Some of 80s rock and pop luminaiies have paid tribute to Happy Mondays bass player, Paul.

Paul, brother of the band’s frontman Shaun Ryder, was one of the founding members of the Manchester band.

He was 58 years old.

Announcing his death on Twitter, his family wrote: ‘The Ryder family and Happy Mondays band members are deeply saddened and shocked to say that Paul Ryder passed away this morning.

‘A true pioneer and legend.”

The Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown paying tribute and writing: ‘Rest in peace Ryder. A great friend, a great musician, a great fella, big love to Amelia, Jacob, Sonny, Chico and the family and band. Love ya longtime Pabs.’

For years, as a father campaigning against parental alienation and as a working journalist, I have had my freedom to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth strangled by laws supposedly designed to protect our children.

But family laws in the UK – and to a large extent across the world – have deliberately created separation and heartbreak.

And these sick and draconian laws operated by the family courts have actually perpetuated the desire of social workers, councils, lawyers, Cafcass, alienating parents and judges to keep their child-snatching secrets.

I make no apologies for my tabloid language, a major part of my job has always been to fight for those who are beleaguered and battered by the cold and vindictive bastions of our society.

But finally the beginnings of some good news … journalists should soon be able to report on what takes place inside these courts, albeit initially only in a very small number of local courts.

The head of family courts, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has put forward a series of proposals after a two-year review.

And these – we all hope – will go a long way to ending the secrecy of family hearings. For so many shameful decades they have been held behind closed doors.

An organisation I have a lot of time and respect for, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, has developed a framework for what it describes as a family court reporting pilot.

Sir Andrew is said to consider the framework as a first step towards implementing new reporting rules. The proposed pilot gives accredited journalists the right to report from family courts, rather than having to make costly and time-consuming applications to the judge.

This is one of the most heinous secrets the family courts do not share … they make journalists pay for a chance at reporting ‘the truth’. But only ‘the truth’ the court wants to be revealed.

And our sherry-sipping, dinner party-attending, middle-class judiciary has the final say on what ‘truth’ can be told.

They are the judges who hanged us all.

Some of the state’s most draconian powers – to remove children from their parents, to have them adopted, to deprive children of their liberty – have been exercised by these people in secret for more than half a century.

And people like me are banned by law from reporting any of the detail of these hearings, including human rights breaches by local authorities and poor practice by judges.

We can watch from the ‘press gallery’ but if we report on what’s going on, we face being found in contempt of court and being sent to jail.

Family members too are banned from talking about injustices they feel have taken place in family courts. They too face jail.

For decades broken-hearted parents and children have had their right to freedom of speech stolen by the very people who say they are protecting us.

Let’s welcome this break-through by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and support all broadcasters, writers and journalists who are battling for the right to tell the truth about our lives.

#familycourts #media #secrecy

THE SPAGHETTI WESTERN TOWN WHERE IT’S GOOD AND BAD AND UGLY. AND UP FOR £2.8m!

Once upon a time in a corner of Spain, Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda shot holes through the desert heat. And a cinema cowboy classic was born.

But Once a Time in America wasn’t a tumble-weed moment for Hollywood more than 60 year ago… it put westerns back up on the big screens.

Spaghetti Westerns were literally born out of the heat of the desert, the rattle of snakes and moonlit nights where you keep one eye open when you slumber …

Spaghetti in Spain though?

The genre began in the mid-1960s because of the influence of  Italian film-maker Sergio Leone‘s style and international box-office success.

The hey-day is gone now, although tourists do still ride out to the Tabernas and pay to be shot through the heart by a rustler before they imbibe in the first sangria of the day.

And now you can own your own Spaghetti Town with its spittoons, bullet holes and memories of Hollywood heroes like Clint, Lee and Eli.

Believe it or not the 85,700 square-meter (922,467 square feet) site near the Andalusian village of Tabernas can be yours for less than £2.5m ( 2.8 million euros $2.9 million) according to a listing on the website of realtor Grupo Rukasa.
The village of Tabernas is also home to the Almeria Western Film Festival, which is set to hold its 12th edition this year. 

Rafa Molina, a stuntman, bought the set for US$6,000 to improve his job opportunities.

In the early 1980s, he started charging visitors to tour the set. Mock shoot-outs and bar-room brawls were later added, and one of the buildings was converted into a full saloon. It is still a working film set and is visited and preferred more by film enthusiasts.

Originally known as Yucca City, the set was designed by Carlo Simi and built for Sergio Leone’s For a Few Dollars More in 1965. It was also used as a set for other films, such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).  

The park features daily cowboy stunt shows, such as a mock bank raid and a re-enactment of the final moments of Jesse James. It also has a swimming complex, abandoned gold mine, Cowboy style saloon, a Fun Barn for children, a zoo with birds and big cats in cages and many mock western stores.

Western Leone is the smallest of three such theme parks in the Tabernas Desert; the other two being Mini Hollywood and Texas Hollywood.

“What we’re selling is a small piece of Almería’s history,” said José Ruda of real estate agency Grupo Rukasa. “This is a place where memories and anecdotes were forged.”

POP ARTIST #1 Norman Greenbaum {IRREVERANCE] An introduction of Jesus takes in tongue and cheek. Americana farmer felt of the Bible belt…tills and turns that could be straight out of shock value…yet a super Jesus boogie in song—- even if a non-believer. ‘’Who cares!’’ His hit song ‘’Spirit in the sky” which really rocks…and feels of that great feel of a once ‘’day and time’’ 1971 style. Those cool cat— sews and witticisms, in which there is so little of today. 

SPIRIT IN THE SKY… a faze shifter hooks you in…as there is this magic of what is:  ‘’Jews for Jesus’’ They surely exist! Psychodelia radical religious mayhem rock boogie! It hits the spot…as you can groove to it. Dance with your smoking in the airs and sunlight. Rolls of jays and boogaloo’s; but it’s not nonsense…as it has a certain charm that draws you in—–with a million other ears to the transistors of one way ‘’ear plugs’’. Lime green ways of the girly hot pants. Blue jean bell bottoms like an upside-down bottleneck—-rope you in! All the skies open in a rock’ n’ roll frenzy…as Norman, stretching his long hair like a unity of a whole circle, the generation long! And so long we did—- while muttonchop side burns pull you in at the right moment of the chord progression… synthesizers glory in the mesh…mold you too it, man! And what a groove it was. FIFTEEN- AND ONE-HALF MINUTES OF FAME. 

POP ARTIST #2 BOB DYLAN [REVERANCE] An introduction to Dylan’s scribe and scrolls of the leans towards Jesus. ‘’A real one!’’ A taunt, terse and wholehearted reveal of ‘’SLOW TRAIN COMING’’ 

THE FIRST ABOUNDS OF THE SLOW TRAIN…Sad track often of the universal beefs with loved ones. Hop a train if only for awhile …as the next junction drops down the brake lever of the train…as off we go, regretfully…as if a visit with the big bad wolf of family. Stated only in speech of all the friends that gather. The kneebars smiles only in passing… and days gone by. Not real but not exactly fake either. Jester the postcard owns…their writes…and of favors. Their winnings of the church’s placements in time. Further to their self-image and self-made heaven.  

NEXT IN THE BREAKTHROUGH…all good Christian rides of the railroad tracks of dawn’s coverings. New day compel one right too a past avenue… and all the pain of yesterdays—- and further slow-motion trip to such salvage centers. Bob serves up of a fine catch of melodies, and the rhythms of faith. 79’ in transition…transport to the heavenly journey on a slow steady train… and what will get you there. 

Diamonds of Dogma, maybe not a truth that all might see…but still, Bob encapsulates such an inspired  write up, which one can never deny! Everybody must serve someone—- a conductor of truth…conductor of the train. Tomorrow’s heights and measures may not implore all of you to faith…but I grant you this: Bob certainly makes a very convincing ride on these rails…as the slow train boards and whistles’ so creatively dandy! 

#bobdylan #dylan #greenbaum #spiritinthesky #slowtrain

Child sex offenders in South Australia face tougher jail sentences after new laws were passed into state parliament.

Among the changes, the maximum penalty for gross indecency has been increased from five to 15 years.

People caught in possession of a child sex doll could face more than a decade behind bars while online predators who download, share or create child abuse material will get no leniency if the age of their victims is unknown.

#child #pervert #peodophile #australia #sa

Actor Brian Jackson who played orange juice boss in 1980s adverts has died aged 91.

Brian starred as the white-suited fruit inspector who used the phrase in the gloriously funny sunny ads, ‘the man from Del Monte, he say yes’.

Brian had starred in more than 25 commercials in 32 countries from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

#delmonte #brianjackson #fruit

A state-of-the-art recording of Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind has been snapped up for almost £1.5 million.

The disc with a difference is the first new studio recording of the song since Dylan wrote it in 1962.

It was sold by Christie’s in London.

The sale exceeded the original price estimate which was set as low as £600,000.

It actually sold for £1,482,000.

T Bone Burnett, Bob’s long-time friend and collaborator, made the disc in March 2021and finally went up as part of Christie’s Exceptional Sale during its Classic Week.

Before the sale Burnett said: “Not only is an Ionic Original the equivalent of a painting, it is a painting. It is lacquer painted onto an aluminium disc, with a spiral etched into it by music. This painting, however, has the additional quality of containing that music, which can be heard by putting a stylus into the spiral and spinning it.”

After the sale he said: “I trust and hope it will mean as much to whomever acquired it today at Christie’s Exceptional Sale as it does to all of us who made it, and that they will consider it and care for it as a painting or any other singular work of art.”

Peter Klarnet, Christie’s senior specialist in Americana, books and manuscripts, said: “We are so pleased with the excellent result this evening for the ‘Ionic Original’ disc of Bob Dylan’s first new studio recording of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ since 1962.

“To work with such an incredibly important and groundbreaking advance in analogue playback technology is a tremendous honour.

“We are excited that this is just the beginning for this amazing new opportunity for recording artists to work with T Bone and NeoFidelity to reset the value of music.”

This isn’t Burnett’s first foray into audio formats. Back in 2008 he developed Code, a high-fidelity audio technology intended to produce discs with sound quality comparable to studio masters.

Code discs could be played back on any DVD drive. We don’t hear much about Code now, so fingers crossed.

#dylan #tbone #burnett #musictechnology #christies #times #timestheyare #a-changin

MAIN PICTURE: Leon Neal/Getty Images

It used to be the case that Donald ducks and Boris bends it like… well, a politician.

People accuse me of being a Tory – and worse, a Boris believer.

But why would I support a liar, a kamikaze political pilot, a man who appears to be without shame, a human being who is absorbed in how the world sees him.

And over the past few days his wrinked eyes have become like orbs of stress and if it is possible for a person with a firm covering of flesh to look gaunt then Boris looks gaunt.

There is realisation in his face, realisation that he’s lied to Britain while his little parliamentary helpers have been lying to him, he’s been stabbed in the back – and in the front – and he has lashed out with vicious tallons still flashing in the waning sun of his career.

And now he is done.

But then he holed up at Downing Street, closed the curtains on the world. And watched telly.

The telly was the outside world telling him in no uncertain terms to go.

He was as arrogant and defiant and pointless as that other blond-bombshell of slight of hand and mind… President-I-won-Trump.

It is a comparison being made by senior Conservative colleagues and Tory grandee Sir Bernard Jenkin claims he told the PM: ‘You can go with some dignity or you can be forced out like Donald Trump’.

Former Cabinet minister Julian Smith also warned that the premier had seen how Donald Trump behaved over the Capitol riots after the US election, and was looking to have a ‘mini version in the UK’.

Mr Johnson’s personal approval rating has even dipped below Trump’s low point around the time of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2022.

According to YouGov, just 23 per cent of voters approve of Mr Johnson.

But how could any politician really believe he could stick his heels in and stay after:

The Chris Pincher affair

The cost of living crisis – and a tax rise

Partygate

Owen Paterson row

Trump was a showman, just like Boris … and today the show is over for both of them. But Boris has one last chance… there is dignity and honour in graciously handing over the reins of power.

Go with what dignity you have left mate.

We Brits have been told that Covid is so bad again that we really need to go back to being masked and distanced.

Boris’s boffins and medics fear Covid hospital cases are about to hit an 18-month high.

So, Dame Dr Jenny Harries, one of the UK’s most senior health officials, has warned a current wave of the virus has not yet peaked and told us to mask up.

She said it is “quite likely” hospitalisations will rise higher than the last wave early in Spring.

In that wave of the Omicron BA.2 variant, the number of Covid patients in UK hospitals peaked at just over 20,000 at the start of April.

At the time, that was the highest number of Covid patients in UK hospitals since February 2021 – with admissions peaking at over 2,500 a day.

Hospital numbers fell between April and June but are now creeping up again, as Dame Jenny warned the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants are “pushing and driving” a new wave.

The UK Health Security Agency chief executive told the BBC ’s Sunday Morning show: “It doesn’t look as though that wave has finished yet.

Despite not changing the advice – which says face masks are voluntary but “can help reduce the chance of you spreading infection to others, especially in crowded and enclosed spaces”…

She said: “So I haven’t been routinely wearing one but I do routinely carry one in my handbag wherever I go.

“Actually I have worn it in the last week for the very reason that I’m doing exactly what I’ve said, I’m adapting to the changing prevalence of infection.

How Covid is closing the book on democracy … we meet a man ‘on the street’ – The Leigh G Banks Preservation Society

#covidreturns #maskedandanonymous #damecoverup #hospitalisations

It’s not easy being green if your a pop fan is it Greta!

As bands and performers better suited to the Eurovision Song Contest filled the dope and juniper air with plinky-plonky rubbish, the weekend hippies in posh wellies and camper vans discarded their empty water bottles, muesli and sausage wrappers, their roaches and dimps, copies of the Guardian, black oil, deckchairs, sleeping bags and blow-up mattresses.

Yep, the likes of Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lemar, the Black Dyke Band and the singing tortoise Paul McCartney stained the sonics of outdoor entertainment, while all the middle-class oiks in their holey shorts and muddy ‘baby bagos’ dumped their badges of a pretend feral life on the ground.

Yes, Greta that’s what the eco-aware weekend wild children did! But guess what! The rather middle-class Eavis family didn’t … this is what they do to countermand the lack of conscience of the new Wombles from Wimbledon Common.

Yes they are the types who get excited by saying … let’s go and glue our ears to a motorway or a work of art or ride a butchers bike with your crown jewels glistening in the sparkles from Diana Ross’s wobbly tiara, before we go back to real life in the call centre or McDonalds…

The elf-ish Eavis’s employ at least 800 litter-pickers to clear away  2,000 tonnes of waste – including thousands of abandoned tents, sleeping bags and gazebos. There are tonnes of cans and plastic bottles, cardboard, scrap metal, airbeds, and rolled mats .

What’s wrong with tidying up after yourself for Godsake? Didn’t mummy make you?

And Greta, let’s be honest, the crock-n-rollers who converge like scruffy half-naked right-on mountain folk in their diesel and petrol vans – booming out Brotherhood of Man and Will Young from their speakers made out of pasta – didn’t really listen, did they.

TWO days after they applauded you Greta for your eco-sermon they dumped these mountains of rubbish.

Greta rallied them with her speech… she said; “Do not let them drag us another inch closer to the edge. Right now is where we stand our ground!”

Well, there was no ground to be seen, let alone to stand up for

But Greta, why don’t you ask your acolytes to pick up their rubbish and take it home with them?

That would be easy wouldn’t it… and help the world rather than fill it with the heady smell of angry right-on breath.

#gretathunberg #eco #glastonbury #eavish #paulmcartney #dianaross