Nesbitt Who anyone?

James NesbittSo, according to reports, BBC bosses are lining up James Nesbitt to be the new Doctor Who, when David Tennant quits at the end of next series.

There has been outrage in certain quarters, suggesting that this is a terrible choice, almost akin to Sylvester McCoy’s stint as the TimeLord (although maybe that’s a little harsh).

For starters, anyone who saw Nesbitt in the BBC’s recent drama Jekyll would surely agree with the decision. The Irish actor blew all those Cold Feet preconceptions out of the water with this portrayal of Dr Jackman and Mr Hyde.

Secondly, I seem to remember people being a little surprised and worried about Christopher Ecclestone, David Tennant and Billie Piper, when they were announced in their respective Dr Who roles and each of them has acquitted themselves brilliantly.

Ecclestone was a revelation, as many people didn’t think he could do the “comedy” side of things. The best compliment I can pay the super David Tennant is that it’s tough to remember Ecclestone even did the first series.

As for Billie Piper, she totally confounded the sceptics, who thought it was a sort of publicity stunt and a way to boost the ratings. She was brilliant!

The three recent series have all been great and I don’t doubt that any future ones will be equally fantastic. I’m already looking forward to seeing Nesbitt “driving” the Tardis…

A curtilage request

I’m a man of words – that’s my stock in trade and has been for many years. As an example, I prefer “hirsute” above “hairy”, and “belligerent” above “arsey”, although there’s a place for both.

So it’s always a nice surprise to come across a word I’ve never used before, let alone even seen. However, it’s a huge shock when this word was used on my local council’s website.

Yup, I was looking for info on recycling collection in the London Borough of Bromley, where I’m about to move to and came across this fantastic sentence:

“Your waste will not be collected if it is not placed at the edge of curtilage”

Eh? I had to stop and think for a second. “Edge of curtilage” – what the hell does that mean?

Fortunately, Bromley Council has anticipated my confusion and added this helpful explanation.

“Your curtilage is the area of land within your boundary surrounding your property. The edge of your curtilage is on your land at the front within arms’ reach of the pavement but not on it.”

So, basically, they mean the edge of your property, or boundary, or even garden or yard. So why not say that? I’m all for expanding the use of our rich language, but not on a council website. For goodness sake, talk in plain English and not some legal mumbo-jumbo.

I know we live in litigious times, but I’m sure no-one will sue their local council for lack of curtilage explanation, will they?

Red Ken does it again

Ken LivingstoneThe BAA is trying to take out an absurd injunction to stop a peaceful climate change protest happening at Heathrow.

Leaving aside the fact that the new owners want to curb the right to free speech in this country, which is the very cornerstone of democracy (that’s the right-on bit out of the way), I was pleased to hear that Ken Livingstone has waded in with his size 9s.

He described BAA bosses as “out of their skull”, and added that no dialogue had taken place between them and TFL, even though BAA is trying to stop people travelling to Heathrow on the Piccadilly Line.

Then, and this is the best bit, Ken added: “The new Spanish bosses of BAA must still think they’re living under the rule of Franco.”

He just can’t help himself, can he?