the world ended last week

Well you'd have thought so by the way the press was wittering on. The reason? Britain finally got some pub licensing hours that treat us like adults.

If you believed the right wing press then chaos would have been unleashed on the nation as we all turned into binge drinking asbos-in-waiting. So what happened? On the first night, no problems. Since then? No problems. And whys that?

1, Closing times are now staggered meaning that everyone isn't pitched out onto the street at the same time, fighting over cabs and in other ways clashing.

2, Without so much time pressure people don't drink so much in a short space of time

I knew this would be the case because of my past experience as the licensee of a small students' union. After a couple of years of having to go cap-in-hand to the magistrates court every time we wanted an extension to our hours I decided to apply for a Section 77 Special Hours Certificate. This meant that we could serve until 2am on Thurs, Fri & Saturday (rather than 11pm). Did chaos and disorder descend? No - there were no more problems than before. Did people drink more? No our takings remained the same, so actually we lost money because of increased staff wage costs.

There will be some teething troubles and cultural change is not a quick process, but it is about time this particular change was made whatever David Davis or the Daily Mail think.

Harry Potter

We went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last night. I was interested to see how they would distill a sloppy 750 page book into a decent film. I knew there would be fantastic special effects, and due to the actors involved, some great performances too. I needn't have worried - the film is pretty good.

SPOILER ALERT

Firstly, I think at times too much prior knowledge was assumed. Of course most of the people watching the film will have read the book, but nonetheless Death Eater related matters for example were never really explained.

Secondly, the Quidditch World Cup was a missed opportunity. They almost pulled it off, but it appeared to be the victim of savage editing.

Onto the positives. The chemistry between the stars is great. Espcially Hermione at the end of the Yule Ball.

Two of the new characters are outstandingly portrayed: Mad Eye Moody and Barty Crouch Jr.

The visuals are at times breathtaking. perhaps there are too many to cite - so I won't try.

The biggest downside to the film is that it is a trifle long. It was almost as if the Director did not know whether to have short hair or long hair and ended up with a mullet. There were plot-lines that did not make much sense because crucial scenes had been cut. The film would have been better without such sub-plots.

But on the whole it was an enjoyable film, and one that I will be buying when it comes out on DVD. So it can't be too bad!

today's last song

"Sound of the Underground" by Girls Aloud

today's last song

"The Price I Pay" by Billy Bragg

today's last song

"Shoulda woulda coulda" by Beverley Knight

today's last song

"Give it away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

today's last song

was "Never can say goodbye" by Gloria Gaynor

yesterday's was:
"Set adrift on memory bliss" by PM Dawn

This morning's last song

"Reward" by The Teardrop Explodes

Today's final song

"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" by The Smiths

11/11

I was at a meeting in Cambridge today when I heard a loud bang. It was a field gun signalling the start of a 2 minute silence.

There was a time when I was so terribly right-on that I wouldn't wear a poppy. I viewed it as a symbol of militarism and made an unnoticed statement by not wearing a poppy.

But something happened about 10 years ago that changed me. My Great Aunt died and when we were clearing her house we found a box of letters. The letters were from my Great Uncle Sam. Samuel Parry died on 27th March 1918 in the second battle of the Somme. He was 19.

Samuel enlisted in 1916. He was underage, but when he had failed to join up with other young men from his local church the minister sent him a note with four white feathers in it. So Sam lied about his age and joined the Northamptonshire Regiment.

The letters he sent back were heart-breaking. This young lad saw things that no-one should ever see. His letters to his sister were full of the bravado one thinks of in relation to WW1 - Dulce Et decorum etc etc. But the letters to his parents were painful. He was trying to put on a brave front but between every line was the heartfelt cry of a scared young lad who just wanted to go home. I wept for him.

His last letter was the worst of all. He gave up all pretence of a stiff upper lip. The German Offensive started on the 21st March. On the 26th the Northamptonshire Regiment took heavy losses and Sam's best friend died in his arms. On the 27th Sam was killed. His body was never found.

So I felt like a fool. My pathetic statement did nothing except fail to show appropriate respect to the countless people like Sam who answered their country's call and gave up their lives.

I certainly do not agree with many of the decisions that have led our armed forces into conflict situations, but all along my problem was really with the politicians not the soldiers. So every year I wear my poppy as a symbol of my gratitude to Sam and others like him and pray that future politicians make wise decisions.

Who knows if I would ever have met Sam had he survived the war. In some way, through his letters I feel that he has already spoken to him.

Rest in Peace Sam.

Name: PARRY, SAMUEL WILLIAM
Initials: S W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment: Northamptonshire Regiment
Unit Text: 7th Bn.
Date of Death: 27/03/1918
Service No: 25255

today's last song

"Buck Rogers" by Feeder

today's last song

"Everything Must Go" Manic Street Preachers

brush with mortality

Two weeks ago I had to go and see the doctor with severe chest pains. I'd had them for a week and initally brushed them off, but gradually they got worse, and at times the pain was debilitating.

I'm carrying a some excess poundage and so naturally 2 & 2 were put together and a heart related problem seemed the obvious cause. It's at times like these that all of a sudden you come face to face with the prospect of death. No longer an abstract or far off concept it was at my doorstep.

As a pre-emptive step I started taking aspirin, garlic tablets and pro-biotic yoghurt drinks in the foolish hope that I could turn back time. It's funny what you do when you realise how careless you have been.

I am at an age where you can no longer think that these things can't happen to you. 2 of my contemporaries have had breast cancer - so perhaps I should have been more on guard.

Anyway, I went to see the Doctor and after examining me he diagnosed me with costochondritis (Tietze's Syndrome). Not a heart related condition after all, but the inflamation of chest cartilage. It's rare and unexplained condition that hits men between 20 and 40. I've taken anti-inflammatories and the condition has eased but not entirely disappeared.

So what has this experience taught me? Well, I'm eating more healthily and aim to do more sport during the cricket close season. But fundamentally it just made me more aware of the passage of time. I'm now turning my mind to other issues - what do I want to do with my life?, is it time to start a familly?. Both issues have implications that are far from easy to deal with, but more on them another time.

today's last song...

...was "Fell in love with a boy" by Joss Stone

this morning's last track...

was Happy Hour by The Housemartins. I came perilously close to Pure & Simple by Hear'say. Phew!

Last song of the morning

Each morning I list to my mp3 player on the train and as a sort of recurring feature I will post on here what the last song was that I listened to. This isn't some attempt to show you what a cool music collection I have. If the Ketchup Song is the last song I heard I will put it down. So today's last song of the morning tm was:

Rocket Man by Elton John

eye eye

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. In a sense .Yesterday i got contact lenses, and today I am freaking out everyone in the office - none of whom have ever seen me without my glasses (except for the 2 that have seen me in the shower - but that's another story).

So the journey in to work today was spent looking out of the train carriage (something I never do), appreciating a beautiful crisp late Autumn morning. All the while i am thinking is this better? I am sure everything looks sharper but in the middle/long distance (delete as applicable) is it a little bit dodgy?.

I know they are an improvement in terms of optical correction. The very nice Kiwi woman at Vision Express was very thorough. So I am sure that in a short space of time I will wonder what the problems were. I just hope that getting them in and out gets easier with practice.