Jonathan Stott

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Radio 4 are planning on ditching the 33-year-old UK Theme from their early-morning line up. So much so that two MPs (Tory MP Philip Davies and Labour MP John Spellar) have tabled motions to try to get the decision reversed.

The Radio 4 messageboard is receiving a lot of comments in support of keeping the theme. Tim Hatton runs savetheradio4theme.co.uk and has already collected 4600 signatures on his petition. He says:

“It’s something that forms one of those idiosyncratic parts of what makes Radio 4 a great radio station.”

Even the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is in on the act, replying to a question from Tory MP James Clappison at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday:

“Obviously, my influence with the BBC is legendary, but I know they will be aware of the very strong feeling that is expressed by you and by many others, I am sure, in the House and across the country.”

With a bit of luck, the public backlash will be great enough to force the Radio 4 controller to rethink the decision and keep the schedules as they should be - the same as they are now!

Sign the petition!

The early morning schedule on BBC Radio 4 looks set to change beyond all recognition in April as the famous UK Theme is axed to make way for yet another news report.

The theme which has played at 5:30am every morning for the last 33 years features a medley of national themes from around the United Kingdom including Danny Boy, Rule Britannia, Greensleeves, Scotland The Brave and What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?. Oddly enough, the Theme was composed by an Austrian composer, Fritz Spiegl.

One of the reassuring things about Radio 4 is how resolute the early morning and late night schedules have been to change. Currently the early morning schedule between 5:30am and 6am features a short news bulletin, the UK Theme, the shipping forecast, Farming Today and Prayer for the Day. On Sunday mornings, a recording of a peel of bells from a church is also played. The late night schedule between 12:45pm and 1am features Sailing By (a medley of maritime music), the shipping forecast and the National Anthem.

Sadly the BBC seem to have lost the plot somewhat. Radio 4 Controller, Mark Damazer has this to say:

“I know there are some people who will regret the passing of the UK Theme, but I believe the bulk of the audience will be better served by a pacy news briefing, read by one of Radio 4’s team of news readers.”

I can’t imagine the public taking this change too lightly. Like the uproar that followed the introduction of the new weather graphics in 2005, the British public have demonstrated a profound resistance to change, especially when it’s something as ‘institutional’ as the BBC. The Theme is very reassuring and an excellent way to start the day, especially if you have to get up so early! Hopefully the public backlash will be large enough to warrant a rethink by the BBC and the UK Theme will still be being played well into the future.

Sign the petition!

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, near Birmingham. The museum is a recreation of the industrial life of the Black Country region. There are many things to see, including a working tram, coal mine, village (complete with a fried fish shop, a confectioners, a pub and other shops!) and some industrial buildings around the canal basin. The day itself was cold and snowy which added somewhat to the ambience of the place.

My collection of photos from the day is on jstottphotography.com.

From jstottphotography.com.
Clockwise from top-left: Passageway; Metal Bars; Chainmaker’s Forge; Lime Kilns; Chain; Tram Stop

My work on my PhD involves computer visualisation. Visualisation is a challenging subject for computer scientists - the problem of conveying increasing amounts of information and knowledge is the subject of research for many researchers. Graphs are one particular construct, particularly useful for visualising interconnected data.

The visualcomplexity site provides a gallery of many different visualisations using graphs as a basis - everything from maps of the Internet to maps of the London Underground!

This is a test. Nothing to see here. Move along please.

Tamworth’s valiant attempt to progress to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup was thwarted by sudden-death penalties. Championship side Stoke had made the 40-mile trip to the other side of Staffordshire to meet Tamworth at the Lamb ground in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

Tamworth looked set to cause a big shock when they went ahead courtesy of Nathan Jackson in the 42nd minute. They held on to the lead for 40 minutes until Stoke’s Gallagher found the net in the last ten minutes of the game. At the end of normal time, both teams were locked at 1-1, forcing the game to another 30 minutes of extra time.

During extra time, Tamworth battled on looking for a chance to win the game outright. Unfortunately, extra time saw no further goals, so Tamworth and Stoke had to pit themselves from the penalty spot. At 3-3, both Stoke’s Simenson and Tamworth’s Bevan made saves, but after the first five kicks each, both teams were still level at 4-4. The first sudden death penalty was taken by Tamworth’s Touhy but was saved. Stoke only had to score their penalty to win - Hoefkens made sure of that.

So Tamworth’s remarkable FA Cup run comes to an end, but the team certainly didn’t make it easy for Stoke and should feel proud of their achievements. Forcing a Championship side some 80 places above Tamworth in the leagues to penalties after over 210 minutes of football is still quite some achievement!

There’s a match report on the official Tamworth website and a report from the BBC. The BBC also have some photos from the game.

Only one more non-league team remains in the FA Cup. Nuneaton were dismissed by Middlesbrough 5-2. Burton Albion play Manchester United at Old Trafford tonight (18th Jan), but they are probably looking for nothing short of a miracle there with the odds of an upset at 40/1.

The draw for the Fourth Round of the FA Cup has been made and features three non-league teams.

Tamworth (assuming they beat Stoke City in their Third Round replay) will face either Barnsley or Walsall of League One at The Lamb.

Burton Albion will travel to the Molineux to face Championship side Wolves if they manage to beat Manchester United in their Third Round replay at Old Trafford.

Nuneaton Borough get a short trip to Coventry, also from the Championship, if they beat Middlesbrough in their replay.