Today's show 31/08/11

<Posting delayed due to problems with blogger.com web site>

I feel that sincere congratulations are in order to you. For the first time (as far as I know) your programme has been mentioned specifically on the Biased BBC web site. You can read it here: http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/2011/08/gypsies-tramps-and-bbc-producers.html and it all seems fair enough to me. Would you care to comment? Oh... I forgot. You don't accept criticism of your programme - ever - so why should this be any different? And good to see that Twitter have changed the error message displayed when I try to "follow" you to say "Sorry, you can't follow this user (because they're blocking you).". Free speech, who needs it, eh?

Today's issue that affects me: Why does a respected BBC broadcaster who continually tells me to "tell us what you think" continually ignore everything I tell him?

As I type this you just said on Ken's show: "We only cover the news". Jeremy, it is extremely unusual for you to cover four proper news stories in one day, and the incidence of non-news twaddle seems to get greater and greater. He also said something about the Daily Mail ... I shall have to check exactly what he said on iPlayer later. Ken is a star!

1) DISCLOSING PAY - The pay gap between male and female managers has widened. Should everyone in your workplace voluntarily disclose what they earn in the interests of equality? : You are absolutely correct with this one, it is an outrage. My wife earns far more than I do, but then she has a proper job but is not a manager whereas I am the sole trader in my hobby-cum-business. Does that make me a manager? Needless to say, we don't have any secrets so I know what she earns, and she knows what I earn, so I don't think that this item is relevant to us. Next...

2) MARRIAGES CUT SHORT - We discuss young marriages that are cut short by tragedy following Gemma Redmond's funeral tribute to her husband Ian, who was killed by a shark : Tragic, but it happens. I'll let you know if it ever happens to us. Next...

<Goes away for 10 minutes as web site hasn't been updated with last two stories>

3) COACH SUBSIDIES - The government wants to save over seventeen million pounds a year by scrapping a subsidy for coach operators in England that enables the over sixties to enjoy half price travel. Find out more in this Telegraph article : Two phrases of relevance here: "in England" and "over sixties". I don't live in England, and I've still got a few years to go before I get to 60, but knowing that the over-60s are now part of your target audience is interesting. Next...

4) PYLONS - And there are plans to build hundreds of giant pylons across the UK to connect wind farms and nuclear power stations to the national grid. Have you learnt to love pylons? Find out more in this Daily Mail article : Ahhh, the Daily Mail ... bless. Your recent "He's back" jingle said that you have "experts and opinions" on your programme. From the way you were talking to Ken it sounds as though - again - experts will not be featured today. Who needs the facts when you can just make them up, eh? I can look out of my window here and see a pylon in the middle of the adjacent field. Do I love it? No. Do I hate it? No. Am I bothered by it? No. Would I prefer if it were not there? Probably, but I don't lose any sleep over it.

Serious question: Do you think you will EVER talk about anything that affects me?

The Jeremy Vine Show - Missing the point, everyday