The Manchester MEN Arena is around half-full for tonight’s event. The top tier is tarped off and the entrance way and screens take up an entire side of the building but we’re still looking at a crowd of over 6,000 for the show, which is tremendous considering their US attendances.

The crowd is hot as well and on top of that Jeremy Borash and Christy Hemme do a fantastic job of stoking the fires, so we’re at fever pitch by the time of the first contest.

AUSTIN ARIES vs. MARK HASKINS vs. ALEX SHELLEY (TNA X-Division Title; 3-way match)

Haskins is introduced from Manchester, England (running gimmick for the tour – introduced from Nottingham the previous night) and gets a minimal reaction to say the least. Shelley and Aries get nice pops before an ‘Austin Aries’ chant breaks out, which is strange given he’s the heel in the contest.

Very much like the four-way at Genesis, in that Aries watches the start of the match from the outside then comes in and takes over. Shelley ends up on the floor a lot and Aries finishes with the brainbuster on Haskins for the win in around nine minutes.

**3/4 – solid enough opener with plenty of spots to get the crowd going. Still maintain TNA have problems with Aries long-term because there’s no realistic challengers in the X-Division. Haskins brings nothing of note and Shelley is more suited to tag team action.

DOUG WILLIAMS vs. CRIMSON

Nice ovation for another Brit in Doug(las) Williams who faces the undefeated Crimson. No idea how many matches undefeated Crimson has under his belt or why for that matter. Crimson dominates with slow, plodding offense until Williams blocks a Red Alert attempt and starts a decent comeback with his signature spots.

Chaos Theory is blocked though and this allows Crimson to hit the Red Sky for the three count in around eight minutes. Williams still gets a good ovation on his way back to the locker room.

Beforehand, Earl Hebner did his patented, ‘I screwed Bret’, ‘yes, I really did’ routine, much to the ire of the crowd.

*3/4 – Crimson does little to involve the crowd when he’s on offence and they only really come alive when Williams makes his comeback but the outcome of this one was pretty obvious.

GUNNER vs. A.J. STYLES

Gunner looks lost without Ric Flair by his side. AJ Styles receives the ovation of the night so far and should surely be involved in bigger things than he is at the present moment.

Gunner’s offence is interchangeable with Crimson’s; cookie cutter, lumbering big man strikes. Thankfully, Styles is on top form to drag him to a good match, bouncing around like a pinball and delving into his moveset for a springboard, barricade-assisted clothesline and finishing things off with the Pele kick to a tremendous pop.

**3/4 – they need to make more of AJ, fans love to get behind him and he rarely disappoints. At this stage in his career, Gunner needs Flair by his side to spark any interest.

MADISON RAYNE & GAIL KIM vs. MICKIE JAMES & TARA

If there’s one thing that TNA do better than any other major promotion it’s women’s wrestling (and it was even better about three years ago when Awesome Kong ruled the roost).

They have the right mix of eye candy and solid wrestling that WWE used to boast before Lita and Trish retired and they decided that fitness models were the way forward.

This tag match showcases that perfectly. Gail Kim does the leg work for the heels but Madison Rayne is tremendous at riling folks up. Mickie’s ‘Hardcore Country’ theme tune is extremely catchy and Tara can still go, it’s WWE’s loss that they let these two go.

Gail busts out the Octopus to a nice round of applause and Mickie plays the face-in-peril routine very well. Tara gets the victory for the face team with the Widow’s Peak (still one of the most impressive moves to see live) to a good pop.

**1/2 – solid women’s match with good spots for all involved, accentuating their strengths, the type of match WWE feels it can’t or won’t deliver any more.

BOBBY ROODE (c) vs. SAMOA JOE (TNA World Heavyweight Title Match)

Jeremy Borash is the ring announcer for this TNA World Title match that will be aired on Xplosion. Joe is the No.1 contender after winning a tournament to receive this title shot on said programme.

This certainly gives the match some prestige and Joe is out to a tremendous pop. As stated in my Genesis review, he’s looking as good as he has in years and might finally be on the road to regaining the form of his 2006/07 heyday.

Roode is out to some good heat and the in-ring introductions give us the big-match feel. The crowd remain hot throughout, which allows both guys to keep their intensity levels up.

Joe hits some great signature spots, including the suicide dive and running kick to the barricade but Roode manages to get the foot on the ropes at two following a muscle buster.

Roode’s offense is very cerebral and he allows a near-collision between Joe and referee Earl Hebner to provide the opening he needs to land the fisherman’s suplex for the three count. Joe poses with the English flag after the bout to cheers.

***1/4 – match of the night from two solid hands and one that should provide a good TV main event. This had a big match feel to it, helped by the crowd.

Dixie Carter then comes out to greet the crowd, accompanied by a competition winner and her boyfriend (who hilariously gets booed). Dixie introduces us to Marion Duncan, the 82-year-old who hit the headlines by fending off a thief in her Scottish home. Excellent touch from TNA, one that will earn them plenty of kudos with fans worldwide.

KURT ANGLE, BULLY RAY & BOBBY ROODE vs. ‘Cowboy’ JAMES STORM, STING & HULK HOGAN

Time for the main event of the evening. It’s scheduled to be a tag team match pitting Kurt Angle and Bully Ray against James Storm and Sting.

Bully is out first and vows to fight the grandma in the front row from earlier. He then pulls off his camouflage top to reveal a Liverpool shirt with ‘Gerrard 8′ on the back. Liverpool are sworn enemies of Manchester United and it’s safe to say they’re not too friendly with Manchester City either. Gerrard is Liverpool’s captain and franchise player, so when Bully states ‘God bless Steven Gerrard and Liverpool F.C.’ it draws monster heat – tremendous heel shtick.

Kurt Angle still gets a face pop and is at that stage in his career now where he shouldn’t and cannot be a heel, purely because of the respect the fans hold for him.

James Storm is out next to a nice ovation but the roof is raised for the return of Sting to the UK and he still looks in great shape. We’re just about to get things started when World Champion Bobby Roode re-emerges with a message for ‘you w**kers’ – turns out the champ isn’t finished for the evening and the match just became a three-on-two handicap match in the heels’ favour.

Of course that leads to Sting informing ‘you dummies’ that they’ve not learned since the previous night in Nottingham and introduces Hulk Hogan as the third man (where has that happened before?) to a monster pop. Hogan, in work pants, after working in jeans the previous night comes out to ‘Eye of the Tiger’.

A lot of stalling to begin before Hogan takes control and the faces take turns in bouncing Roode and Bully around the ring. Angle gets the upper hand for his team and it’s left to Sting and Storm to do most of the leg work.

Miscommunication between Bully and Roode sees Sting make the hot tag to Hogan and it all breaks loose with Hulk and Bully, Storm and Roode and Sting and Angle pairing off. The fight spills to the floor where Hogan introduces Bully to Marion Duncan’s cane.

We’re back inside for the big boot from Hogan, Stinger Splash from Sting and Last Call superkick by Storm to Bully for the three-count. Cue posedown from the faces as the fans go wild for two legends and a guy who has developed a strong fanbase in the UK thanks to his work on previous Maximum Impact tours.

**1/2 – never going to be a classic but this was good, honest family fun and gave Sting and Hogan their momemt in the UK spotlight.

Summary: A different TNA show to the one I last saw in January 2010. This was more akin to the shows you get from WWE; family friendly, with the intention of sending the fans home happy and that is exactly what they did here.

The main difference that makes the TNA experience unique is the interaction between Borash and the fans between matches and the presence of Dixie Carter, which really makes the TNA wrestling fan feel valued.

Written by: Maurice D. Proffit

Thank you 2/6/2012 edition of Monday Night Raw for being a very lackluster and underwhelming show because that motivated me even more to talk about something that has been itching my brain since Thursday 2/2/2012.

So any wrestling fan, that takes his wrestling somewhat seriously, you were well aware that TNA Impact Wrestling was being broadcasted from Wembly Arena in London England last week. Queue “Rule, Britannia”

Living in a current day and age where TNA is normally the punch line and/or but of all jokes, I like to consider myself a “TNA Apologist”. I don’t necessarily take part in the constant bashing of the organization. Is it flawless? FAR from it! Is it perfect? FAR from it. Can I put together a global wrestling federation on their level? FAR FROM IT! And that’s the reason why I don’t beat it up to much. While people focus on its negatives, I take into consideration how far they have come and their direction. I look at those attributes and it makes me hold on to the bumpy ride even longer. There have been plenty of times where I would just look at the product with absolutely disgust and/or embarrassment. And I’m asking myself, “Why in the hell would they air this?” But in all fairness, I’ve asked those same questions and visited those same feelings about the WWE as well. So, I cannot be hypocritical. So now here we are at the Impact Wrestling that is in London. And just from the mere opening of the show as they are panning the crowd, I am HOOKED AND SOLD. Never, and I mean NEVER have I seen a TNA audience with so much electricity and so much passion. Gorilla Monsoon coined the phrase “The Electricity in here is so thick, you can cut it with a knife”, and my sentiments were exact for this London crowd.

Did it matter that Bound for Glory back on Oct 9^th 2011 left us with a very sour taste in our mouths, considering how the PPV finished? No. Did it matter that TNA is the hub for what is called “The home of Russo booking?” No. Did it matter than almost a year ago; Jeff Hardy made his way down to ringside at the Victory Road ppv, to face Sting in a world heavyweight title match, but was higher than a Boeing 757?

No, it didn’t. To these fans, “To hell with the past! We just want to see some wrestling.” And at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? Wrestling. Isn’t that the reason why we tune in on Mondays and Thursdays? Why we buy the ppvs? Why we buy tickets to the arenas? Isn’t this the reason why we do these things? For the in ring wrestling? Now, I hate to do this, but I must prove a point, let me compare the UK Wrestling Audience to the United States Wrestling Audience. Black/White difference. And I feel that there is a black/white difference because the WWE has raised and set the bar to a level where only they can reach. Now, is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. This is 2012, in order to progress, we have to accept modernity. But why is it that American Wrestling fans have difficulty with distinguishing the difference between a multi-million dollar product vs a successful yet meager product? It’s like if it’s not the multimillion dollar product, it’s not worthy of being on our television sets.

Example. When I was I college, my now wife (who was then my girlfriend) were hanging out in my dorm room (QN: We were on campus during the summer working and going to summer school and there were times where we had a lot of down time, just so you don’t think we never used our time wisely, lol) and I had an ECW wrestling tape that I was borrowing from a friend of mine and I wanted to show her. She had never been exposed to anything outside of WWE, but she was a good sport anyway and told me she’d check out the tape. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the PPV, but it had an RVD vs Sabu match on it, that (to this day IMO) was a classic. I wanted her to watch that match, because I knew she would appreciate it. Just a few days before, we watched RVD vs Eddie Guerrero on Monday Night Raw in a ladder match, that just stole the show and to this day is her favorite match of all time. We watched the RVD/Sabu match, and I noticed that I was the only one who was really into the match. As a matter of fact, she asked if we could turn it off because it was “boring”. BORING?!?! Seriously??? I asked her the problem and she said “it looks bootleg and low budget.” Well…yes, it is very low budget. But the beauty of ECW is what was lost in the glamour was made up for it in the ring. That wasn’t enough for her. She wanted lights, pyro, a stage, 14,000-20,000 person stadium, big original music, great camera work and set designs. Her bar of what to appreciate with pro wrestling was set so high, that no other org (even the original ECW) would not be able to reach that standard.

Is that the current problem now? Are we just too jaded by the pomp and circumstance that WWE gives us on a bi weekly basis that it almost like we expect it already and the novelty has worn off? Going back to that crowd in London England, that crowd reminded me of what pro wrestling used to be in the 80’s. Rabid crowd popping for every and all big move that took place. They even reminded me of the WWF Attitude Era crowd who just went nuts over anyone who was in the ring. I was watching on WWE Classics on Demand the other day; an old episode of Monday Night Raw where it was Jacqueline vs Sable in an arm wrestling match…a women’s arm wrestling match, and the crowd was eating up every second of it. Loved it! If we were to get right now Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella in an arm wrestling match, the crowd would rebel and the home audience would twitter/Facebook “Worst sh*t ever” and all that good stuff. So what is/was the difference? Why is it that a live crowd cannot get pumped to see a Yoshi Tatsu vs Drew McIntyre match? Why do we pop for the entrance music but when the bell rings it’s the total opposite? I cannot even begin to tell you how much it kills me when I see people who are sitting ringside, TEXTING! C’mon man! You’re ringside at a live WWE event! Nothing at that moment compares, unless your house is on fire, and if it is, you have insurance…you can wait! There’s a world title match going on in front of you.

How many times do I have to see the people in the first 4 rows more concerned about making sure that they are on TV by looking at the titan tron? Or what about the guy who is ON his cell phone, and simultaneously looking at the titan tron and waving at the hard camera saying “Hey! You see me!?!? I’m in the gray shirt! Yeah dude! That’s meeeeeeeee.” UGH!!!! I would KILL for your seats! And not just to I can call my buddy and tell them to turn on USA to look at me, just so I can watch the action going on just a mere 5 yards away from me. I challenge you to look for any old WWF tape from the 80’s and 90’s and find me a crowd that is dead and critical to the product. And where did the heavy heavy criticism come from? Now it’s not wrong to voice your opinion of what’s going on with wrestling, but it’s come to obsessive hate now with fans. For example, TNA had a poster that was out to promote one of their shows and there was a very slight typo on it. And the typo occurred on a line that was not even prominent. But someone on Facebook felt the absolute need to harp on this type and him and others just ripped the company apart and did everything but wish death on them. Wow, all of this over a typo? Hey genius, open ANY magazine, I promise you, you will find some. Since when did people all of a sudden become editor in chief of the New York Times???

Have we as fans really gotten to that point? Where our only reason for breathing is to hate on a product that we love? I’ve said for some time now that No on hates pro wrestling more than WRESTLING FANS. I am more than convinced by this. And it seems like it’s really on this side of the pond. True, there are those who are extremely critical over in Europe, but when we see examples of this last Impact, the new TNA spinoff “Ring Ka King” and whenever we see footage of WWE in Europe, we get the same reaction across the board. We get that energy, that passion, that excitement, that emotional investment. As Americans, are we just generally overly stimulated? Remember when once upon a time, cable TV just meant 10 extra channels in addition to 2, 5, 7 and 9? Now, I hit the guide channel and I have a channel numbers “957”. Remember when once upon a time when the sole reason for your car was to drive you from point A to point B? Now our vehicles turn on with a remote control. Open the doors with the censor of your hand, voice activated. Heats your seat individually and your coffee mug. Have televisions sets in it. Remember when once upon a time, your phone was used to… (*gasp*) make phone calls? Now a phone does everything under the sun and making a phone call is so down on the list. I’m not even going to go into the details of what a phone does now. I’m just waiting for it to microwave your food.

But are we just overly stimulated to a point where we cannot appreciate the dignity of simplicity? Where just a mere match between two men or two women is way under our expectations and our immediate reaction is to mock the talent? Is our attention span that bad where we as fans cannot appreciate a Broadway (Wrestling Term: “Broadway”: A match that last 1 hour or more) anymore??? Gone are those days. This is why the Divas get a 90 sec 8 woman tag on Raw! Attention spans are next to none.

Maybe, just maybe we need to take a page from our friends in international waters and understand that they really are the fortunate ones who are ahead of us. From the Canada, to the UK, to India, to Japan, these wrestling fans are seeing something that we just will not accept that is in front of us. WrestleMania will never go on international soil due to the economics of the whole thing. But…maybe Wembly Stadium or the Tokyo Dome does deserve a WrestleMania. And we in the United States should watch on tape delay.

I’m just sayin…

Before I end this. Just want to show some love to a few SOLID bloggers that I am learning A LOT from (thank you gentlemen)

For your Baseball Fix, this man is a walking/living Wikipedia of anything dealing with Major League Baseball. Check out Matt Adams (Twitter: @2012WhiteSox) His Web sites are:
http://ramblingsofbaseball.com
 and
http://southsideshowdown.com

For your Premier English Football League fix, on opinions, topics, analysis and all that good stuff that deal with English Football, check out Ross Bell (Twitter: @RossBell1984  ) His Web Site is:
http://www.johnnykashmirsrandomblog.blogspot.com/

For anyone that take an appreciation in commentary on computers, Video Games and other outlets of technology (of which i am completely clueless about but I envy the hell out of him), Check out Sekani Wright (Twitter: @Sekani2  ) his Web site is
http://www.sekani2.com

Some Quebec MPs are returning their Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medals in protest of the federal government’s spending on monarchy celebrations.

At least six Quebec MPs — all four Bloc Quebecois members, along with two New Democrats — are reportedly refusing to accept the jubilee medals going to all 308 members of the House of Commons.

I get that the Bloc MPs would say no — although apparently Lucien Bouchard accepted a Golden Jubilee medal in 2002, so who knows? — but the two NDP MPs surprised me.

Seriously, guys? Maybe the rumours are right, and you ARE crypto-separatists?

Here’s one: the Tory ad team, which is truly a brilliant set of individuals, have put out their latest: “Bob Rae is Back“

They’re such a great team. What’s the root of their genius? They say in their ads what Liberals are themselves thinking. First Rae’s record as NDP premier of Ontario, then “Now, he’s plotting to take over the Liberal Party”:

My Liberal friends on the right-ish side of the party have been screaming that for months. Hell, Warren Kinsella continues to grouse about it.

Then the ad goes through a list of tax hikes under Rae. And ends with: “If he gets the chance, he’ll do for Canada what he did for Ontario. *slam-sound* DON’T LET HIM DO IT AGAIN.”

Brilliant.

I think this is their best work yet. It handily beats out “Not a Leader” or “Just Visiting” — but then, it needs to, as Rae is a better pol than Dion and Ignatieff combined.

***

For Britain, a Canadian taxonomy:

Alex Salmond began with the Modified Lévesque Opening. The Scottish separatist leader said he will produce a referendum ballot in late 2014, shortly before the next British election, that will contain two or three questions. …

Mr. Salmond has told me he’s fully aware of the phrase “sovereignty-association,” and he appears to be well-studied in René Lévesque’s use of deliberate ambiguity as a tactic for maximizing the Yes vote.

This week, Prime Minister David Cameron fired back with the Dion Gambit. Scotland, he declared, will be granted the authority to hold a referendum, as long as Westminster’s conditions are met. And there should be only one question, a strict Yes or No one in which a clear Yes majority will result in certain and immediate separation from Britain. Only this question, whose possibility is contained in the Scotland Act, would be constitutionally allowable.

That was a politically bold and sensible move, probably inspired by Mr. Cameron’s readings of Stéphane Dion’s Clarity Act: By turning the referendum into a brick-wall question of secession, London gave Scots a sense of clarity, and also rendered a Yes vote as dangerous and unlikely as possible.

But Mr. Cameron, possibly overplaying his hand, added another condition: The referendum must be held by the end of 2013. Otherwise, Westminster could organize its own referendum on Scotland.

This allowed Mr. Salmond to respond with the Lucien Bouchard Defence. He will hold the referendum, he said, in 2014. Scotland has the right to hold one, he said – not to declare separation but to give its government a mandate to enter into negotiations with Westminster. Mr. Cameron is not quite in checkmate, but it will require a bold sacrifice. A London-organized secession referendum would be unprecedented. A sequence of court challenges and political gambits is more likely.

It’s amazing, how closely Britain’s situation mirrors Canada’s. It’s to the point that we can name the different moves and counter-moves.

Speaking at Prime Ministers Questions, Mr Carmeron said too many members of the Scottish National Party were ‘happy to talk about procedure’ but did not want to take the step of actually holding a vote.

“I passionately believe in the United Kingdom,” said the Prime Minsiter, “I passionately believe we are stronger together than broken apart.

“I believe we should have a debate because I think there are too many in the SNP who are happy to talk about the procedure.

“Its not a referendum, it’s a neverendum.’

That, or maybe he and Harper had a chat.

It’s kinda cool, seeing that Canada is the leading case on how to contain a secession movement in a liberal democracy.

David Cameron is to take a high-stakes gamble with the union this week by telling the Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, he can have a binding referendum on Scottish independence – but only in the next 18 months, after which any referendum can be no more than advisory.

He is also likely to tell Salmond he will be forbidden from asking a third question on the ballot paper, over a form of devolution stopping short of independence.

Cameron will publish a consultation paper, probably this week, revealing clear legal advice that the independence referendum will be binding under the Scotland Act only if both parliaments agree to its going ahead. He will say the uncertainty created by the prospect of independence is harming the Scottish and UK economies, and a delay until 2014 is not possible. …

The prime minister said that the uncertainty surrounding Scotland’s future was “very damaging” for businesses. Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Cameron said: “If Alex Salmond wants a referendum on independence, why do we wait until 2014?

“It is at least rational to put to the Scottish people: would it be better to have a more fair and decisive question put earlier?”

Interesting play.

I am writing this from my Vector Linux box, that old Dell Inspiron 2200 from 2002 — it’s still working.

Just now, my regular laptop is burning system restore DVDs, after which it will be all re-done afresh — a new beginning for the new-ish laptop in the new year.

But I’ve been thinking some about the state of things, and renewal, and all that.

The Mail has quite a depressing article about the potential for trouble in 2012 — it could be the worst year since 1932, they say.

I tend to agree with them — the world is in a tough time, and it’s possible or even likely that there’ll be the temptation to engage in political experiments over the next decade. Possibly even political experiments as disastrous as those that came in the 1930s.

But although ideas have terrific and terrible consequences, political culture does tell. The ideas of socialism in Russia brought the Soviet Union and the Great Terror; those same ideas in Britain, Canada, and America brought the Welfare State and the social safety net, and battles to erect them and remove bad elements of them have been — and will be — fought at the ballot box and on the floors of our respective legislative chambers.

So I do not expect terrible things to develop in the English-speaking liberal democratic world — times will be tough, sure, but we’ll get by. I’m more interested in (and fearful of) how things will develop in the rest of the world.

We’re living in interesting times — 2012 may be a significant year.

VA – The Last Night of the Proms 2003
FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Lossless Artwork | Size: 622 MB
Label/Cat#: Warner Classics 2564 61552-2 | Country/Year: Europe 2004
Genre: Classical | Hoster: Filesonic/Uploaded/Filepost

MD5 [X] CUE [X] LOG [X] INFO TEXT [X] ARTWORK [X]

webfind [] selfrip [X]

CD Info:

Leonard Slatkin / BBC Symphony Orchestra / BBC Symphony Chorus / BBC Singers / Angela Gheorghiu / Leila Josefowicz – The Last Night Of The Proms 2003

Label: Warner Classics
Catalog#: 2564 61552-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 2004
Genre: Classical

Tracklist:

1 The Wasps – Overture 9:03
2 Introduction Et Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 9:54
3 Pavane, Op. 50 6:04
4 Méditation Thaïs 5:42
5 Polovtsian Dances Prince Igor 11:27
6 Muzica Valurile Dunarii 2:56
7 Ebben?… Ne Andrò Lontana La Wally 3:33
8 Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1 In D Major 6:42
9 Fantasia On British Sea-Songs 18:54
10 Jerusalem 2:43

Companies etc:

Phonographic Copyright (p) – BBC
Copyright (c) – Warner Classics
Copyright (c) – Warner Music UK Ltd.

Credits:

Chorus Master – Stephen Jackson (3)
Conductor – Leonard Slatkin
Soprano Vocals – Angela Gheorghiu (tracks: 6,7)
Violin – Leila Josefowicz (tracks: 2,4)

Barcode and Other Identifiers:

Barcode: 825646155224
Label Code: LC 04281

Many people’s perception of the Proms is taken from the Last Night, although this concert is very different from the others. It usually takes place on the second Saturday in September, and is broadcast in the UK on BBC2 (first half) and BBC1 (second half). The concert is traditionally in a lighter, ‘winding-down’ vein, with popular classics being followed by a series of British patriotic pieces in the second half of the concert. This sequence traditionally begins with Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (Land of Hope and Glory), and continues with Sir Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs, which culminates in Thomas Arne’s Rule, Britannia!. However, the Fantasia has not featured since 2007, though Rule, Britannia! has retained its place in the programme in its own right. The concert concludes with Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem (a setting of a poem by William Blake), and the British national anthem. The repeat of the Elgar march at the Last Night can be traced to the spontaneous audience demand for an encore at its premiere at the 1901 Proms.[39] The closing sequence of the second half became fully established in 1954 during Sargent’s tenure as chief conductor of The Proms.[40] The Prommers have made a tradition of singing Auld Lang Syne after the end of the concert, but it is not in the programme. However, when James Loughran, a Scot, conducted at the Last Night in the 1970s he did include the piece in the programme.

Tickets are highly sought after. Promming tickets are the same price as for other concerts during the season, but tickets for seats are more expensive. To buy a seat in advance, it is necessary to have bought tickets for at least five other Proms in the season to have a chance of getting a Last Night ticket, and either an advance booking must include those five concerts, plus an application for a Last Night ticket, or the ticket stubs must be presented at the box office when purchasing a Last Night ticket for that season; tickets can only be purchased in an equivalent (or lower) price band to that for the previous tickets. Once the advance booking period ends, there is no requirement to have booked for additional concerts, but the concert is generally sold out by this time, though returns may be available. For standing places, full season tickets automatically include last night admission, half-season ticket holders have access to a special distribution of tickets, but must purchase their Last Night ticket in addition to the cost of the season ticket; day Prommers also have to present five ticket stubs at the box office. Some standing tickets are sold on the day, just as for other concerts during the season.[41] In the post-War period, with the growing popularity of the “Last Night”, the only way to obtain tickets was through a postal ballot system where prospective buyers submitted an application well in advance, along with a stamped and addressed reply envelope. The lucky ones received their tickets by return. A ballot remains for the chance to win 1 of 100 stalls seats.[41] Prior to 2009, the requirement was for six concerts in addition to the Last Night when purchasing a ticket in advance. wikipedia

 

Links:

http://s2l.biz/a4rvywl3f9m

Pass:

finest-hq-audio

Now that I think of it, perhaps it’s better suited to be Easter music?

Well, whatever. I like it.

For many years schools of various kinds existed but there were very few for children of poor parents. Many children of wealthy parents did not go to school at all but were taught by a governess or tutor in the school rooms of their big houses.

In cities many children worked in factories and mills and had no time for schooling. Christian men and women were upset that some boys and girls were growing up ignorant of Jesus Christ and unable to read and write. They started Sunday schools and Church day schools. Children who were already working came to school for part of the day. By the time Victoria became queen the government had begun to help these good people to build schools. Many schools were built and were called “Board Schools” because they were managed by a board or committee. Those built by the Churches were usually called “National Schools”. Nowadays these schools would be considered very dull places indeed. Large classes had one teacher who was helped by a young pupil teacher who was apprenticed for five years. There was a custom where older girls would be appointed classroom monitors and would teach small groups of infants.

In Filey Miss Lillian Stockdale was a pupil teacher and in 1901 the Parish Magazine records that she has “passed in the 2^nd Class at the recent Examination of Pupil Teachers in Religious Knowledge.” Also noted was that “Blanche Collins has been appointed a Monitor at the Infant School.”

Lillian Stockdale is to the far left of the photo.

Amusements at school were simple – singing around the piano, class readings of Dickens, reciting times tables parrot style. There would have been plenty of book titles in circulation as many of the best children’s stories were written in Victorian and Edwardian times – Alice in Wonderland, The Water Babies, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, Black Beauty and Treasure Island. Lesser known books rather than classics would usually be given as class or school prizes and these would be so treasured by the recipient that many survive to this day. Here are the cover and award notice of a prize book given to Edmund Cammish in 1917 a month or so before his fifth birthday.

Although young Eddie Polo’s dad didn’t go to sea this page would have had great meaning for him, as it would for all children living in a fishing village anywhere on Britain’s coast.

When he was older ‘Eddie Polo’ gained top marks in the school exams and was awarded this book, which he may have chosen himself.

Games went in seasons at school and at home – hoops, whip and top and marbles were played outside at their proper times. Diablo, shuttlecock and battledore were fashionable indoors. Rocking horses, teddies, dolls, trains, tin soldiers and farm animals made out of lead were all popular. On one occasion the youngest Filey infants were encouraged to bring in their favourite toy animals on the day the photographer called.

Eddie Polo’s older sister Betsy Irene second from left, middle row, aged 4

Some toys were not built for rough play. This musical box, for example, was probably wound up by a parent for the children to listen to. It was probably brought out rarely and on special occasions but it played a tune that every child of Empire was expected to know and love.

All photographs from the family collection of Ian and Joanne Cammish. School photos most probably taken by G. Doran, Filey.

The Prime Minister first realised that he almost certainly would have to wield the British veto after his meeting with Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy early on Thursday evening.

Sarkozy told Cameron that there could be no compromise on the City of London because, he claimed – absurdly – the euro’s problems were the product of a lack of financial regulation.

When Cameron walked into the room with William Hague, Merkel’s face fell. She seemed to realise that the presence of the Foreign Secretary meant the Prime Minister really was contemplating something that none of his predecessors had ever dared do – using the veto.

After this meeting, Ed Llewellyn, Cameron’s chief of staff, briefly took soundings on whether a treaty change that did not offer any protections for financial services could pass through the Commons without a sustained Tory rebellion.

The answer to that, he quickly concluded, was no. If Sarkozy would not budge, the veto was Cameron’s only option if he wished to avoid a civil war in his own parliamentary party. …

Downing Street is clear who is to blame for Britain being put in this position: the French. One person familiar with the negotiations says: ‘It was effectively the French saying no. It was a showdown between Dave and Sarko, and Dave didn’t blink.’

Even the Liberal Democrats are joining in this French-bashing. An ally of the Deputy Prime Minister tells me: ‘We don’t like the outcome but we don’t blame David Cameron. The real enemy, as usual, is the French.’

Cameron, though, is aware of how difficult the decision to back the veto was for the Liberal Democrats. The Coalition is now looking for a major domestic policy announcement that Clegg’s party can make in the next few days to reassure its MPs and members.

Heh.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says David Cameron’s veto of EU treaty changes was “bad for Britain” and could leave it “isolated and marginalised”.

But he blamed French and German “intransigence” and pressure from Eurosceptic Conservatives for putting the PM in “a very difficult position”.

Initially Mr Clegg said the coalition was united over the use of the veto.

But he told the BBC he had “made it clear” to Mr Cameron it was “untenable” for him to welcome the move. …

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme: “I’m bitterly disappointed by the outcome of last week’s summit, precisely because I think now there is a danger that the UK will be isolated and marginalised within the European Union.

“I don’t think that’s good for jobs, in the City or elsewhere, I don’t think it’s good for growth or for families up and down the country.”

Well, he had to. It’s his party’s principles, and his own. They’re Europhiles.

Analysis:

… there are two claims which are equally significant.

Firstly, the deputy prime minister claimed the outcome would have been different if he had been prime minister at the talks as he would not have to worry about Eurosceptic backbenchers – in other words David Cameron’s veto was not the fault of European politics but the inevitable consequence of Tory politics.

He may be wondering this morning why he agreed to a negotiating position which allowed a Conservative Eurosceptic to say “No”, blame Europe for it and declare that he had Lib Dem support.

Secondly, Nick Clegg said that those who worried that this deal might damage rather than protect the City of London “might be right”. In other words the veto may not even have achieved its goal. …

So, now we have a government split between a party which wants to see this veto as the first step to a totally new looser relationship with the EU and a party led by a man who’s pledging to “fight, fight and fight again” to stop that happening.

Can a coalition split so spectacularly on Europe be sustained for three and a half years? Will either side want it to be?

I think the Coalition is not long for this world…

Well, bring on the election! Let’s have a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government!

It’s a good speech, and it helped inspire the European project.

But he did not intend that Britain should be a part of it. On the contrary:

Yet all the while there is a remedy which, if it were generally and spontaneously adopted, would as if by a miracle transform the whole scene, and would in a few years make all Europe, or the greater part of it, as free and as happy as Switzerland is today.

What is this sovereign remedy?

It is to re-create the European Family, or as much of it as we can, and provide it with a structure under which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom.

We must build a kind of United States of Europe.

In this way only will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes which make life worth living.

The process is simple.

All that is needed is the resolve of hundreds of millions of men and women to do right instead of wrong, and gain as their reward, blessing instead of cursing.

Much work has been done upon this task by the exertions of the Pan-European Union which owes so much to Count Coudenhove-Kalergi and which commanded the services of the famous French patriot and statesman, Aristide Briand. …

The salvation of the common people of every race and of every land from war or servitude must be established on solid foundations and must be guarded by the readiness of all men and women to die rather than submit to tyranny.

In all this urgent work, France and Germany must take the lead together.

Great Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations, mighty America, and I trust Soviet Russia – for then indeed all would be well – must be the friends and sponsors of the new Europe and must champion its right to live and shine.

We’ll see whether the European project has a future — the Euro may not. We’ll see. But it shouldn’t include Britain in anything other than a trade capacity.

Cameron looks good.

More from the (Europhile) BBC here and here.

Update: What is Britain’s future in Europe?

Update again: The Euroskeptic reaction is great.

The Sun has a mock-up of Cameron as Churchill, and avers that “Britain stands alone”. (Following up on this Chamberlain or Churchill piece.)

The Express also says “Britain Stands Alone”, and declares, “Cameron says no to EU treaty as others buckle”.

Update later: The Mail, the Telly, and the Sun all agree: Cameron is in a position of strength.

The Mail:

Today I salute Mr Cameron. He is to be congratulated on standing up for this country’s interests in refusing to agree to a treaty that would have violated both our economic prosperity and our democratic principles.

The challenge now for the Prime Minister is that he must hold his nerve as never before. In Europe, he is in a minority of one. The threats from fellow EU leaders about what might happen if we don’t join in their vision of a new EU are deeply menacing. …

If Mr Cameron’s resolute stand were to bring down the Coalition, it is hard to imagine anything better for him than to have to fight an election on the platform of sparing Britain from further damage by an increasingly federal, and anti-democratic, Europe. The current opinion polls on Europe show the contest would be his to lose.

The Telegraph:

Crucially, it was clear last night to all but our most one-eyed and dedicated enemies — and to the BBC, whose biased reporting has once again been a disgrace — that the British prime minister had behaved with propriety. And that is because he set out to Brussels 48 hours ago bent on conciliation not confrontation.

Nobody could have behaved more reasonably. He was all charm with his fellow European leaders, while flatly rejecting ill-tempered demands from the Tory back benches that he should seize the opportunity created by the euro crisis to demand a massive repatriation of powers to Britain. …

How did he pull off this amazing feat? I do not believe that the Prime Minister cunningly plotted the outcome. I can discern no Mandelsonian dark arts, and no cunning strategy. Cameron did not travel to Brussels thinking how he could outmanoeuvre the Tory right, while keeping the Lib Dems sweet.

He won out because he played it straight. He wanted to do the right thing by Europe and by Britain. The evidence suggests that he was motivated by nothing more sophisticated than a determination to conduct himself with integrity and to act in the national interest. …

So Cameron faces a long and desperately hard battle in the months ahead as he fights for British interests in a darkening economic climate. But thanks to his honourable conduct over the last two days, he engages in that struggle from the moral high ground.

The Sun:

The PM has time on his side. Polls are certain to show massive support. Europe now looms as the decisive issue at the next election.

He is suddenly the Lucky General, blessed with a red hot issue — and an unelectable opponent.

Ed Miliband has shown himself to be on totally the wrong side of every argument — the public sector strikes, the economy and now Europe.

He is nailed to the floor by union paymasters who are utterly wedded to Europe as the source of industrial power. …

As for Nick Clegg, the party’s over. The Lib-Dem high command — Ming Campbell, Charlie Kennedy, Paddy Ashdown and Clegg himself — are out of step with ordinary members who have become disenchanted with Brussels.

Britain is the most eurosceptic country in the EU. A majority of those who express an opinion want us out.

Bring on the election.

Forget economics. This was a political moment, and it will be remembered as the time the politicians failed. …

But most of all, David Cameron failed. The British Prime Minister will be applauded by his more isolationist backbenchers for his decision to pull out of Friday’s euro-rescue treaty, making Britain probably alone among the 27 European Union countries in refusing to participate in the pooling of resources and common sacrifice necessary to put the continent’s finances back on track.

His withdrawal is a serious blow to Europe, the world’s largest single economy – making a collapse of investor confidence in the continent far more likely, and forcing the bloc into an imposed Franco-German solution rather than the sort of larger arrangement that Britain could have helped organize, if it had been constructive instead of destructive. …

So it’s almost certainly a disaster for Britain. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where, in the wake of a 26-country agreement to create a fiscal and financial regulatory union with one dissenter, Britain doesn’t end up more isolated from Europe.

While Mr. Cameron’s Euro-skeptic MPs argue that Britain should withdraw into a trade-only relationship with Europe along the lines of Norway or Switzerland, they don’t understand: Britain’s trade ties with the continent are built on six decades of common laws, standards and regulations, all of which are now jeopardized. The British exemption could only result in less trade, not more.

The stakes are huge. This is a country, remember, whose annual trade with its 26 EU neighbours is between £140-billion and £185-billion, somewhere between 50 per cent and 60 per cent of all imports and exports. By comparison, it does £33.5-billion in business with the United States (15 per cent), £5.1-billion with China (2.3 per cent) and £3.6-billion with Canada (1.6 per cent). …

“I think I did the right thing for Britain,” Mr. Cameron told the BBC on Friday, claiming that Britain could take or leave pieces of the EU – a cafeteria common market. No serious observer believed him. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister, certainly didn’t: “Any Euro-skeptic who might be rubbing their hands in glee about the outcome of the summit should be careful for what they wish for.”

What’s saved the Western economies from total collapse in the past three years has been the heroic levels of international co-operation. There’s always been the threat of 1930s-style isolationism. We just never thought it would come from an intelligent free trader such as Mr. Cameron.

I’m going to push back: no, David Cameron didn’t fail.

On the contrary: for once in his life, he stood for something.

See the Mail:

Headline: “Day PM put Britain first: Defiant Cameron stands up to Euro bullies… but French plot revenge for historic veto“

David Cameron stood defiantly behind his historic veto of a new EU power grab last night as France plotted to push Britain towards the EU exit door.

In the most momentous decision of his premiership, Mr Cameron resolutely defended British interests by rejecting demands for treaty change across the EU as part of a rescue plan for the single currency.

Angry Eurocrats said the extraordinary and unexpected move – the first time a British prime minister has said ‘no’ to a new European treaty – marked a ‘great divorce’ and threw Britain’s future in the EU into serious doubt.

‘This is going to cost the UK dearly. They have antagonised everyone,’ said one senior EU official. ‘I don’t believe David Cameron was ever with us at the table,’ complained Germany’s Angela Merkel.

France’s Le Monde newspaper pronounced ‘The Europe of 27 is finished’, while Germany’s Der Spiegel declared ‘Bye Bye Britain’.

Under renewed pressure from his own party to call a referendum on a looser relationship with the EU as other member states form a powerful new bloc, Mr Cameron insisted Britain would not leave the union as long as it remained in our interests to stay in. …

Mr Sarkozy was said to have had to be physically restrained during ten-hour talks that went on through the night, and afterwards ‘blanked’ the Prime Minister by dodging his handshake in the manner of a sulking teenager.

He told Mr Cameron that while others were trying to save the Eurozone he was issuing ‘irrelevant’ demands to make London an ‘offshore centre’ taking cash away from Europe.

To the delight of Eurosceptics at home, Mr Cameron responded by telling shocked EU leaders that in that case, they would have to go it alone. …

Mr Cameron said the new treaty would mean countries having ‘their budgets written in Brussels’. …

‘You’ve never seen Britain actually say “no” to a European treaty before: that’s what has changed. What I’ve done is made sure that Britain’s interests were protected. [The treaty] didn’t have sufficient safeguards for Britain, so I wasn’t prepared to support it.

‘The point is that we remain in the single market . . . we maintain that position and those institutions and that market is protected for Britain. I said to the people of Britain that if I couldn’t get a treaty that was good for Britain, I wouldn’t sign up to it, and I was good to my word.’ …

After an unnamed French official said Mr Cameron had behaved ‘like a man at a wife-swapping party who refuses to bring his own wife’, the Prime Minister said: ‘I have not and have no plans to attend any wife-swapping parties.’

Here’s the thing: fundamentally, the Euro cannot survive without a massive transfer of power away from the national governments, to Brussels.

That’s what the new deal is — all the national governments in the currency will have to have their budgets vetted and approved by unelected, unaccountable Eurocrats.

Granted, the Eurocrats will be vetting them for good purposes — making sure that they don’t run deficits, and put the Euro in the position it now is in. But they won’t have direct accountability for their actions, and for their rulings.

I support austerity; I just support liberal democracy more.

The Economist goes all C.S. Lewis on us:

Europe’s great divorce

WE JOURNALISTS are probably too bleary-eyed after a sleepless night to understand the full significance of what has just happened in Brussels. What is clear is that after a long, hard and rancorous negotiation, at about 5am this morning the European Union split in a fundamental way. …

So two decades to the day after the Maastricht Treaty was concluded, launching the process towards the single European currency, the EU’s tectonic plates have slipped momentously along same the fault line that has always divided it—the English Channel.

Confronted by the financial crisis, the euro zone is having to integrate more deeply, with a consequent loss of national sovereignty to the EU (or some other central co-ordinating body); Britain, which had secured a formal opt-out from the euro, has decided to let them go their way.

Also:

BRITAIN did not walk out of the EU last night. But let there be no doubt about it: we have started falling out.

David Cameron finally did what British prime ministers have threatened in Europe so many times, and used his veto last night in Brussels, my BBC radio told me at dawn this morning. This is an astonishingly dramatic moment, the BBC added: the British prime minister has refused to sign up to a new EU treaty involving all 27 members, because the rest, led by France and Germany, would not grant him the safeguards he sought giving Britain powers to block unwelcome regulation of the City of London. …

That stuff about drama and rows is clearly right. But I fear I do not see where Mr Cameron used his veto.

In my version of the English language, when one member of a club uses his veto, he blocks something from happening. Mr Cameron did not stop France, Germany and the other 15 members of the euro zone from going ahead with what they are proposing. He asked for safeguards for financial services and—as had been well trailed in advance—France and Germany said no. That’s not wielding a veto, that’s called losing. …

Nor do I think we would be granted the sort of Swiss deal that British Tories yearn for. Switzerland is allowed access to the single market for relatively low cost because it is small. Because Switzerland is small, its absence from the single market table does not fundamentally alter the nature of that market. A walk-out by Britain, the largest free-market minded power in Europe, would change the nature of the single market fundamentally.

Well, that’s how it goes.

There are some fundamental disagreements. Either one goes along with the supra-national arrangements that are necessary to save the Euro, or one stays out.

Britain must stay out.

As for the members of the Eurozone, well, they have a choice to make. For many of them, staying in makes sense. For all? Well, we’ll see.

Update: The Guardian has a listing of headline reactions. I like the Sun’s.

Head over to ConservativeHome to see the Euroskeptic reaction…

Also, does this doom the Coalition?

Update again: Wednesday’s PMQs, before this all went down.

The language is really rough so be aware before you click on the highlighted link above.

I’m not sure how they found her, but Emma West was arrested for her racist rant yesterday and I’m sure many will be watching to see the outcome of her court appearance. At least 2 million people have seen the video, and I have to thank one of the bloggers I read for alerting me to the news story.

I just watched the video a few minutes ago and was shocked by the foul-mouthed rant of the woman who was holding her child in her lap. One woman spoke up to her and then another woman joined in, but only because the shouting had bothered her baby who can be heard crying in the background.

While working on my novel this month, I’ve been seeing the world and it’s events differently, more like scenes in a movie as the chapters in my book develop. After watching the video, I couldn’t help but visualize a different ending than the one the people on the tram had to tolerate many of whom are not British by birth and probably feel a bit displaced already without being confronted by such a venomous outburst.

In the movie scene in my head, I wonder …

What might have happened if when the woman began shouting, ‘ You ain’t English, and you ain’t English either ‘ as she was did to those around her … what if one person on the tram had launched into a loud song, one uniquely identified as a song all Brits and many expats would know, a song that’s sung at public events by the masses and is usually one found in the group below.

• “God Save the Queen“
• “Rule, Britannia!“, a patriotic British anthem.
• “Jerusalem“, a patriotic English hymn.
• “Land of Hope and Glory“, a British patriotic song

What if one voice became two, and then three, and then four, until one by one the voices of everyone on the tram were joined in song so that in the end both immigrant and British born citizens were singing so loudly that her voice could no longer be heard.

That might have shamed her into silence and made the people she was insulting feel better for a moment, but I’m not sure it would have had the impact needed to bring some greater sense of community in the mix of cultures that call Britain home.

Maybe this is a wake up call for a dialogue of some kind. I know there are strong feelings out there, I hear the rumblings too sometimes, but there has to be a better way than the one Emma West is teaching her child.

Isn’t it time we work on finding it and if not now, then when?

Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.

 ~ William Congreve

]]> http://iammusictv.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/new-tv-show-rule-britannia-mixtape/ Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:41:02 +0000 CarlyWilford http://iammusictv.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/new-tv-show-rule-britannia-mixtape/

In the run up to filming their first show, the team at Rule Britannia have put together a banging mixtape to give you a fuller flavour of what the show is all about. Showcasing some of the UKs best known signed talent alongside those that are lesser known/unsigned.

The best part is you can be part of this brand new revolution! They film the first show on 28th November and you can get FREE tickets by following the link below:

http://www.rulebritannia.tv/audience

Download the mixtape here:

http://www.mixcloud.com/player/facebook/?song=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mixcloud.com%2FRuleBritannia%2Fandy-tokyo-ed-wilder-rule-britannia-warmup-mixtape%2F&appear_source=999

Seen it? It’s more than just sugar, cotton and tea, there was loads taken from every where else in the world! Queen Victoria had her British Army, which set about conquering the rest of the world. She became the Empress of India in 1877! Victoria is Latin, the British Queen is German and speaks German better than English!

The British Empire became the biggest empire of the world! At one point, Victoria was the Empress/Queen of…
The United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland
Canada
The Caribbean
India
Australia
New Zealand
The Cook Islands
Sudan
Egypt
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Zambia
South Africa
Ghana
Uganda
Ethopia
and Saudi Arabia!
A third of the planet ruled by one tiny island… But today we have…
The United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland
Canada
The Caribbean
Australia
and New Zealand (no ! this time).

In Good Knowledge,
Sir Water Raliegh (Raleigh)

Rule Britannia Phone Iphone 4 Skin by Alexandra Cook aka Linandara

Rule Britannia fantasy Case For The Ipad by Alexandra Cook aka Linandara

Black Cab

Royal Blue

Purple Reign

Green Park

English Oak

True Union Jack

I’ll be going for the classic Black Cab and English Oak, how about you?
Images sourced at www.britishbeautyblogger.com 

It’s easy. This is the generation that grew up and forgot to lead their lives. They were so busy watching my endless media. Its power babe. I don’t create it, I own it! I sucked and sucked and sucked. The media became their only reality.”

- Borgia Ginz

Unlike Dom Dirk, I cannot relate the exact date that I first saw a particular film on television, but in the case of JUBILEE, I know the era. Much of my education about films, especially European cinema, was formed thanks to late night showings on Channel 4. In the mid-eighties, the channel featured a film slot on a Friday night where ‘special discretion’ was required and a helpful triangle hovered in the corner to warn off those people who have a sensitive disposition. Jarman films were the mainstay of these Channel Four seasons.

There was something about this film that captured my imagination. Elizabeth 1st is transported to England of the future by Dr Dee (played by a suitably crow-like Richard O’Brien) and the angel, Ariel, who he summons from the ether, looking like a drop-out from the Ashes to Ashes video. She walks gracefully through the destruction of a parallel punk version of London, where punk-looters roam the streets leaving a trail of destruction in their wake (very far-fetched, of course, but convincing nevertheless).

This is a future where art and history have been wiped out but are practiced by subversives. At the centre of the film is a collection of odd-ball miss-fits who share a living space, screwing each other under impractical plastic sheets while London burns: Adam Ant is seduced by Crabs while a skin-headed Toyah Wilcox shouts militaristic mantra; Amyl Nitrite, played by the punk-muse Jordan, features in the stand-out set-piece singing an electronic -racket version of Rule Britannia (scored by Brian Eno).

When I was a student in the mid-eighties, this film had a real affect on me as I wanted to remake a version of it set in Salford with a VHS. How more Punk can you get? How much more British can you get – high camp mixed with Kubrick and is a bit rubbish?

It is simplistic and it is deliberately shocking – smashing the face of Winston Churchill and extolling Myra Hindley as some kind of cultural icon, but it is not a film that can be forgotten easily and its striking use of imagery and language has earned it a place on Dirk’s list.