Jude Smith

Its late. I am sat in college (mercifully in my very warm study), waiting for the AA. Not sure whats wrong with it but lets pray its easily fixable! Need it to get me to London tomorrow!

Greetings from Coventry. Dan and I are looking at mobile phones, I am not doing any of the many tasks that I could or should be doing! Going to wait for the K 660i! (because you all needed to know that!) Anyway: before I drove up last night, I popped to see Sweeney Todd. Now the thing I needed to remember is that previous to now I had only ever seen Sweeney in am-dram. And in am-dram they have enough budget for one bottle of squirty blood per night! Tim Burton has a bigger budget! Its a bit gorey, bur very well done.. and Johnny can kind of sing! Worth a watch!

I battled the floods (well strictly speaking I battled the traffic that was going through Bristol while the M5 was shut!) to get to the cinema. Well worth it! Charlie Wilson's war is not desperately thought provoking until the end. I got a tad annoyed that it seemed so gung-ho at the outset, but you kind of see the point as you go along. Lots to reflect on: a southern baptist congressman shouting "Allahu Akba" in an Afghan refugee camp. Were the two cultures really meaning the same? A billion dollars for a covert op.. seriously? Aaron Sorkin has come up with a good screenplay on this one. I liked it: its not as true as it makes out, its not the best political comment I ever saw, but it is worth a watch. More Afghanistan tomorrow with the Kite Runner!

Blackwell is going. You can read about it here . You can't blame the guy. He joined up to manage a football club not to have players wives crying on the phone cos they don't know how the mortgage will get paid. They are dark days: I get the feeling that the administrator is out to bust the club. Come on Luton! (ps anyone got a ticket for Tuesday?)

Kate loaned me the Spike Lee boxset of DVDs about Hurricane Katrina. Oh my word! They should run them in the month before the elections lest anyone vote for another Republican president. The failure to care is the kind of thing that we would try people for if it were in an unstable fledgling democracy (that we didn't like). It would be easy to say it was a one off failure. But the Republican Party stands for small government. They want less federal involvement in the life of the people. In the case of Louisiana that has meant that they are happy to keep oil revenues but won't invest in the locality. There has been a woeful lack of investment over many years. The very basis of what Republicanism is about means that will continue. I hope that America remembers. I hope the election doesn't get consumed in personality. For surely the nation cannot continue under the leadership of people who so believe in states' rights that they will leave poor Americans to die.

What a match! We were slightly interrupted by a tripped fuse at the pub but saw the whole majestic first half, and both goals. The Luton team were amazing! Drew Talbot covered miles (great for effort but if he could have only put one of those chances away!). Maybe they were inspired by the presence of the England coach (lets face it some of the Luton scallies would be much more motivated to play for their country than the rich boys of the Premiership!). I hope that the own goal gets no headlines: Luton were very well worthy of the draw! Now all we can do is wait. Today's game might well mean that the players can be paid. That has to be good. But tomorrow is a bit of a deadline day. We need a buyer by 5pm. I'm hoping for Stelios (orange theme could be good!), but have no idea if anyone can stump up the money. I was very encouraged by people getting in touch with five live. Several comments of people praising the club.. In many ways it seems utterly trivial to pray for

late post again.. Luton play Liverpool in 12 or so hours.. It could be their last ever game.

I don't really but he looks friendly enough.. This is technically my Friday post but there were many people round.. there was the making of the fake spice girls video.. and there was becky lindsay!!! Yay.. More on important things soon!

And so it begins. This could be an interesting year in politics. By tomorrow morning a bunch of people in the middle of America will have begun the political jamboree which could break, or heaven forbid consolidate the "Christian" right stranglehold on America. Yep the good registered party people of Iowa will consider (helped by $200 per citizen of said state of ad buy) who they would like as the party candidates. As of now it seems that Barak Obama is edging ahead for the Dems.. Huckabee (have I spelled either of those right?) for the Republicans. The question that overrides this for me is 'is America ready for either a white woman or a black man to be president? I am inclined to think no, and that the Republicans could stick any white bloke up there and he would stand a chance. I wonder if its why Condy has not stood.. (though I think as a nation the US is more likely to vote for a black woman that a black guy). I suspect I will be blogging a whole bunch more nons

about trying to blog every day... So I thought I would! well at least today!

Just a quick one this. In case I resolve to blog every day in 2008 or something... well wouldn't want to start the year badly! Happy New Year.. Just drove back through Parliament Square as the gongs went.. 24 hours too late but what the hey! Photos to follow!