Mr Speaker Martin’s stumbling performance as he read his statement out to the House of Commons yesterday prompted me to dig through some clips of a previous Speaker in action.
In this gem, Betty Boothroyd interrupts the then prime minister, John Major, to put a heckler firmly in his place. Admittedly, she wasn’t reading a pre-prepared script, but the clarity and decisiveness of her intervention are nice reminders of what a very fine Speaker she was:
What a poor speaker!
Watching the Speaker's statement to the House of Commons earlier this afternoon, I was struck by how ironic it is that someone with the title of 'Speaker' isn't very good at public speaking.
I thought about posting some tips on how he might do better. But, as anyone can do this for themselves by looking HERE (and as it looks as though he's not going to be around for much longer) I decided it would be a waste of time.
Sky Sports swindle
As the only sport I ever watch on television is test match cricket, I had no choice a few years ago but to start paying Sky's very high monthly charge for Sky Sports 1.
This weekend, for the umpteenth time, my attempts to see the current test match were thwarted by the fact that it is only being broadcast on Sky Sports 2 - and, for the privilege of watching it, they're trying to get me to pay even more than I'm already paying.
If Sky is allowed to outbid the BBC and Channel 4 for the television rights to test match cricket, they could at least have the decency to put it out on Sky Sports 1.
As they do not, I've decided to cancel my subscription and make do with BBC radio's ball-by-ball coverage and/or the BBC internet test match service.
The good news is that I've saved myself £15.17 per month, and I'd strongly recommend other dissatisfied customers to do likewise.
P.S. Three years later: If Sky Sports subscriptions haven't gone up during this time (which they almost certainly will have done), this excellent decision has now saved me at least £546.12.
And, in the meantime, I've discovered various sites on the internet where you can watch Sky Sports cricket coverage for £0.00.
This weekend, for the umpteenth time, my attempts to see the current test match were thwarted by the fact that it is only being broadcast on Sky Sports 2 - and, for the privilege of watching it, they're trying to get me to pay even more than I'm already paying.
If Sky is allowed to outbid the BBC and Channel 4 for the television rights to test match cricket, they could at least have the decency to put it out on Sky Sports 1.
As they do not, I've decided to cancel my subscription and make do with BBC radio's ball-by-ball coverage and/or the BBC internet test match service.
The good news is that I've saved myself £15.17 per month, and I'd strongly recommend other dissatisfied customers to do likewise.
P.S. Three years later: If Sky Sports subscriptions haven't gone up during this time (which they almost certainly will have done), this excellent decision has now saved me at least £546.12.
And, in the meantime, I've discovered various sites on the internet where you can watch Sky Sports cricket coverage for £0.00.
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