George Galloway: The Lodger

'Galloway has an answer for everything, and yet there is something unknowable about him – which is partly why he annoys so many people. He himself was floored by a mystery recently, though, when he came home one day and found all the ties in his bedroom had been moved.
'"I have a sword, given to me in Saudi Arabia or somewhere, so I unsheathed my sword, and went upstairs [to the top floor]. There was no one there, but there was a bottle of gin – which, of course, would never be in my house," Galloway being a life-long teetotaller. "And a gay video, which definitely would never be in my house. So the police came, and they said this person appears to have been living here in your house for some time."

George Galloway interviewed in The Guardian. 
A statement to which the only legitimate response is; "Eh?"
Interesting use of the word "definitely", too.
A qualification the life-long teetotaller didn't feel the need to use about the bottle of gin.

• I should add that I think there is much to be said for this much maligned man - and people should think about why he's become such a vilified figure in the media. Here's an article on the demonisation of George Galloway and the dismissal of Respect's recent victory in the Bradford East by-election from the excellent MediaLens.

David Cameron: Meh

"The country deserves better. Together with political gestures such as gay marriage and House of Lords reform, the fuel panic has been an unwelcome distraction from the overwhelming priority of getting Britain growing again"

The Telegraph, leader.
Let's see if we can spot how many times in the near future the right-wing media will say support for gay marriage shows that Cameron's "out of touch".
He is, of course.
Spectacularly.
Though not on gay marriage.
Although the general consensus seems to be "meh".
Unlike most other papers The Sun has pretty much ignored gay marriage as an issue in the last month - and has only recently picked up the bait.
Why it's almost as if Murdoch has told them to turn on him.
Fagburn did think there was much insincerity in Cameron saying this was a real policy aim, but then it reached a critical mass in the media.
Although, interestingly. his own comments about gay marriage during the last month's feeding frenzy have been... zero. 
It's something I don't really give two hoots about - beyond it bringing homophobic bigots out of the closet - now I wonder if it will just die on the vine.

Update: From Friday's Times; "And there lies a wider problem for Mr Cameron — the feeling among some MPs that they are being ruled by a clique of Dave’s mates who, for instance, fail to understand the Tory faithful’s objections to gay marriage. “It’s a very small coterie.”
Mr Cameron is “gratuitously pissing people off”, said one Tory, referring to the party rank and file..."

Update 2: The Cameron's "liberal elite modernisers are out of touch with ordinary people" line came up in much comment on why George Galloway and Respect won the Bradford by-election.
"Once you start thinking this way, you tend to cast a baleful eye on measures which, when first broached, seemed quite fresh. Gay marriage, rather than looking modern, begins to seem a typically privileged preoccupation of pampered public schoolboys (who, according to popular mythology, are all gay anyway). Wind farms look like ways of making poor people pay higher energy bills. The endless increase in overseas aid looks like an insult to every basic-rate taxpayer." Charles Moore, Telegraph.
He doesn't seem too perplexed by the budget's tax cut for the rich. 

Update 3: "At the grassroots, Tory membership is in steep decline, and those remaining activists are angry at the direction of policy. I have been told of several wealthy local associations that refuse to send their quota of money to Central Office, because they fear how it might be spent — for example, ‘campaigning for gay marriage’, as one long-term activist told me...
"The truth is that the obsessions of a ruling metropolitan elite are of little interest in most parts of the country, where people believe that the Tories have failed to win a general election since 1992 because the party’s leadership has turned its back on its core values..." Simon Heffer, The Daily Mail.
Looks like the worms have really turned on David Cameron this time...

Pop and Politics 2 - George and Dusty

George Galloway, the former Celebrity Big Brother contestant for Bethnal Green and Bow, has told The Guardian he is writing a musical about Dusty Springfield.
Well, they say there's a musical in all of us, don't they?
Galloway said very little, to be honest, beyond that he's working on it with his old friend, Scotland On Sunday journalist, Ron McKay.
"We're both Dusty Springfield fans, both think she wasn't appreciated, especially in the US. It's always been banging around as an idea between us."
Mr Galloway, who Fagburn seems to have more time (if not necessarily respect) for than most, said it would be "political with a small p... It will not be just about her musical talent but her whole journey through life, her sexuality. It won't shirk from any of that."
Whether he means it'll be lesbian with a big or a small l, it's hard to know.
A jukebox musical telling the story of Dusty's turbulent life and featuring all her greatest hits?
It's certainly a great idea.
But Fagburn would like to point out that there have been three already; Dusty - The Musical (UK, 2000), A Girl Called Dusty (US, 2005), and Dusty - The Original Pop Diva (Australia, 2006).
A fourth - or fifth - Dusty The Musical A Life In Music is currently in production in the UK, or at least has a website.
Poor George.