Kmflett's Blog

Lord Hylton

Most on the left dont have much time for the Unelected House of Lords and former Labour leader Tony Blair was one. He has never accepted a peerage. He may be disliked for other reasons but his decision to remain an ordinary citizen, albeit a very wealthy one, reflects a long standing New Labour principle.

The detail of attempts to reform the Lords is below. Labour’s 1999 Act managed to significantly reduce the number of hereditary peers and increase the focus on life peers. Subsquent efforts under Labour to scrap the remaining hereditary peers failed.

After 2010 the modern Conservatism of Cameron and Clegg, following on from Blair, planned to quite considerably curb the power of the Lords. That too got nowhere.

Blair’s plan to elect an element of the second chamber, like several other of his better instincts, also failed to happen, and after this efforts to democratise the place further were replaced by other much less happy objectives elsewhere.

Changing or abolishing the Lords as Parliamentary history back to the Parliament Act of 1911 underlines is no easy matter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lords_Act_1999

My thanks to Chris Brooke on twitter for reminding me about John S Clarke a Labour MP from 1929-1931 who belongs to a period long before social media when people with controversial pasts and backgrounds could still be effective Parliamentary figures.

The late socialist historian Ray Challinor wrote a biography, currently out of print, but a summary is below:

John S Clarke (1885-1959) was Labour MP for Glasgow Maryhill from 1929 until 1931.

He learned how to be a lion tamer in circuses in his teenage years and continued to do this throughout his life. He became a sailor and in that capacity ran guns to the 1905 Russian Revolution.

He opposed World War One, writing anti-war poems, but rather than apply to become a conscientious objector he successfully went on the run from the authorities.

After the War he was a non-voting delegate at the Second Congress of the Comintern in 1920. While in Russia he famously cured Lenin’s dog of an illness.

In the early 1920s Clarke became a member of the Independent Labour Party though he left when the ILP disaffiliated from Labour in 1932.

After his period as a Labour MP, Clarke, the lion tamer and poet, pursued an interest in Renaissance Art sitting on a range of public bodies that protected it in Scotland.

It seems quite unlikely that a man with such a varied background would make it through a Labour Party candidate selection process today, let alone be elected as a Labour MP.

The impact of the Cricket World Cup: a measure beyond the ken of the ECB

In 2020 the body that runs cricket in England and Wales plans to introduce a new 100 ball competition (which will be shown on free to air TV) in an effort to promote interest in the game.

One might think that holding the Cricket World Cup in England and Wales this summer, the first it has been staged here for 20 years, would do that. Did it?

Debate has raged. While every match was carried on the BBC’s Test Match Special radio commentary every game except the final was shown on Sky pay-TV. Audiences were thought to be around a million, compared to well over ten million for the free to air Women’s Football World Cup.

Its true that particularly as England got to the final coverage on the sports pages was significant. There were also fan zones for some of the time in most of the locations were matches were played.

The test as it were is what impact screening the final free to air has. One would hope it was huge and very much bad news for the pay to view obsessed ECB who run cricket.

The game itself was thrilling and got huge coverage, partly no doubt because it was the first free to air game for some years. Viewing figures on free to air Channel 4 look to have been a little under 5 million, though that doesn’t include screens in pubs, mobile devices etc

I watched in a pub in Tottenham (the Beehive) and while interest early was not huge by the end the whole pub was transfixed cheering on England

Living in central Tottenham it may surprise some that weekday rush hours aside the streets are usually fairly clear of traffic and street games takes place, usually mostly school students. Often its football but this week I noticed street tennis. Wimbledon of course was on free to air TV. I’ll be watching (when I’m around) to see if street cricket games take place. That’s a measure of the impact or not of the Cricket World Cup.

Meanwhile of course the ECB, ideologically wedded to pay TV and Sky still with its one-dimensional Murdoch era executives in place plan no free to air coverage at all of one of the biggest contests in cricket, the Ashes which starts in Birmingham on 1^st August.

Perhaps political intervention is required.

The only time England have won the Football World Cup was in 1966 just months after Harold Wilson had led Labour to a 97 seat majority in the March Election of that year, Wilson noted:

Have you noticed how we only win the World Cup under a Labour government”

Wilson was also privately, and correctly, concerned about the impact England’s failure in the 1970 World Cup would have on Labour’s chances in the June General Election of that year. Labour lost.

Fast forward to 2019 and Theresa May was present at Lords to see the England’s men’s team win the Cricket World Cup on Sunday and welcomed them to Downing St on Monday. May is not up to the level of political repartee required to refer back to Wilson’s quote (as far as I can check anyway) but it does make it 1-1 all when it comes to Labour/Tory World Cups.

Perhaps we need a Super Over or Penalties to sort this out

Beard Liberation Front

Media Release

15th July

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

England’s Moeen Ali named Beard of the Cricket World Cup

The Beard Liberation Front has said that after England just shaved New Zealand in a Super Over at Lords to win the Cricket World Cup, England’s Moeen Ali has been voted Beard of the Cricket World Cup

A poll of well-known hirsute cricketers who played in the World Cup was run throughout the contest ending on Sunday.

Moeen got 28.21% of the votes shaving South Africa’s Hashim Amla with 21.7% and Indian captain Virat Kohli on 14.1%

In the beginning was WG Grace but in the twentieth century cricket went to the barbers. So much so that by the early 1960s a major shaving company was sponsoring one day cricket and players deemed insufficiently clean shaven were sometimes sent from the field to sort it out.

In the twenty first century beards in cricket are back from Moeen to Hashim and Virat. Its now understood that a beard can have a psychological impact on opponents after Mike Brearley pioneered the point. Beards can also have an aero-dynamic impact on play itself.

Beards are played an important, perhaps vital, role in the World Cup. In the Final Kiwi captain deployed his gravitas adding beard to full effect but Ben Stokes beard power out did him

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, congratulations to Moeen Ali. Now on to Beard of the Ashes

Following on from the controversial release of Marmite Peanut Butter, Marmite have now produced a new version of XO, what they describe as a ‘stronger’ version which is aged 4 times as long as the ordinary one. I tracked a jar down (rarely easy with such niche products), tried it and enjoyed it. It is of course not beard friendly but on toast with some butter, to my taste, most enjoyable. Perhaps its the start of craft Marmite.

Congratulations to England on winning the cricket World Cup & a reminder of what happened at Lords in 1979

Geoffrey Boycott also bowled in the 1979 Final

Below is a slightly edited post from May 2019 about the 1979 Cricket World Cup, 40 years ago. England lost and the team’s victory today underlines that we are last firmly in the era of post-Boycottian cricket.

I was reminded recently by a union colleague of the cricket world cup final that took place at Lords 40 years ago on Saturday 23rd June 1979.

It is a world we have lost.

At the time games were played over 60 overs a side not 50. England won the toss and put West Indies in. They scored what today would be regarded as a modest 286 for 9 in their 60 overs with Viv Richards making 138 not out.

Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott opened the batting for England. They put together a very decent opening stand of 129 runs. The problem was that it took them 38 overs to do it. They were still batting as if a one-day game was a Test match. By the time Brearley and Boycott were out in successive overs the runs per over target was in double figures and England collapsed to 194 all out in 51 overs. Joel Garner took 5 for 38.

Such collapses and one-sided results are hardly unknown in one-day cricket 40 years on. The slow scoring rate of Brearley and Boycott does belong to another era. Commenting in the Observer on 24th June 1979 Sir Len Hutton noted that Boycott had scored more quickly than Brearley. Then again Sir Len was a Yorkshireman so he might well say that.

Scorecard

   http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8039/scorecard/65063/england-vs-west-indies-final-prudential-world-cup-1979

The Ambridge Socialist

All the news of the class struggle in Ambridge

July 14^th

The Godmother appoints Lilian as The Administrator

Gatecrashing Lilian’s birthday party at The Bull Peggy has determined that Lilian will be the Administrator for her new Ambridge Trust. Lilian is not happy about this but she cant disobey the Godmother of Ambridge. Further Lilian has yet to grasp what power The Administrator will have. Surely next however Peggy needs to appoint some Trustees…

Natasha meets Eddie Grundy

Natasha has given Eddie Grundy a makeover (it didn’t work) and he has convinced her that he is just the expert required for the Orchard project. Tom, always wary of the working classes, clearly does not agree

Still no sign of Johnson canvassing Ambridge

The vote for a new Tory leader is probably coming to a close but there is still  no sign of Boris Johnson canvassing the key constituency of Borsetshire and in particular Ambridge. He ignores sentiment at The Bull at his peril.

Most Boring Ambridge moments

Fairbrother gin

Anything Saint Shula does

Nuptials

Lynda Snell’s Xmas productions

Tom’s Orchard project

In Other News

Jazzer has called Alice ‘self-indulgent’. Such proletarian plain speaking did not go down well

Peppa has been sold

The Professor is apologising a model that might usefully be looked at by several other Ambridge residents

Beard Liberation Front

Media Release

14th July

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard of the Cricket World Cup. Vital Beard Off between Bairstow & Williamson at Lords

The Beard Liberation Front has said that with the search for the Beard of the 2019 Cricket World Cup  into the final deciding phase, there is a final Beard Off today at Lords between England’s Jonny Bairstow and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson

Both player’s beards have had a significant impact on the World Cup.

The poll of well-known hirsute cricketers who are playing in the World Cup has been on-line but today at Lords its Jonny Bairstow for England v Kane Williamson for New Zealand

In the beginning was WG Grace but in the twentieth century cricket went to the barbers. So much so that by the early 1960s a major shaving company was sponsoring one day cricket and players deemed insufficiently clean shaven were sometimes sent from the field to sort it out.

In the twenty first century beards in cricket are back from Moeen to Hashim and Virat. Its now understood that a beard can have a psychological impact on opponents after Mike Brearley pioneered the point. Beards can also have an aero-dynamic impact on play itself.

Beards are playing an important, perhaps vital, role in the World Cup. But who will have the winning whiskers?

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, no question, in the battle for the Beard of the World Cup will be a close shave

Free To Air TV Coverage of England cricket & Test Match Special commentary: slight reprise#

Today, 14^th July, there is a slight reprise of something that a generation ago, was common for cricket lovers.

The World Cup Final at Lords, where England play New Zealand, is free to air on TV. As usual the BBC’s Test Match Special will provide ball by ball commentary on the radio.

Many up to the 2005 Ashes which was the last free to air series covered on TV (by Channel 4) combined the two. In the last 14 years that has only been possible for Sky subscribers.

The TV coverage and radio commentary are slightly out of sync but in 2019 there are radios where you can delay the broadcast by a few seconds to address this.

The main thought is, having got TV coverage free to air and TMS combined again, why not do it a lot more often?