Hollyoaks - The Conclusion Is Drawing Near To Who Shot Calvin Valentine!

This Friday, Channel 4’s teen soap drama, Hollyoaks will reveal the mystery assailant behind the shooting of former copper, Calvin Valentine.  Starting this week, the conclusion to this dramatic storyline reaches its conclusion, as Calvin gets ready to marry the love of his life, Carmel McQueen for the second time.  However, although the wedding ceremony goes ahead without a hitch, Calvin’s ‘Till death do us part’ vows come sooner than expected, when he is shot during his first dance in marriage.

Valentine, played by 2009 Strictly Come Dancing runner-up, Ricky Whittle has a long line of suspects, all vying for his blood for various reasons.  Regular viewers of the show will have seen UK soap’s first ever flash-forward episode on Monday 21^st December 2009, when Calvin was gunned down in this episode.  However, his murderer remains in the closet, until this Friday.  The December episode was show then, rather than the traditional May 2010 slot and was thought of by ex-executive producer of the show, Lucy Allan.  It is probably her high point of a rocky year for the Chester-based drama, which has plummeted in award gatherings and TV ratings since Bryan Kirkwood’s departure from Lime Pictures last year.  For five months, the storyline has unravelled as Calvin’s suspects have been getting bigger and bigger, with larger grudges to settle than ever before.  And there is a major list of people who could pull the trigger on the former good lad of the show, now turned the villain of the piece.  

Here are some of the possible frontrunners.

Malachy Fisher – Back in December, Malachy caught Calvin sleeping with his wife, Mercedes Fisher.  Their marriage may be on the rocks, but Malachy has kept this secret to himself for months, and now, as Calvin’s best man at the wedding, will he reveal all or gun down his rival to keep a grip on his failing marriage.

Mercedes Fisher – Mercedes is hurting with rage and fury.  She doesn’t know that Malachy has this secret, and has been playing with fire for months.  For someone who saw her first marriage, to Russ Owen end in 2007 under similar circumstances, you would have thought she would have learnt her lesson.  She wants Calvin badly, but Calvin insists their fling was no more than fun, and is hell-bent on marrying Carmel.  Can Mercedes stand back and let her sister marry a cheat?

Jake Dean – Jake Dean and Calvin Valentine have a chequered history, stretching back as far as 2006, when Jake killed Calvin’s mum in a hit-and-run incident.  Calvin may have saved Jake in the Dog in the Pond Explosion that same year, but their past has never been forgotten.  When Holly Cunningham went missing earlier this year, Jake was accused of snatching her and Calvin took great pleasure in dismissing him from his job at The Loft nightclub.  Now Jake is out to settle the score.  With actor Kevin Sacre leaving the show, he must be a leading frontrunner. 

Spencer Fox – The illiterate Spencer Fox trusted Calvin, but his poor heart was ripped to pieces, when first Calvin shopped him into the cops for his role in Holly’s disappearance, then Calvin’s role in his brother’s death, was revealed.  Due to his disabilities, there is no doubt that Spencer could handle a murder weapon without understanding the full consequences of his actions.

Lauren Valentine – Lauren’s criminal boyfriend, Gaz Bennett was recently put in jail.  Now, Lauren wants revenge and she won’t let family loyalty getting in the way for Gaz’s downfall.  However, I would have to say, she would be a distant outsider.

Sasha Valentine – Sasha Valentine has a very strong motive for doing the deed on her brother.  Not only did Calvin despise her relationship with the former bad lad of the village, Warren Fox, she found out that Calvin left Warren to die on this week in May 2009, when Claire Cunningham blew up The Loft nightclub.  Sasha has never forgiven Calvin for his actions on that fateful night, and like Lauren, she will not care whether Calvin’s related or not.

Kris Fisher – Like Kevin Sacre, Gerard McCarthy who plays the Irish cross-dresser is leaving the show in the coming months, which might make him a frontrunner.  Kris also caught Mercedes sleeping with Calvin ages ago, and is annoyed that his brother, Malachy seems willing to let Calvin and Mercedes getaway with their affair.  So, will he carry out the deed, to protect his brother from more hurt and turmoil?

Jacqui McQueen – Jacqui is stunned to the core when Mercedes reveals her fling with Calvin to her on the day of the wedding.  Suddenly, Jacqui’s mood has changed and a confrontation with Calvin only spices up her blood.  Plus, she is seen with the gun that Calvin bought to protect himself from anonymous death threats.  Similar to Mercedes, will she step aside and allow Carmel to marry a love rat?  After all, the McQueen sisters stick together, through thick and thin.

Theresa McQueen – Theresa was another McQueen sister to experiment with Calvin’s underwear, when they had a night of passion in the nightclub only one month ago.  Calvin insisted it was a one-off, and Theresa is hurting, because she has her eyes on Calvin.  Can she stand back and see Calvin marry someone else, who is biologically related and not her.

The Rest – Well, Tony Hutchinson could pull the trigger, due to his conditional love for Theresa.  Then there’s Zak Ramsay, who is lost and confused with everything in his life, following the tragic death of his brother, Caleb in Afghanistan.  I wouldn’t trust Darren Osbourne near a weapon too; he has a colourful history with almost every villain in the village.  Long shots may even include the likes of Leo Valentine, India Langsford, Rhys Ashworth, Myra McQueen, or even little Tom Cunningham.

Personally, these sorts of mysteries never seem to be the obvious suspect, so don’t be surprised to see it be an unlikely assailant.  If you wanted me to put my money on, I would back either Jake Dean or Kris Fisher, but it could be anyone?

Everybody is a suspect!  Don’t miss the drama of Hollyoaks, this Friday at 6.30pm on Channel 4.

2010 Monaco Grand Prix - Marvellous Mark is the King of the Streets

Seven days after his untouchable performance in Barcelona, Mark Webber produced another invincible drive to be the toast of Monaco’s glamorous principality.  He coasted home around the demanding streets of Monte Carlo to lead home a Red Bull Racing 1-2, and with it, and equal share for the lead of the drivers’ championship.

As Webber was back-flipping into the swimming pool at Red Bull’s hospitality lounge, doused in the victory champagne, a bigger storm involving an old Formula One rivalry is sadly, the talk of the town.  Though not racing on the track anymore, the bitterness is still felt between Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher, nearly sixteen years after that infamous collision in Adelaide, which decided the 1994 World Championship.  Tonight, Schumacher and his Mercedes team have every right to be aggrieved with the FIA stewards, which Hill was on the panel for this weekend, as what looked to be wonderful piece of opportunism in the dying stages on Fernando Alonso has been rewarded with a 20-second penalty and a relegation to 12^th place in the final classification. 

All the drama began with four laps to go, when a daft overtaking attempt by the experienced Jarno Trulli ended with his Lotus embedded on Karun Chandok’s Hispania at the tight La Rascasse hairpin, the scene of Schumacher’s famous roadblock during qualifying for the 2006 event.  The Safety Car was sent out and came in on the last lap, but Schumacher spotted an opportunity and a loophole in the new FIA 2010 Safety Car regulations.  Exiting the hairpin, Alonso got a slide on his evil-handling Ferrari and Michael drew alongside, completing his overtaking move into the final Anthony Noades bend.  However, onboard footage definitely sees the Spaniard ahead of the Mercedes as he crosses the ‘white line’ overtaking zone.  Ferrari claims that this regulation is nullified on the final lap, whilst Mercedes and Ross Brawn disagree venomously and have served an intention to appeal.  This issue will drag all the way to Istanbul in a fortnight’s time.

It is a shame that this controversy takes the gloss on another perfect weekend from Webber, who led every tour of the 78-lap spectacular.  Despite four Safety Cars, he was in total command throughout.  Team-mate Sebastian Vettel was outclassed again by the more experienced Aussie, but his pass on front-row starter Robert Kubica at the start was all needed to secure a fabulous 1-2 for the Austrian registered team, based in Milton Keynes.  Vettel and Webber share the lead in the drivers’ championship, as Alonso battled to an (as it stands) 6^th place finish, from a pitlane start.  Previous championship leader and 2009 winner Jenson Button had a nightmare weekend, only qualifying 8^th, dropping to 11^th on the first lap, then was out on lap three, with a cooked engine, caused by some cooling device not removed by his McLaren team before the installation lap.  Unsurprisingly, he was far from impressed with this fundamental error.

On a track where he normally delivers, Lewis Hamilton could only manage 5^th, exactly where he started, as McLaren has a poor time of things, managing tyre temperature.  Despite losing second off the line to Vettel, Kubica capped a fine weekend off with his second podium of 2010, completing a Renault grand slam of the rostrum for the first time since the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix.  Felipe Massa had a better weekend, finishing a solid 4^th for Ferrari, with Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Sebastian Buemi benefiting from Schumacher’s demotion to all score valuable points.  In Liuzzi’s case, it was a reminder of his talent, as he is under severe pressure to hang onto his seat at Force India and for Buemi, his first score of a troubled campaign.

Attrition was high in Monaco, with only half the starters finishing.  Amongst the DNF’s were all six of the three new teams, and both Williams cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Rubens Barrichello, retiring through spectacular shunts which deployed two Safety Cars and leaves the Grove team with a race against time to rebuild both chassis for Istanbul in a fortnight’s time.

It is a shame when fantastic and brave overtaking is not rewarded, especially in a sport that craves for it under the new regulations, and Damon Hill’s position and integrity must come under question, as his interference must have something to do with Michael Schumacher’s downfall, considering their previous biased history.  However, for Mark Webber and Red Bull Racing, it was the ultimate tour de force, and their dominance here could well be a fair reflection on how the rest of the season will shape up.  Ferrari and McLaren’s message is clear, ‘Catch us if you can!’

The Labour Leadership Contest Gets All Brotherly

   

He may have only vacated Downing Street and the most important job in politics one week ago, but the race is already underway to become Gordon Brown’s long-term successor of the Labour party.  Whilst Harriet Harman is standing in for now, whilst the party attempts to rebuild itself as an opposition force, it is the forthcoming battle between the Miliband brothers that could be the new storm in British politics.

As the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats settle into their coalition partnership, and sorting out pressing issues, such as the economy, our troops in Afghanistan and taxes, Labour gets ready to become an opposition force after thirteen years in power.  As MP’s return to duty on Wednesday, following the six week election campaign, it will be interesting to see who can lead Labour out of the doldrums on a long-term basis.  Already, former Chancellor Alistair Darling and Peter Mandelson have ruled themselves out of the race, whilst Harman has insisted she will not run long term, only interested in providing the much-needed stability that the party requires now.  However, fellow Labour MP’s, particular from the female side, want Harman to stand to prevent an all-male leadership contest.  Ex Schools-Secretary Ed Balls, an outspoken figure is expected to launch his bid this week, whilst there have been outside mentions for fellow MP’s Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper.

However, the frontrunners appear to be the Miliband brothers.  On Saturday, the outgoing Energy Minister Ed Miliband announced his intention to stand for Brown’s vacant position.  The MP for Doncaster North, who launched his campaign in London, has insisted that there is no rivalry with his brother, David Miliband.  He also claimed he would support David, should he win and went out with the comment ‘Win or Lose, we will still be the best of friends.’  Whether that will happen, remains to be seen….For David Miliband, this is his chance to take control of the party.  Twice before, he could have challenged Gordon Brown for the leadership, but elected to support him rather than stand against him, and now with the vacant position open, he is the bookmakers favourite to land the Labour role.  A recent YouGov poll showed him coming out with 32% of the vote, more than half the percentage of the next closest, Harriet Harman with 11%.  The former Foreign Secretary, an MP for South Shields since 2001 and having served Labour on the Cabinet for eight years, is known to have some wide support from many sectors of the Labour fraternity.  Many already see him as the figurehead for the fightback to Downing Street.

There is unlikely to be such a complex deal, as there was with Gordon Brown and Tony Blair in 1994, after the untimely death of the popular John Smith, but there could well be many more twists, before the expected announcement, Labour’s annual party conference in September.  The race to be Gordon Brown’s long-term successor is well and truly on and it is really more closer than home than many may have anticipated.  

FA Cup Final Review - Cool Chelsea Land Historic Double

On a pitch that would have been more suited for rallycross yesterday, John Terry and Frank Lampard held the FA Cup aloft, as Chelsea maintained their grip on the trophy, in a one-sided final at Wembley.  Carlo Ancelotti’s men overcame a brave, if limited Portsmouth side 1-0, to add the FA Cup to their Premiership title success seven days ago.  With it, he becomes the first Blues coach to land the double, even managing to achieve something that managed to elude the ‘Special One,’ Jose Mourinho.  Well, now Ancelotti can have his own claims to that particular mantle.

Chelsea were firmly in command from the outset yesterday, and had it not been for a bit of luck, plus coming up against an in-form David James, could have turned the final into a routine Sunday training exercise.  No less than FIVE TIMES did they hit the woodwork in the first half.  Frank Lampard and John Terry were both thwarted, whilst Didier Drogba has a free-kick wonderfully turned onto the bar by the inspired James.  Later in the exchanges, Drogba smacked the post again, then kicked at it in frustration, was this to be their day?  It was made all the more galling by Salomon Kalou’s shambolic miss from 3 yards out.  Ashley Cole set the chance up on a plate, but the unpredictable Kalou somehow smacked the crossbar with a gaping goal, a chance that to be honest, Stevie Wonder could have scored! 

However, Avram Grant’s spirited Pompey side didn’t give in, and had it not been for inspired Cech reactions, denying Frederic Piquionne from close range, his side might have had an unlikely lead.  Ten minutes into the second half, they squandered a golden opportunity to inherit the lead.  Steve Finnan’s strong work down the right-hand side, fed through Aruna Dindane, who bamboozled and forced a careless lunge out of Chelsea departure-bound Juliano Belletti.  Five weeks ago, Kevin-Prince Boateng has slotted away the decisive spot kick in the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, but this time, the Ghanaian (responsible for ending Michael Ballack’s game in the first half), scuffed his kick horribly.  Cech saved the poor penalty with his feet, and with it, went Pompey’s glory moment.  Less than three minutes later, they were behind.

Papa Boupa Diop tripped Nicholas Anelka on the edge of the box, and Drogba, always deadly from set-pieces produced another moment of magic.  His free-kick beat the disorganised Portsmouth wall, and just grasped out of James’s reach, striking the post.  This time though, his accuracy was spot-on, as it struck the post and bounced in.  The Ivorian was celebrating his seventh goal in an English cup final, and gave the Stamford Bridge the deserved edge.  In the late stages, Michael Brown’s silly lunge on Lampard earned another penalty, but for once, Lampard cracked under the pressure and sent his kick wide, James not even been forced to save the kick.  Lampard became the first player to actually miss a spot kick in the Wembley showpiece and it’s the first time in FA Cup Final history that two penalties haven’t been converted in normal time.

However, that couldn’t take the edge off Chelsea’s success, as their players celebrated for the second time in six days.  They are the dominant force again in England and the question is, can they turn this into a sustained period of success….with one of two new acquisitions in the summer, there is a good chance of this happening.  For Portsmouth, it’s the end of the FA Cup fairytale and the squad will break-up for pastures new, as will Grant, who despite his love and incredible affection with the passionate South Coast fans, looks set to take over the vacant West Ham United job.  With the Fratton Park side still in administration, their future looks very bleak.  For Chelsea, their future looks far more bright and promising.

Fabio Picks His Final 30 - Will It Be Enough For The Three Lions?

On Tuesday, Fabio Capello has some tough decisions to make and tricky questions to answer, as he name his 30-man provisional squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa.  By June 1^st, he must cut seven more from the list.  Eyebrows were certainly raised by the selection of some, though all the familiar and predicted names made the list.  

The squad in full is:

GK: Joe Hart (Birmingham City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham United)

DEF: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

MID: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Tottenham Hotspur), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Parker (West Ham United), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Joe Cole (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa)

ATT: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

The surprises were the selections of Ledley King and Jamie Carragher.  King’s form of recent for Tottenham has been nothing sort of stunning, but his injury history would suggest taking him in the final 23 would be a massive gamble for Capello.  Carragher has been persuaded out of international retirement, having not played for his country since 2007, but he won’t be guaranteed a first-team place and he quite probably is more likely to be warming the bench more often than not.  Plus, his form for Liverpool has been very patchy this campaign.  This can only suggest that Capello can’t trust Glen Johnson’s defensive naivety, plus the form of disgrace former captain John Terry and Rio Ferdinand’s tendency to break down with injuries.

In the midfield, Fabio has taken another risk, with the selection of Gareth Barry.  An ankle injury suffered in Manchester City’s penultimate Premiership match against Tottenham Hotspur has left the ex-Villa player with a race against time to be fit for the World Cup opener in Rustenberg on June 12^th, against the USA.  Injury keeps Owen Hargreaves and as expected, David Beckham out, whilst Stewart Downing was a shock absentee from the final shortlist.  Instead, Adam Johnson’s gamble on swapping Championship football with Middlesbrough for Manchester City in January, as he has managed to win himself a chance of making the plane.  An out-of-form and out of contract Joe Cole is his rival for the left-midfield place, with Ashley Young another missing out.  Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone and West Ham’s Scott Parker have been rewarded for their fine campaigns with the chance of going to South Africa, though one, maybe both may miss out on the final cut.

Upfront, Capello looked set to pick Bobby Zamora, after his tremendous season with Fulham.  However, Zamora, who limped through 55 minutes of Fulham’s brave defeat in Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League final, told Capello he would be unable for selection, as he requires minor surgery on an Achilles problem.  With Gabby Agbonlahor fading badly with club form, and Carlton Cole’s fitness problems a gamble too far, it made Capello’s striking dilemma not an issue, with Darren Bent, 2^nd top English goalscorer this season, at Sunderland joining the regulars, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch. 

Who makes the final 23 remains to be seen and Capello must make his final decision whilst on a England training camp in Austria, but he has picked a very strong initial 30-man squad, one of the strongest out of all the major nations.  Staying injury-free and playing well in England’s final friendly on home shores against Mexico in ten days time could provide to be the final piece in the jigsaw for Fabio, as he seeks to end forty-four years of hurt.

Cameron Gets The Keys, As Brown Makes A Dignified Exit

Just when you thought Monday's events couldn't be toppled, the political world was shaken once again, as after five days of bickering, negotiation and stalling, events unravelled last night, which now see the end of Labour rule.  After thirteen years in power, and three in No.10, Gordon Brown made a dignified exit from Downing Street and British politics.


Flanked by his family, he gave a graceful speech to the media, before heading off to Buckingham Palace, to tender his resignation to the Queen.  Around an hour later, the Queen accepted the request of David Cameron to form a coalition government, between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.  At last for many, Cameron has the keys to the most prestigious house in the UK.  As part of the deal, Nick Clegg is set to become the new Deputy Prime Minister, whilst Harriet Harman will step into Brown's shoes, as the Acting Labour Leader, until autumn's party conference.


No more words can describe the monumental shift in political power yesterday, so here are a few YouTube videos to sum things up.  The first is of a massive argument between Sky News Adam Boulton and Alistair Campbell, which nearly saw them come to blows live on TV.

The second is Gordon Brown's resignation speech outside Downing Street.

The last is David Cameron's inauguration speech as Prime Minister.

Bradford Remembers The Horror of Twenty-Five Years Ago

As a football club, Bradford City has had their high moments in its distinguished football history.  Who will forget David Wetherall’s spectacular header which beat Liverpool on the final day of the 1999/00 Premiership season.  Unbridled joy at Valley Parade followed when the supporters realised that they had beaten the drop, and Wimbledon went down instead.  However, they have a horror low moment, which today still ranks alongside sport’s biggest tragedies, twenty-five years on.

On Saturday May 11^th 1985, the Bantams day started full of celebration.  The club paraded the Third Division title just before their final match of the season, against Lincoln City.  With the score at 0-0, five minutes before half-time, the main stand at Valley Parade was ignited by a raging fire, that swept through the stand in next to no time.  From a small controllable blaze, to something of the greatest magnitude, as it took little under four minutes for the entire stand to be completely ablaze.  Supporters rushed onto the pitch in panic and fear, completely shocked to the core of the destruction that had just taken place.  Tragically, the gates at the back of the stand had been locked, to prevent people without tickets sneaking into the game.  Even more so, the stand that caught ablaze in dramatic fashion was due for demolition in the summer of 1985, for a more updated version.  56 people, hoping to see a day of celebration and ecstasy lost their lives in the Valley Parade inferno, and over 270 were injured, some with severe burns that see the scars still hurt today.

The club had to go on and play their Second Division games for the following season at Leeds Elland Road and in Huddersfield, before setting up camp at Odsal Stadium, now home to the Super League side, the Bradford Bulls.  Following a staggering amount of donations, Valley Parade reopened in December 1986, but those 56 will never be forgotten.  The cause of the fire is largely unknown, though many believe that it was a dropped cigarette or match that ignited rubbish underneath the main stand, which had been clustered together over a significant number of years.  The heat of the blaze could be felt across the ground, as the venomous smoke lit the sky.  Yorkshire TV, who was filming the game, chose never to release the footage, as a tribute to those who lost their lives.  Having seen pictures and the odd video on YouTube of the horror, I cannot imagine the nightmare that fans were experiencing and for the veteran commentator, John Helm, who was commentating on the game for ITV Football League programme.

Today, Bradford stood silent to remember the fifty-six who perished at the city’s Centaury Square.  Some 2,000 mourners attended the outside memorial, which included a singing of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ before a one-minute silence.  With the Heysel tragedy just a mere three weeks later, the Bradford fire is one of those forgotten tragedies in sport, but it is one of the worst for sure.  Today, we must remember those fifty-six and the scores injured, who went to see a carnival, only to be caught in a horror nightmare. 

To the Bradford 1985 fifty-six, R.I.P.         

Gordon Goes, What Will Happen Next?

At 5pm today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown came out of No.10 Downing Street, to make a statement that shook the political world to the core.  He announced he was to step down as Labour leader as soon as possible.  He announced a leadership election for the party, and hoped that the new leader would be selected before Labour’s annual party conference this autumn.  He also said he would not play any part in the electoral process, nor back any candidate personally.  It was a dignified and gracious speech, but where does this leave the country now.  Lost and confused seems the best way to explain it.

The day started with William Hague, the Conservative Shadow Chancellor announcing to the media of another positive round of talks between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.  Their leaders Nick Clegg and David Cameron have been locked in talks throughout the weekend.  However, the stumbling block of the Lib Dems determination to push forward its voting reform seem to have put all negotiations at a stalling process.  Later on, after a meeting with MP’s, Clegg confirmed that the PR scheme, which he hadn’t initially pushed for, was now a condition the Conservatives must meet.  At this stage, he also announced that he was to open talks with the Labour party.  So, was Brown pushed by his own party, did he step down on his own accord, or has Clegg pushed him out of Downing Street.

Throughout the election campaign, Nick Clegg has always maintained that he would not work with Gordon Brown, even calling him a ‘desperate politician’ at one stage.  With Brown suddenly leaving, some are already speculating that for the Lib Dems to do a deal with Labour, one of the conditions was for Gordon to quit.  Brown insisted that he had made the decision last week, after Labour’s overwhelming defeat, though not by a majority in the General Election.  Tonight, William Hague has launched a final set of negotiations for the Liberal Democrats, a ‘take it or leave it’ offer, which included a referendum on voting reform. 

For a Labour/Lib Dems coalition government to go through, it would still need to get past the magical 326 mark in the House of Commons.  Together, they can’t reach that figure, which means bringing in smaller parties, including Plaid Cwyrmu and the SNP (Scottish National Party).  That government just has ‘disaster’ written all over.  We haven’t heard much from David Cameron today, which is quite surprising, but with Brown stepping down, he can technically go to the Queen, to request and form a minority government.  Nick Clegg’s tactics are not smart at all, he is now playing off the two major parties, and it looks like he will sell out to the biggest party, which is what some people I know closely predicted around a fortnight ago.  Clegg and the Liberal Democrats political reputations are on the line, and their reluctance to do a deal, must worry the British people.  Some are probably wondering already, ‘Why did we vote, if we were going to get in this mess?’

Today’s announcement brings down the curtain-raiser on Gordon Brown’s long career in politics.  Starting out as a strong, political student at Edinburgh University, he got his first break in the Labour party in 1983, with younger hair, alongside a certain Tony Blair.  He was a strong figure in the Neil Kinnock regime, but the implications in May 1994 were going to have a sudden part in how today’s politics is shaped. 

The sudden death of the Labour leader John Smith, from a fatal heart attack looked to have set the path for Brown to take over as Labour leader.  Reluctantly and under pressure from many Labour figureheads, he gave way to Blair, who swept into power in 1997 via a landslide majority.  Brown was always seething in private, even if he put a brave face in public, but as the cracks started to appear in the Blair regime over Iraq, Brown did little to support.  At times, there seemed to be complete civil war between the pair.  Eventually, he got the long-awaited keys to No.10 in June 2007, when Blair decided to step aside.  However, he was never elected as a Prime Minister and at the first opportunity; the people decided he wasn’t good enough to run the country anymore.  Charity and volunteer work destined for the soon to be incumbent Labour Prime Minister.

This story is far from over, and with MP’s due back for business in Westminster next Tuesday, something needs to happen and quickly.  Gordon Brown’s shock decision has put Labour firmly back in the race, but all that we know tonight, is that the British political system is in shock and chaos and the country lost and confused?  What happens next is anyone’s guess….

2010 Spanish Grand Prix - The Conclusions

In this piece, I will be assessing ten key features from each Grand Prix weekend from the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.  Following a three-week break, which saw all the teams successfully make it back from China, despite the best efforts of the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano, Grand Prix returned to its heartland of Europe.  The Spanish Grand Prix may not be remembered as the greatest race ever, but its dramatic twists in the last ten laps just showed how unpredictable F1 2010 is turning out to be.  So, this is the round-up of race five in 2010, as Formula 1 assembled itself again with familiar territory.

Untouchable Webber Produces His Best Yet

Mark Webber arrived at the Circuit de Catalunya under pressure to perform.  Once again, Sebastian Vettel was putting him in the shade at Red Bull Racing, and with his contract up for renewal at the end of the season; the Australian knew he had to start delivering strong race results to his almost impeccable qualifying form so far.  This he did, and in crushing fashion.  Brilliant on Saturday, and totally untouchable on Sunday, the winning margin of 24.5seconds was a clear reflection of his dominance in Barcelona.  Webber reminds me a lot of Ralf Schumacher, though with a bit more aggression to his driving.  On his day, Ralf could be invincible at the front of the field, and Webber is more of the same.  Unlike his two successes last year, this win didn’t have to be such a hard fightbacks.  Here, he showed he could lead from the front, producing the best drive of his career, even better than his maiden triumph at the Nurburgring last July.  Mark has answered some critics in the best possible manner, and consequently, is right back in the championship mix.

The Technical Upgrade Battle: Who Won?

Barcelona was the first race where the majority of the teams would put onto their cars, the first round of significant updates.  The clear winners in the technical upgrade battle were Red Bull Racing, who turned up with an even faster car in Spain.  If they start to get the reliability right, which plagued Sebastian Vettel again yesterday, the rest should fear for sure, especially with another upgrade on the way for Istanbul.  McLaren improved their qualifying pace and moved above Ferrari in the pecking order, but both established teams need to continue a fast alarming rate of development if they aren’t to be left behind.  The other winner was Sauber, who with their first main update of the season, moved about both Williams and Toro Rosso on competitive levels.  Kamur Kobayashi made Q3, and though a race result is still lacking the team, they definitely will be encouraged by some form of progress at last.  Losers in the upgrade battle were Williams, whose updates upset the car’s balance and left Rubens Barrichello high and dry, eliminated in Q1 on Saturday.  Also, Mercedes, who were pinning their hopes on their revised chassis, but they seem to have gone backwards, not forwards.  Despite Michael Schumacher’s strong result, there will be some serious head-scratching going on, both at Brackley in Northamptonshire, and in Germany.

Hamilton Runs Out Of Luck, And A Left-Front!

2010 hasn’t been the best season for Lewis Hamilton so far, and he certainly does not have the points that he fully merits.  Charging drives in Melbourne and Sepang through the field only resulted in a pair of 6^th placed results and yesterday, his luck ran out again, in a cruel fashion.  Two laps away from a superb second-laced finish, having beaten the seemingly invincible Vettel fair and square, the Brit suffered a left-front blow-out through the long-winding Turn 3.  Powerless to control his car, Lewis ended in the barriers and with no points.  Like Mika Hakkinen in 2001, who lost the win here with an engine failure on the last lap, McLaren will be rueing Barcelona’s cruel twists of fate.  The team believe that the delaminating tyre was caused by a suspension problem, not an actual puncture.  However, that will be of little consolation to Hamilton, who deserved far more than nothing out of a strong weekend, in which he had the firm upper hand over Jenson Button for the first time in 2010.  At least he was phlegmatic about it afterwards, and Lewis’s time will come, patience is the key in this battle.

Michael Schumacher: A Badly Needed Result

Four races down into the great comeback and it hadn’t gone to plan for Michael Schumacher.  Firmly in the shadow of his team-mate Nico Rosberg, the knives were coming out for the seven-time world champion.  However, in a Mercedes that seemed to have lost touch with the top three teams, Michael returned to his old self in Barcelona.  For the first time since returning, he felt much happier with the car, indicated by trouncing Rosberg all weekend.  He qualified 6^th, Rosberg 8^th and although Rosberg was compromised by Robert Kubica’s robust startline tactics, which forced Nico the choice of grass or barrier, Schumacher had the measure of him throughout.  He took full advantage of Button’s slipping clutch during the pitstops, and despite Jenson’s scathing criticism, produced a masterclass in defensive driving.  Fourth place was a massive step forward, though he will need a quicker car to challenge regularly for podiums and victories in 2010.  However, Ross Brawn should be worried about the 64-second deficit at the end of the race between the race winner Webber, and Schumacher’s Mercedes.  This was a badly needed result for Schumi and he is well and truly back.

Felipe Massa: Where Has The Pace Gone?

In Bahrain, he matched Fernando Alonso all weekend, and if he had shown more aggression at the beginning, could well have won the season opener.  Since then, the pace and confidence has gone completely from Felipe Massa.  The Brazilian left Malaysia leading the championship, but is now seventh just two races later, following cautious races in Shanghai and Barcelona.  He looked all at sea all weekend, and as Alonso starts to breed the team around him, Massa looks destroyed.  His self-belief has gone, and he needs one of those reassuring chats from the management to restore his confidence.  When he can’t even answer the question to his mysterious lack of pace in recent races, there must be a significant problem and the growing rumours of Kubica taking his Ferrari seat are not going to go away.  He controlled Kimi Raikkonen fairly easily in their three years together, largely because of Kimi’s lack of hard-working attitude.  However, Alonso is a different kettle of fish, and Felipe needs to buck his ideas up if he wants to stay with the Scuderia longer term, starting in Monte Carlo next weekend.  I will be watching him very closely in the next few races, to see if his pace improves, or drops back even further.

Alonso’s Home Support Drives Him On

Even in a lacklustre Renault, Fernando Alonso always managed to pull something out of the bag on home soil and he did it again in his maiden Ferrari outing in Spain.  Ferrari have slipped back significantly, since their ominous 1-2 in Sakhir two months ago, but Fernando is still picking up the points consistency, hence why he is only trailing Button by three points.  This weekend, he was Ferrari’s only hope, with Massa hopelessly out-of-sorts from Friday practice.  His drive on Sunday was competitive and assured, if not spectacular.  He kept Vettel and Hamilton honest throughout, then benefited from their late dramas to record a deserved second place finish.  The crowd celebrated it like a win, which shows how much they idolise their Spanish hero.  Once again, Fernando Alonso showed what a world-class driver he truly is, and despite the car’s insufficiencies, is right in the mix at the front, which is great to see again.

Jaime Alguesuari’s Rising Star Continues to Grow

Alonso wasn’t the only Spaniard to score points at his home event, as Hamilton’s late crash promoted Jaime Alguesuari into 10^th spot.  Alguesuari has impressed me immensely in 2010 so far, he looks like a completely different driver from the end of 2009, and quite frankly, he is making the talented Sebastian Buemi look like an amateur at the moment.  There are still moments of madness though, his chop on Karun Chandok resulted in a deserved drive-through penalty in the race, but his confidence is admirable, with another stunning pass on Nico Hulkenberg around the outside of Turn 1.  He kept up with Adrian Sutil, held Robert Kubica behind him comfortably in the early exchanges too, Jaime is here to stay and once he gets rid of those mad moments he still can obtain himself to, can turn himself into a top-class Grand Prix driver.

Monaco Qualifying: Is A 24-Car Session Too Big?

There have been calls for the smaller teams to run in their own separate qualifying session in Monte Carlo next weekend.  With Lotus, Virgin and Hispania looking miles behind still, after the first raft of updates, these calls will only get louder in the next few days, and maybe rightly so.  However, the FIA has said that there will be no changes to qualifying in Monaco and so it should stay that way.  Traffic has always been a problem around the principality, so timing is going to essential in getting it right next Saturday.  I think the bigger lights, like Red Bull and McLaren, who want these changes to be implanted, should put up and shut up.  Appreciate that we have 24 cars on the grid; a far cry from what we could have had if no-one replaced BMW and Toyota at the end of 2009.  Sometimes, I think these teams to be careful with what they are saying, and not drive the smaller teams into oblivion.  Next Saturday will be intriguing to watch, and everyone deservedly will have to put up with what they end up in qualifying, no matter what.

Rubens Barrichello: Channels Saturday Frustration into Sunday Experience

On Saturday afternoon, Rubens Barrichello looked frustrated and very fed up.  Williams’s new modified updates had failed to improve the car’s lack of speed, in fact it had made it worse.  Failure to get a clear lap, plus gravel debris in his radiator left Rubinho high and dry in 18^th spot, and out of Q1.  On Sunday, we saw a different and far more upbeat Rubens Barrichello.  An outstanding opening lap, which saw him gain five positions was the stepping stone for a strong run to 9^th place, giving the Grove team some much needed encouragement in this season of struggle so far.  His valuable experience is proving essential as the team try to battle hard in their attempts to keep up with the rapidly improving midfield.  This was an excellent drive from Barrichello, keep an eye out on him causing some more surprises later in the campaign, in a car, which at the moment has so far, failed to deliver on a spectacular note.

The Pits: Mirror, Signal, and Then Manoeuvre (The Alonso-Rosberg Case)

The pitlane is a dangerous place in Grand Prix racing; everyone knows that, just look at the Vettel/Hamilton race down the pits in China three weeks ago.  This time, it was Ferrari and Fernando Alonso who drew the short straw, with a lack of communication from both driver and team.  At the start of Q3, Alonso swung out of his pit garage and straight into the path of the oncoming Nico Rosberg, who had to brake heavily to avoid an impact with the Ferrari, which could have turned out to very nasty indeed.  Derek Warwick and the FIA stewards penalised Alonso and Ferrari with a £13,500 fine, but it’s a bit alarming that we have now had two very dangerous incidents in the pits in successive races.  Sooner rather than later, that luck will run out and whoever makes this mistake again may face far more severe repercussions as far as penalties go.