Speed cameras

Further evidence of a concerted campaign to raise revenue by criminalising decent people. Yes, what we need in our fight against rising crime in this country is obviously more speed cameras. I’ve often thought that we could do with a few more traffic wardens as well. It’s about time we cleaned this country up and took a few more of those licensed, registered, insured, taxed drivers off the streets so that there’s less congestion for the hard–working criminals that made this city great, in their unregistered, uninsured, cloned or stolen vehicles.

WWE

Achieved a long–term ambition this evening and went to see WWE Smackdown live at London ExCeL. It was a good show — more pantomime and humour comes across than on TV and the athleticism is very impressive. Particular highlights were seeing the tag team of Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero and the final match of the night between Kurt Angle and The Undertaker.

However, I can’t help feeling that ExCeL (I presume the seating is down to ExCeL?) screwed us on where we were seated. In an attempt to ensure the best view, we had bought the top–price seats, at £50 per ticket, but it is hard to see how we could have been sitting any further away from the ring without actually being outside. I took this picture with my camera phone. I cannot see on what basis these could possibly be considered to be the top price seats, unless the entire arena was in fact £50/ticket bar a couple of super–restricted view seats for the £20 and £30 tickets. I must say I was a little disappointed.

Update: report on the night’s action.

Election

I am irritated by this patronising caricature of the ordinary British voter by Alice Miles in the Times, under the tagline “Never underestimate the stupidity of the great British electorate. Must we endure more of its opinions?”. What is the suggestion? That we abandon democracy in favour of some kind of bourgeoicracy by those deemed sufficiently midde–class by Alice Miles to vote?

Marathon II

Settling nicely into my post–marathon aches and pains. I think the cold water bath I took after the race has spared me the worst in that regard, although it took me a while to relocate my undercarriage after 15 minutes in there. Also settling nicely into the sense of achievement at getting round mixed with the anti–climax you get when you’ve been aiming at something for so long, it’s over and suddenly, your focus is gone. Still, it was a great day; I enjoyed it thoroughly (yes, even while doing it!). So much so, in fact, that I’d definitely think about doing another one, notwithstanding what I said during the cold, dark periods of Winter training.

Incidentally, on the marathon front, banderama kept this quiet. An impressive 02:52:30 finish, as well. (Picture spotted on www.photoos.net).

London marathon

So, I ran the London marathon today; my first. My results:

1. KM10: 0:42:34;
2. KM20: 1:26:21;
3. HALF: 1:31:07;
4. KM30: 2:10:00;
5. KM40: 2:54:24;
6. FINISH: 3:04:21.

Pleased. Tired. It’s a long way. Much respect to everyone who’s done it!

Bloody emau

Jist emau me an saw ih ah.

Further comedy

An amusing judgment of the court, which I have just received by email, although, like much that is on one level amusing, there is also a substantial element of tragedy in the situation. Without giving all of the game away, it is notable that the applicant appeared before the court in the garb of Lord Darth Vader of the Sith and the court pronounced itself happy to allow him to do so.

Comedy

Went to the Royal Albert Hall last night to see “Peter Kay and Guests” — a benefit gig for Teenage Cancer Trust. It was a full house and an enjoyable night. The format was like comedy club stand–up with Peter Kay as anchorman or whatever they call it. The guests were:

1. John Thomson
2. Reginald D. Hunter
3. Barbara Nice
4. Catherine Tate and Dominic Coleman
5. Noel Fielding
6. Ed Byrne

Peter Kay was fine in the MC role, but I’d like to see him properly, as it were. Of the guests, I found Reg Hunter and Ed Byrne the most entertaining. They were both excellent. Barbara Nice and Noel Fielding seemed to go down the least well with the crowd, probably because they were the furthest removed from the standard stand–up format. I must admit that I didn’t get Barbara Nice — just not the sort of thing that I find funny (takes all sorts). I was enjoying Noel Fielding’s unusual and interesting set (although some of the audience didn’t appear to be), until he lost the plot and went off on one on a heckler, which I thought was a bit over the top given the crowd, the venue and the charitable context. Then again, I’m a passive aggressive, middle class, chicken–shit English prick, so I feel uncomfortable around overt confrontation. Ed Byrne soon put things back on an even keel, though, by raising the highly controversial topic: “isn’t bed grand, I feckin’ love bed”. This seemed to be something we could all agree on and things started going smoothly again, ready for Peter Kay to close the show with a Brian Potter medley.

Parking

This parking case study may be a warning as to the sort of mentality I am up against here.

This is interesting in the Times about child poverty in the UK and how it is defined.

Another blow against the law-abiding citizen

It is said that the average citizen in the UK is caught on CCTV cameras 300 times a day. It was therefore regrettable that, following a pretty unpleasant attempted sexual assault on my partner after dark in February of this year (fortunately, a suitably violent response was forthcoming from my girlfriend and she was able to break free and run for help), a purported review of CCTV footage by the police apparently disclosed nothing that could help identify the offender.

Since this incident, I have made it my habit to pick her up in the car after work on the one night a week when she works late. Unsurprisingly, she has reservations about walking the streets of London alone after dark. In the light of this, I can’t help thinking that it is also regrettable that I have started to receive penalty charge notices from a certain London local council for “parking in a parking place not designated for that class of vehicle”. It appears that while pulling–in at the side of the road at ten o’clock at night to pick up my girlfriend, I have been inadvertently straying into a “designated coach parking area”.

But how did the local council conclude this? No traffic warden ever saw me to give me a ticket; I wasn’t stopped for long enough. And even a traffic warden wouldn’t be so anal as to give me a ticket just for picking someone up — it’s not like it was in the fast lane of the M25 or something. It turns out that one of their officers (presumably employed full–time for the purpose) has been reviewing fecking CCTV footage from a traffic monitor camera and has spotted the encroachment into prohibited territory. Now that the system has caught up with me, the tickets will presumably continue to filter through, one for each week I’ve picked her up since February (I’ve had two so far). £50 per ticket if I cough–up without a fight, with the usual sanction of being charged double if I don’t pay immediately, contest it and lose.

Ever have the feeling that something in this country has gone arse about face?