Today's show 01/02/12

It was sometime after 4pm yesterday afternoon that somebody lifted a finger and your show web page was updated. That will be over two hours after your programme finished. What was that about being first with the news? We can only hope that the BBC Director General's chauffeur does not have such poor timekeeping. Can we expect a more timely update today? Not at 11:40 we can't, apparently.

My letter to the BBC Trust is now finished. I do not know who at the BBC reads my blog but I remember you telling me when we last spoke that people there were aware of its existence. For that reason alone I have chosen not to publish the contents of my letter on the blog until the BBC Trust have made their ruling on my appeal. After all, I would not want anybody there who may wish to argue against me to have prior knowledge of what I have to say, would I?

 

12:05, and here we go...

1) FRED GOODWIN'S KNIGHTHOOD - The banker Fred Goodwin is stripped of his knighthood. Some people are saying it’s a victory for the lynch mob : Some people? Who are they? I disagree with your assertion on Ken's show that it is "We, the population" who have demanded the stripping of Goodwin's knighthood. I would suggest that it is actually "You, the media" who have got behind this to satisfy a never-ending bloodlust for such things. If you open the window and listen carefully, you actually hear Fred Goodwin laughing at all of us as he counts his £16.9million pension pot. I am no fan of the man, but he has not committed a crime. Lords Archer, Taylor and Hanningfield and Baroness Uddin have all committed and been to jail for crimes yet remain in the Lords making laws that we have to live under. Media firestorm? Check. Opportunity for Miliband (who was involved in giving the knighthood) to appear on TV/radio? Check. Media hypocrisy? Check. Let's just hope that Strictly Come Dancing doesn't fall out of favour as Brucie had to wait a long time for his honour! You said on Ken's show, "Imagine (being Goodwin and) going in to the newsagent this morning to buy a paper". I'm sorry Jeremy. I can imagine being Fred Goodwin, but I cannot imagine ever going in to a newsagent to buy a paper. Next...

2) READING THOUGHTS - Scientists have discovered how to read the thoughts of patients who are brain damaged. Are you excited or concerned by this breakthrough? : Excited? No. Concerned? No. As usual, I'll go for the Not Really Bothered option, thanks. Why do you have to make these things so polarised? I am sure that the Thought Police will be interested in this development, but unfortunately I am not. Next...

3) NETWORK RAIL - Network Rail have pleaded guilty following the deaths of two girls at a level crossing. Do you have a dangerous level crossing near you? : I might listen to this on the iPlayer later, just to see how you handle it. The two deaths are, of course, absolutely tragic and should never have happened. As for dangerous level crossings, it all depends how you define "dangerous", doesn't it? You will be looking for a crossing where hapless commuters are mown down on a daily basis, but fortunately such a thing does not exist. A Google picture of our nearest one (I think) is attached. Does it look dangerous to you? And yes, that is the sea in the background. The vast majority of level crossing accidents involve road vehicles and are usually the fault of the road vehicle driver. We had a death near here a few years ago (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1210780/Elderly-woman-killed-level-crossing-train-hits-car.html) and it is assumed that the accident occurred only because the driver was complacent and relied on her knowledge of the timetable too much. Crossing a railway line is very much like crossing the road, and looking both ways before doing so can only be a good thing. It is a foolish person who relies entirely on lights when crossing a road, and crossing a railway is not much different. You will, of course, be mentioning that many, many more people are hit and killed by road vehicles in one month than are hit and killed by trains in one year, won't you? You know, just to give some of that ultra-rare ingredient on your programme: Perspective. Next...

4) COLD WEATHER - As very cold weather sweeps over from Siberia, are you somebody who has to work outside in the cold? How do you cope? : With nothing else to talk about, let's discuss the weather. No cold weather here. It is dry and sunny today. We had one morning a couple when I had to scrape frost off the car, but nothing since. I am fortunate that I work indoors with heating if necessary, and take the view that there is no such thing as cold weather, only the wrong clothing.

 

The Jeremy Vine Show - left out in the cold, every day