Michael Parkinson

The end of an era soon for BBC Radio listeners (or perhaps another hiccup towards the end of an era) as the long running series of Parkinson programmes on a Sunday morning will be coming to an end before too long. A while a go Michael announced he was stopping his television programmes, and this morning it emerged on his programme that he will be stopping radio as well. I just hope they get someone equally as good to do that two hour period each Sunday - maybe Clive Anderson.

Alan Coren

It was sad to hear of the death of Alan Coren. Anyone who listens to Radio 4 will remember his contributions - especially on The News Quiz. Always erudite, slightly prejudiced, witty, a bit of a grumpy old man, railing against the ludicrous nature of modern life - but always good value. Coming shortly after the death of another Radio 4 stalwart, Ned Sherrin this is a sad time for the loyal followers of Radio 4.

Gordon Brown

OK so we all got worked up about the possibility of a general election. I personally wasn't enamoured of the idea of voting in November - even fewer people would have voted than usual. But the reality is that he's only been Prime Minister for about three months, and he's done pretty well so far, dealing with a series of crises without them becoming dramas. This Parliament has got nearly three years left before a general election is necessary, the Labour Party has a big majority, and we need to know what Gordon Brown intends to do with his majority. I know excellent poll ratings gave him a rush of blood to the head and a sense of euphoria but lets get a grip here and leave talking about elections for another year at least. Then the voters can really make a judgement. Can someone also tell me why it was so bad to announce the reduction in British troops whilst Gordon was visiting Iraq? A logical setting for this to be done surely. The Iraqi government would have been discontented to discover British intentions without warning. So shut up David Cameron, your opportunity to challenge the Labour Party at the polls will need to wait.
What would really be a good idea is to change to fixed term governments - a general election HAVING to take place at pre-determined intervals.

Inheritance Tax

Why are people so worked up about Inheritance Tax? It affects very few estates, and the estates have to be pretty large before they attract this tax. However, in the south of England (and especially London) the main problem is the cost of properties - so even a modest house will force an estate into attracting tax. Two things that I don't think are said enough: firstly (logically) the tax only applies when the house owner dies - which is often over 80 nowadays. Now the complaint about inheritance tax is that people can't leave money for their children, so this tax is a tax on young people setting out - a bequest helps children onto the property ladder. If someone is over 80 their children are likely to be at least 50. So they would need to be leaving their property to grandchildren or great grandchildren to achieve the aim of financing people as they set out on their careers. The second thing is a great taboo in modern life. Will someone tell me why rocketing house prices are a good thing? If you have a house costing £250,000 to sell this is only good if you can find another house to live in a £200,000. Reducing house prices would have the following bonuses: reduction in debt burden on young people, reducing private rents, less pressure on interest rates, allowing people to move instead of being stuck in houses that are no longer suitable. Lower house prices will avoid inheritance tax, stamp duty, reduce estate agents fees, legal fees, and will probably speed up transactions. So lets get building houses and start to see a stabilisation of house prices.

Diana - can we please let it go!

Now I know it's a tragedy how the former Princess of Wales and her friend/lover/fiance(?) died ten years ago. But for goodness sake it was a decade ago, there have been so many enquiries and investigations why do we have to have a six month inquest costing millions? Well the answer is that Mohammed Al-Fayed is obsessed by the fact that his son was killed on the orders of the Royal Family because he was a Muslim and outside the establishment. The real problem is he can't accept that if Dodi wasn't killed as part of a conspiracy, the alternatives are: driven to death by the paparazzi; killed by a drunken employee of the Ritz; or just a tragic accident. Now what will happen if the inquest verdict is one of those alternatives - will the owner of Harrods ever let it go? Nope - this is going to continue forever (just like the assassination of John F Kennedy).

Jeremy Kyle

In a recent court case this programme was described by the judge as bear baiting and public humiliation. One of the down sides of being retired is that you are exposed to the risk of watching daytime television. I stumbled on the Jeremy Kyle programme this morning - and I have to say the judge is spot on. The host is arrogant, ignorant, angry and aggressive. He's supposed to be helping this people and getting them to solve their problems but he's just concerned about audience reaction - and he achieves this by provoking the participants and goading them into violence. My regret is that he doesn't get hit more often. This might induce both ITV1 and Mr Kyle to exit from our screens. Of course Jennifer Saunders is now playing a Kyleseque presenter in a comedy drama on BBC2 - one of the few good things to come out of this excuse for entertainment.

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