BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012 Preview

Mollie Bennett

After arguably the best year of sport for a generation, this year’s Sports Personality of the Year short-list has been extended from 10 to 12 making the award more eagerly awaited than ever.

With London 2012 Olympic Games, the first ever British Tour De France champion, Chelsea’s remarkable champions league triumph, this year’s emphatic Ryder Cup and the most dramatic end to a Premier League season ever, it is hard to think of a more spectacular year of sport.

This year Sports Personality of Year Awards is showered with inspirational Olympians but with so many amazing stories, the gong really is wide open.

Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins is the hot favourite with the bookies and after becoming the first British rider to ever win the yellow jersey, it is hard to look past him.

The side-burned Briton also picked up his seventh Olympic medal when he took gold in the Men’s Time Trail at London 2012.

Fellow cyclist and 2008 SPORY Sir Chris Hoy is also a contender after picking up gold’s in the Men’s Team Sprint and Men’s Kieren in London.

Double gold medallist Mo Farah is 4/1 after his incredible triumph in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the Olympic Games and after becoming only the fifth person to manage the feat; it would be no surprise if he celebrated the crown with the Mobot.

Andy Murray is third favourite after picking up his first grand slam title to win the US Open, having earlier won Olympic gold in the men’s single.

Elsewhere, Olympic Games poster-girl Jessica Ennis is backed at 8-1 and after her gold in the heptathlon, and making the shortlist three times in the last four years, Britain’s golden girl would be more than worthy of the crown.

Sailor Ben Ainsle, who won the Finn class at London 2012 and became the most decorated Olympic sailor in the process, could make a juicy bet at 150/1.

Ainsle has announced that he will not compete in Rio, meaning that he might gain a sentimental, nostalgic advantage and take the SPORTY crown.

The Weirwolf (aka David Weir) took the Paralympic Games by storm taking four gold medals in the process is a very reasonable 25/1 to win, while Ellie Simmons, winner of two gold’s, a silver and a bronze in the Paralympic swimming pool, is 50/1.

Golfer Rory McIlroy triumphed across the Atlantic as he took the US PGA title, played in Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team and the season-ending tour championship, the Irishman is an outsider at 100/1.

Female Boxer Nicola Adams became the first female fighter to win an Olympic boxing title and she is joined at 200/1 alongside quadruple Paralympic gold medal winner Sarah Storey.

Katherine Granger, who was a silver medallist at three previous Games, has arguably the most inspiring story after securing gold at the fourth time of asking, is also an outsider at 200/1.

The pure talent in this year’s shortlist meant Olympic Gold medallists Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott, Alistair Brownlee, Greg Rutherford and Charlotte Dujardin all missed out, along with Europe’s Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter.

The winner will be decided by a public vote on Sunday 16^th December in front of 15,000 proud, patriotic and eager crowd members at London’s ExCel arena.

There will be live coverage of BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year which kicks off at 19.30, on BBC one, BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website.

Leveson Report this Thursday

by Malcolm Cook

Lord Justice Leveson’s Report into the culture, ethics and ultimately, the practices of the press will be published on Thursday 29 November 2012.

At 1.30pm he will make a short statement at the QEII Conference Centre in London. No questions will be taken after he makes his statement and he will not be available for interviews either.

Ticket applications for the limited available public seating are made through the Inquiry Secretariat at generalenquiries@levesoninquiry.org.uk . Please make your application to the Inquiry by 12pm on Tuesday 27 November 2012.

These are four modules to the Leveson Report they are:

• Module 1: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour.
• Module 2: The relationships between the press and police and the extent to which that has operated in the public interest.
• Module 3: The relationship between press and politicians.
• Module 4: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.

It is anticipated that there will be recommendations concerning press regulation, freedom of speech and a general dissection of the industry.

The report was originally prompted following the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s news of the World Sunday, a News Corp tabloid last July after public fury that murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was among the victims.

There are cautious expectations of a new independent regulation body with statutory powers of the press to be recommended irrespective of widespread concerns over freedom of speech.

The Inquiry has exposed the intimate relations between the top of government and top executives at Murdoch’s newspaper empire causing much embarrassment not just for Brooks and Cameron but the whole establishment.

“I’m hoping that he (Leveson) will have taken on board all of the evidence, not just the evidence of some of the celebrities, which was self-interested and self-indulgent,” said Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of Editors.

“Any kind of regulation by definition must interfere with the freedom of the press and freedom of expression. If there is any regulation which involved the state or the law, that is even more worrying, because what that does in effect is take you back 300 years.”

Will we be sent to the middle ages with complete State Censorship and total loss of Freedom of Speech as we know it?

Will it be a total white wash and the press be run by a few for the few and herding the people on mass to suit their whims and needs?

Will the needs of the people be put before the needs of the press?

…Or will Mr Murdoch be allowed to continue to inform large swathes of the population with his own agenda and the majority of its readers and viewers believe it to be news of unbiased good journalistic integrity.

Mass protest blasts London

Hundreds of trains and coaches from all over the country headed for the capital yesterday to vent their disgust at towards the government cuts and tax evading companies.

The people have been abandoned while politicians and corporate interest benefit fraudsters rape and pillage across the world.

While our politicians harp on about cutting us off they have given financial institutions and corporates more money than has ever been invested in research for the whole of human history, as in the amount that it took to put man on the moon four and half times over.

This is a humanitarian crisis of biblical proportions and the bankers, hedge funders and speculations are pocketing your future and the future of the planet.

A lot of docile consumers are still blissfully unaware anything economic, political or ecological that is going on in the world around them.

If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.

Sixties music lovers kick off the festival season at Le Beat Bespoke Weekender

The New Originals’ Le Beat Bespoke Weekender has grown over the last seven years, from a gathering of committed mods to a full-on London festival of vintage music and culture.

The hardest working band in show business, The Jim Jones Revue, kicked off the Easter weekend in rock ‘n’ roll mode on Thursday treating a throng of bequiffed, tattooed, leather-clad greaser types, older music fans and an occasional mod to a few new creations alongside the old favourites. No-one went home disappointed.

On Friday there were hippies and freaks aplenty ready for a nostagia-fest of pop, psych and freakbeat subtitled an 8 Hour Technicolour Dream. The tone of the evening was set by a voodoo witchdoctor playing the floor as percussion with a staff, syncopated to a psychedelic soundtrack. Then it was time for three authentic bands of the ‘60s to present their celebrated albums live. Quintessential psych band July opened minds, freak-wizard The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown with his trademark pyrotechnical headgear demonstrated unflagging energy and showmanship, and the revered Pretty Things in their obscure ‘Electric Banana’ film soundtrack persona delighted ‘heads’ and music and movie afficionados alike.

Saturday afternoon’s vintage fashion and record fair featured a Dirty Water showcase featuring the lively Merseybeat-ish Thee Vicars followed by snarling Spanish three piece The Hollywood Sinners. The legendary Don Fardon with British garage pioneers The Sorrows received a rapturous response for their confidently delivered original freakbeat.

The much- hyped Screamin’ Vendettas launched Saturday night with a mix of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and garage. The evening culminated in the first ever British appearance from the original Trashmen, oddly introduced by a film celebrating their 55 year pedigree. Known here only for the seductively irritating Surfin’ Bird, they reawoke their fans with a loud, fast, energetic classic surf set. The climax of the weekend, Surfin’ Bird was brought to life by go-go dancers who soon had the crowd following their lead.

Sunday’s Garage Revival theme was introduced by Wild Evel & The Trashbones, who thrilled the crowd with their strutting trash. Then recently reformed ’60s freakbeat/psych band The Poets delivered a spine-tinglingly authentic and assured set, leaving a mesmerised crowd begging for more. Spanish classic soul band The Pepper Pots were something of a stylistic handbrake-turn, but set the mods celebrating the ‘60s in their very own fashion until the wee small hours.

The event is brought to life here using authentic social-networking contributions from festival-goers.

View the story “Le Beat Bespoke 8 (April 2012)” on Storify

He’s Gum Mad!

By Evie Purves

What do you think about gum on the street pavements? Disgusting? Dirty? Well, I think the majority of us would agree. But not this man…

Ben Wilson has been brightening up the pavements of London for the past eight years with his weird yet wonderful hobby of painting discarded chewing gum. His tiny artworks are becoming a regular sight in parts of London and he even gets requests from the public! Not so long ago, The Royal Society of Chemistry asked Mr Wilson to paint each of the 118 elements.

Despite his actions receiving a raised eyebrow or two, Ben Wilson has described it as “making something special out of what people find disgusting…people have the right to be creative”.  He has so far created more than 8,000 chewing gum masterpieces.

Mr Wilson has said he has a tendency to “go for the older ones as they have less moisture which makes it easier to paint”. Although just to be on the safe side, Wilson brings along his Bunsen burner to dry out any chewing gum that he deems “too moist”.

This is no quick job though! Wilson spends anything between one hour and three days creating his mini masterpieces, and doesn’t settle for anything less than perfection. He has even appeared on a television programme in South Korea about his strange pastime, which has made him into a minor celebrity. What a legend!

Perhaps more people should get involved? One thing is for sure, Mr Wilson is the epitome of creativity!