Give Me Back My Money!

As young Michael Banks bellowed at the elder Mr Dawes in the Walt Disney version of Mary Poppins.



Ahh, you can tell it's Christmas when the TV stations start dusting off their collection of sing along movie classics.

Michael's cries were overheard by customers in the banking hall, causing a run on the Dawes, Tomes, Mousely, Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank - scenes that haven't been repeated since the Northern Rock debacle of 2007.

That loosely links to today's story about a Scottish student who awoke to find his Barclays current account £100 billion in the red. Donald Moffat's wife noticed "a major discrepancy of two £50 billion debits" when she checked his account online.

Mr Moffat, obviously being one for the quiet life, ran straight off to the BBC to tell them all about the bank's cock up. I can only assume the novelty value of Barclays screwing up is derived from the fact he hasn't been a customer for very long.

In a statement Barclays said: "Earlier today a technical error caused some customer accounts to be incorrectly debited.

"The problem was immediately identified and corrected within less than an hour, and all affected customer accounts are now showing correct balances.

"No customers will be financially impacted by this error. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers."

Now why do I never seem to have my account credited by mistake?

As you can probably tell I'm still blogging in holiday mode.

Labour MPs Seek to Sever Church from State

Three high ranking Labour backbenchers have attracted condemnation after openly supporting the disestablishment of the Church of England.

Alun Michael (a Welshman), David Cairns (a Scotsman) and Peter Kilfoyle (of Irish Catholic origin) - who, as you can see, are all eminently qualified to express an opinion about Anglican affairs - uttered their sacrilegious words after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, sparked debate by saying it was "by no means the end of the world if the Establishment disappears".

Mr Michael said: "The Archbishop got it absolutely right. It would not be the death of the Church of England if it were to be disestablished. The question of the succession of Catholics looks very out of date nowadays. There are tricky issues but they are points of details that there will be time to crawl over in the future."

Mr Kilfoyle's main gripe seems to be the influence that Anglican clergy have in the House of Lords: "We are a multi-faith community and it doesn’t reflect reality to have an established Church which reflects only a small minority.

"We made a song and dance about hereditary peers so why not make the same song and dance about primates of one single denomination sitting in the Lords?"

Of the 746 members of the House of Lords, only 26 are Lords Spiritual.

The Church has been closely associated with the state since 1534, when King Henry VIII took the position of Supreme Head of the Church of England in order to marry Anne Boleyn.

The 1701 Act of Settlement - enacted to allow the succession to the English throne of Sophia of Hanover, a granddaughter of James I, and her protestant heirs - demands that the monarch joins in communion with the Church of England. The 1701 Act forbids the accession of a Roman Catholic or anyone married to a Roman Catholic, which is why Edward VIII was forced to abdicate so he could marry Wallis Simpson.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "The Church of England is by law established as the Church in England and the monarch is its supreme governor. The Government remains committed to this position."

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said: "The Government are pulling blindly at the wires of the constitution without having a clue about what they might disconnect. You would think they would have something better to do at this time than indulge themselves in another round of constitutional vandalism."

My own opinion: I always considered the Church to be on a moral and spiritual plane well above that of politics. It's one of those sacred cornerstones of 'Englishness' that politicians shouldn't even consider meddling with.

Of course, it's a sad fact that the Church - as with so many other things that English people hold dear - has dwindling status in the wider European master plan.

Thankfully this Government won't be around long enough to do it too much harm.

Tree Huggers Convicted

I read with a certain degree of satisfaction that four animal rights protesters have been convicted of terrorising businesses and individuals associated with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS).

The troubled quartet, members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) from Hampshire and London, instigated a protracted campaign of hatred against HLS, which included sending fake letter bombs, attacking residential properties and falsely labelling individuals as paedophiles.

Heather Nicholson, 41, of Eversley, Hampshire; Gerrah Selby, 20, of Chiswick, London; Daniel Wadham, 21, of Bromley, south London, and Gavin Medd-Hall, 45, of Croydon, south London were found guilty of conspiracy to blackmail at Winchester Crown Court.

Three other SHAC members - Gregg and Natasha Avery, both of Hampshire, and Daniel Amos, of no fixed address - pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier appearance.

All will be sentenced on 19th January 2009.

DCI Andy Robbins of Kent Police told the BBC: "We are very satisfied with the outcome of this prosecution.

"This conspiracy to blackmail involved the systematic and relentless intimidation of individuals and their companies who the defendants suspected to be involved with HLS.

"There was a whole group of tactics used by SHAC and I would like to pay tribute to the many victims who have had to carry on their lawful business while living through this criminal campaign.

"The public should also be aware that money donated to SHAC in good faith was in fact being used to finance criminal conduct.

"SHAC and the ALF (Animal Liberation Front) are one of the same, there is no club, no rules of membership."

I often find that those who beat the animal rights drum the hardest are those who have the least understanding and experience of what research actually involves.

A Sad Day's Shopping

I've just returned from some festive shopping in town. I needed some last minute Christmas cards, so where better to head than Woolworths? Big mistake.

I was saddened to see people virtually climbing over each other, snatching isolated items from almost bare shelves and making excessive demands of the already stressed staff. I'm disappointed that some people can be so callous in their quest for a bargain - sod the feelings of the thousands of Woolies staff who, through absolutely no fault of their own, won't have a job in a few weeks time.

Let's all spare a thought for them this Christmas.

I'll not be back to Woolworths. It has served many people well over the years and it's agonising to see the bargain-hunting masses picking over its carcass.

Televisual Treat

Just noticed that ET is on this afternoon. I've got the DVD, must have watched it a thousand times, yet I never grow tired of this timeless masterpiece. Spielberg genius.

If you haven't seen it don't forget to tune in later today!

Bush Shoe Slinging Game

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology you too can throw a shoe at President George W. Bush - if you're that way inclined. It's amazing how quickly people make these spoof games.

If you fancy a go visit Sock and Awe (geddit?)

Farewell Bob

Popular Tyne Tees TV weather presenter Bob Johnson bid farewell to viewers last night, in a special edition of the North East Tonight show broadcast live from The Alnwick Garden.

Bob joined Tyne Tees back in 1991 while he was working at the Met Office in Newcastle. His break on the small screen came completely out of the blue, when Tyne Tees production staff visited the weather centre to interview someone else for the role. Fortunately for Bob the competition was nowhere to be seen and he caught their eye instead. The rest, as they say, is history.

Bob's widespread popularity stems from his on-screen chemistry with co-presenters, the natural humour of his broadcasts and his eagerness to get involved with the local community. He's just as cheery in real life, always sparing a few moments to chat with the numerous fans he bumps into on the streets of Alnwick and elsewhere.

Bob is well known for incorporating topical and witty anagrams into his weather map. As many people tune into his forecasts to unscramble the letters as do to hear the weather.

Bob's going to be a big miss for viewers in the Tyne Tees region. It would be nice to see him get some formal recognition for his contribution to regional broadcasting over the last two decades.

Also leaving the station are news presenters Jonathan Morrell, Philippa Tomson, Dawn Thewlis and Kim Inglis.

How many more limbs can ITV hack from our regional broadcaster in it's fiftieth year?

Shoes Thrown at Bush

An irate Iraqi journalist threw his footwear at President George W. Bush in a packed Baghdad news conference earlier today.

The shoe slinger, Muntazer al-Zaidi, told the US President: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

As you'll see from the video President Bush has pretty good reflexes for an old guy!

One Northumberland - One Kick in the Teeth

Residents of Northumberland face eye watering tax increases when the new unitary authority comes into existence in April 2009.

The new authority, which will retain the existing name of Northumberland County Council, was intended to streamline the services of the current county and district councils, providing better value to the taxpayer.

Recent figures show a huge dent in the new authority's finances. There's widespread concern that the authority might try and claw back its deficit by increasing council tax by as much as 4.8%, cutting services by 20% and making 800 workers redundant. All this at a time when top council officers have just voted themselves a pay hike of around £3,000 per year.

Hexham Conservative MP Peter Atkinson said: "They as a council face serious debts, large cuts and may have to introduce a council tax rise of 4.8%. This is hardly the time to bring in a big increase in councillors' pay."

Northumberland County Council is controlled by the Liberal Democrats.

Tyne Tees Axes News Regional Opt-Outs

Tyne Tees Television, the ITV franchisee for the North East of England, will be axing regional opt-outs from its news programmes.

That's according to the Newcastle Chronicle anyway. The move, the latest in a stinging wave of ITV cutbacks and redundancies, will see popular news anchors Jonathan Morrell and Philippa Tomson vanish from screens across the region. They'll be replaced by Tyne Tees stalwart Pam Royle and wooden Ian Payne, who currently front the station's south regional opt-outs.

The viewers like local news read by local people. They like to see their town or village on the telly, but when the opt-outs go it'll probably be someone else's town or village instead.

Regular readers may recall my strong affection for ITV regional broadcasting. I've written previously about my distain at Michael Grade's plan to streamline the ITV regions by cutting the number of regional newsrooms from 18 to 9.

The latest decision comes as a bitter blow to regional television here in the North East. The timing of the decision - only 4 weeks before Tyne Tees celebrates its 50th birthday - adds insult to injury.

OJ Simpson Sentenced to 15 Years

OJ Simpson, convicted felon.

American football star OJ Simpson has just been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a Las Vegas court.

Judge Jackie Glass branded Simpson "arrogant and ignorant" and accused him of thinking "he could do in Nevada what he couldn't do elsewhere."

Simpson, who many still suspect of murdering former wife Nicole Brown, was found guilty of multiple charges including kidnap, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Simpson robbed two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint and held them at the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas in September 2007.

Justice finally done.

Next stop Michael Jackson.

Winter Wilderness

The snow from my window this afternoon.

"Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?" as the Cowardly Lion said to Dorothy.

This morning I awoke to around 2 inches of snow lying on the ground. It's marginally preferable to ice - at least your shoes get some grip on the snow.

I'm sure I must have mentioned before how much I love the snow. It isn't the cold or the thought of sledging or snowballs - it's the way it makes everything look so clean, bright and fresh. Every scrap of litter is buried beneath snow. Every errant dog turd is erased from memory. It's like someone's just unwrapped the Earth and it's still in pristine condition. I love the snow.

It continued to snow all morning with drifting in parts. It got to about 4 inches deep by lunchtime. Unfortunately I don't suppose it's going to last.