tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317532682024-03-05T10:56:57.496+00:00Adam MacqueenYou're still here? It's over. Go home. Go.Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.comBlogger406125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-34841844827804564722009-12-04T17:20:00.003+00:002009-12-04T17:54:24.358+00:00Some of the crowd are on the pitch...Hello. Apologies for the radio silence over the past few weeks. It's just that I was outed as a research scientist from Bristol who doesn't look anything like Billie Piper.<br /><br />No, that's not true. What actually happened was, I've been head-hunted by Will Lewis to go and work on the Euston Project. He wants me to head up a couple of spin-offs, one based in Manhattan and the other in Alan Parsons.<br /><br />No, that's not true either. I'll be totally honest with you. I was actually Norman Painting.<br /><br />Oh, alright, none of the above are true. <strong>But I am knocking this blog on the head, at least for the moment. Bits of the last three-and-a-half years have been fun. Thanks for having me.</strong><br /><br />xAdam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-67344901359531435742009-11-06T16:49:00.003+00:002009-11-06T17:12:51.377+00:00Your Friday Treat<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJZFvzFQ0c8lzV5iX4UQM_0Umj0VqVbVRHjTwOVtORfyJQPyhd7GFcq3y8Kom8PP_7xtasLrNRh4VKqkN2zDjb_voXLR4Pu5lIFHE_oTjHLefEehSC7z72gBiAYCMK4Q2DvHuCA/s1600-h/withaddedpointing.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJZFvzFQ0c8lzV5iX4UQM_0Umj0VqVbVRHjTwOVtORfyJQPyhd7GFcq3y8Kom8PP_7xtasLrNRh4VKqkN2zDjb_voXLR4Pu5lIFHE_oTjHLefEehSC7z72gBiAYCMK4Q2DvHuCA/s320/withaddedpointing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401037462407740738" /></a><br />A few years ago I done had an idea. I would set up a blog gathering badly-posed pictures from local papers. <br /><br />It was inspired partly by the time I watched a group of street performers in Cheltenham unicycling, juggling and performing interactive improvised limericks with a group of fantastically enthusiastic schoolchildren in Cheltenham as a photographer from the local paper stood idly by smoking and drinking coffee, only for him to finally take off his lenscap, call the fun to a halt and insist that everyone stand still and awkwardly pretend to be receiving a large pretend cheque from a local dignitary.<br /><br />Then I thought "actually, that would be quite a lot of work, wouldn't it." And then I thought "If I was clever, I'd persuade someone to pay me to do it." And then I got distracted by something shiny in the next room, and haven't thought about it since.<br /><br />Luckily for us all, there is <a href="http://scaryduck.blogspot.com/">Scaryduck</a>. And he - she? It? not only has impeccable taste (ie links to me here) but actually follows up on his good ideas. Ladies, gentlemen, ducks, I give you <a href="http://apiln.blogspot.com/">Angry People In Local Newspapers</a>.Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-33325597469850490742009-11-05T15:41:00.002+00:002009-11-05T15:44:59.345+00:00Consider the ugly stick that is in thine own eyeSo Sharon Osbourne says <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2715862/Sharon-Osbournes-vicious-Susan-Boyle-rant.html">Susan Boyle looks like a "hairy arsehole."</a><br /><br />It's time to link to <a href="http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r129/spicypants/CSmack/sharonoz.jpg">that pre-surgery picture</a> again, isn't it?Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-2325034078098053102009-11-04T15:40:00.003+00:002009-11-04T15:47:04.736+00:00So long, suckerLook, I know I'm inviting thousands of comments along the lines of "OMG U is SUCH a minger how dare U", and I'm too old, a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/04/twilight-film-vampire">die-hard Buffyist</a> and switched off Twighlight after 10 minutes even though I was stuck on a plane with 8 hours to kill... but what the hell sort of a <a href="http://www.volvocars.com/newmoon/Pages/uk.aspx#/sweeps_landing">teen heart-throb drives a Volvo</a>?Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-55556794711435497152009-10-27T18:27:00.002+00:002009-10-27T18:31:09.178+00:00Biscuitgate: The Truth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9L-RGeW0eCer-GTepg83sVCPMrDTHHrHmtile_RpaPAhBgQ1rQNcDnTCrNGyMA5ncxQMU4Eeq2YNiR698JMNJjtem13p8AVXmY9HFl4_h88UicOZCJYMlgIZqz3P9AywPvCdncg/s1600-h/First+Post+biscuits.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9L-RGeW0eCer-GTepg83sVCPMrDTHHrHmtile_RpaPAhBgQ1rQNcDnTCrNGyMA5ncxQMU4Eeq2YNiR698JMNJjtem13p8AVXmY9HFl4_h88UicOZCJYMlgIZqz3P9AywPvCdncg/s400/First+Post+biscuits.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397348425407576210" /></a><br /><br />... it never happened. Grab yourself a Garbaldi and read me over on <a href="http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/55261,news-comment,news-politics,gordon-brown-biscuitgate-at-last-a-crumb-of-truth">The First Post</a>.Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-56512617403501034982009-10-27T12:50:00.003+00:002009-10-27T12:53:18.354+00:00If you can take any Moir...... I've done a Hackwatch in the issue of <span style="font-style:italic;">Private Eye</span> out today which gives the untold story of the Jan Moir affair - including naming the man responsible for that headline. Plus, for just £1.50, you get an extraordinary free gift on the cover of every issue...Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-50054709699518550612009-10-22T16:38:00.003+00:002009-10-22T16:44:51.709+00:00"No! Not the lovely ornamental urn given to us by Mr Taylor from Barnet!"<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8321157.stm">"Protesters Storm into Television Centre"</a><br /><br />If they damage the Blue Peter Garden, I shall be very cross.<br /><br />(although almost certainly not cross enough to vote BNP)Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-80630244772897589752009-10-21T15:55:00.002+00:002009-10-21T15:59:08.752+00:00Homoirphobia<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1159864/JAN-MOIR-Zoes-lost-husband-rehab--young-girls-inspired-lost-far-more.html">Just fancy that</a>!<br /><br /><blockquote>“Giving up texting and twittering for Lent would be only the start if -- I know it's a big if, but I'm very fond of it -- I was God. Surely the day will come when this distracting nuisance will be banned for ever.”<br />Jan Moir, Daily Mail, 6 March 2009</blockquote>Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-50546791987553515502009-10-16T15:22:00.005+00:002009-10-17T10:01:30.693+00:00On having it both waysOk, I get that the Mail doesn't like The Gays. And I get that it hasn't really worked out for Jan Moir since she left the Telegraph, and that senior execs there are quite open about how Amanda Platell and Allison Pearson do it so much better and so she really really needs to make some impact before her contract comes up for renewal. And I even get that linking to the article in question does nothing except bump up MailOnline's oh-so-precious visitor figures.<br /><br />But what I don't get is how having an extra person with you as well as your husband makes your death more "lonely"?Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-20431797372820017222009-10-16T10:52:00.001+00:002009-10-16T10:54:05.124+00:00Rucking hellCoo. They don't give up, do they?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/15/carter-ruck-trafigura-parliament-injunction">"Carter-Ruck has made a fresh move that could stop an MPs' debate next week by claiming a controversial injunction it has obtained is "sub judice".</a>Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-51069558091249409052009-10-15T11:41:00.004+00:002009-10-15T17:29:15.354+00:00oooOOOOOooooh!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha58pD-vt7XcVfntLZNd4whkQ8WpUpmyiVKK0_YA7W7k8FXCIABUocq9FQ0ybowgcKyWHXJovRobo5WqQtE3Kc0RHabaftVh_L0wTn-OSkiLo5xSPMTrRpT6-mUj5hW0WE49luXA/s1600-h/handbags.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha58pD-vt7XcVfntLZNd4whkQ8WpUpmyiVKK0_YA7W7k8FXCIABUocq9FQ0ybowgcKyWHXJovRobo5WqQtE3Kc0RHabaftVh_L0wTn-OSkiLo5xSPMTrRpT6-mUj5hW0WE49luXA/s400/handbags.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392790663339590578" /></a><br /><br />John Rentoul on "<a href="http://johnrentoul.independentminds.livejournal.com/184409.html">Private Eye's sense of humour failure</a>".<br /><br />There speaks a man who gets his copy of OK! sent free to the office and doesn't <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk/case/resolved.html?article=NTQzOQ==">have</a> to <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk/case/resolved.html?article=NTgzMQ==">pay</a> <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk/case/resolved.html?article=NTI1Mg==">£2.60</a> <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk/case/resolved.html?article=NDcxMQ==">for</a> <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk/case/resolved.html?article=MzM0NA==">it</a>. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1683265.stm">Innit</a>.Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-70321287655102420652009-10-13T12:01:00.005+00:002009-10-13T22:19:03.988+00:00Carter fuck-offTHAT question, by the way, is the lead story on the HP Sauce page of the edition of Private Eye which is hitting newsstands about now... <br /><br />Well done all.<br /><br />EDIT ELEVEN HOURS LATER: And <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/injunction-privacy-confidenciality">here's the boss</a>, talking about it.<br /><br />And here's some other thoughts about it, over in <a href="http://www.private-eye.co.uk/blog/">my other gaff</a>.Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-20718377189315755842009-10-08T11:12:00.002+00:002009-10-08T11:15:40.685+00:00Great picture captions of our time<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8296578.stm">From the BBC news website.</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXDbHPlBuzAz12ncDn8bfPsDzmmNggw53-X7yd10oDmTG3Tye-4UqCAq5rBPyqQ_aMcxN2ojPgNkTrRQMDx47bCgdoEvq8IEzJaYvLccpVhPjGeChTQyBvwAB9sBmGi-ZZ-zzLA/s1600-h/farright.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 281px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXDbHPlBuzAz12ncDn8bfPsDzmmNggw53-X7yd10oDmTG3Tye-4UqCAq5rBPyqQ_aMcxN2ojPgNkTrRQMDx47bCgdoEvq8IEzJaYvLccpVhPjGeChTQyBvwAB9sBmGi-ZZ-zzLA/s400/farright.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390185730943317282" /></a><br /><br />Well yes. He does look rather critical, doesn't he?Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-61569162645672046602009-10-07T14:57:00.004+00:002009-10-07T15:07:51.359+00:00Down With This Sort of knickers - er, Thing.The Daily Mail website - fresh from its victory in printing <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1139238/Pupil-reduced-tears-teacher-tells-That-short-skirt-makes-look-like-slut-does-cellulite.html">a close-up of a 13-year-old girl's bottom</a> back in February - is now demonstrating (shurely denouncing?) how <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218432/Parents-outrage-schools-uniform-crackdown-Miss-Sexy-trousers.html#ixzz0TGIUbeNX">when 14-year-olds wear "Miss Sexy" trousers you can see their underwear. </a><br /><br />Stuart from Manchester provides a voice of reason in the comments:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />There is a girl's school near me and 90% of them wear short skirts, it is totally inappropriate and should not be permitted.<br />- Stuart, Manchester, England, 7/10/2009 11:54</blockquote><br /><br />Ninety per cent you say, Stuart? How long did you spend checking the figures?Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-74741122403550548002009-10-07T13:50:00.003+00:002009-10-07T14:05:28.204+00:00Cheers!Well done to the Mirror for their corking "<a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/07/david-cameron-seen-drinking-champagne-as-tories-reveal-wage-freezes-and-pension-cuts-115875-21728511/">Cameron quaffs champagne as babies die</a>" front page scoop this morning.<br /><br />I bet <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/5398993/gotcha.thtml">Fraser Nelson </a>is kicking himself. He could have saved a fortune - apparently, Tesco champers is just as good:<br /><br /><blockquote>ALL along, I've felt Tesco champagne was special.<br />I do drink it but - ridiculously - I never serve it at dinner or lunch parties (I'm not really a snob, am I?) Quite honestly, it seemed a cheapskate thing to do. How foolish.<br /><br />Instead, I stick to Dom Perignon at around £65 a bottle, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame (about £100), or, my real favourite, Roederer Cristal (£125 for 75cl).<br /><br />When entertaining mates, particularly ill-educated journos whose ignorance of the finer things in life is often deplorable, I serve NV champagne, although, naturally, it needs to be one of the grand marques.<br /><br />Now, for £14.79, I can quaff a champagne guaranteed not to make me sick or, as important, penniless.<br /><br />Truly, a fizz for the poor. They should sell it in magnums.</blockquote><br /><br />Says who? James Whitaker, writing in the Mirror in September 2005. The picture byline on his weekly column used to show him toasting the readers with a glass of bubbly. I bet they're glad he's retired now.Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-54377217743594067562009-09-24T11:02:00.004+00:002009-09-24T11:09:30.236+00:00Nation's finances sorted<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/8272058.stm">UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure discovered in Staffordshire.</a><br /><br /><blockquote>"It has been declared treasure by South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh, meaning it belongs to the Crown." </blockquote><br />Coming soon to a field near you: Alistair Darling with a metal detector...Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-77766663180086098072009-09-23T09:36:00.006+00:002009-09-23T16:43:21.111+00:00and now Collaterlie Sisters with a look at the Finance ArseSomeone in the Sun's graphics department is clearly a Chris Morris fan.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2650393/British-paedophiles-escape-justice.html">IT'S PAEDOGEDDON!</a>Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-35368139378733399542009-09-17T14:53:00.004+00:002009-09-17T14:57:50.570+00:00Worst. Protest. Ever.Round at <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/17/jeremy-clarkson-horse-manure-protest">Jeremy Clarkson's house.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8NVT4rrFgi77mr8dlatSGN95kDsCcBE5HqhdvURru9jRF_21w64hMJRP7N2QwxvzmzDdW5kieZ_3CKxoMy_zFriom40_CJdWxKS8aCJi0LPBGA3PzmcYnTQz5xVPiFH5FLhgVQ/s1600-h/Protesters-from-Climate-R-004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8NVT4rrFgi77mr8dlatSGN95kDsCcBE5HqhdvURru9jRF_21w64hMJRP7N2QwxvzmzDdW5kieZ_3CKxoMy_zFriom40_CJdWxKS8aCJi0LPBGA3PzmcYnTQz5xVPiFH5FLhgVQ/s320/Protesters-from-Climate-R-004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382449698954887474" /></a><br /><br />They could have produced more than that themselves if they'd had a big dinner!<br /><br />Dumping horse manure on his garden. That'll tell him. Next week they plan to chop some logs, clean the windows and do a Sainsbury's run for him...Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-14181528930404248102009-09-15T13:41:00.010+00:002009-09-15T14:09:15.609+00:00Slight returnSo, Gordon, when you do this interview with the BBC about reform of the banking system, we need a soundbite that will really emphasise that we're looking forwards and moving on from the mistakes of the past. A phrase without any, you know, bad echoes or associations in people's minds. Do you think you can manage that? Yes? Good. Go ahead, Prime Minister.<br /><br />"Ahem. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8255582.stm">There can be no return to business as usual."</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zja3ZUg7z1o">BOOM!</a><br /><br />... <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/factcheck+no+more+boom+and+bust/2564157">Bust.</a>Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-44643310635061949372009-09-11T12:23:00.005+00:002009-09-11T12:32:40.249+00:00Daily Mail finally discovers headline that has everything<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212725/Haringey-council-sent-foster-child-terrorist-bomb-plot-ringleader.html#ixzz0Qne2GA8s">Revealed: Baby P council sent foster child to live with ringleader of airline bomb plot</a><br /><br />"I love it! But could we get swine flu in there somewhere?"Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-57451762449665559782009-09-11T10:19:00.005+00:002009-09-11T10:41:49.148+00:00Billy no-matesSo we all know the most popular e-petition on the Downing Street website is the one calling on the prime minister to resign, which 70,770 prime tits have signed while LOLing nearly as much as they did when they wrote 'Jedi' on their census forms eight years ago. And then went back to scattering exclamation marks liberally around their lives in an attempt to mask the pervading odour of wet dog and regret. <br /><br />But what about the other end of the scale, the deeply-affronted who <a href="http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/list/open?sort=signers&offset=4450">can't persuade one single person to empathise with them? </a><br /><br />While <a href="http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Turingly/#detail">Professor Robin Marshall FFS</a> (shurely FRS?) must have been spitting into his Full English this morning, the one I really feel sorry for is Richard Harrold. Do you think it will take him till 5 June 2010 to realise that no one else out there in the world thinks it would be a good idea to <a href="http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/sexoffencesact/">let him shag his auntie?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/scoutrust/">Arming Scouts </a> though, that I could go for...Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-8709849204240523592009-08-28T12:47:00.007+00:002009-08-28T13:07:35.112+00:00Oh. That sort of kung-fu kick. Right. Thanks for that.Look, I'm the last one to criticise anyone for trying to contrive a pun in a headline, but if, <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2611270/Kerry-Katona-kicked-down-a-accountants-door.html">as in today's Sun</a>, it means you have to specify that while attacking her accountant, Kerry Katona "sent his door flying with a spectacular kick - similar to the infamous strike Manchester United legend Eric Cantona aimed at a fan in 1995," it might be time to give up and go home. Not least because it implies your readers have never seen a Bruce Lee film or even danced to Carl Douglas at a wedding.<br /><br />Actually, that's not all that's rum about the Sun's account of the incident. A "pal" tells the paper that "she needs sectioning - who in their right mind beats up their accountant?" (has this person never met any accountants?), and the blow-by-blow description has David McHugh fleeing to his office, locking the doors and "cowering" inside - but managing to keep hold of a piping-hot cup of tea throughout. Which suggests either a devotion to his beverage approaching Tony Benn levels, or that someone's just making this all up as they go along. Which of Ben Ashford, Guy Patrick or Sara Nathan do you think was actually there?Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-39424340276672636872009-08-25T10:55:00.005+00:002009-08-25T11:12:22.814+00:00This person cannot really exist. Can he?This is the lead letter on the Daily Mail's letters page today (it's not online):<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeP06q7WQPCUlj2Hcu09qvd0Dgkck5T9UoKb1pU81BK4UD1pvwtXZx3O6Q8bJo8GbPLHou7RvSmIXUEt4q9eN6VlyDQpkAcor-vTeFlbaqmU5zpsMMRSKH-CplbgUrwQLzTC-og/s1600-h/maoam_lemon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeP06q7WQPCUlj2Hcu09qvd0Dgkck5T9UoKb1pU81BK4UD1pvwtXZx3O6Q8bJo8GbPLHou7RvSmIXUEt4q9eN6VlyDQpkAcor-vTeFlbaqmU5zpsMMRSKH-CplbgUrwQLzTC-og/s320/maoam_lemon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373853700305853522" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote>The other day, while doing our weekly shop, I bought for my two children Benjamin and Ofelia, a packet of Haribo Maoam lemon-and-lime confectionery. It was only after I was leaving the checkout that I noticed the appalling illustration on the packaging. This consists of a lemon and lime locked in what appears to be a carnal encounter. the lime, who I assume to be the gentleman in this coupling, has a particularly lurid and distasteful expression on his face.<br /><br />I demanded to see the shop manager and during a heated exchange my wife became quite distressed and had to sit down in the car park. <br /><br />I was told to register my complaint with the manufacturer. I'm glad I spotted this before my young children, who are both very sensitive.<br /><br />My wife and I have always tried to maintain their innocence - and to think our years of careful parenting could have been wrecked by, of all things, a sweet wrapper makes me livid. <br /><br />I received a reply from the company saying that the wrapper design had been introduced in Germany in 2002 with a view to making the fruit figures 'more modern and lively' to 'better appeal to the consumer.' It said 'at no point was it intended to create sexual images.' It had been shown to a number of children and adults of different age groups, none of whom has made any comments referring to sexual content.<br /><br />I consider this response to be less than satisfactory. As a member of our local church, I'm now urging other members of our flock to boycott Haribo products until this illustration is removed.<br /><br />SIMON SIMPKINS<br />Pontefract, West Yorkshire.</blockquote><br /><br />For prudery even further north, go <a href="http://adammacqueen.blogspot.com/2009/08/bad-jokes-yes-bad-taste-hmm-not-so-much.html">here</a>Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-43980317036724785852009-08-18T12:10:00.006+00:002009-08-18T12:41:06.582+00:00Worst episode of Last Of The Summer Wine ever<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/8205528.stm">Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi</a>: 3/1<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8205197.stm">Ronnie Biggs</a>: 7/2<br /><br />Ernest Saunders to go in the same week: 500/1Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31753268.post-61219847670313965202009-08-14T15:01:00.004+00:002009-08-14T15:16:02.158+00:00"... and to top it all she has an unfortunate habit of appearing in unflattering photos"I don't know Mischa Barton - I'm not sure I've even ever seen anything with her in it - but after reading <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1206246/Cellulite-23-Is-stress-smoking-taking-toll-troubled-Mischa-Barton.html">this article in the Daily Mail</a> can I just say on her behalf - "oh, just fuck off."<br /><br /><br /><em>Fun Fact From History for Younger Readers: </em> On September 8 1997, the Daily Mail printed the following - "The proprietor of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Evening Standard announced last night that his papers will not in future purchase pictures taken by paparazzi."Adam Macqueenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362116754650492279noreply@blogger.com5