Author Archives: Will Howells

I was planning to pay my son thousands of pounds of public money to write this week’s Something for the Weekend for me. Unfortunately, he didn’t do any of the work. And then I remembered that I don’t have a son. Or access to thousands of pounds of public money. So I done it all myself.

In the Something for the Weekend swag bag today: Boris overlooks 32 small things; Ken asks the questions; Derek says sorry; another cheap Peter Hain gag; and more!

» Good Week

It’s been a good week for those like me who hate “credit-squashing” on TV shows. The BBC has followed ITV by shrinking programme credits into the corner of the screen so that it can plug other programmes. But the credits are so small as to be illegible, which defeats the point of showing them at all.

The good news is that the BBC said yesterday that it would review the situation following complaints from viewers that the names of cast and crew members are now too small to read.

Tiny credits join irritating and entirely redundant on-screen channel logos in my list of modern TV annoyances.

» Bad Week

Derek Conway MP hasn’t had the best week. First he was suspended from the Commons and ordered to return thousands of pounds of public money paid to his younger son; then payments to his elder son were brought into question; Dave Cameron flip-flopped and, having said Conway had been punished enough, decided a day later to withdraw the Tory whip; Conway faces a possible police investigation; and he’s had to announce that he’ll stand down at the next general election. But he can at least look forward to take £60k a year of taxpayers’ money until then.

The BBC reports a Westminster Village gag:

Derek Conway has announced he’s going to stand down as a MP in order to spend more time with his staff.

Recess is over, Parliament has returned from its Christmas break, and so has Something for the Weekend. Thank goodness it’s Saturday. You find me relaxing on a beach, sipping a mojito and catching some rays. And not in Cowley Street, oh no.

In the Something for the Weekend goody bag today: we reveal the secret of Hillary Clinton’s problems in Iowa; we discover Yorkshire England Area; a plethora of chickens; and more!

In the words of the legendary Noddy Holder, IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!

I love everything about this time of year: angels playing in the snow, logs atop the Christmas tree, kids on the fire. And everyone struck down with wintry viruses.

Still, it’s Saturday so I’ve dragged my flu-ravaged self from my sickbed to bring you 2007’s penultimate Something for the Weekend.

Under the tree today: Christmas comes early for Nick Clegg; Christmas comes too late for Queen Victoria; Santa breaks the news that Steve Webb doesn’t exist; and more!

It’s Saturday, it’s Lib Dem Voice, it’s Crackerjack Something for the Weekend!

We’re edging closer to Christmas, the weather’s getting colder and the inter-office Cowley Street decorations competition is hotting up. Fingers crossed that the Campaigns Department doesn’t burn down in a faulty fairy light induced fireball.

In the Something for the Weekend grotto today: David Cameron flees the country; Iain Dale moves in next door; Vince Cable meets Santa; and more!

Welcome, one and all, to our second helping of weekend cheer free from any mention of you-know-what, as the race between you-know-who and you-know-who nears its end.

In this week’s bulging package: an impermissible donation for the Tories; some good news for Alistar Darling; why Mark Pack could be moving to Stockton; and more!

It’s the first day of December, so I’m munching on an Advent chocolate (courtesy of the Doctor Who Chistmas & New Year Countdown Calendar) as I welcome you to a leadership election free zone.