Formula One 2012 preview

Ah yes, my first foray of the year into sporting commentary!

The difficult in making predictions about Formula One is they will most likely be wrong. The difference between Football previews and Formula One previews is that while teams in Football may change, more often than not you get a good idea of how they will perform by comparing last years squad with this years: a few players are a bit older, they're best striker went a bit mental, but they signed Aguero, so probably about the same as last year. In Formula One however, there's no way to know what's coming. Pre-Season testing provides some clues, but even then the car can change drastically between then and the first race. In Formula One the case usually is that by the third race, or the first European Race you get a good idea of what's to come.

The reason is simple. The Car. While some wish to argue the driver is the most important aspect of the F1 team, it is only half true. The car and whats in it or on it makes up for the bulk of performance. Hence a a new wing might appear or a new engine. It are these unknowns of car construction and design that make it predictable. David Silva did not grow a third leg over the summer, whereas a car might...

Anyway, to the matter at hand. I can only see Red Bull continuing to dominate the sport, which is a shame from a purist point of view. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with how the Bulls go about their business, they tend to win pretty legitimately, and have built a sound car with no cheats. However, they represent a change in Formula One towards corporate and financial superiority ruling the roost. Yes, McLaren and Ferrari have money, and that's why they're up there every year, but they have the history and heritage to justify it. Redbull are coming into their 8th year in Formula 1, challenging for their 3rd World Title.

Elsewhere, Mclaren and Ferrari will be the biggest rivals. Fernando Alonso at Ferrari will have had two years now to shape the car to his needs, and will be hoping for his 3rd World title. Both Jenson Button and Lewis will be hoping to rubber stamp their place in history with a 2nd world title.

My interest however, as was the case in 2011, lies in the midfield of Formula One. As it became obvious that Sebastian Vettel would win easily in 2011, my eyes shifted to the battle of the midfield, a compelling tustle between Lotus Renault (now just Lotus), Force India, Mercedes and Sauber.

This year, Lotus seem to be going all guns blazing with a dream driver line up of former champion Kimi Raikonnan and Romain Grosjean. However, in the last week their active suspension unit was banned by the FIA, so that may through a spanner in the works somewhat.

Force India appear to be rising and rising, each season improving on the last. Paul Di Resta has the difficulty now of proving he is a fully fledged driver, not just a talented Rookie.

Mercedes are perhaps my dark horse of the year. Two years of Ross Brawn and i'm wondering if he has brought it all together for Schumi's final season.

Drivers to watch out for are:

Filipe Massa - under much pressure at Ferrari. No doubt he is number 2 to Fernando, but he needs to up his game big time in order to justify his spot on the team. He is aging, at 31 this year he might find himself out of a drive in 2013, as teams say, we'd rather have a young gun with financial backing, than "that guy who was World Champion for 30 seconds in 2008".

Mark Webber - I can see this being his last year too. 36 this year, and will not challenge Vettell. Same case with Massa, teams will be looking for young guys with a big sponsor rather than the Aussie.

Kimi - Can the '07 world Champ return with the hunger to really challenge in that Lotus?

Toro Rosso guys - Ricciardo and Vergne are both pretty much new guys in the team this year. Ricciardo impressed so much last year in the HRT that he was promoted to the Red Bull junior team.

and finally Bruno Senna - Bearing the name of probably the best driver ever, he has a job to prove he is in F1 for the long run. A few impressive performances in the 2nd half of last year justified his selection for Williams, can he (and i hope he does, because i like Williams) bring Williams back to where they want to be?

There are a lot of drivers on the grid this year, young and old, with some notable exits: Sutil (who is caught in a legal battle), Barrichello (who retires) and Petrov (once touted for a Ferrari seat) all leave the sport because their seats have been taken by other drivers. Indeed, the current crop need to be on their game, there is a long list of drivers willing to take their seat, most likely with Petrov at the front!

I'm looking forward to the new season as i always do. I'll of course be rooting for my beloved Ferrari boys to be on the top step of the podium more often than not this year. I'll also be keeping an eye on Lotus, my "2nd team."

Fuck me, Maggie T.

I'm back.

Last night I watched The Iron Lady. Put it this way, £7 would have been better spent elsewhere. Good films engage you,great films make you think. Unfortunately this did neither. In fairness, when writing a historically accurate/true story film it is hard keep the audience guessing, but this film whilst littered with good performances, it lacked the script to make it a must have on DVD. As i mentioned in person yesterday, i was more concerned about whether or not McDonalds would be open at the end of the film, rather than how Michael Heseltine was going to stick the knife in when ousting Maggie.

As someone reasonable political knowledge, the film really was disappointing. The majority of the film was spent in the present day, as Thatcher's frail health is accompanied by flash backs of semi-relevance to her career as politician. This did not really work. Her life as Prime Minister was far more interesting than present day. Indeed, i wanted to know about how she became leader elect when Callaghan lost a vote of no confidence, not who was coming for dinner that evening in the 2012 Thatcher household.

The main problem however was that the actually political events barely scratched the surface. Perhaps the most interesting of all premierships was never really documented as thoroughly as i would have liked. Indeed, her downfall was touched up in a 5 to 10 minute segment, that in the end rather made her look like the victim. Interesting take, but perhaps the wrong one. I wanted to see heated cabinet discussion as a flailing leader clung to power, as the other ministers grow increasingly restless at her presence, before they all one by one push her towards the edge, when finally Heseltine see's her fall all the way to the bottom.

Further, there were too many slap you in the face lines that were meant to be subtle metaphors. Like when teaching Carol to drive, Maggie is urging her to drive round a cyclist "to the right" with Carol saying "you must not drive to far to the right!!". I rather assumed the director, Phyllida Lloyd, would have given her audience more credit. Then again, she did direct Mamma Mia.

By all means watch this, but if you're after some hard hitting, exciting, heart racing political confrontations...stick BBC Parliament on television, Wednesday at 12pm.

2011 - a News Review

As always, i like to be queen bee or whatever the masculine form of that title is, i have taken someone else's idea and I am going to attempt to make it my own. Yes indeed, you have already seen a news review, so i feel i should plug said innovators wonderful blog here: Harry's Blog.

Let this blog serve as a reintroduction into the blogging scene, before we attempt far more indepth posts which got me something like 750 hits this summer.

1) The year began with a reminder why we don't do drugs. Indeed, on a drunken New Years Eve (or New years day by this point) in attempting to rescue a lost member of the Trampoline Club we ran into a gentleman who can only be described as "trippin' balls" and was very much aghast at our attempts to reclaim our friend who had wandered into a party uninvited to steal some booze. And here, i thought we were the adults. Anyway, having defused the situation, we moved on to leave this child to writhe in pain at the inevitable stomach pumping that what his 2011.

2) I returned to Uni a changed man. A larger man. Rather like the banking crisis, it started as something manageable, like Northern Rock's collapse. Then, the shit hit the proverbial fan and RBS went right down the proverbial shitter, and we knew we had a huge problem. Yes ladies and gents it was at this point i looked into the mirror and accepted i was now classed as over-weight. Thankfully, i have been able to manage this and haven't continued to balloon. If only the incumbent Tories could manage their crisis.

3) After a pedestrian year in terms of effort, i got a pedestrian mark, which i was happy with. A 2.2 is not what i'm going for, but it is a stepping stone from the disappointment that was sixth form. In fact, i look back and i'm not proud of what I have done beyond academia. At the time i was a man looking to live university life independently from barriers and constraints. Now, i wish i had treated as a stepping stone to something huge, which ideally my life will be. We are back on course i can confirm.

4) This summer i went to my first gig! How is this?! Well, i've never been one to seek music beyond the sound that comes from my head phones, but the opportunity came along to watch Jamiroquai at the marvelous o2 Arena, and my response was why not? Ordinarily i'm inclined to spend my money on sporting fixtures, Football, Rugby and Cricket mostly, which i enjoy. The concert was fantastic though, really good fun and one of those moment i'll look back on for years to come. Such a shame it was my friend was spoken to by Jay Kay rather than myself!

5) I asked a question to a friend, which i wont publish. I will publish his answer. "Nothing with Robots or Animals". Say no more.

6) I returned to Uni a changed man again, this time after lengthy summer recess, where i had a chance to assess my options and make a decision about my life. This time round, i was somehow more chiseled, more experienced. I've been through this, i know this. In light of this i approached the year differently, less gung-ho, less Fresher-Fodder and more measured and calculated. I chose the societies i joined with the here and now, and the future in mind. Go Karting for pleasure. Politics for the Future and Dancing...well tell you the truth i was trying to pull, how chauvinistic, but i can announce it is something more to me now, as i sit on the Executive Committee.

7) The year ended on a sad note, as my mother and aunt had split from their respective partners. It made for an interesting Christmas, as they both toasted themselves into a new year with new men. I worry about mum, she is after a perfect man, which as we all know doesn't exist. I just want her to stop fretting and be happy, and be settled. Coincidentally, she has found a man who is football mad and supports Leeds United, sound familiar? (....my father, her first husband is a football mad Leeds fan).

We live and learn. This time next year, hopefully i'll be a millionaire. In all seriousness, this latest semester i have had a different outlike on life. It's not that i'm happier, it's something more than that. I have an energy at the moment, a fire that is getting me going. It's not something i do, nor someone i know that lit it, but it's there. With this in mind, take 2012, and grab it by the horns.

Lets make it a good one. (Also, i couldn't think of a nice picture for this blog, so i've chose a picture of a robot).

Comments on my visit to the House of Parliament.

Houses of Parliament

After what can only be described as a very pedestrian start to what would otherwise have been a well desired day off, I made it into Westminster at about 10:45.

The first comment i would make is how much I love the layout within the depths of Westminster Underground station. To most I imagine the innards of the station to be dull. However if you treat the rather industrial look (the grey beams and pillars make the whole thing look like a machine) with an open mind, you might just conjure up a nice metaphor along the lines that those otherwise dull objects represent the wheels of the economic, social and legislative functions turning, in what goes on above ground in the Houses of Parliament.

Leaving through Exit three of the Station, you find yourself emerging from underneath perhaps the UK’s most famous Landmark, Big Ben.

After wading through the inevitable security measures in place at the Cromwell Entrance, you emerge into a very dull room, otherwise known as Westminster Hall. Had it not been a cloudy day or perhaps if they had turned the lights on, what looked like a glorified Barn of a structure might have been a little more spectacular. However, this was not the case and was just a large dull hall.

Me and a fellow student made our way to the House of Commons Gallery, after a queuing a short while and checking some bags, we ended up in the gallery. It all looked very grand on first impression, and further it looked rather small. Perhaps the TV makes it looks fat, because in reality from my perspective it seemed incredible tight. Perhaps a good selling point for the reduction in of fifty MPs come the next election will result in a more spacious chamber for our representatives.

What we viewed as the extension of Question Time, where the house questions the work of the Minister of a particular department. After the scheduled questions have been answered, the floor was opened to “urgent questions”. Urgent Questions are a new feature in the proceedings of Parliament, implemented by the Backbench Business Committee, something I will discuss later.

We then left to view the House of Lords. There was much less ‘to and fro’ between members, as to be expected, and more long winded, thoroughly prepared speeches and comments from the members to the House. The impact of Creative Industries (media sources to you and I) was what was discussed and despite being not fully up to speed on for example local Newspapers or Children’s Television, the experience was still quite interesting.

We then left for Lunch. The only detail I shall give is that I had a very over-priced Cheese Baguette from a Pub across the road.

We then returned into Parliament, again with the hassle of going through security.

At 2:30 we had a discussion scheduled with three different Parliamentarians.

The First, John Whittingdale, was Chair of the Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport. Of all Select Committees, this one has had particularly large media exposure in recent weeks because these have been the Parliamentarians involved in investigating the Phone Hacking scandal of the News International Group, which as can be imagined led to some interesting discussion.

We then had a visit from Peter Bone MP, who describes himself as the 2^nd most rebellious MP in the Conservative Party. He is a member of the earlier mentioned Backbench Business Committee, a newly formed Committee. In a nutshell they make life difficult for the House of Commons, tabling debates that the House otherwise doesn’t want to talk about. They have three criteria, which if all are fulfilled means a topic is primetime for discussion. 1: If all Parties agree on something, it’s wrong, we must debate this topic. 2: If they disagree on something within the party, they must debate the topic. 3: If the public are talking about it, and express their desire to discuss it with 100,000 signatures on a petition, they must debate it. Things like the European Union Referendum fulfilled all three criteria, and came about because of a petition supported by the Daily Express.

Finally, Sir George Young discussed the changing role of the House of Commons. Perhaps the most recognisable figure seen today, the Conservative Front Bencher is the Leader of the House of Commons.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening day. I consider myself quite lucky in some of the opportunities that have been given to me. For example, I had an experience very similar to today’s events two years ago on a School Trip to Prague. At the time I did not really appreciate how lucky I was, only now do I realise how good an experience it was.

I had to rather dash out however to catch my train. I did however spend a moment watching David Dimbleby prepare for tonight’s Question Time Broadcast, which will be shot from the afore mentioned Westminster Hall.

I did discuss with some friends, that despite being a learning trip, I also wanted it to be a motivational one. Did the day succeed in sending me the vibes of: Alex, you want to be here, you need to work hard so you can end up here. Yes it did. I look forward massively to being there next year, working for an MP. Bring it on, and bring on a career in Public Office of some kind.

I’ll leave you with the final thought that I am travelling back First Class, because it was Cheaper than standard, which comes with a free evening meal or Sandwiches. I can confirm how thoroughly disgusted at the fact the meal involved Goats Cheese. East Coast will receive a sternly word letter in the morning from me with regards to their thoroughly vile meal options on board.

Last train home for the Coalition.

One of the rather smaller pieces of news this year has been the announcement of a High Speed Rail network in the UK. Smaller this is of course because despite this venture transforming how people are shuttled two and from work, it seems Riots, News of the World and the Royal Wedding have collectively pushed this interesting change in infrastructure well and truly into the middle pages.

The facts are it will cost £32bn, a cost which will be most likely shared between the Government and private firms, a mix that will mean a good oversight in how its being built and being built with good value for money. It will operate out of London to Manchester, and to Leeds via Birmingham. There are options to extend, but not as it stands. It will be completed in 2028/2032, Leeds scheduled to board the train at the latter date.

I rather oppose the High Speed rail network. I don't see the point and i consider it a high cost for something that won't see good use.

The UK has looked to countries such as France, China, Brazil and Germany with their High-Speed lines and wants in. You don't need to have a Phd in Geography to spot the flaw in these kind of comparisons. These countries far exceed the size of the UK. Geographically the UK is rather lucky that Leeds an Manchester can reach London already between an hour or two on existing train lines. Is slicing that time in half altogether worth it? Will people be pleased with the difference? Personally, i can reach Hull from St Albans in about 2 and a half hours and am very please about it. I reached the far reaches of Kent this summer in just over an Hour. I've reached London from St Albans in 15 Minutes. The speed of our services i think is already reasonable, for people that might have to once or twice a week visit the capital from Leeds, might accept the 2 hour commute, if it was wholly unacceptable wouldn't they just move?

Then we've got to consider the use of existing train lines. Aside from the notoriously busy London Underground and commuter trains in and out of London, are the trains that busy with commuters demanding faster speeds? I traveled cross-country from Peterborough to Stevenage (a train on its way to London) and i tell no lies, i had a carriage to myself. I have traveled before and it's been busy of course, but i've traveled at other times and it's been deadly quite. Outside of commuting times it has to be said, the 2pm from Hull to Doncaster i've been on my own before beside a few small kids who got off on route.

Finally, i disagree with the costs and time span. £32 billion doesn't seem to much compared to say the cost of hosting the Olympics or the size of our Governments debt. However that figure can be amended as time goes on and costs change - there's going to be a lot of inflation in the next twenty years. It could easily be £50bn at it's scheduled completion. By which time, will people still want it? Will it still have it's appeal? In 2030 cars will be more efficient and people might consider traveling in a car with good Miles per Gallon over paying £100 a ticket on the new trains. In 20 years peoples views can change, you've got to ask will people still want in 2032, let alone do they want it now?

The point of this venture is to try and move business away from the capital, Inshoring, is to encourage growth in areas far away from the capital which thrives from having the best transport networks. Geographically, Manchester isn't too far away, why not just split the money up into chunks of £1bn and hand it out to these struggling areas? Regeneration zones can probably provide the Governments aims. A screaming train, running on a dirty trainline that needs maintaining and manning, probably will not.

2,977

This Sunday marks the ten year anniversary, if you can call it that, of the September the 11th attacks. Currently caught in the moment of it all i thought i'd share some thoughts.

It's really the only time in my life so far that i remember where and what i was doing at the time, excluding perhaps the 7/7 London Underground attacks. Too young for Diana's death and my younger siblings were all born at night, so this is the only "where and when" moment i've ever had. I was 8 and in Year 5 at Primary School. Nothing was said at the time from teachers, or nothing i'd heard, I presume because it was 2001 and teachers didn't have the internet access we have now, so it was only when i left the school door when i knew something had happened. Parents, all of them were deep in conversation, about a "serious incident", which given how close i lived to school, we didn't discuss until i got home and saw it on the news. The BBC had continuous coverage of the attacks on the Twin Towers, Pentagon and 3rd Hijacked plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania.

I remember being incredibly spooked by the mention of the name Pentagon, because as an 8 year old the only time i'd come across the American heart of Defense was in the video game Metal Gear Solid.

The severity of the situation was really emphasized by the fact Eastenders was cancelled that day.

It has been an event which really has been as much about the aftermath as it was the actual event. The foundation of the War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention the huge upscalling of intelligence in many countries around the world. Further, it marked some of the biggest conspiracy theories in history - i heard recently that a budget for a conspiracy movie had been $500,000, incredible for what's effectively a YouTube video.

I at one point bought into the idea of it being a hoax, and a massive home security scare put on by Bush. These feelings lasted only about 30 seconds in truth, as i realised that the videos i had seen were just a disgusting and scaremongering attempt to distort peoples truth of a country's Government. Further, i cannot help but feel that it is somewhat disrespectful of the dead.

Then there's the question of who dunnit. Well Osama Bin Laden and al-Queda plead guilty all to smugly for any sane mans liking.

Automatically you then address the issue of whether or not it was right to kill Bin Laden without trial, who was killed by US Navy Seals in May 2011. Personally, the War on Terror is like any other war, those who kill and get killed do it for a cause, in this case it was a war about beliefs which led to his death. Even if a trial was involved, he would most likely have been killed anyway, so as vulgar as it sounds, the Navy Seals just sped up the process.

Aftermath is a curious thing. Aftermath is what makes us study history, and produces post-event analysis that can enlighten even the most unenlightened. Motives, Costs and Responses are all part of the aftermath. In this case: extreme religious beliefs resulting in a hatred for capitalist Western Society, costing a huge American economic downturn (as desired) and a worldwide increase in security at home and abroad, ending with a response which has come to taint Bush's premiership: seeking to end the threat of terrorism through invasion.

While we learn about the aftermath and generate whatever opinions we have of Bush/Bin Laden, i worry we lose touch with reality, the fact in all 2,977 people lost their lives. People at work, people on the phone, people eating a bagel. Like drowning, those in the Towers had to wait in the sickening belief that they will perish. Some chose to die on their own terms by jumping, while helpless others died as the Towers went down.

On Sunday forget about Bush and whether or not it really happened. Mourn the lost and the hero's who perished. Spend the day and be thankful for those who lost their lives, who in a strange way, i believe made the world today a safer place.

Today's guest speaker: Phil from Marketing!

The title? A quote from the Simpsons when a marketing firm took over Sringfield Elementary because of a lack of funding (the picture however is from a similarly themed episode where the church becomes sponsored in order to raise funds). Of course this resulted in half an hour of family friendly hilarity with Funzo ruining Christmas. However, Free Schools now appear to be less of a cartoon creation and more a reality, with 281 applications to create a Free-School in the UK joining schools like Krishna-Avanti, Leicester as a wave of new Free Schools which seem set to revolutionize how kids learn.

A Free School is effectively independent from Government curriculum, and can be proposed by anyone: parents, teachers, charities, University's and even Football Teams - the only criteria that has to be met is that they must teach English, Maths and Science, and offer a broad and balanced curriculum (leaving a bit of room for maneuver). The only requirement is that there must be enough support from parents as to be able to fit 50% of the schools places.

It is bizarre to think that these new schools can offer a different kind of learning, that is so radically different to schools as we know it, which traditionally are based are Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. However, these schools and their ideas as how to teach are very much in the pipeline of the education revolution - Everton Football Club in Liverpool for example want to create a sporting and athletic atmosphere around their school, so as to encourage young, inner-city children to attend - the incentive of playing sport apparently is means of getting kids to school.

While we may sit and laugh at the extremes of having sponsored schools (Economic Monopolies brought to you by Wal*Mart/Leisure and Tourism in Association with EasyJet), this isn't much too far from what may happen, and what already is. An unnamed Free School has a connection with Apple, which as a result offers iPad's to it's students.

So what of these plans which have been on Tory pipelines since the days of Thatcher but have only recently come about under Gove, the Education Secretary. Well, as a principle i like the idea. Between the ages of 4 and 11, school can seem a little bit of a chore. Secondary school i feel is different, you're more independent which is a bit of an encouragement to attend (or on the flipside play truant). However, primary school can seem like a drag. Personally, i remember doing a lot of PE and having a lot of "Golden Time" in the later stages of my primary school life which makes me wonder how i got straight-5s in the KS2's. The point is, Primary School, while being the foundations of education, was not always what i wanted to do with my day. At home i had toys and a Playstation which i could play all day if i stayed at home, not just for an hour at lunch time as i might at school.

Free School's do offer incentives like these, its school revolutionized to a point where it's hardly a school at all - in Manchester a Free School is planned to be guarded by groups of the Army in order to promote ideals of respect and civility. But where do we stop? How are schools like these policed? Whats to stop Tesco's coming in and giving a lesson on the benefits of Land Banking? Nothing: Free Schools need not have qualified teachers giving the lessons.

I like the idea of modernising primary schools, things like mini white boards and computer rooms can really invigorate a child to participate in the classroom and can boost attention spans - however what we don't want is the Samsung School for mini electronics buyers. I'm all for a change but lets not have it run by Funzo and Phil from Marketing.