Today's show 27/01/12

Hello Paddy! Errr... you're not Paddy. Your web page clearly says "Paddy O'Connell sits in" ... has somebody not noticed?

I hope you'll be interested to know that my blog had one of its busiest days ever yesterday, with just under 200 page views, as a result of my complaints debacle with your employers. So thanks for that. The more readers I get, the better!

We watched this week's edition of Panorama last night where Britain's railways were investigated with particular reference to rail fares and Network Rail's infrastructure upgrade costings. I was left thinking at the end if only the same investigative team could do the same kind of job on the BBC. Now that would be revealing!

There was a superb interview with Ed Miliband published yesterday. It can be found here http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/44765/ed_miliband_interview.html and the BBC have also covered it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16750583. THE quote has to be "And you know I think it’s very interesting that David Cameron’s example of responsible capitalism was the chocolate orange. He’s failed to sort it out, why?". Mmmm... chocolate oranges. Now there IS a subject worthy of discussion on your programme!

As we head in to the weekend, what stories of wonder and delight, of paedophiles, wheelie bins, allotments, exploding furniture and the Daily Mail are you going to tempt me with today? Let's see...

1) STEPHEN HESTER - Outrage descends on the Royal Bank of Scotland boss over his £963,000 bonus. But we speak to someone who says Stephen Hester deserves it : Aha! Another "someone"! You keep finding them ... from somewhere. Bonuses are used throughout all sorts of industries, of course, including our beloved BBC. It was only a few days ago that your favourite rag the Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2088567/Huge-bonuses-grotesque-expenses-spendthrift-bosses-austerity-BBC.html) wrote:

How, then, can we make sense of the revelation that last year the BBC paid bonuses amounting to £275,000 to four senior managers? One of them — Chris Kane, head of corporate real estate at the BBC — received a top-up of £155,000 in addition to his salary of £206,000. The Corporation justifies this apparent ignoring of its rules by saying that Mr Kane and two other executives were entitled to bonuses under contracts entered into before Mr Thompson’s edict. If this is true, one wonders why the BBC did not insist on renegotiating contracts in keeping with the new mood of austerity. No defence, however feeble, can be mounted in the case of a fourth senior executive, programmes general manager Daniel Danker, as he was recruited in 2010 when the bonus ban was already in force. Nonetheless, he pocketed a £40,000 bonus last year, taking his pay package to almost £213,000.

I am no defender of bankers and their bonuses, but perhaps it is time - once again - to look at your own particular glass house before you start chucking stones at somebody else's. But then hypocrisy starts and ends with the BBC, doesn't it? Next...

2) PYJAMAS - A dole office in Dublin has banned claimants from turning up in pyjamas. In what circumstances is it acceptable to wear your pyjamas outside the home? : Is there no real news again today then? Is it so bad that you have go abroad for anything to talk about? I wonder how BBC News 24 fill their air time. As somebody who does not wear pyjamas, perhaps the question for me - and many others - should be: In what circumstances is it acceptable to wear nothing at all outside the home? Just a thought. Perhaps I should buy some just so I can wear them outside my home. Or perhaps not. Next...

3) BRAIN TUMOUR - We hear from a twelve year old who's recovered from a brain tumour and written an open letter to other children with cancer and their parents about how to deal with the illness. Find out more in this article from the Telegraph : Good for him, and what a beautifully written letter. He and his parents should be very proud, and I wish them all well. I only hope that my letter to the BBC Trust turns out that well. Unfortunately, the Radcliffe & Maconie show starts on 6 Music at 1pm, and I promised them I would listen. You know how it is. Next...

4) LOST GENERATION - There's no such thing as a "lost generation". Someone who began his working life in the recession of the early eighties says it was the making of him : Is this the same "someone" as used in item 1? Would you like to speak to "someone" who thinks your programme is pointless, biased, irrelevant drivel? If so, my number appears at the end of this message. I began my working life in 1975 which, if I remember correctly, was not in a recession and I seem to have done OK so far, thank you. You said on Ken's show "This is the time to graduate, this is the time to be 21". So, as a self-employed 50-something year old, how do I do that then?

The Jeremy Vine Show - outraged by bonuses, unless they are ours


UPDATE:

Details of the Stephen Hester item were posted on Radio 2's official (as opposed to personal, presumably) Facebook page earlier, and which I have only just noticed. Lots of opinions were expressed as a result, which is what R2 probably wanted, but the most recent one is the one that interests me the most. It quotes an Evening Standard article which I had not seen before and says "And what better person than Jeremy, who has an annual income in excess of £1million per year, to host this debate. You know, just to add some perspective. And like many of Jeremy's stories, it must be true because I read it in the paper, about half way down this article... http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23755244-fear-and-loathing-inside-the-bbc.do"