Ed Miliband vows "to be his own man"

Of course you'll be your own man, Ed.....

Bert it is!

Despite a promising start from Ernie, it now looks like Bert is going to to be in charge of Sesame Street for the foreseeable future.

Bert's father was an immigrant from Europe who managed to seek asylum in this country using forged papers. He then showed his gratitude to this country by making a living lecturing pot-headed students at the London School of Economics about the joys of Marxism.

After completing two degrees at University, Bert had a very short spell as a television journalist before becoming a full-time political wonk. He then became an MP for one of those depressing towns you really wouldn't want to live in but which would elect a chimpanzee if it was wearing a red rosette.

So, having never done what any normal person would call a proper day's work in his life, or ever risked a penny of his own money in an enterprise that would create wealth and jobs he now finds himself in the top job in Sesame Street. He is superbly qualified for the position.

I do hope that the Unions who own Sesame Street are pleased with him. After all, they bought him....

Great news for Boris

Labour have chosen Ken Livingstone as their candidate to run against Boris Johnson for Mayor of London.

Well that didn't take long, did it?

"Comrade Cable" finally shows his true colours at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Liverpool.

But will he jump or wait to get pushed?

My guess is that he'll wait to see who Labour elect as their new leader before he cuts a deal to lead a rag tag pack of disaffected Lib Dum MPs across the floor of the House.

The Pope's leaving present

A regular commenter on this blog - RVI - has asked what present Pope Benedict gave the Archbishop of Canterbury as a leaving present.

We know that he gave the people of Britain a damned great bill for the security that was laid on for his visit, but I understand that Rowan Williams received a genuinely personal gift from Pope Benedict.

He'd even gone to the trouble of having "Blut und Ehre" (Blood and Honor) replaced with a much more friendly greeting.

Nice....

The Pope's visit to Britain

Memo to:

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury

When exchanging presents, please don't mention The War....

En Vacance

Dr Lakelander and I are off for a few days' holiday somewhere in Europe.

I'll be keeping an eye on this apology for a blog via Dr Lakelander's iPad, so no naughtiness while I'm away, eh?

Meantime, by way of these pictures, can either of the two visitors to this blog guess where we're going?

Strictly Come Dancing

If anyone wonders why Britain has such a problem with binge drinking, a quick look at the television schedules for Saturday evening would go a long way to explaining why.

Now, to complement the usual array of freak talent shows, we have our old favourite, "Strictly Come Dancing" back on our screens this weekend.

Over the years, it's become a showcase for ageing sports men and women, soap "stars" that nobody's ever heard of and clapped-out politicians - all hoping for another 15 minutes of fame, or even their own programme on daytime television.

Rumour has it that another Member of Parliament will be appearing in the next series, providing that their professional dancing partner will be "that nice Anton du Beke...."

I wonder who it might be?

That's more like it!