SHOP TALK

Kind words have been received for this blog from “Curly’s Corner Shop”. I first came across his writings last summer and have been a daily reader since. Whilst I have not always agreed with everything he has scribed, he has remained a beacon of reason in what has been a very murky sea. Don’t worry Curly, my Metro campaign remains very important to me and the community of East Boldon, but as I have indicated, this is a troubled Borough. My political journey through life has been varied and I have at times flown flags of many colours, but the trappings of youth have given way to the basic desire for the truth, equality and opportunity. I compare my passage to the “Emperors New Clothes” story; my eyes have been opened and there are a lot of politicians at national and local level who don’t have any clothes on!

Check out Curly’s link http://curly15.wordpress.com, he’s well worth a visit.

Enough analogies about rights of passage etc, and let’s get down to business. Today’s Shield’s Gazette has just arrived on the door step, and for once it has failed to generate the usual “steam through ears” syndrome. I like the Gazette, it’s not afraid to tackle issues and it is a true community paper. Mondays edition, is however, a little tame. Miliband as per usual features heavily (is the man a shareholder in the paper? If he received air miles for every column of coverage he would be flying to Australia and back free of charge). His comment on the soap opera that is the Labour leadership challenge is classic spin. “I’ve been saying for three years that we have an excellent PM in Tony Blair and an excellent Prime Minister in waiting in Gordon Brown and nothing has changed to alter my position.” Of course it hasn’t David. You’re not only just sitting on the fence, your straddling it with a foot in both gardens. When Peter Mandelson calls for a new leader to “emerge from nowhere”, it worries me. Miliband could be that “nowhere” leader and that causes me great concern; he’s too clever by half. But what causes the greatest consternation is that he claims to see equal attributes in both Blair and Brown. Now that is worrying!

I see that the Gazette has won itself some press accolades at a ceremony for Johnson’s Press, and so it should. Chris Robinson is singled out for particular praise and his award is well deserved. But come on Chris, where’s the coverage on that little issue I placed before you sometime ago. The people should be told!