaigning in Crewe on Saturday - who said I was giving up politics?! (5:21pm)

However, it has prompted an interesting thread on LDV. Some Lib Dems are offended by the fact that Brian hasn't exactly heaped praise on the party (he's given ammunition to the Evil Dale, you see - and no, I'm not linking to that tosser). I found the article quite endearing. Brian shows himself to have a sense of humour, and also shows up many of the flaws in how the party does things. Hopefully we can learn from them.

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My lovely fiancé has an update on the Johnny Vegas situation. Whether or not he wins this libel action, the main result of this will be that everybody will get to hear about his horrid, unfunny, sexist "performance", and unless (perhaps even if) the girl comes out in unmitigated support of him, it will be a disaster for his career. I really think he's shot himself in the foot here, especially given that the Grauniad's lawyers are no stranger to the odd libel case.

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Speaking of my lovely fiancé: I showed him this link, and he picked lots and lots of holes in it. I'd quite like him to do it publicly, though.

See this? This is a gauntlet. See me throw it down... ;)

I guess this makes me a Proper Lib Dem Blogger now. My début in the Golden Dozen features me not once, but twice. Horatio will be breaking his chains again...

* blush *

I suppose this means I ought to tone down the invective, right? Become more acceptable and measured, and less angry and sweary?

...

Nah. Not going to happen.

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In other news of Lib Demmery, our very own Martha Kearney, alixmortimer, makes an interesting point about the current fortunes of the party:

It strikes me that we’re in a sort of puberty stage of political parties (no, really, stay with me). We’re too big and successful now to be regarded as the plucky little underdog, and attract the grumpy protest vote. That role now belongs to the Greens. People don’t see us as anti-establishment any more, purely by dint of our size and vote share, and the fact that they’ve decided to see our leader as an establishment leader who doesn’t “live up” to establishment standards, rather than the oddball anti-establishment leader he actually is, good teeth and an enthusiasm for hiking and tennis notwithstanding. Our size and popularity attracts the other parties’ fear, hence all the ludicrous unfairness and name-calling on the Beeb and throughout the media.

But, while we’re now definitely in the secondary school playground, we’re not strong enough to challenge the big boys, who bully us in the apparent hope that we’ll dwindle and lose heart. We’re in a peculiarly hellish sort of limbo, neither one thing or the other. Presumably the only thing to do when confronted with a set of results like this is to stick with it, not let the bastards grind us down and keep applying the clearasil. No, I have no idea how that translates into an actual strategy, wot am I, Lawd Rennard?

I can't speak for anyone else, but Clearasil always made my spots worse...

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In other other news: is it that all people who voted for Boris are stupid, or that all people who are complaining about people who voted for Boris are stupid? I don't know, but I think that shouting you're stupid at each other is a pretty stupid thing to do. All it does is make everybody dig their heels in for being attacked, and further entrench division. Obviously I lean towards Mitch's position rather than Doctor Vee's, but perhaps both of them are not as constructive as they might be: this I have discovered by the fact that matgb and I have had our first proper argument over this, because he most definitely sides with Doctor Vee, and I think Doctor Vee is being a patronising, overbearing twat. YAY for domestic harmony!

Anyway, Boris is mayor. It's a fact. And, you know, bumblebees DO stay up in the air, so maybe he'll pull something amazing out of his arse and it won't be all that bad. He's only the glorified head of London transport, after all. But anyway, going over the whys and wherefores won't change it, nor will it make it more acceptable to people who don't like it. Lets' think about what we need to do now, eh? Like maybe learning from the mistakes we made in the campaigning arena...

Council elections

A lot of the country has turned blue. I am with all the commentators who are saying that this is mainly a vote against Labour than for the Tories, but join paulatpingu in his concern that my own party have not capitalised more on the massive disaffection with the governing party.

Best post on this? If the political parties were furries... by ash1977law - although I would paint the Lib Dems as fluffy bunny lovers, rather than cat lovers (in both senses of the term fluffy bunny).

London Mayor and GLA

Am unable to summon a huge amount of smugness that I was right, due to the fact that I was right. Reactions on my f-list range from gently optimistic resignation, to Oh fuck, we're all doomed to ha haha haha I live in Scotland and can point and laugh with impunity ahahahahahaha. Nobody (yet) seems to be hugely pleased. I'm leaning towards the well, he's BOUND to cock up, and that will hurt the Tories at the next general election position. While I think there is something in publicansdecoy's stance that at the end of the day, the people have spoken, and anyway it's not the apocalypse, I worry that bagfish (here) and tyrell (here) are closer to the truth than him.

I also worry that there seems to be a conspicuous silence about the Bastard Nazi Party getting a seat on the GLA - the honourable exceptions being Lynne Featherstone MP and my dear friend Cllr Jon Ball of Ealing, (whose dismay way conveyed by text message and sadly can't be linked to). Last night someone in the pub was holding forth about how brilliant the BNP are in a very loud voice. Obviously, I argued (to the extent that one can at work) but it's profoundly depressing that anyone thinks that the BNP's ideas are anything other than horrible, inhuman, and badly thought-out/costed.

Best post on this? We don't actually know who we have elected... by tyrell - lets hope it's someone like Ken Clarke rather than someone like Mad Nad, eh?

The BBC's coverage

Was horrendous. As I said in my twitter liveblog (visible to friends only, here), in amongst various other comments,

# 23:39 Oh God... who let Germy Vine loose on the swingometer? #
# 00:13 is adding Germy Vine to the "people who will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes" list #
# 00:25 I reckon the plot to assassinate Vine should start here. I think he actually has negative charisma: he sucks it out of other people too... #
# 02:49 wants to hug Vince having to put up with stupid Jeremy Vine.

Big applause for Alix for actually pointing out live on air how awful the blogosphere thought Vine was, even if Emily Maitliss did try and stop her.

Unity's post (what can you say about Tessa Jowell, other than that at least she’s not Hazel Blears) is a good summary, (although those of you with an aversion to frothing invective might like to read Sunny's more measured condemnation at Liberal Conspiracy) and you can see the outrage outfold as it happened on Alix Mortimer's blog and Liberal Conspiracy. It was clearly a case of the BBC deciding what would happen, and commissioning their graphics and scripts accordingly, and then carrying blithely on when reality proves to be slightly different from their prediction. Alix is justifiably smug about her entirely correct prediction that even a fairly solid vote share is being painted as abject failure by the Beeb.

I don't necessarily agree with Nick that we should be delighted, but we've nothing to be upset about, really. We should have done better, but it's not surprising that we didn't, and at least we haven't done worse.

Best post on this? Nathaniel Tapley just doesn't care any more, at Liberal Conspiracy.

Other random comment

Am listening to the radio as I type this, and Vince is on Any Questions. Oh Great Cthulhu, for a world in which Vince was running the country. He hasn't said a single thing I disagree with yet, and he's said it all with wit and élan. ILU VINCE!

This post has been

Look at this table here. It's a breakdown from the latest YouGov poll:



What the hell are you guys playing at? Nearly seventy percent of people who self identify as Lib Dem are going to put Not-Brian as their first preference. If you can't even get the message about the voting system out to your own supporters, then what's the fucking point??? You've got three days. Three days, or it's very likely Boris is going to win. Do you actually WANT that on your consciences? It's no good blaming the media for this one. For fuck's sake.

And don't get me started on the bloody Focus leaflet you expect me to deliver that's riddled with typos and has some sentences that don't even make SENSE in it. Christ on a bike, anyone would think we WANT to put people off.

Note to party: if you want people to take you seriously, being able to find your own arses with both hands might help.

* deep breath *

Still, it's not just Lib Dems that are stupid. I wonder if this girl knows about the BNP's policy of "voluntary" repatriation for anyone who wasn't born in this country before 1948, or descended from pure blood stock of such people? I mean, it's in the party's constitution...

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In other news, Mat is filling in a YouGov survey right now, and is complaining that there's only one box to tick next to Harriet Harman in the politicians you generally feel negative about list...

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Also: ROXXOR! Does this mean my dad is George Takei?

ATTENTION LONDONERS!

I've seen a lot of stuff around these last few weeks along the lines of well, I'd like to vote for Brian/Sian/a.n.other candidate, but that would be pointless because it's a two horse race so I have to vote for Ken/Boris to make sure Boris/Ken doesn't get in. Voting Liberal/Green/Loony/Whatever is always a wasted vote anyway...

This is complete bollocks! You have TWO VOTES. This means you can, should, and ought to vote for the candidate that you actually WANT to win (yes, even if this is the BNP tosser) for your first vote, and THEN vote for the one you hate least of the big two for your second vote, and this will do your bit to prevent the one you most hate getting in. This is the whole point of the voting system!

It's very simple. A child of five could understand it (Actually, she's four and a half, but she does understand it, even though she can't vote due to being 1, underage and 2, not a Londoner) alexwilcock has been banging on about this (at great length) for ages. publicansdecoy has explained it in simple terms too. There is no excuse for failing to grasp the concept. Yet somehow, people ARE failing to grasp the concept.

Look, it's easy. Even the Stop Boris campaign get it. You have two votes. The first vote is for the person you really want to win, that you really support, that, if you were dictator, you would appoint. Your second vote is for either Boris or Ken, depending on which one you want to keep out most. Now, if you really do really WANT to vote for Boris or Ken, then you should do it. But if you're voting for one or other of them to keep one or other of them out, then use that for your SECOND vote, and use your first vote for the person you actually want to win. You won't let the candidate you hate in by doing this, I promise. Trust auntie SB, and vote for the person you WANT to win.

Now, despite the fact that I sort of agree with the commenter on Brian's CiF post who said that if I lived in London, I'd want someone competent running it - but since I don't, I'd quite like to see Johnson as mayor just to watch what happens, I really, honestly think that you should all vote Brian, for the following reasons:

You want political nous and experience? He's got political nous and experience!

- he did at least as much as Ken, if not more, in the wake of 7/7, by dint of his job at the time.
- he's committed himself to actual figures and detailed policy on crime and stuff and will not stand again if he doesn't achieve his aims, and his old job means he knows what he's talking about in this area

You want sensible, costed, good idea policy on a wide range of issues? He's got it coming out of his ears:

- he'll give free travel across the city to students, and has a whole tranch of other transport policies
- he's going to plant lots of trees and up recycling rates because he's cuddly and green
- he'll turn London’s 83,580 empty properties into sustainable homes at affordable rents, and release surplus public sector land for community land trusts, providing long-term low-rent housing without the need to build on London’s precious green spaces
- loads of other stuff, check out his website or this BBC bio for more detail

You want celebrity? Glitz? Glamour? His campaign is being bankrolled by Elton bloody John. You can't get MORE celebrity/glitzy/glamorous than that!

You want someone who knows London? Brian was born in Balham and has lived in London nearly all his life...

And, you know, far be it from me to play the discrimination card (again) but if we're going to have to have a middle-class, middle-aged white male to lead the most diverse city in Europe AGAIN, can we not at least have a gay one? Please?

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This post has been brought to you by the matgb can't be arsed to write it Party...

They've changed some of the questions and weighting on the Vote match thing, so I decided to try it again. And Brian is now FIFTH on my list LMAO:

Ken Livingstone (Labour)
Lindsey German (Left List)
Siân Berry (Green Party)
Matt O'Connor (English Democrats)
Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats)
Alan Craig (Christian Peoples Alliance / Christian Party)
Boris Johnson (Conservatives)
Gerrard Batten (UKIP)
Richard Barnbrook (BNP)
Winston Mckenzie

I are BAD Lib Dem.

Poll #1168253 Revamped Vote Match
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Did you get a different answer this time around?

Did the answer you got this time more or less accurately reflect your voting intentions in the mayoral election?

Hmmm. Possibly good for the party that I don't live in London. I just did the VoteMatch thing, and despite not matching completely with any of the candidates, the sainted Brian came fourth on my list. Ken came top, then Sian, then Boris. Then Brian. This are slightly worrying. I mean, I know we're a broad church party, appeal is spread among widely different people, etc... But BORIS is a better match for me than Brian? I knew the floppy-haired shagmonster was a liberal Tory, but...

Who all do you guys get?

Poll #1166363 Vote Match
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Vote Match matches me with

I was actually planning to vote for

The candidate I wanted to vote for came... on my list

VoteMatch has changed my mind about who I should vote for

It's rather disturbing when one's theoretically heterosexual fiancé gets invited to a Facebook Group called "Nick Clegg is More of a Hottie Than David Cameron Any Day" by another theoretically heterosexual male. I know that Lib Dems are enamoured of using FaceBook as a campaign tool, but really, even if you're taking the mickey (as that group clearly is), some things are not going to make you look good. And do you guys really think that yet another comparison of your glorious leader to Cameron is a good plan? If everyone thinks they're the same person then that weakens you catastrophically, surely?

Still, at least Facebook have listened to my earlier whinge and changed "fan of" to "supporter of" for politicians. Which means I'm getting loads of invites to become a supporter of X person... I'm with Mat on this one; if you're a Lib Dem and you value localism, you want your supporters to be local. This means that I still won't be becoming a supporter of any Lib Dem councillors in, for example, Ealing. Even if they buy me a really good birthday present ;)

Devil's Kitchen has whined about MPs pay. He kind of has some good points (I think MPs should spend less time legislating too, although not so they can spend time in other jobs, but so that they can spend more time doing constituency work and becoming more accessible to the electorate). But the assertion that we end up with the dross and the crap who can't actually make £60,000 plus £136,000 expenses in their normal professions if that is what we pay MPs is extremely offensive. Firstly, the assertion that everyone who earns less than £200k is dross and crap is something that makes me want to punch the right wing twat on his pompous nose. Secondly, as I said in the comment to Aaron Heath's entry, I get uncomfortable when people complain that other people are not worth the money they are paid and that their jobs are easy when they haven't actually walked a mile in their shoes, possibly because I have been on the receiving end of such accusations myself more often than I would like. I also think that the suggestion that MPs only do 160 days work a year is not only inaccurate, but dangerous. MPs might only sit in parliament for 160 days, but that doesn't mean they don't have surgeries, local campaigns, etc, to do in their constituencies. Asserting that this is not the case simply furthers the endemic disillusionment with politics which has been stalking abroad in this country for ages. I, personally, think that MPs should be paid more. That way we'd get people attracted to the job who have some measure of intelligence and talent, and less people like Hazel frigging Blears.

Speaking of accusations I have been on the receiving end of... Well, it wasn't really an accusation, but a friend of mine mentioned in an f-locked post his moral discomfort with a friend of his having a large age gap relationship (I'm not giving any more detail than that, since the post was locked, and I'll thank readers who are also on this friend's f-list for respecting that confidentiality also). I've been in a large age gap relationship. It didn't work out, but it lasted ten years, produced one child, and ended on friendly terms which remain friendly to this day. I was the initiator of the relationship. In fact, in my late teens, I went through a long phase of going for men in their thirties. Most of them were mildly uncomfortable about my age, because they thought that they would be on the receiving end of precisely the kind of moral discomfort my friend has. It annoyed me then, and it annoys me now. The younger person in a relationship might well be being exploited, but so might the older. My rationale for choosing older men was because they were 1, richer and 2, more grateful. *I* was exploiting *them*. On the other hand, maybe there's a genuine attraction and the relationship will be a happy one. Either way, if all parties are above the age of consent, I firmly believe that not one single person has the right to judge. Nice people don't judge others for having interracial or mixed religion or mixed weight or mixed height or same sex relationships, so why is it still acceptable to judge others for having an age gap larger than we, personally, are comfortable with? I suspect that position will not make me popular, but there it is.

Finally, something that's been bugging the lovely matgb and I, in a low level way, for a while now.



Why is there one corner of the Houses of Parliament which always remains unlit at night? It can't be that the bulb has gone: surely they'd have changed it by now?

ETA: actually, looking at that photo, it's two, isn't it? Weird.

That Doctor Who casting spoiler? tinuvielberen has dissected it thoroughly and scientifically, and come up with what are probably entirely accurate story predictions. ( obligatory spoiler cut )

Anyhoo, Who-rant over. Onto Meatspace issues.

The Daily Mash has a brilliant piece about the Oxford Union Debate, which everyone should read. I particularly liked:

Mr Griffin said he now believed the human race to be 'one big happy family' and saw no reason why everyone could not just live together in peace and harmony.

Oh, how I wish that story were true. Millennium Elephant is more serious (and ranty) about the implications of the debate. I am starting to be very worried about the fact that the best, sharpest, most incisive political commentator in the UK today is a seven year old (or six, depending who you believe) fluffy plush Elephant. Nick Robinson needs to start upping his game; the BBC might realise that wages paid in sticky buns will be much more affordable than his.

Finally, I must join with neohippie in mourning the fact that the tube lady got sacked. It's not that I didn't find her voice annoying (I did); but I'm bugged that she got sacked for silly reasons. Stupid TFL. Even if what they say is true, that she got sacked for criticising the tube system, when did it become standard practise to sack employees for being honest? If she has genuine criticisms perhaps they'd do better to listen to them and address them than sack her and bury their heads in the sand...