Monday 31 May 2010

Playlist:
Horse - God's Home Movie
Rachel Stevens - Funky Dory
Westlife - When You're Looking Like That
Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie '99
Bette Midler - Sisters
Paul Simon - Late In The Evening
Limmie And The Family Cooking - A Walkin' Miracle
Beach Boys, The - Catch A Wave
Saturdays - Just Can't Get Enough
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode
James Brown - Body Heat
Romantics - What I Like About You
Radney Foster - Nobody Wins
Nanci Griffith - There's A Light Beyond These Woods

Saturday 29 May 2010

Playlist:
The Corries - The Collier Laddie
Norma Waterson - My Husband's Got No Porridge In Him
Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate - Soumbou Ya Ya
Jennifer & Hazel Wrigley - Sleepy Laddie
Blueflint - He Called Her Name
Catherine Howe & Vo Fletcher - Going Home
Bob Dylan - Nettie Moore
John Williamson - Can't Feel Those Chains Any Longer
Eliza Carthy - Rosalie
Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham - The Shores Of Loch Bee + The Headlands + The Floggin' Reel
Moishe's Bagel - Tarras Freilachs + Hungarian Groove
Wee Toon Tellers - Miss Monaghan + Teetotallers + Kerry McAllister's

David Laws is part of the solution - the Green Book is the problem.

So the Daily Telegraph is seeking yet another scalp, attacking another MP who has fallen victim to the House of Commons expenses fiasco. Those responsible for writing such sloppy "Green Book" rules are the real culprits. But isn't there now a consensus on fixing that? I wish that national newspapers would embrace the phrase "constructive journalism", or do they have a death wish and consider that an oxymoron? David Laws must stay. He is part of the solution.

Thursday 27 May 2010

Playlist:
Hannah Montana - The Best Of Both Worlds
Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
Bay City Rollers - All Of Me Loves All Of You
Sam Brown - Valentine Moon
Air Supply - All Out Of Love
Sonny & Cher - All I Ever Need Is You
Spinners, The - Jamaica Farewell
Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walking
Shakin' Stevens - Oh Julie
Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Playlist:
Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy Diddy
Alison Moyet - Weak In The Presence Of Beauty
Sailor - Girls Girls Girls
Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
Rod Stewart - Young Turks
Peggy Lee - Mr Wonderful
George Formby - With My Little Ukelele In My Hand
Swinging Blue Jeans - The Hippy Hippy Shake
Mott The Hoople - Roll Away The Stone
Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well
Oasis - The Hindu Times
Freddie & The Dreamers - You Were Made For Me
Geri Halliwell - Mi Chico Latino

On AV Referendum

STV best helps all Parties get the number of MPs that their vote share indicates. AV helps all voters to make their vote count by minimising need for tactical voting. Both have preferential "1 2 3" voting. Both are better than FPTP. Choosing a better system does not mean an even better one cannot be considered later. I'll be pressing for STV but voting for AV if that's all there is on offer.

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Playlist:
Beatles - Money
Gene Pitney - The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Judy Collins - Send In The Clowns
Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi
Johnny Nash - Tears On My Pillow
Stephanie Mills - Never Knew Love Like This
John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance
Scorpions - Wind Of Change
Paul Weller - Peacock Suit
Tony Christie - Is This The Way To Amarillo
Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop

Monday 24 May 2010

Playlist:
Bad Manners - Can Can
Horse - I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
Oonagh Cassidy - Time After Time
Mud - L-L-Lucy
Lulu - Shout
Patsy Cline - There He Goes
Peaches & Herb - Reunited
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A Changin'
Freddie & The Dreamers - I'm Telling You Now
Patti Labelle & Micha - On My Own
Simon & Garfunkel - I Am A Rock
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love

Saturday 22 May 2010

Playlist:
Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham - Megan's Wedding + The Herra Boys + The Barrowburn Reel
Chris Flegg - The Troubadour Cafe
Emile Benoit - Brother's Farewell + Caribou Skin Nailed Around The Circle + Wayne And The Bear
Anna Massie - 100 Years Since
Eliza Carthy & The Ratcatchers - King James Version
Oonagh Cassidy - Beautiful Distraction
Eamon Friel - Put The Past Away
Allan Johnston - Wid Ye Fly Away Tae Amerikay
Tom Paxton - Now That I've Taken My Life
Tangle Eye - Rosie
Jeanna Leslie & Siobhan Miller - Saints And Sinners
Isla Cameron - As I Roved Out

Thursday 20 May 2010

Playlist:
Chi-Lites - Too Good To Be Forgotten
Mavericks, The - Dance The Night Away
Gina G - Oo Aha Just A Little Bit
The Drifters - You're More Than A Number In My Little Red Book
The Proclaimers - Sunshine
McCalmans, The - Fare Ye Well Ye Mormond Braes
Who, The - Squeeze Box
The Hollies - Jennifer Eccles
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
The Bay City Rollers - I Only Want To Be With You
Avril Lavigne - Sk 8er Boi
Abba - Honey, Honey
Beatles - Paperback Writer
Chet Atkins - Yakety Axe

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Playlist:
Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
Abba - I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
Oonagh Cassidy - Beautiful Distraction
Mark Owen - Clementine
Madonna - Open Your Heart
Who - I Can't Explain
ZZ Top - Viva Las Vegas
Ramones - Baby I Love You
Heaven 17 - Temptation
Yazz & The Plastic Population - The Only Way Is Up

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Playlist:
Paul Carrack - Walk On By
Judith Durham - You've Got A Friend
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
Madness - House Of Fun
Tom Jones - Green Green Grass Of Home
Smokey Robinson - Tears Of A Clown
Guy Mitchell - She Wears Red Feathers
Perry Como - Catch A Falling Star
Yes - Wondrous Stories
Toyah - It's A Mystery
Pulp - Common People
Housemartins - Happy Hour

Monday 17 May 2010

Playlist:
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancing
Pet Shop Boys - Can You Forgive Her
Lord Rockinghams X1 - Hoots Mon
Showaddywaddy - Dancin' Party
Queen - Headlong
Oonagh Cassidy - Reelin
Enya - Book Of Days
New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough
Corrs - Breathless
PM Dawn - Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
Trashcan Sinatras - Wild Mountainside

Web site changes

The web site is changing. It reflects a decision in 2009 for this "empty nester" to retire from business activities and concentrate on community issues.

A long-time campaigner for the environment and a sustainable economy, my tweets and blogs will vie with my musical interests for position on the web site.

Fixed-term parliaments

If one (or several) elected MPs fail to deliver promises, it doesn't follow that all 650+ need to be re-elected or removed. Fixed-term parliaments prevent disruptive and costly extra elections at a time when economic recovery and stability are in the interests of both Scotland and the UK as a whole.

The 55% threshold for dissolving Parliament is actually quite low. Scotland's threshold is two-thirds. Other countries have similar barriers to hasty and petulant dissolution.

Electorally, the five-year span is more surprising to me. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all have a four-year term. Local authorities are elected on a four-year cycle. It would make sense to have four years for Westminster also, then an election for one body need never clash with that for another.

Policies before personalities, if you please, Birmingham

In the election, the LibDems were rightly anti-Tory, anti-Labour and anti-Nationalist, for the simple reason that they are pro their own policies. The popular vote dictated that two or more parties get together to run the country. With the current distorted electoral system, which is the true dinosaur in the political landscape, it is actually quite impressive that a 5-year Government has been agreed within 5 days of the polls closing.

Common elsewhere, fixed-term parliaments can provide the stable government planned. In this case, the arithmetic of the vote has allowed pragmatism over policies to win over personalities. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Birmingham today.

Saturday 15 May 2010

Playlist:
Blueflint - Skippin' Skattin'
Eamon Friel - Time And Again
Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Tom Paxton - Outward Bound
Chris Flegg - Creatures Apart
Saga - When You Wore A Tulip, Take A Glass
John Williamson - You Come Back To Tassie
Runrig - Harvest Moon
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Stick With Me Baby
Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller - Three Sailors
Isla Cameron - John Anderson/My Jo
Richard Thompson With Mary Black And Dolores Keane - The Dimming Of The Day
The Albion Band - The Grand Circle Dance

Psst! Wanna buy an airbase?

During the Second World War, a popular cartoon image was that of a spiv surreptitiously attracting attention ("Psst!") and uttering the question "Wanna buy a battleship?". Seven decades later in Kintyre, the Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) are legitimately asking residents of the PA28 6 area around Campbeltown "Do you want the opportunity to buy Machrihanish Airbase?"

Thursday 13 May 2010

Playlist:
Archies - Sugar Sugar
Toni Basil - Mickey
Racey - Some Girls
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
The Tourists - So Good to Be Back Home Again
The Vatersay Boys - The Sound of Vatersay
Traveling Wilburys - Handle With Care
The Saw Doctors - I Useta Lover
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Here Comes The Sun
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Delilah
Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper

Why Lib-Lab coalition was not really on

Olly Grender explains a lot in her recent Tweet: "Adonis and Mandelson wanted LibLab talks to work. Balls and Miliband did not. Without Miliband's interest it was never going to work."

Tony Walker: "I think the commentator who said they were more interested in the leadership were right."

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Playlist:
* Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of The Heart
* Billie Piper - Day And Night
* Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A Changin'
* Horse - Same Old, Same Old
* New Seekers - I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing
* David Dundas - Jeans On
* Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
* Will Young - Leave Right Now
* Burt Bacharach - Trains And Boats And Planes
* Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
* Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
* Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You
* Robson & Gerome - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?

Party boats

The golden yellow boat veers to the right, but in doing so causes the blue boat to steady its course. The red boat gets cast adrift and loses its captain, leaving the First Mate to try and recover the situation. The multi-coloured flotilla of smaller boats stand off cautiously, with their crews keeping an eye on the weather.

The ship of state sails majestically on, into a five-year voyage of discovery.

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Playlist:
Nolans - I'm In The Mood For Dancing
Jim Croce - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
Renaissance - Northern lights
The Hollies - Jennifer Eccles
Rod Stewart - Rhythm Of My Heart
Bay City Rollers - All Of Me Loves All Of You
Yazz - The Only Way Is Up
Andrews Sisters - Alexander's Ragtime Band
Eric Burdon & The Animals - San Franciscan Nights
Gerry & The Pacemakers - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
Survivor - Burning Heart
Mark Ronson feat Amy Winehouse - Valerie

Monday 10 May 2010

Playlist:
Beautiful South, The - Don't Marry Her (Radio Version)
OTT - All Out Of Love
Sly And The Family Stone - Dance To The Music
The Boomtown Rats - Like Clockwork
Lionel Richie - Easy
Ronan Keating - Lovin' Each Day
Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogu - Kids
Donovan - Colours
U2 - Discotheque
Beatles - Do You Want To Know A Secret
Take That - Back For Good

Lib Dems must play their cards VERY carefully

It's not true that LibDems "hold all the cards" following this General Election, but it IS true that they must play those they hold VERY carefully.

For most, if not all, Liberal Democrats, electoral reform is a "must", and has to include fixed-term parliaments and proportional representation. An elected upper house, a directly elected Prime Minister and recall of MPs must also be on the cards for discussion.

Surely the most likely outcome of present negotiations is either a Tory minority government or a "rainbow alliance" agreeing on a programme for economic recovery plus electoral reform? Coalition without PR would be suicide for the LibDems.

Saturday 8 May 2010

Playlist:
Ceili Moss - Miss Walsh's Fancy / Be Easy Rogue
Ladysmith Black Mambazo - We Nhiziyo Yami
Bobby Gardiner - Reels Sporting Nell, The Earl's Chair
McCalmans, The - The Silkie Of Sule Skerry
Julie Fowlis - Tha Mo Ghaol Air Aird a' Chuain
Eamon Friel - Tell The Pipers I'll Pay
Rachel Hair - 52nd Street
Emile Benoit - Noel Dinn + Pamela's Lonely Nights
Steeleye Span - Sir James The Rose
Archie McAllister - Maids Of Mount Cisco
McCalmans, The - Skye Boat Song
Eddie Maguire - The Loss O' The SS Byron Darnton
Joan Mills - Wednesbury Town

Thursday 6 May 2010

Playlist:
Kylie Minogue - The Loco Motion (7in Mix)
S Club 7 - Reach
Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love
Starship - Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now
Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville
Seekers - The Carnival Is Over
Abba - Waterloo
Ishbel Mac Askill - An Ataireachd Ard (The Eternal Surge Of The Sea)
Sam Brown - Valentine Moon
Electric Light Orchestra, The - Telephone Line
Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69
Elvis Presley - Devil In Disguise
Limmie & The Family - Cookin' You Can Do Magic
Lindisfarne - Meet Me On The Corner
Simon And Garfunkel - Cecilia

Playlist:
Annie Lennox - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Texas - When We Are Together
Ketty Lester - Love Letters
Billy Jo Spears - Blue Bayou
Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True
Let Loose - Seventeen
Matchbox Twenty - Hand Me Down
Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
Madonna - 4 Minutes
Tom Robinson - War Baby
Bananarama - I Want You Back
Will Smith - Men In Black
Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately
Human League - Open Your Heart

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Playlist:
Buddy Holly - It Doesn't Matter Anymore
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Prodigy - Firestarter
Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha
Robert Palmer - She Makes My Day
Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Comin' Down
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
Oleta Adams - Rhythm Of Life
Green Day - Basket Case
Cliff Richard - Please Don't Tease
Showaddywaddy - I Wonder Why
Fairground Attraction - Find My Love
Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart

Monday 3 May 2010

Playlist:
Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise
Paul Young - Love Of The Common People
James Taylor - Something In The Way She Moves
Beatles - Something
Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
Nicole Kidman & Ewan Mc Gregor - Come What May
James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
Bing Crosby - As Time Goes By
Frankie Valli - Grease
The Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love
Mary Hopkin - Those We're The Days
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Lionel Richie - All Night Long

Saturday 1 May 2010

Playlist:
Steeleye Span - The Twelve Witches
Mick Softley - I'm So Confused
Judy Collins - Just like Tom Thumb's Blues
Jock Tamson's Bairns - Dusty Miller + Wee Willie Gray
Po Girl - Bloom
John Williamson - Just A Dog
Alec Campbell - All For Me Grog
Chris Flegg - Cool Frog
Chris Leslie - Janet Blunt Poem
Donovan - The War Drags On
Tom Paxton - Saturday Night
The Austin Lounge Lizards - Arnold
Bobby Gardiner - Hornpipe Johnson's