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English students at Cambridge University have been asked to analyse lyrics by singer Amy Winehouse in a final-year exam. They were asked to contrast aspects of Winehouse's "Love is a Losing Game"" with Bob Dylan's Boots Of Spanish Leather", Billie Holiday's "Fine And Mellow" and Sir Walter Raleigh's "As You Came from the Holy Land" in an examination question. A university spokesman said English students had always been asked to compare writers of different times. He said the question was "interesting, but not news". I agree. The lyrics of these songs show how language changes over long periods of time, but essentially show that the nature of human emotion and feelings is the same. An excellent way to engage anyone (especially young students ) in the discussion and analysis of language, I think. When the Primary Music curriculum first introduced the music of the 60's and in particular John Lennon, I was at first a l...

Gore Vidal has just been interviewed by Andrew Marr, on his show. What a man ! We know that he is outspoken and critical of the American establishment and politics, but it still suprises (and delights) me to hear his responses to questions that others often hedge around. A definite wit and critic, and of course a novelist to boot. He has just named USA as "a racist, mysogynist nation" John McCain, in his campaign for president is "a complete fool as is Bush". JFK did not go into office in a way that would be suitable for anyone such as Obama to follow (citing Cuba as an example) and Tony Blair is culpable towards the Iraq war, mainly by colluding with the "little madman". I am not suggesting that anyone goes into a name calling routine about anyone - but only if more were outspoken and productive about issues of great importance and voiced their TRUE opinions. Whether he would be as open and honest in his views if he had been elected to office is questiona...

"Concerns about the administration of this year's school tests in England have prompted a call for payment to be withheld from the test contractor, ETS. " BBC News The Lib Dem education spokesman David Laws has called the situation a "shambles". Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said that action has been taken "to get things back on track". But markers and schools report ongoing problems with the test process and there are complaints that pupils' scripts have not been collected from some schools. Some of those who have been trained and are waiting to start marking say the scripts have not been delivered to their homes. ETS Europe, the company that has taken over this year from Edexcel has said it is addressing the issues and has promised that the results will be back with schools as scheduled by 8 July. (In 2004 in America, ETS had given 4,000 graduate teachers the wrong marks for their teaching exams and had to pay millions in compensation. Mr Bal...

There has been a variety of instinct reactions since the recent local elections, where 2 BNP councillors gained seats from long standing Labour councillors in the Rotherham Borough. John Gamble has taken the Brinsworth and Catcliffe seat from the Mayor of Rotherham and William Blair, here in Maltby, from long standing Labour councillor Glyn Robinson. Headlines in local and national newspapers have ranged from “Labour Disaster”, “Damning Indictment”, “Shock Results” Outcry at BNP” to even “Pride and Prejudice –The Fear Factor” in The Independent. Obviously these headlines, as well as the results, have a resounding effect on people’s feelings and concerns for the implications. The BNP (British Nationalist Party) has long been associated with, and reported as, the “politics of hatred” particularly referring to the importance of race and keeping Britain as a place predominantly, for Britons. The mission statement of the BNP states that it exists to “secure a future for the indigenous peopl...

Concerns are continuing to grow today that the blocking of vital international aid to Burma by the military junta could lead to even greater catastrophic loss of life. There are as many as 200,000 already dead or dying with many still missing.The figure could rise to half a million through disease and hunger if the nation’sarmy rulers continued to block aid to the devastated Irrawaddy Delta area. Condoleezza Rice and the UN has called for Burma's ruling regime to accept aid in the face of the worsening humanitarian crisis. So what are we as individuals to do in the mean time? I had my debit card at the ready last night after the advert from the Disaster's Emergency Fund on tv, asking for donations. But then I thought, if aid is not getting there is it a well timed contribution? Of course all donations are necessary all of the time, and some aid is gettigng through but I am wondering whether to donate more than I regularly do to 2 of the charities within the DEF. Am I just bein...