Gavin’s Gaily Gigest

Well, somefink wot I wrote at least will be on BBC Radio 4’s Recorded for Training Purposes sketch show tonight at 11pm. So, if your parents will let you stay up that late, you can listen to it then or you can catch it at some point over the next seven days on the BBC [...]

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There, I said it. Possibly the one person who would have complained if the BBC had broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza appeal has penned an article attacking the BBC for a lack of impartiality:
…the BBC has brought this crisis upon itself. It is not surprising that it finds itself friendless, since for years it [...]

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I’ve penned three articles for February’s Total Politics, out this week. Here are the links so you can read them if you’re into that kind of thing:

A review of the Nokia E71 (I like it)
Top ten examples of unparliamentary language (Dennis Skinner deserves an award for rudeness)
Political couples (pass the sick bag)

In [...]

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This disclaimer caught my eye whilst buying a TV license:
9. We cannot guarantee that the electronic delivery of your TV Licence, instalment payment plan (if applicable) and your first reminder will be uninterrupted or error free, or that the server that makes them available are free of viruses or bugs.
I’ve gone for postal delivery, just [...]

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The Daily Mail are having one of their regular moral panics about John Barrowman getting his chap out on the radio. You know, the radio, where you can’t see a bloody thing. But just how many people complained?:
The BBC has … apologised for the incident on Sunday’s Switch show, which prompted one listener to complain. [...]

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The BBC don’t seem to have read my original complaint about the complaints, judging by this response:
We note your concerns regarding comments made by Jeremy Clarkson during ‘Top Gear’ on 02 November.  This issue was raised with Executive Producer Andy Wilman who has made the following statement.
"Top Gear is BBC Two’s long-running motoring show and [...]

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Because I can tell exactly where this story is going, I’ve sent this off to both OFCOM and the BBC today:
Hi,
I would like to complain about the volume of complaints you have received from worried busybodies about Jeremy Clarkson’s joke regarding the murder of prostitutes (”Change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change [...]

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Gordon Brown today announced the establishment on a judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Russell Brand’s BBC career. The inquiry will look at the extent to which the BBC contributed towards Mr Brand’s death on air and whether the BBC should be shut down as a result. The Prime Minister’s spokesperson confirmed [...]

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The curse of Robinson strikes again. Barely 24 hours after this:
BBC News political editor Nick Robinson says the reshuffle will be very limited and not a “dramatic shifting of the chairs at the top table”.
We’ve seen the return of a former Cabinet minister who has resigned twice before in disgrace*, the return of a former [...]

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Gordon Brown is going to carry out a major, top-to-bottom, reshuffle of his cabinet this weekend. How do I know? The BBC’s Nick Robinson told me so
BBC News political editor Nick Robinson says the reshuffle will be very limited and not a “dramatic shifting of the chairs at the top table”.
From the man who said [...]

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