When Jimmy Savile met Rod Hull & Emu

He was one of the most eccentric names and faces in British entertainment.

He was the first ever presenter of Top of the Pops in 1964 and remained at the healm for 20 years. He returned for an episode in 2001 and was on-hand to co-present the final ever episode on July 30th 2006.

Savile was also well known for his charitable support. He competed for good causes in over 300 professional bike races and 212 marathons including the London Marathon at the age of 79. He raised millions of pounds for charity and for his efforts, he was awarded the OBE in 1971 and in 1990 he was knighted for his services in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. That same year he was honoured with a papal knighthood from the Vatican making him a Knight Commander of Saint Gregory the Great (KCSG).

For me however, he will always be remembered as the man who 'fixed it' for children of my generation by making their dreams come true. 'Jim'll Fix It' ran for 286 episodes from 1975-1994. Here is that famous opening theme and then a memorable Xmas special clip from 1976 with that other fabulous eccentric, Rod Hull and his side-kick Emu.





He was an eccentric character with a dress sense, a vocabulary and a taste in jewellery and cigars that marked him out from the crowd. He was a one-off. At 84, he certainly lived life to the full.

RIP Jimmy

Postscript

In light of the revulsion that I have felt from the news of recent weeks, I have marked through the entirety of the blog post above.

I will not delete it as it needs to remain to remind myself of what I and the majority of the country believed of a man who it turns out, was nothing of the sort. It will stand in time as an example of how we can sometimes be so totally wrong that it beggers belief and almost defies comprehension.

I have never before and hope will never have to again, redact a previous blog post of mine in this way. I will now update my blog with news of this necessary change.

A Prayer for Bangkok

The increasingly concerning picures coming out of Thailand over recent days have saddened me greatly.

Source: BBC News Website

Its capital Bangkok is on the cusp of succumbing to an awful flood which has already taken more than 370 lives. Heavy monsoon rains have been causing flooding in Thailand since July with flood waters continuing to creep into northern districts of Bangkok. The centre remains mostly dry for the time being. Officials however have warned that high tides due this weekend, combined with the flow of run-off water from inundated central plains, could cause wider flooding.

The city is surrounded by flooded plains and the situation could deteriorate badly over the coming days.

My Bangkok Experience
The reason why I take a particular interest and concern in this news story is because I have been to Bangkok myself before.

It was back in 2008 when I spent two days and nights in the Thai capital city on arriving in the country before moving on to Chiang Mai in the north. I've happily admitted that out of all of the different locations that I visited during that 2 week stay, Bangkok was not a favourite of mine. To me, it was too much of a modern Asian tourism hotspot. It quickly dawned on me as I visited Chiang Mai and Kanchanaburi that Bangkok was not representative of the Thai nation in the more traditionally cultural sense.

Neverthless, it was a fascinating experience. Driving around in a Tuk-Tuk through the polluted Bangkok air was an unforgettable experience and I was delighted to successfully complete my first transaction in bartering with a local trader for a traditional Thai umbrella outside the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, within a matter of hours I then went and left it at the Railway Station where we'd called in to book our sleeper-train tickets to Koh Samui for later in our holiday. Typical!

We stayed in two different hotels during the two nights. They weren't the Ritz but then they did the job quite adequately - as long as you had a working fan in your room to deal with the humidity, you'd be ok. During the first night, not long after checking-into the hotel from the airport, I recall walking around the city at midnight - it was a bustling live city which for this little westerner that had never experienced the culture of the Orient at first hand was an eye opening experience. The next morning, I took the photo on the right, looking down from our hotel room on high at flooded streets below.

This remember is the city centre and here you had flooded streets. The example here as dated was on January 30th 2008 - you can see quite clearly the sight of moving cars making their way through high levels of water.

So the sad sights being witnessed this week, though are clearly to the extreme of what I myself witnessed in 2008, seem to signify a trend of a kind.

I hope that catastrophe can be averted this weekend. Thailand is a beautiful country with a welcoming people. They do not deserve this.

UK royal succession laws pulled kicking and screaming into 21st century

At last. At long, long, last.

The UK's Royal Succession laws have been altered to give equal gender and religious equalities where they did not exist previously.

As this BBC News Website article states, the leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries where the Queen is head of state have unanimously approved the changes at a summit in Perth, Australia. Sons and daughters of any future British monarch will therefore have equal right to the throne. The ban on the monarch being married to a Roman Catholic has also been lifted.

It therefore brings to an end the archaic situation where a younger male was given precedent to the throne over an elder female. A modern example is that of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. Though the second child of Elizabeth II, she falls behind her younger brothers Andrew and Edward and their children in the line of succession to the throne simply because she is female.

Such a farcical anomaly should've been put right decades ago when equality legislation was being passed by Parliament in the 1970s.

The Monarchy has been pulled kicking and screaming into the 21st century with this long overdue decision. Of course, for many, this isn't enough. For a truly meritocratic nation, surely we should be a Republic? Yes, I can't argue with that. But I'm a pragmatist in such things. At the moment I'm a 'better the devil you know' realist and am happy to see the monarchy continue into the foreseeable future. Controversial and against the views of many of my liberal colleagues? I'm sure. But hey, this is my opinion.

Speaking of the future, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's children will now fall into line with this new status so if William and Kate's first child is a girl and not a boy, then it is likely (if the Monarchy survives to such a date) then that our future Monarch, like her great-grandmother, will be a Queen Regnant.

The change to the marriage law is also greatly welcome. To discriminate against Catholics in such a way as to not allow them to marry the Monarch as has been the case since 1688 is absolute folly. Repealing this ban is long overdue but welcome for it.

These are small additional blows for gender and religious equality, but important ones all the same.

Epilogue
Since I wrote this blog post earlier today, Stephen Glenn has written this excellent counter-factual blog post on the history of the Monarchy had males and females had equality to succeed to the Throne throughout the ages. I highly commend it to you to read. My favourite counter-factual? Kaiser Willhelm II of Germany reigning as King William V of the British Empire - only in counter-factual 'what if' scenarios could such a thing have been possible!

Ceredigion County Council to Investigate Local Authority Mortgage Scheme for First-Time Buyers

Ceredigion County Council voted unanimously today to support a feasibility study to look into supporting a Local Authority Mortgage Scheme to help first-time buyers enter the market and find a home in the locality.

The motion was proposed by the Welsh Liberal Democrat group on the Council and in a relatively rare show of consensus politics, was supported unanimously by members from across the Chamber.

The scheme is an exciting one which has already been put in place by Welsh Councils in Conwy and Cardiff.

How would a Local Authority Mortgage Scheme work?
Well, as an example...

Say a house is for sale for £100,000 with a deposit required of £25,000 i.e. 25%. The prospective first-time buyer however only has £5,000 i.e. 5% available. The Mortgage provider in the current financial climate requires a deposit of 25% so the purchaser needs to find a 'critical friend' for the remaining 20%.

At this point, the council steps in and offers to be a guarantor for the remaining 20%. The Council does not hand over £20k to the purchaser but rather deposits the £20k with the bank. The bank in turn pays the council interest on this money - one English authority currently receives 4.7%. The Bank only dips into that 20% if the borrower defaults. If the bank incurs a loss the council cash would provide the indemnity.

The bank then provides the purchaser with a 95% mortgage.

In the event of non-payment, repossession and a distress sale, the buyer takes the first 5% risk, the council takes the next 20% of risk, and the bank takes a loss in the property falls below 75% market value. The council, or ratepayer, is taking on the risk that the bank deems unsafe.

Officer Support
Cllr Paul Hinge and Cllr Ceredig Davies who proposed and seconded the proposal rightly spoke to the Director of Finance in advance of submitting the motion to gather the support of the department for such an idea. The officers were enthused about this scheme and now the details need to put into place for a motion to be put forward to the Council in the new year.

Although I've now been on the County Council for 7 years, at the age of 29 I remain the 'Baby of the Council' so I spoke from that perspective on the matter in the Council Chamber during the debate and spoke up for the need for the authority to do all that it could to help young first-time buyers to make that huge first step onto the housing ladder. I was fortunate as I said in Council, to have had the support of my family to make up for the 'black hole' between my savings and the required deposit required for the mortgage. Without that support, I wouldn't be in this house which has been my home for these past near 6 years. But I was fortunate to have that support that is not afforded to all of my age. That is where the County Council have an opportunity to step in and to be that 'critical friend'.

It's an exciting project and I look forward to seeing the detailed policy come back in front of the Council for approval in the new year.

Below is the Motion that was proposed by the Welsh Liberal Democrat group this morning and which was supported unanimously by Independent and Plaid Cymru Councillors.


COUNCIL BELIEVES:
Ceredigion County Council believes that prospective first time buyers of affordable homes in Ceredigion are at a distinct disadvantage insomuch as they may well fulfil all the criteria set-out for the purchase of their first home but in the economic climate that exists and the requirement of very large deposits, they are unable to get a foothold on the housing ladder or indeed gain access to a home for themselves.

COUNCIL NOTES:
The turmoil in the financial and banking sectors has had a negative effect on the economy and on the local housing market. There has been a particular impact on first time buyers because of the general reduction in the loan to value mortgages from 95% down to 75% necessitating a deposit of some 25% of the house value. Mortgage insurance and shared ownership schemes have helped play a part in reviving the market but are unlikely to normalise the market for first-time buyers who are seeking an affordable home it is likely that low loan to value mortgages are likely to continue for some time. The lack of first-time buyers continues to depress the housing market and this consequently is having an adverse effect on our local economy. As a consequence of this, there is a real need to bring forward a scheme that will help stimulate the housing market and the wider economy.

COUNCIL RESOLVES:
Ceredigion County Council resolves to enact a feasibility study to ascertain whether a Local Authority Mortgage Scheme (LAMS) is a viable way in which the Local Authority can intervene and help first-time buyers enter the market and find a home in the locality.

Proposed by: Cllr Paul Hinge
Seconded by: Cllr Ceredig Davies

Will Libya follow Tunisia into the light or Egypt into the unknown?

It has been a monumental weekend for the Arab Spring.

Gaddafi's capture in Libya and the fall of Sirte made yesterday's proclamation of National Liberation in Libya feasible and it, as sure as anything, will have sent a stark warning to the likes of Syria's Assad who continue to crack down on internal dissent. It was an extraordinary spectacle to watch in the cradle of the Libyan uprising in Benghazi and whilst there's many difficult obstacles to overcome on the hoped for route to an open and democratic future, Libya don't have to look to far for a fine example of what can be achieved in a short space of time.

Free Elections in Tunisia
With a wonderful stroke of luck, as Libya rejoiced its formal declaration of liberation yesterday, in neighbouring Tunisia a hopeful and thankful population walked in their millions to the polling booths to cast their first vote in an open and fair election.

It shows what can be achieved in a relatively short space of time. For it was in Tunisia that the Arab Spring sparked into life last winter and where President Ben Ali fled on January 14th. Only 9 months later, the structures have been put into place to allow for a safe and fair election - one in which over 100 political parties are competing to elect a 217-member Constituent Assembly which will write a new Constitution and elect an interim-Prime Minister. Because of the system of Proportional Representation that has been used for the election and the plurality of male and female candidates, the result is likely to see the highest ever female Parliamentary representation in the Arab world.

Early reports estimate that 90% of the 4.1m registered voters have taken up their right to choose their elected representatives. There is clearly then a strong appetite in this once autocratic nation to take a democratic lead in deciding who it is that runs its own affairs. This of course it to be celebrated and welcomed most warmly.

An Uncertain Future for Egypt
However, on Libya's far border from Tunisia, we witness more concerning developments.

Barely a month after the flight of Ben Ali in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak stood down on February 11th as Egyptian President. He transferred his powers to the Egyptian Armed Forces who immediately dissolved the Egyptian Parliament, suspended the Constitution of Egypt, and promised to lift the nation's thirty-year emergency laws. It further promised to hold free, open elections within the next six months, or by the end of the year at the latest. Protests have however continued through the summer in response to the perceived sluggishness in instituting reforms.

In the same similar timescale, Tunisia have managed to bring about democratic reforms that have not as yet been forthcoming in Egypt.

A Democratic Libya?
So Libya has two ways of looking as it begins the long journey towards instigating its future forms of governance.

With the NTC in charge, the hope very much is that the wind is blowing in the right direction. As I blogged here a few days ago, there are many surmontable obstacles that Libya needs to overcome. One of those is to meet the desires of its people in an orderly fashion. I stated then that the Libyan people needed to remain calm whilst their nation is rebuilt and soon enough, democratic elections will come.

For it is of course far to easy to oversimplify the situation in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. They have all awoken from different styles of autocractic and dictatorial rule but that should not mean that Tunisia's example can not be replicated over the border in Libya.

What fills me with hope is that those Gaddafi-regime weary Libyans, need not look across their eastern border in trepidation at what could be conceived to be the take-over of a nation from one autocratic regime to another. Instead, the civil war weary inhabitants of Sirte, Misrata, Benghazi and Tripoli can instead look across their western borders and witness an example of what can be done in a relatively short space of time.

If the Libyan nation goes to the polls in open and free elections next summer as is envisaged by the NTC, then the transition to an open and plural society should be secured. If however, those same new interim leaders defer and obfuscate to such a degree that we find ourselves still awaiting elections in Libya this time next year, then resentment and hostility will likely manifest itself as it is doing in Egypt at this present time.

The world is watching Libya's every move. Here's hoping that at the same time, Libya is watching Tunisia's every move, and not Egypt's.