Gotcha!

It's with no hint of irony that The Times, Sky and The Sun are reporting the very distasteful revelations about phone hacking. The Sun is in particular quite circumspect, which is not surprising given that it is the daily version of the News of the World, and has taken to generalising that it is a media problem rather than a News International problem. Personally I think it's a reflection of the naked greed and ambition that permeates all too much of business today...anything goes if it adds a sale, or boosts the profit margin. In any case, it would be extraordinary if Rupert Murdoch's bid to take control of BSkyB is allowed to go through now...I suspect it might even bring the Government down. If you want to help stop the Murdochs, please sign up at Avaaz here

I was so pleased, I nearly jumped over the moon when I read that the European Commission was criticising the ratings agencies at long last. In case you missed it last night, they once again downgraded Portugal...and potentially that has a major impact on us all as it creates yet further instability in the European economic region. Whether or not you like being part of the EU, there's no getting away from our economic dependence on it so anything that undermines stability there damages UK plc.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said that he wants to "break the oligopoly of the ratings agencies" and limit their influence. Here here. They have got away with murder considering their role in the collapse of the financial sector, and it's about time these shysters are given their come uppance.

On more serious matters, last night it was the fifth form prom; the teens looked delicious, and the whole event went off without incident. in fact it seemed to go off without anything much happening at all. Shame.

Monday montage

There was a definite bird theme going on with my birthday...a robin on my card from The Cat's Mother, an 'Angry Bird' soft toy (supposedly I'm addicted), a squirrel table (it's supposed to be a bird table, but only the squirrels have worked out how to use it) and finally a pair of Roa birds. If you follow my postings you'll know I've eulogised over Roa, the street artist whose work I adore, so you can believe my joy at receiving two of his pictures as a present...as he's a street artist you won't be surprised to be told that these are drawn on old hanging files...we're working out how to frame them!

I missed First Friday photos simply because I didn't have the energy, but I'm pleased with a lot of the pictures I've taken this month, so here's a selection:


Us


Me and him


Olympic stadium


Outside Bridget Jones' flat


Fish!


Mushrooms!


Evening shadows in Brighton


The wobbly bridge


Us at Elton John


The West Pier


Brighton Lanes


Sunset in the flat


The West Pier


The West Pier


Regency splendor


Appealing...appalling


Street art


Street art


Street art


A shop dedicated to Alice in Wonderland


Brick Lane


Not how I remember Sesame Street


Inter-faith love


Words are everything


Superheroes


Street art


Street art


Street art


Street art


Roa!


Did I post this before?


It's a Banksy


Eine


Street art


Derelict London


Look closely...


It's a bridge...


By the canal


On the canal


Messerschmitt

Birthday bash

It doesn't come as a great surprise that the first hint of corruption at the Olympics comes out of its involvement with football. there are all sorts of allegations flying around about the West Ham bid for the stadium, and all I will say is that it is most peculiar that someone at the organisation with responsibility for disposing of the stadium appears to have accepted payments from the business that has won the bid. Conflict of interest are the words that spring to mind.

My last picture for June is somewhat belated...but then I always knew that on the 30th we would be pretty busy, as would the days afterwards. Over the moth I've taken over 300 pictures...which I'm quite pleased with, as there are a lot of things I find interesting around me. On Thursday we took a trip on the DLR to Greenwhich through the east end of London, which affords some fascinating views, and from there we took a the boat along the Thames to London Bridge...the river is really the best way to see the metropolis. We walked down to Borough Market browsing amongst the colours, the smells and the noise of the best market I know before stopping for some oysters. From there we strolled along the riverside to Tate Modern, being further refreshed in the members room (which has spectacular views across the Thames to St Pauls). From there we crossed the wobbly bridge and went up to Bond Street to look in a couple of galleries. Finally we took a cab to my favourite restaurant - Formans - where we had a small gathering of friends.

A somewhat more muted 50th celebration than some that I've been to...marquees in gardens, theatre events...but it suited me. I've never been one to make a big fuss about these things.

Choosing a photo is difficult, but really could it be anything other than the three people who matter most to me?