TERRORIST THREAT LEVEL RAISED

The British Government today raised the Terrorist Threat Level in the UK to only one step away from total paranoia. Up until yesterday the threat level stood at Level 3 Bricking It but as of midnight last night it was raised to Level 2 - Totally Bricking It. Security at Government Buildings will therefore be tightened up even further although to the ordinary person there will not be much in the way of obvious changes. Phones will continue to ring unanswered and large queues will form at Ports and Airports as usual.

THE FUNERAL OF DAVID ROSE, A SIMPLE AND TOUCHING OCCASION

It rained heavily on the morning of last Friday the 15th January but this did not deter an impressively large group of friends and loved ones from attending Davids funeral. My friend Jamie kindly provided me with transport to Rathmell and luckily we got there in plenty of time. Even the weather seemed to recognise the importance of the occasion and the rain obligeingly stopped before the ceremony took place and the viscious freeze turned to slow thaw.

As we waited for the courtege to arrive the small crowd swelled to international proportions and i recognised people many of them mutual friends i had not seen for 25 years or more, some of them from the other side of the world. Not unnaturally there was a strong Green presence with members of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Earth First, organic growers, and a wide group of community campaigners. artists, musicians and writers. Even David would have been impressed.

To the very end, Davids environmental credentials were impeccable. The coffin was bio-degradable, the grave was shallow but the setting of Brocklands burial site was truly magnificent. In the meeting room it was standing room only and many of us spoke of our meetings and deeds with David or read from his favourite verses or stories whilst holding his walking cane. We were all clearly moved by this shared experience. As we followed the coffin to the graveside, The fells which surrounded us were still covered in deep snow and even with the low clouds and patches of mist the vistas were stunning. On a clear summers day, the Three Peaks are visible from there and i for one will be going back to visit his last resting place....

JONATHAN WAS

At last some good news. Jonathan Ross is to leave the BBC and not before time if you asked me. I know he is popular with some folks but surprise surprise, i am not one of them. I think its sad when the chief quality by which he will be remembered is probably his minor speech impediment whether its intentional or not. I find it very difficult to remember anything else he has done which has given me any pleasure going all the way back to his early TV appearances.
His trivial and often mindless questions, frequently left his guests looking bemused and probably wondering whatever had happened to the once respected BBC.

Sadly he was much worse than that, his arsing about with the other plonker Russell Brand and obscene phone calls to blameless Andrew Sachs were literally the ultimate in childish posturiing and barrel scraping. Even more sadly some misguided elements amongst Thatcher children seemd to think it all rather funny. Presumably these these are the type of audience who would find an Ant and Dec tour of Auswich highly amusing as well. Fortunately i am not one of t hem and have no wish to be.

The damage to its reputation and the financial costs to the BBC are the Plonker Bros lasting legacy. All radio programs now have to have a couple of producers to sign off programs and once cheap and cheerful local radio programs now have a burden of extra staff and lots of paperwork. Dont get me wrong, i dont have a problem with occasional swearing or obscenity on radio or TV but out of any context and reason it just becomes boring and plays into the hands of jungle media predators like Murdoch and his ilk who snap at any chance to knock the BBC and thereby gather power and influence for their own brand of cheap tack.

I must presume that Ross and Co will eventually wash up on the Fox Network or some other equally tacky place if such exists, after all this must be the natural home of smut and smirk TV and the high tide mark round the media bath tub. How wonderful that such dross is now deemed deserving of an OBE demonstrating as it does the depths of dumbing down that is now the yardstick for others to follow. Andrew Sachs was a fine actor and comic and still makes me laugh. Ross however just makes me want to puke. Good Bye Mr Woss and please dont come back.

DAVID ROSE DIES

"It is with very great sadness that I have to announce the death of my friend and co-campaigner Mr David Rose, of Colne in Lancashire. He was founder and Chairman of the Millennium Green Trust. a long term member of Friends of the Earth at both the National and Local Group levels, and A tireless campaigner against pollution in its many forms, for wildlife habitats, and against planning outrages, and the red tape which often protected polluters. When FoE and local groups and residents halted the building of the M65 extension through Colne, it was his idea and hard work which led to the transformation of motorway-blighted land into the Colne Millennium Green. I and many others will miss his creative energy, his wit and his companionship and we send all our condolences and blessings to his wife and his daughter.
BRIAN JACKSON
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH