SatMornVue #2: F1 Revs Up

So, with a new season of Formula One we have had everything, before the cars leave the grid in Melbourne. Honda are gone, the newly Virgin approved Brawn GP are in (and are making a stir), Kers are in, groves in the tyres are out, rear spoilers are much slimmer, defusers, moveable front wings and new aero[dynamic] qualities. The only thing that hasn't changed is practically the drivers, which is normally the only thing that does.

A certain Sir Richard Branson was due and turned up this morning in Melbourne and would you believe it, in the time since the friday practice and the Saturday qualifying and Sir Branson turning up, "Virgin" Signs seem to have turned up on the Brawn cars.

But it doesn't matter now after Brawn ended up 1 and 2 on the grid, with Button and Barrichello, for the first Grand Prix of the season. In the same qualifying season Lewis Hamilton ended up finishing 18th in qualifing, and Toyota being excluded from qualifing putting them back 19th and 20th.

All the changes are meant to make overtaking easier and with all the changes someone will and has found lopeholes in the rules and start to use defusers and etc, before everyelse. And of course that leads to arguments and hangbags between the teams, before bringing in the technology themselves.

All the new rules and Kers and blah blah blah, should mean a better season and already this weekend we haven't seen the usual domination and boring same old teams that we have seen in the last decade or so, it's shaking things up (and also the timing of the races, because Bernie Ecclestone wants the times to be "kind" to us in Europe, I'm not complaining, but that means the Australian Grand Prix will start at 5pm local time, just a bit late without floodlights).

Video Feature #3: Ready for G20? (HQ)

SatMornPreVue: Fomula One Revs Up

Tomorrow, I will be looking at the new F1 season which will be starting up, by tomorrow we will know who will be at the top of grid for the Australian Grand Prix Sunday and who's ready to make the run for the title, no matter how may points you need to win.

Video Feature #2: Mandelson in Speedos (HQ)

Let the Games Begin, Sugar Style

Yesterday saw the start of the new series of the Apprentice, which was already one man down before they got meet Sir Alan. Now as usual the first week is full of manual labour and cleaning, how unoriginal. Anyway, the 12 week slug-fest has started and for the next 12 weeks, the nation will forced to a diet of Sir Sugar and the equally annoying apprentices. And lets be honest, that is part of the show, the whole dynamic and of course there will be people you want to win or want to stab.

Already, after seeing the first week and whats coming up next week, they need some more ideas on tasks, considering they did cooking last series about the same time as well. I'm not here to blast the show, because I like it, it's a good piece of TV, and strangely not the sort of thing you want to watch on box-set, unlike dramas that are done in this long week-by-week style. And also the fact that it is straight after Waterloo Road helps it even more.

It's sister show in America is a smash hit as well with no more than Donald Trump as the Sir Alan figure. But in the end the winners do go to work, but for one of Sugar's sons because he doesn't have anywhere to put them, he doesn't have a real company anymore (but he's still worth A LOT!!!).

It has been reported that the show is a bit, as we all are, struck for cash. For example, the overseas task is no more, they just can't afford it anymore, but don't worry it wasn't coming out of Sir Alan's pocket, it was coming out of the TV licence, in other words they saved half an hour TV for you.

Also the new series means the return of Match of the Day 2, The One Show and so on presenter, Adrian Chiles, the jack of all trades, and his stupid, at times, panel of guests on the BBC Two Show, "The Apprentice: You're Fired". Yesterday, the panel included Carol Vordaman (because she was on the Comic Relief Verison, by the way I was at Comic Relief and she needs to lose some weight or wear less relieving clothing), Rufus Hound and Multi-Millionaire businesswoman Gill Fielding. What?

The only thing I would say against the show is that half of the show is in the "Board Room", a whole half an hour (that's more bitching than ITV's Goldenballs, and I've seen it live, most boring thing ever). And only a half an hour with them actual on the task. But sometimes the early weeks can be not great with so many people, when over half the people can't sit down in the Board Room thats not great.

It should hot up and will be one of the top and most watched shows on TV but the end, also it will be an easy News story for the BBC. Lets be honest, by this time the lady with the calculator who got fired, would have done the rounds on the BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio and might be doing some interviews for Newspapers and so on and until the last week when they all return, no one will remember who she was tomorrow (unless you watch it on BBC iPlayer, they've got it on Series catch up, so the week after its over you can take 12 hours out to watch every single episode).

SatMornVue #1: Didier Coined

Being a overpaid footballer, it was ironic that Didier Drogba threw away money last November, after scoring a goal against Burnley in a Carling Cup tie. And firstly what is "common" assault, and why would any assault be common, that's just stupid, if I threw a coin into a massive crowd of people that don't like me, that would obviously be intentional and would be classed as something towards assault.












And I sorry Didier, but your a professional footballer you got to be able to take the heat. Strangely this sorry has only returned to the front of the news because the police decesion has come through. Straight after the match Didier apologied for his actions; but why do something as stupid as that anyway, he was asking for trouble celebrating his goal in front of the Burnley fans to start off.










And that gesture is charming aswell, not going to help your cause. He was banned for three games by the FA after the incident (the same as a read card), I don't see why he didn't get more than that. He should be able to control himself considering he would be getting "stick" every week, what was different about that game?

What ever the answer he can't get away from the fact that he acted like an idiot that day; that's for the fans to do at a football match (if they can afford a ticket at Chelsea), your paid to go and score goals, not score goals then piss off the opposition fans by throwing coins and throwing your middle finger up.

Video Feature #1: "SuperNews! Twouble with Twitters"

From tomorrow I will be starting a new feature on the Blog called "SatMornVue", which is a view and/or comment on any news story that is in the mainstream media on Saturday Morning, yes, whatever happens, whatever is out there in the world of news, I will try to give my own view on this and so on.

Just A load of... Plane Stupid

I'm sorry to say that on the 25th Anniversary of the miners strike the closed thing we have to a protest is a woman from "Plane Stupid" (need I say more) throwing Green Custard over the "unelected Business Secretary" Peter Mandelson; then the fact see was on the news in person really does show how... well it doesn't show anything to be honest, this strange event was all caught on tape and is more to be laughed at by the general public then taken all that seriously by anyone with any common sense.



She, as Konnie Huq before her, was on all the major 24 hour news stations (sorry, BBC News 24 and Sky News) hours after the even and started canvasing practically anyone who was watching. But on serious note behind everything, everyone has forgotten the serious matter of the 3rd runway at Heathow and that was the fact that Lord Mandelson was arriving at a meeting about lowering carbon-emissions and her point being that he and others were just using these events and the "political band-wagon" just to boost their credibility and add as more publistity.


Later, live on camera, a BBC reporter put some of her criticisms to Mandelson (namely about him being unelected and having pushed through the third runaway at Heathrow despite opposition) he failed to answer and made a joke about the custard. Sorry mate, I thought you were a "Lord" (I'm using that term very carefully) and not a stand-up comedian or satirist (Considering I went to the recording of "The Now Show" yesterday, which didn't include you). And to finish off American style, the news was picked up by CNN, they totally shied away from the issue and ran a bit on politicians getting attack, an apparent tradition, sorry what?

(And did Prescott THUMP that guy on the chin, hardly got anywhere near and doesn't look any better in slow-motion).
I didn't know Peter Mandelson had a politician's smile and where he was flashing it is none of my business.