And another thing…

AS MY TWITTER followers will already know, I attended a meeting of the All-Party Communications Group last week, at which I was treated to a presentation of 3D television.

Production company, CAN, are working with Sky to produce state-of-the-art 3D TV programmes for broadcast in the near future. The two short films they showed us were displayed on what looked like a “conventional” HD-ready 40-inch plasma (possibly LCD) TV, the main difference being that it had a polarising film over the screen. When watched using the polarising spectacles, the effect is incredibly impressive – every bit as good as the first 15 minutes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which is presented in 3D in some cinemas. The experience is more about depth than about tentacles and hands reaching out of the screen towards you.

The exciting news is that, according to CAN, these sets will be on the market within six months. And although they’re more expensive than HD TVs at the moment, it’s believed the retail price will fall just as fast as the price of HD TVs did, and to about the same level.

As for content, it seems there will be plenty of it soon. Hollywood is “remapping” most of their back catalogue so that classic movies will be able to be seen in 3D soon (although there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be nowhere near as impressive as newer movies specifically filmed for 3D presentation).

Live football and even opera will be able to be broadcast in 3D within a very short timescale. I also hear rumours that the next Sony Playstation will play 3D movies and games.

So is BluRay already passé? Just don’t buy that new HD TV yet, that’s all I’m saying.

I ATTENDED prayers this afternoon, just to be there when the new Speaker arrived at the head of his procession for the first time.

Most people place a lot of significance (probably too much significance) on the regalia each Speaker chooses to wear. The last Speaker to wear a wig, for example, was Bernard Weatherill. We knew Bercow wouldn’t wear the wig, but what about the rest of the 19th century wardrobe?

Shirt and tie, regular suit, plus a black robe of the type made familiar by old fashioned headmasters. And that was it. The contrast with all his predecessors was pretty stark.

One other observation, this time from a colleague. When the Speaker and Serjeant-at-Arms arrive in the chamber, they pause at the bar and bow, then take a couple of steps in, stop and bow again, and then one more time before prayers are read.

“He took little steps,” giggled my colleague. “Normally it’s only five steps – he had to take six,” she added.

Now I’ll have none of that size-ist nonsense on this blog, thank you very much.

A LABOUR colleague was in the toilet next to the chamber just before the first ballot, when he was joined by David Cameron in the adjacent urinal.

“David, I’m about to vote Tory for the very first time in my life,” said my friend jovially.

“John Bercow doesn’t count!” replied Cameron.

I SEE The Telegraph is running with the “Labour whipping the Speaker’s vote” nonsense again this morning.

The problem with this sort of story is that a lot of people who aren’t as familiar with the Commons as some will believe this because they want to believe it. It was the same about a year ago when Nadine Dorries was going round saying that Labour was whipping an abortion vote at Harriet Harman’s behest. Laughable.

The Telegraph’s sub-heading reads: “Anger as whips put pressure on Labour MPs to toe party line”. From that you could be forgiven for assuming that there actually is a party line to toe. There isn’t.

While driving to London yesterday I took a call from a friend who’s a minister. He hadn’t made up his mind who he was going to support yet, but we both agreed it shouldn’t be Margaret Beckett, on the basis that she’s spent most of the last 12 years in the Cabinet. During the entire conversation (I realised after it ended) there was no reference to a “whipping operation”, chiefly, I guess, because even if there was one, neither of us would take any notice of it.

I JUST received this from a reader, who apologised for hijacking a previous thread in order to publicise this event. I reckon it’s worthy of its own post:

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In a week’s time, 300 of us will set off from Portsmouth to cycle through the Normandy battlefields, and into Paris, to commemorate the Allies’ liberation of Europe 65 years ago. With us will be teams from our Allies of today, wounded servicemen from America, Canada and France as well as our own from Headley Court.

The ride will be a challenge, France is not flat, for some (me) it will be life changing but for all it will certainly be one of the most worthwhile things we have ever done.

I will ride alongside brave men and women whose lives have also changed forever through their injuries and I will have the satisfaction of knowing that you (with your donations) and I (with a sore backside and very tired legs) will be helping to raise money for them and hundreds like them.

If anyone would like to make a contribution to the fundraising, please visit JustGiving where you can donate online.

If you’d like more info about the ride, or Help for Heroes, please visit Help For Heroes.

Thanks
Mark

JUST watched Damian Green’s statement in response to the news he won’t be charged.

As I said earlier today on another thread, I have been careful not to pre-judge Damian’s guilt or innocence, choosing the old fashioned tradition of waiting until the police investigation had finished.

But my! Isn’t he enjoying his “wounded martyr” status! He continues to pedal the nonsense that his arrest was a political one — “the first arrest of an opposition politician since Britain became a democracy”. What pompous nonsense! I accept that it plays to the Tories’ own propaganda agenda, but where is the evidence that this was a politically motivated arrest?

This is it:

• Damian Green is a Conservative MP.
• Damian Green has issued some press releases that were unhelpful to the government.
• Damian Green was arrested and investigated.
• The investigation concluded he should face no charges.

Well, that’s a prima facie case, then, isn’t it? He’s a Tory MP, he was arrested, so therefore it must have been politically-motivated.

We don’t have a politicised police force in this country. The Tory trolls and the libertarians would love it to be so, so that their paranoia could be justified, but it’s simply not the case.

The fact is that the police did what they had to do after being alerted to the possibility that the law had been broken. And in arresting Damian and investigating the case against him, they were doing what we pay the police to do.

Personally, I quite like Damian, and I’m glad it turned out he had done nothing to warrant a charge. But without the investigation, no-one could make that conclusion.

CONSERVATIVEHOME editor Tim Montgomerie describes Daniel Hannan’s scheduled appearance at his party’s spring conference as “an extra incentive to apply for a pass if you haven’t already.”

So let’s get this straight: if a keynote address by your leader, David Cameron, and a plethora of Shadow Cabinet members wasn’t enough to persuade you to attend, then Hannan’s appearance will?

Splendid!

Now, anyone like to guess what Hannan won’t be allowed to speak on during his address? 

“I really think it needs to be said, Eric.”

“Daniel, Daniel, Daniel… you are not going to mention the words N, H or S.”

“But I’ve got a really brilliant line on it: ‘it is the devalued system of a devalued nation’. What do you think?”

“Daniel, it’s not going to happen.”

“Anne Coulter liked it…”

“Oh, here we go again with Anne Bloody Coulter! Look, just stick to economics.”

“Oh, you mean the nationalisation of the car industry? Unforgiveable!”

“No, Daniel, just leave the car industry alone, will you? Just plain economics, okay?”

“Ah, you mean Iceland’s economic miracle! Got you!”

“Daniel, look, just forget it. If you can’t stay on message, just forget it.”

(SILENCE)

“Can I do another boats metaphor?”

“Yes, you can do a boats metaphor.” 

I THOUGHT Billy Elliot and Moulin Rouge were two of the worst films I’ve ever seen. The former was just another bad remake of The Jazz Singer and the latter was a colourful, camp mess with no charm.

So there.

HAVING heard the terrible news about David Cameron’s son, I don’t think it would be appropriate to blog anything today.

It’s at times like this that I realise how unimportant party politics can seem in comparison with life’s important issues. I simply cannot imagine how David and Sam are feeling today and I know all our thoughts and prayers are with them.

I’VE NEVER watched more than a few seconds of Big Brother. I couldn’t tell you a single name of any of the “non-celebrity” contestants, and only a very few of the “celebrity” ones.

But I do know that Tommy Sheridan, the former Scottish Socialist/Solidarity MSP (note to The Independent: he was never an MP) is on Celebrity Big Brother at the moment. Here in Scotland, where people have actually heard of him, his appearance has caused a bit of controversy. Personally, I am overcome with apathy. 

His arm's stuck like that, you know

However, now is as good a time as any once again to scotch the Myth of Tommy the Poll Tax Martyr: there are those who cling to the belief that Tommy was jailed back in 1990 for refusing to pay the poll tax. He wasn’t.

In fact, in Scotland non-payment of poll tax was not an offence that could carry a custodial sentence. He was actually jailed for breaking a legal interdict not to attend and protest at a warrant sale. Warrant sales were auctions of debtors’ domestic property carried out to rase money to pay their debts, in this case unpaid poll tax. A barbaric practice, of course, and Tommy deserves some credit for the highlighting and ultimate scrapping of a practice that many had never heard of before he took to the streets with his megaphone.

Nonetheless, poll-tax non-payer he undoubtedly was – poll tax martyr he ain’t.

Just so we’re clear.