Not riots

Which is anyway old news. Although there was something indefinably creepy about the possible causes of rioting being mulled over by Tony Blair. Why? As I said, indefinable. I think when I hear him talk now, it`s almost impossible to recall what an utter shit he was. He sounds like a rather old uncle faking being a kindly one. It`s very hard for me to imagine him any other way than creepy, to be honest.

To home; the hoohah around the closure of Plymouth`s Airport. What an absolute sin. I see Viv P (rhymes with telly) on the telly, and think she`s an utterly daft old bat with a string coming out of the back of her head - "Plymouth - beautiful - lot to offer - Life Centre - world class - Plymouth - invest " yawn yawn.

She is another Tony, in as far as there seems to be not one genuinely meant word that ever drops from her simpering mouth. What a vile woman. We stare at the news, my chap and I, aghast, as if in a daze, and he says quietly, as if to himself, which is something he often does, knowing I rarely listen, " Is it possible to actually vote that person out of office? Why is she always there? Who votes for her?" ... and d`you know? I have no idea. But the City Council are entirely mad. They must be. 47 million on an oversized swimming pool, and the airport is CLOSING. I dont get it. I flew to Jersey from the airport a few years ago; it was a delightful trip. The airport`s tiny, but it felt busy and alive at the time. Years of looking at their feet, that`s what the councillors appear to do. Because they really dont have a clue about the bigger picture. They have let the competition steal the routes required to keep the place open. I dont care how many times the opposite is said, Newquay is not handier than Plymouth, for anything, except a holiday in Newquay. As for the success of Exeter airport, well, they do seem to have an idea of a future this city lacks. If dear Plymouth were worthy of any national prize, it`d be The Viv P(eabody) Award for Tunnel Vision.

The Dome; still empty, despite various business ideas put forward, including using it as a conference centre.What`s that Viv? PCC say No? The Mayflower Steps; a whole load of self-congratulation going around the council for the recent repairs ( something to do with the Americas Cup? haha) as if it were something extraordinary to concrete some crumbling dangerous steps, which are only after all part of the main tourist route in the Barbican, and tourists, you guessed, mean prizes. Or revenue, in this case. Same thing. Plymouth will be, or is, depending how bleak your viewpoint, ruined by it`s council. They dont listen to anyone; they want what they say they think we want even when we say we dont want it. Which must mean they want it. I think. Time for a subject change.

This week the Lit Window book group will be discussing `The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo` by Stieg Larrson. Now I did say I`d do a piece on Nordic Noir to accompany the debate, and very conveniently BBC4 reshewed ( that is how it`s spelt, certainly, but what exactly it is, I`m not so sure - reshowed, showed again, put on again, repeated - duh) a programme entitled Nordic Noir.

So that was handy. I sat taking notes. I very much liked the idea that the (`tec with a social conscience thriller) genre has grown out of examining `the light that failed`; the Scandinavian Socialist dream of social reform and welfare, which kind of ended an era of `innocence` after Oluf Palme`s murder in the 80s. (They never caught the killer; how about that?)

Note to self: must read `Jar City` even though I am sure I will hate it.