JP's Corner of The Blogosphere

Discuss.

Like most of you, I'm sure, I feel for all those involved in Friday's tragic train crash. However, on reading various comments - such as those on the BBC News page - I am left speechless at the few who feel the need to spin out this latest incident to promote their blinkered and narrow minded call for renationalisation. It may not surprise you to know that I am not a fan of nationalisation (consider the disaster that the British car industry became in the 1970s, for a start). Almost by default therefore I must be pro-privatisation, and certainly my experience of the post-privatisation railway is a postive one, with a much better service on offer - a point proven by the vast increase in passenger numbers - and marred only by incompetent governmental interference. Even if you disagree with me however, I think you'd be hard pushed to legitimately use Friday's accident to argue your point . Would it have still occurred under a nationalised system? Probably. And con...

Apparently. I'm not convinced, but that might be because I'm not a woman. I do know that it's quite a popular thing to give up for Lent though. I haven't, but I wonder how many of you have? I see that Cadbury's have done their bit to reduce the tempation by recalling a lot of their products again. Typically I am slightly behind with the times but I will share my opinions on the issue nonetheless. I was thinking about the recall earlier, as you do, and thinking that this really is bureacracy gone mad, to coin a phrase. If I have understood it correctly, it is all to do with the fact that the chocolate in question has not been labelled properly ; specifically it lacks a nut allergy warning. Now, forgive me if I am wrong, but if you had purchased said chocolate and heard about the recall you would now be aware of the potential risk. Returning the chocolate for a correctly labelled replacement would do nothing to change the fact that if you're allergic to nu...

...it may even go well with the cannabis. I'm not usually a fan of blowing my own trumpet, as it were, but having received my semester one results I'm feeling quite pleased with myself and figure that every good rule has its exception. It seems that the hard work has after all paid off, and I don't think I could have done a huge amount more to silence the critics.

Whilst I am having a bit of a splurge, I feel duty bound to mention the driver of the 410 I caught this morning. Buses are normally the bane of my life, and if they get mentioned here it's invariably because I want to rant. However, the driver this morning saw me coming up the road and had the heart to wait at the stop for me - such behaviour, an oasis in a sea of grumpiness, is noteworthy.

I have updated my links to other parts of the blogosphere (and my RSS reader, for that matter). Hello to Lucy . Looking down the list, some parts of the blogosphere (or livejournalsphere, if you wish) seem to have been deserted, which is very sad. I'm feeling too charitable to embark on something of a cull at the moment; however I'd like to think that the threat of such action might spur some people to return and show some signs of life.

shreyas Originally uploaded by JP1984 . Happy Saints' Day. Did anyone receive any 'Cyril and Methodius' gifts or cards? How about sending something? I hope that if you didn't that you're not too bitter; but if you are I don't want to hear how pleased you are not to have to spend out on commercial tat. Despite the fact that it is a reasonable excuse it probably doesn't reflect your true feelings. Personally I think it's good if people wish to celebrate the feast days of the saints in style. This article in the Metro amused me. (Incidentally, I might be pleased that I get a seat on the bus in the mornings these days, but I do miss the Metro). I've had quite a mellow evening with housemates and friends watching the Brit Awards, and it's been good. Amy Winehouse is more attractive than I first thought, but I am very disconcerted by her deep voice. Russell Brand, in the words of Huce, is a tit. I couldn't have put it better myself. And ...

I was sat in the office yesterday when bearers of great joy arrived, heralding the distribution of free cookies outside the Student Union, by Accenture or some such company. Immediately two of us broke in to a sprint and our spoils were duly claimed. Then, donning a suitable disguise, Jeremy went for a second attempt. A trend began and whilst I attemped to debug the program I was writing people returned with four, five, even six cookies each. The gauntlet had been laid. Now, as this was not Brian Lara cricket, I rather fancied my chances of beating the high score of six. Determined to avoid a 'grab and run' scenario I dragged my thought process away from the exciting world of computer programming. A master plan that was at least 'worth a shot' was hatched and minutes later I returned bearing a box of 50 cookies "for the office". I think there might also have been some company literature as part of the deal, but surprisingly no-one in the office was int...

..well, travelling First at least. The train was so full at Bath that I couldn't even board my coach, let alone get to my reserved seat. However I have had the last laugh because I headed for the first class end of the train (it may surprise you to know that this is not yet normal for me). After 15 minutes in of standing in the vestibule we stopped and enough people alighted for me to find a free seat. The guys with the refresment trolley have told me I can stay put. If only I'd had the guts to claim a free coffee...

Image011 Originally uploaded by JP1984 . I love the way that despite the fact the wording couldn't be any less committed about the amount one would save there is still the obligatory asterisk* and associated disclaimer. >> *OK so if you look closely it's not actually an asterisk, but "obligatory cross thingy" would have just ruined my post.

I was amused to learn during the recent 'crisis' that there is actually someone with the job title 'United Nations Co-ordinator for Bird-Flu'. Imagine bringing that up at a dinner party. I also recently came across someone with the title Prebendary recently. Does anyone know what a Prebendary does or how one becomes one? Unless it's particularly cool I have no desire to be one, but I do think it's a beautifully random title. It too would also be fun to bring up at a dinner party, and is certainly more intriguing than 'accountant'. I have Bernard Matthews Turkey in my sandwiches today.

Image004 Originally uploaded by JP1984 . Last weekend* I made the trip across the country to Cambridge and had a quality time. Thanks to everyone who made it so good - particularly to Ben for driving, Tom and Kev for the hospitality and to Shteef for being Huce. Highlights included my high score of 6 on Brian Lara cricket**, a trip to Linton*** Zoo and a night out in what is apparently Britain's largest pub. Bizarrely, despite my cynicism, choosing a table by the lonlg "sofa" against the wall really did result in some random girls coming to talk to us. On our way home, Shteef vaulted a gate and we encountered a shopping trolley strewn across the path. The offer of a ride was just too tempting to resist. Oh what a hooligan I am. We also saw a unicorn****, and this entry would not be complete without giving the guy in the photograph a mention. Seen in the market square, I was pleased to receive my free hug. Legendary. >> *OK so I'm a little behind **A cl...

I've been watching the debate about gay adoption with interest. It's a shame that it's the homosexuality issue which has reared it's ugly head again, but I do feel that it highlights a much deeper issue. The basic question is whether or not the rights of conscience can be subjected to legislation - Rowan Williams believes not. Thousands of people evidently disagree with Dr Williams, as has been very evident on the BBC Have Your Say page recently, where there are lots of sometimes venomous comments along the lines of "no-one should consider themselves above the law, especially religious groups". Now, these people are of course entitled to their opinions but there is a definite lack of consistency here. There was no such bleating going on when a Muslim WPC refused to shake hands with a male on her passing out ceremony on religious grounds. If religious reasons are not above the law then why was this allowed?

Last November I made the trip to Cardiff to celebrate a friend's birthday. We went to the Bay and had a good night, despite the fact that the area lacks soul. At the end of the night three of us ended up walking back across town, which was something of an experience. Mein Host led us on a little bit of a wild-goose chase, but eventually, after passing the first fight we saw that night our route took us through the aptly named "Chippy Alley". Unbeknown to me at the time, a camera crew were filming somewhere in the area and as I waded through the piles of polystyrene cartons (yes, really), weaved through the groups of drunkards and dodged the overflowing bins, I made my way in to the shot. So, as I learned at the weekend, you may have seen me making a TV appearance (not my first, I should add) in the background of a programme for S4C... ...on binge drinking.

Cartoon by Dave Walker . Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons . When one is revising Asymptotic Methods, anything and everything else becomes more interesting and Dave's cartoon today is beautifully relevant. "More interesting things" include correcting the grammatical errors in yesterday's post, but I must get back to revision/go to bed before I feel the urge to correct the fact that it was also something of a non-story.

If like me you've been to Chichester and enjoyed its beautiful cathedral and quaint streets you might be a bit surprised by this post. I was listening to the local news a couple of weeks ago, and evidently Chichester is not the quiet, safe, town it would appear to be. "11 people attacked at Chichester Railway station" was the headline. This to me would seem pretty big news, but the newsreader was more concerned with the statistics and the fact that apparently it was now - wait for it - the third most dangerous West Sussex town. So this got me thinking. If we're talking about a mass attack on 11 people, the towns fighting for the top spots must be terrifying places to be. But if we're talking about statistics compiled since the dawn of time, then who cares? I think we just need to be thankful that I was probably one of three listeners that morning. Otherwise we might have seen a downturn in Chichester's tourism industry or an increase in the number of mass...

In case you were wondering, today's title is (sadly) not a reflection on what I have been up to recently. Well, not in that sense, anyway. Recently I have been listening a lot more to the radio. It makes the early morning bus journey more interesting and all that. But more on that later - I need to get back to the point. So there I was last night listening to said radio, dozing off as Graham Torrington used his infinite wisdom and experience to reassure and advise his listeners with just the right number of meaningful "mmm's". I was contemplating the phenomenon that everyone has heard of Graham Torrington (or 'GT' if you're cool enough) and yet would probably rather not admit it, when I heard a name I recognised. It was, after all, a slightly unusual name. As the caller started disclosing her problems I realised that I also recognised the voice. Listening more carefully I found that the discription of her situation was also familiar. If there's ...

...J P. I bet you didn't see that cliche coming; there are of course no prizes for guessing what I am about to talk about. Yesterday I (finally) went to see the new Bond film with my family, and... ...I thought that it was excellent. I quickly dispensed of my predjudice that Bond should not be blonde and enjoyed the typical Bond action, the element of suspense and the inclusion of a posh girl. There was a disappointing lack of risque one-liners although the trademark humour is thankfully still in evidence. Despite the fact that Bond is always slightly 'unreal' I felt let down by the last one and was greatly relieved to find that the same mistakes have not been made. Unfortunately the rest of the family have completely succumbed to the lurgy today and the Vicarage has not been the hive of activity that it usually is. Meanwhile, I've been plodding on climbing my revision mountain.

I wonder how many people have written a post with the same title as this today? I note that 2006 began with the same title, but 365 days on I still feel no need to be original, witty or funny. So there. Still, I hope that you have a happy new year anyway. Unfortunately, Mother P follwed the rest of the family and was unwell at the end of 2006. Along with the nation's other great parties this meant that we sadly had to cut right back on the festivities. Much as it was a great shame not to have had an evening of fun and laughter with friends and family I am at least pleased to report that my family is very much on the mend. I am also pleased to report that for me 2006 ended in a suitably random manner; after a very quiet evening I was to be found shortly before midnight accompanying the vicar, who, carafe of wine in hand was attempting to get in to his own church. More precisely, we wanted access to the tower, for which the Reverend has no key. Our knocks and cries resulted i...

When I was having a bit of a sort out yesterday I found a flyer for 'Billifest', which must surely have been one of the events of 2006. I was packing up and finishing some coursework some 100 or so miles away at the time, and I can't believe that I missed it. What a silli billi. For those of you who don't move in the right circles, the Christmas 'Billifest' (with French Market) apparently offered, amongst other things, Santa's Grotto, Live Bands, Christmas Carols, competitions and special offers from local shops. The most important aspect however, and probably the reason for the event was the High Street Opening Ceremony, following months of 'improvement work'*. The French Market necessitated closure of said High Street however, so it appears that one would have had to have headed to the adjacent shopping precinct to witness this momentous occasion. Did anyone make it to the 'Billifest'? Was it as good as the flyer would have you belie...