Tag Archives: the Guardian

Problems at ENO – the real problem is the Arts Council

Mark Brown’s article   in the Guardian on the  4th January 2016, “Stage set for drama as ENO faces the financial music” demonstrates in graphic detail the problem with the Arts Council and arts funding; a lack of an explicit art form policy that holds the Arts Council to account for its funding decisions. Before […]

The Labour Party keeps digging

Alan Johnson sounded off in The Guardian on the 5th August 2015.  “Johnson: end madness and elect Cooper” by Nicholas Watt. The problem is the Labour leadership candidates have failed spectacularly to position themselves in the minds of Labour Party members. The exception is Corbyn who has positioned himself in the minds of those Labour Party members who cannot do […]

Politicians do support the arts

Martin Kettle’s article in The Guardian on 31st July 2015,  “Why you won’t catch a British politician at the opera”, was woefully misinformed. The All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group,  whose purpose is to “To promote an appreciation of jazz music and to engage Parliament in an awareness of the issues facing jazz music, musicians and […]

New Labour reverts to old Labour

The lead story in the Guardian on the 21st June 2014 – “Labour election anxiety grows” – concerned Labour fronbenchers expressing the risably titled “private fears” that Ed Milliband may not be a winner. One would have thought that Labour would have learnt something from Blair’s first election wins – a united front. Instead, its […]

Jazz – a driving force for research and development and sensible business practise

Larry Elliott in the The Guardian,  ecoonomics blog Sunday 3 February 2013 17.35 GM wrote a piece “Rock giants offer a sound model for business, says man from the Bank. From HMV to the economic crash: business and policy makers could learn a lot from the big names of pop”. This was repeated in the The […]

Rentier landlords – back in business

There was an article in the  The Guardian on 29th June 2013 “Meet the new class of landlords who are profiting from Generation Rent” by Patrick Collinson. A crucial factor that was missing from the article was the role of the banks in what is becoming a national scandal. According to the Council of Mortgage […]

Britain says no – especially if you are fellow members of the European Community

On the 28th January 2013 newspapers were reporting that the Government was planning to launch an advertising campaign to dissuade people from Bulgaria and Romania coming to these shores when they are given full travel rights across the EC next year. Britain has received any number of immigrants to its shores over the years; Huguenots, Jews,Poles,Indians, Ugandan Asians, West Indians. Currently […]

BBC recruitment procedures – state of the art – 100 years ago

Any one witnessing the recruitment of the Director General at the BBC would have thought the pantomime season had started earlier than usual. When George Entwistle was appointed at a annual salary of  £450,000, Lord Patten said “George is a creative leader for a creative organisation”. Alas events  the grave and the past were his undoing , that, […]

Gove – Back to the Future – the UK version

Mr Gove motivates 12 year olds by telling them their qualifications are worthless. I often wonder what drives politicians who cherish the dotty idea that the past is somehow a golden age. They always remind me of the relative who hits the Wincarnis Tonic Wine before lunch. Mr Gove’s well worn notions that have failed the test of time, will like, the […]

The BBC and Andrew Marr on jazz

Andrew Marr on his Sunday morning television show on the 13th March 2011 gave a wholly convincing performance that demonstrated that his knowledge of jazz is restricted to cheap laughs. The link below is to the Guardian where it was reported. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2012/jan/31/andrew-marr-clarkson I wrote to the Mark Thompson Director General and took it through every stage of the […]