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Headline Nearly As Big As Article Shocker

Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt 'may have weeks to live'

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

 

• Frank McCourt, the author of bestseller Angela's Ashes, is battling the deadly skin cancer melanoma and may have only weeks to live.

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Happy Mondays

Went to see Richard Herring and Russell Kane at the Happy Mondays comedy club with S. last night. She's very stressed, but seemed to enjoy the evening. We finished with chips from Paul McCartney's favourite New Cross chip shop (apparently) - Sirius Fish and Chips.
 
I liked Herring's performance - recognised much of it from the podcast Collings and Herrin. S. preferred Kane - his white boy from outer London council estate and abusive dad material struck a chord with her. She was less impressed with Herring, and she could be right. Hering's summing up was feeble - fascism is bad - although many of his routines are very funny - not a million miles from Stewart Lee's style (if you saw the recent tv series) which is probably not too surprising.

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Here we go again

Less than 24 hours to go now. My right knee hurts - my hip on the right is aching - i have a headache and i feel like shit.


apart from that it's all systems go for tomorrow evening - 'll be cycling 120 miles for about 10 hours, and will arrive at the Suffolk coast around 7/8 am - if all goes well, that is.

Now they've really pissed me off

The BBC reports:

 

"Two police dogs have died in a hot vehicle parked outside the headquarters of Nottinghamshire Police.

 

An RSPCA officer was called to the Sherwood Lodge headquarters in Arnold on Tuesday and found two German shepherd dogs dead."
 
Aren't the police wonderful? Ignorant fuckers who exist above the law. I wonder how they will manage to defelct the blame for this one? I think they should be banned from keeping dogs. Anyone else would be.
 
 
 

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So Much For June

This is my June entry. That's what it's come to now. So I will try to sum it up in a couple of paragraphs.
 
Jacko's death shocked me. Last Friday the first I knew about it was the hysterical Daily Mail screaming "Michael Jackson's Dead" on it's front page. I genuinely became confused. I couldn't believe that Jackson was dead, even more so that in these days of instant communication I'd failed to hear either on the television or the radio the evening before.
 
The week before I'd attended an interview for my own job - which left me more stressed than i expected....and physically tired. I've been pushing it with the cycling too, competing on the Bike Radar thread "Silly Commuting Stats", motivating me to push my weekly mileage ever upward. So far I'm achieving between 150 and 200 miles a week.
 
So last weekend I was genuinely knackered out, aching and tired. S. called me to meet up over the weekend and to find out how my interview went....for which I've since had very positive feedback...but still no definite outcome.
 
S and I met on Sunday and spent time on the Southbank walking from London Bridge to Waterloo, eating sandwiches I'd brought, and finally combing the beaches on the Thameside for intersting artifacts - oyster shells, old London bricks and bits of clay pipe.
 
I was wondering how long oyster shells lasted in the river and whether the ones we saw washed up could be dated back to the days when oyster was a popular working class snack. There were quite a lot of them.
 
We skimmed flat stones, looked for "holey stones" and talked, talked talked.
 
S is looking good, she's lost much weight, but I know this is due to stress and unhappiness.
 
And then last week I was straight back on the bike again - another 150 miles. Paul hooked us up to the inernet  so spent the weekend surfing, downloading Collins and Herring podcasts, and watching Glastonbury footage.
 
Particular enjoyed Blur and The Specials. I'm never sure about Neil Young though - he's a bit self indulgent, and I can't stand "Rocking In the Free World" because of its dubious ambiguous lyrics. I wich he'd never written it.
 
I was amused by the Collings and Herrin vandalising Wikipedia debate. It seems Andrew collins has really upset parts of the Wikipedia community.
 
I've got tickets to see Riachard Herring in New Cross on the 13th July - where he's doing his Edinburgh show - Hitler moustache. Can't wait.
 
 
 
This week I have been attempting to recover in time to cycle the Dunwich Dynamo, which is this Saturday. The knees feel less painful, but I'm very tired still. I have a few bits to get together - maps, ferry timetables, YHA receipts, snacks for the journey, bicycle repair stuff, that sort of thing.
 

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Brown's Record on Transparency and Truth

Iraq: we may get the truth yet

2 May 2009: Chris Ames: Evidence that Gordon Brown's power is slipping offers hope that ministers' plans for a secret inquiry may yet be thwarted

 

Dirty tricks on a dodgy Iraq dossier

27 Apr 2009: Chris Ames: Jack Straw misrepresented the arms inspector Hans Blix to defend the Iraq dossier and must not be involved in a war inquiry

 

Getting to the truth about Iraq

26 Mar 2009:

Chris Ames: If the government thinks a secret inquiry into the Iraq war will restore public confidence, it's very wrong

 

Will withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq pave way for full inquiry?

Guardian Politics Blog, 24^th March 2009

 

The dossier was dodgy. Is there any doubt?

13 Mar 2009:

Chris Ames: The Cabinet Office has released more papers showing how the 2002 WMD dossier was 'sexed-up' against the wishes of experts

 

Cabinet Office papers reveal Iraq dossier fears

13 Mar 2009:

Documents disclosed after four years of government objections and delays, and reflect the concern of intelligence officials

 

The Act that Jack wrecked

24 Feb 2009:

Chris Ames: By vetoing release of Iraq war cabinet minutes, Jack Straw has flouted freedom of information – and ruined his own credibility

 

The truth, minute by minute

27 Jan 2009:

Chris Ames: Efforts to suppress cabinet notes on the decision to go to war in Iraq only feed the impression that there is something to hide

 

What is Brown afraid of?

19 Dec 2008:

Chris Ames: The prime minister's dithering over an Iraq inquiry will ensure that any political fallout comes after the next election

 

Publish and be damned

The government must reveal the notes of the meetings where the cabinet discussed the legality of war in Iraq

Chris Ames, guardian, Friday 28 November 2008

 

Dragging out the truth, bit by bit

The government may not want us to know what happened with that sexed-up Iraq dossier, but we'll find out eventually

Chris Ames, guardian, Saturday 6 September 2008

 

Cabinet Office ordered to release secret memos on Iraq dossier

By James Macintyre, Political Correspondent

 

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