US MotoGP 2011: Stoner surges clear

CASEY Stoner increased his lead at the top of the MotoGP standings to 20 points last night, with victory in the United States Grand Prix.  The Repsol Honda rider, 25, took his fifth win from ten outings in 2011, to move further clear of his only title rival of the championship, defending champion Jorge Lorenzo.

     On an absolutely gorgeous day in California, the Laguna Seca played host to the final event before the summer break.  Lorenzo, suffering from a big practice crash which meant he could barely walk, started on pole position.  He made the most of it, by making a belting start and leading the three Honda’s of Dani Pedrosa, Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso into the Andretti bend.

     As Lorenzo zoomed into the distance, others were finding the tight and twisty circuit harder to cope with.  Britain’s Cal Crutchlow lasted only four laps, before suffering another expensive accident on his Tech-Speed Yamaha bike.  After a promising start to his rookie season, Crutchlow has now only scored two points in his last five outings.  Moments later, American wildcard Ben Bostrom retired with a brake problem and Marco Simoncelli made his customary exit.  The Italian slid off on the way upto the undulating Corkscrew bend, to record his fourth crash already of an error-prone season. 

MEMORABLE: Stoner's passes deserved his glory

     Back at the front and as in the German Grand Prix a week earlier, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner had managed to gap the rest of the chasing pack.  At half-distance, Stoner decided to make his move on Pedrosa, forcing his team-mate to concede position or crash at the Corkscrew.  Sensibly, Dani chose the latter and as his fitness levels dropped off, so did his pace and it meant no repeat of his Sachensring success seven days earlier.  Casey, who was worried about his lack of race pace going into the event, hunted Lorenzo down successfully and bravely passed him on the outside of the start-finish straight with just six laps to run.  Lorenzo left minimal space and the Australian was lucky not to end up in the back of the Yamaha’s exhaust. 

     After that, Stoner cruised away into the distance, to win by nearly five seconds.  Lorenzo’s ride to second was heroic and keeps him right in the thick of the title battle, with eight races still to run this season.  Pedrosa held onto third, whilst home hero Ben Spies recovered from a bad start to pip Dovizioso for fourth.  Sixth and seventh for the Ducati’s of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden was the best they could hope for, although Alvaro Bautista’s Suzuki had a chance of beating both Italian bikes, if he hadn’t chucked his bike into the dirt.

     Brno is the next event in three weeks time and for Stoner, it is the perfect response to some increased Lorenzo pressure.  The second half of this MotoGP season promises to be spellbinding!  

2011 British Grand Prix - Flying Fernando charges to British glory

DROUGHT: Ended today by a brilliant Alonso drive at Silverstone

QUICKER pace around the pitstops enabled Fernando Alonso and Ferrari to end their victory drought today.  The double world champion took his first win since last year’s Korean Grand Prix at Silverstone, benefiting from changes to the blowing off-air gases within the exhaust systems on the cars and upgrades on his Ferrari.  However, Sebastian Vettel still finished second to extend his championship lead to 80 points over his nearest challengers.

     The Formula One paddock arrived at Silverstone to greet the new pits and paddock complex.  ‘The Wing’ certainly was the perfect new modern facility for the home of British motorsport and with the typical British summer weather; everyone was greeted to changeable conditions all weekend.  Friday’s practice sessions were a washout, and both qualifying and the race were affected by brief rain showers. 

LEAD: Red Bull led the early stages, but they didn't win this time

     The damp circuit around the old start-finish straight meant that all the drivers took no risks and started on intermediate tyres.  Pole sitter Mark Webber lost his lead immediately with a poor getaway and this allowed runaway championship leader Vettel to blast into an immediate lead.  In the early stages, Lewis Hamilton wowed the home crowd with some smooth passes which saw him jump up from a disappointing tenth on the grid into fifth place by the end of the second lap.  The track began to rapidly dry out and with Michael Schumacher setting fastest sector times on dry tyres, the intermediates soon wore out and everyone pitted.  Schumacher didn’t help himself by losing his nosecone against Kamur Kobayashi’s Sauber at Brooklands, which resulted in a ten second stop-go penalty.

     At this stage of the grand prix, Vettel has things under control and the McLaren’s seemed to have more pace than the Ferrari’s.  Jenson Button, who had been at sea on intermediate tyres, pulled off an unbelievable overtake on Felipe Massa around the outside of Stowe corner.  A lap later, Hamilton achieved a similar and braver pass on Alonso into Copse to take third place.  However, Alonso’s pace picked up and he stayed out longer whilst others pitted.  He was helped by two poor Red Bull pitstops which allowed the Spaniard to jump into the lead.  Vettel was delayed by a KERS issue and a problem on the rear jack at his second stop, which relegated him to third behind Hamilton.

     For the next phase of the Grand Prix, Alonso showed searing pace and opened up an 11 second cushion over Hamilton, who did everything he could to hold off a much quicker Vettel.  However, Sebastian used the undercut, by pitting a lap earlier to regain second place.  Button would have been right in the mix too, but his left front mechanic dropped the wheel gun at his final stop.  His chief mechanic waved him away, but the wheel was clearly loose as he left the pits.  Wisely, Jenson stopped on the grass; bitterly disappointed to miss out on a podium attempt again at his home Grand Prix at the 12^th attempt of asking.  McLaren’s race began to unravel as Hamilton was told that he had to seriously conserve fuel in the final stage of the race to get to the chequered flag.  He had little alternative but to cede position to Webber, and it sent the race into two thrilling battles in the closing stages.

     Webber zeroed in on Vettel and ignored team instructions on four separate occasions to ‘maintain the gap!’  He attacked Vettel all the way to the finish and afterwards, his body language at being told over the radio to play second fiddle to his team-mate by Christian Horner spoke volumes.  A few seconds later, Massa went around the outside of Hamilton into the final Club corner and contact was made, damaging the McLaren’s front wing.  However, Lewis kept the inside line into Vale and as Felipe got a snap of oversteer out of the final corner, it allowed Hamilton the chance to keep his fourth place finish in a dramatic conclusion.  However, it was Alonso who took the top prize; his second British GP success (he won in 2006 for Renault) and his 27^th win of all-time, putting him level with Sir Jackie Stewart in the list.

     Behind the first five, Nico Rosberg and Sergio Perez had a race long tussle, with Rosberg coming out on top for sixth place.  Perez did extremely well, as he only made two pitstops and only just beat the pitlane exit at the start of the race after spinning off on the way to the grid.  Nick Heidfeld did well to finish eighth on a dire weekend for Renault, where the cars were miles off the pace.  Schumacher recovered to ninth and Jaime Alguesuari continued his revival with a third consecutive points scoring finish.  For Paul di Resta, it was another race of missed opportunities.  Having started sixth, he looked good for seventh before a mix-up over tyres at his pitstop and a clash with Sebastian Buemi damaged his front wing and eliminated the Toro Rosso driver.  The Scot finished 15^th. 

     For the first time this season, Red Bull were beaten on the day by a far superior package, rather than mistakes and strategy and although the championship battle is all over bar the shouting, everyone has seen today that Ferrari and Fernando Alonso now have a race winning package for the rest of the season.  The Scuderia will be hoping to continue their revival at the Nurburgring in a fortnight’s time.

Atlantis blasts off for last time

THE American space shuttle programme which has been running for 30 years has had its last flight takeoff.  Atlantis blasted into the sky from its base at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Friday afternoon.  This will be the 135^th mission, which has seen the reusable spacecraft go through periods of triumph and tragedy.  Sadly, the programme won’t be remembered very fondly with space experts, nor American astronauts. 

Below are ten random facts about the space shuttle and ten moments from its 30-year timeline.

FACTS

• 1.       Five space shuttles were built.  Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis.  Endeavour was the most recent spacecraft to be built, in 1992.
• 2.       The oldest astronaut to fly in the space shuttle programme is John Glenn.  He was part of a Discovery flight in 1998 at 77 years old. 
• 3.       The space shuttle has spent 1,320 days in space.
• 4.       Despite initial plans that there would be 50 shuttle flights a year, it turned into only five/six regular flights per year, yet the programme still cost £120billion.
• 5.       In just under nine minutes, the shuttle goes from 0mph to 17,500mph.
• 6.       Before the final Atlantis flight, the space shuttle has travelled almost 537million miles.
• 7.       In 1983, Sally Ride became the first US woman in space on a Challenger space shuttle mission.
• 8.       The most number of flights that a single astronaut has carried out on the space shuttle flight is seven.
• 9.       All of the space shuttle launches have taken place at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
• 10.   In its 30 year history, the space shuttle has been grounded for nearly five years altogether, due to the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE

1981: Columbia becomes the first spacecraft to make a mission successful.  It is a two day launch on April 11, 1981 and starts a new era for space exploration.

1983: Challenger’s first flight carries the first black astronaut in space, Gulon Bluford and the first American woman in space, Sally Ride.

1986: Space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds into a mandatory flight on January 28, 1986.  All seven astronauts were killed, included teacher Christa McAuliffe, who was chosen as the first US citizen into space.  The shuttle was grounded until September 1988.

1988: The space shuttle is relaunched with Discovery.

1990: Quite possibly the best year in the history of the space shuttle, with the launch of Jupiter probe Galileo and the launch also of the Hubble Space Telescope.

1992: The replacement for Challenger, Endeavour makes its first flight.

1995: The ‘Space Race’ as it was affectionally known is officially over, as space shuttle Atlantis makes a famous docking with the Russian space station, Mir.

1999: Eileen Collins, who became the first female pilot in 1995, becomes the first ever female shuttle commander.

2003: Space shuttles are grounded for two years after Columbia was blown apart into the skyline on re-entry.  All seven crew members were killed.

2011: Discovery, Endeavour and now, Atlantis make their final flights as the space shuttle is put into retirement.

  

Pam hangs up her earrings

AFTER 25 years playing Pat Evans, or ‘Fat Pat,’ as she is referred to by Janine Malloy, Pam St. Clement has decided to leave EastEnders.  She had decided not to renew her contract, paving the way for a dramatic Christmas storyline exit on the BBC1 soap.  Pam, 69, is thought to have made the decision following the departure of some her closest friends from Albert Square, such as Barbara Windsor.  It is also thought that she wants to go and travel the world with more time on her hands.

     Pam St. Clement first appeared in Albert Square in 1986 and for the last 25 years, fans have been treated to 25 years of dodgy choices in men and also, in those famous earrings she wears.  She is the second longest serving character in the show currently, only behind Adam Woodyatt, who plays unpopular chip shop owner Ian Beale. 

LEAVING: Pam St. Clement is hanging up her earrings

     Pam’s character will be famously known for the on-off relationship she had with car dealer Frank Butcher, played by the amazing and sorely missed Mike Reid.  They got married on the show in 1989 and were happily married until 1992, when financial problems set into their marriage.  On Christmas Eve that year, Pat ran down a teenage girl outside The Queen Vic and was found over the drink-drive limit.  She was sentenced to six months in jail.  Frank and Pat’s marriage eventually crumbled when he left in 1994 and two years later, Pat married car dealer Roy Evans.  However, she couldn’t keep her hands off Frank and in 2000; they rekindled their romance whilst on holiday in Spain.  Peggy eventually found out and revealed all to the Square during the 2000 Bonfire Night celebrations.  Although Roy kicked her out, they reunited until his death in 2002 from a heart attack.

     Since then, Pat has had flings with several men, including Patrick Truman (Rudolph Walker).  In recent years, her character has faded out of the limelight, although her fraught relationship in recent times with Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks) has always been interesting to watch. 

     On her departure, she said this on the BBC website; “I have enjoyed 25 and a half wonderful years in EastEnders, creating the character of Pat but I feel it’s time to hang up her earrings.  Leaving the EastEnders ‘family’ will be akin to bereavement.  However, I’m looking forward to the other work and life opportunities that I will have the time to pursue.”

     Pat Evans will be sorely missed by her fans in EastEnders and hopefully, she will get a brilliant exit that befits the character.  Another piece of Albert Square history will this Christmas be consigned to the history books.

The end for the News of the World

By Simon Wright (News and personal piece)

CLOSURE: The final edition of the paper will be on Sunday

AFTER 168 years of exposing celebrities, shaming politicians and campaigning for better human rights, this Sunday will see the final ever edition of the News of the World.  Rupert Murdoch has taken the controversial decision to axe the newspaper, in a desperate bid to bury the phone hacking scandal which has dominated news headlines across the world this week.  Some 200 journalists have lost their jobs as a result of the decision taken by News International at its Wapping headquarters, but chief executive of the company, Rebekah Brooks – who was editor of the paper during the scandal, has remarkably held onto her job.  This morning, Andy Coulson – another former editor of the tabloid paper and former press aide in David Cameron’s coalition government was arrested for his role in the phone hacking, as well as allegations into payment to members of the Metropolitan Police.

     The News of the World has come under significant fire for the phone hacking of famous celebrities and politicians already this year.  Film star Sienna Miller, former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, PR guru Max Clifford and TalkSport radio host Andy Gray were amongst the victims.  Some of these disputes were being settled with significant compensation packages.  However, the twisted events of the last week have led to the downfall of the biggest selling newspaper in the UK. 

      The trouble started when it emerged that the mobile phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler in 2002 had been hacked into by rogue journalists.  As the days rolled on, more scandals emerged.  Also targeted were the parents of murdered Soham schoolgirls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman and victims of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London – on the eve of the sixth anniversary.  The final death knell was when it emerged that some families of servicemen who fought for the country in Afghanistan, but never came home also had their phones and voicemails listened into.  Police have confirmed that they have had 4,000 complaints of mobile phones being targeted and the scandal is likely to cost News International £120million.  Media regulator OFCOM is investigating News International’s other businesses, including fellow newspapers under the branch; The Sun and The Times.  It also throws the proposed takeover of BSkyB into severe doubt, with culture secretary Jeremy Hunt forced to delay the go-ahead for the bid until September at the earliest.

QUESTIONS: Murdoch has decided to keep his chief executive

     Murdoch was reeling yesterday.  For a man who loves making news, he looked scared as he desperately tried to escape questions from pressing journalists on a golf course in Idaho, USA.  It seems though that under fire Brooks will keep her job as chief executive of the organisation, despite the cost of many other innocent positions.  Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has criticised David Cameron for his handling of the situation all week, is furious that Brooks still has a job, despite her knowledge of such illegal journalism practices.  He told the Daily Mirror;

     “It’s clearly people power that has forced this decision.  It’s the result of the revulsion that people felt at what happened at the News of the World.  The one person who seems to be staying in her job in chief executive Rebekah Brooks who was the editor at the time Milly Dowler’s phone was hacked.  I don’t think News International can hope to start to move on while she remains in place.” 

     The lawyer for the Dowler family, Mark Lewis is also saddened that those responsible are still in higher positions; “It’s sad that people will end up losing their jobs, but those responsible are still there.”  Current chairman of News International James Murdoch was interviewed by ITN’s political editor Tom Bradby last night.  He gave his full backing to Brooks and insisted he had no choice to announce the pulling of the plug for the paper;

     “The good things the News of the World does has been sullied by behaviour that was wrong.  Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company.  The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account, but it failed when it came to itself.”

     Celebrities have used Twitter to express their views on the newspaper’s axing today.  Singer George Michael said; "Today is a fantastic day for Britain.  These beliefs are in no way an excuse for any of my behaviour in recent times.  I was happy to do my time, because I was so ashamed.  But... I believe every individual, whether privileged or the average citizen, deserves the law.  And many of us rich or poor have been denied it by News International.  You gotta have faith in Karma.  Today it's very real. And I hope the families of Milly Dowler and all the others who died...."

     Former editor of the Daily Mirror Piers Morgan lamented the move, although he did slam their actions; “Shocked and saddened by closure of the News of the World.  Scandals of past week indefensible, but has been a great British newspaper."

     Founded in October 1843, the News of the World has an annual circulation of 3million readers today, despite the powers of 24-hour rolling news, social networking sites and the radical growth of the internet.  It is famous for its hard-hitting interviews and massive investigations that send celebrities into a pit of shame.  Some of its most famous moments included the undercover sting that exposed Sven-Goran Eriksson into agreeing to take over as Aston Villa manager in January 2006.  Eriksson, contracted to England at the time announced his departure after the 2006 World Cup finals just days following the ‘fake sheikh’ investigation.  It has also revealed Prince Harry’s experimentation with drink and drugs in 2002 and the spot-fixing involving Pakistan cricketers during last summer’s test series in England.  Unsurprisingly, the News of the World has also had to fight many libel cases.  England footballers Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney have received damages out of court for sleazy stories that made the front page headlines, whilst former FIA president Max Mosley used an invasion of privacy into allegations regarding his private life in March 2008.  Mosley won £60,000 in damages, but lost the battle to change privacy laws in the UK only two months ago.  The News of the World has been underneath Rupert Murdoch’s News International banner since 1969.

MY VIEW

My symphony is with those affected by the disgusting practices

Although the celebrity phone hacking scandal is totally the wrong way to go, the cynics would say that to be famous, you are going to get negative headlines and therefore, these sort of practices.  However, once bereaved families are targeted, it becomes totally indefensible and inexcusable.  The practices are sick and I can’t believe that some rogue journalists would stoop so low to get a story.  Clearly there was no news in the world!  I am very saddened by the whole issue and of course, I have every symphony with the families of Milly Dowler, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the 7/7 victims and families who have lost their loved ones at war.  For their families to basically go through the whole nightmare in the public eye once again is really sad. 

     I am not saddened by the closure of the News of the World.  Frankly, I felt the paper was full of unproven gossip and garbage.  I already boycotted The Sun anyways, due my anger over their coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster.  Who I do feel sorry for are the innocent journalists, who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.  However, Rebekah Brooks keeps hers.  It is unbelievable that she can still be backed by News International, especially after being the editor while Milly Dowler’s phone was being hacked into.  How can she sleep at night!  If she had any decent piece of soul in her body then she should do the honourable thing and resign.

     I do hope the BSkyB takeover doesn’t go through either.  Murdoch did introduce the concept of 24-hour rolling news into the UK and has revolutionised English football with the Sky Sports Premiership deal.  Great things for sure, but I don’t think it would be in the audience’s interest for a rogue media organisation to own BSkyB, no matter how viable and profitable it is. 

     Will people miss the News of the World?  Honestly, I don’t think so.  The Today newspaper was the last major paper to get the chop and that was owned by Murdoch in November 1995.  No-one remembers it today.  Rumours are already flying around that The Sun on Sunday will be launched, so it will probably just be same stories, and similar angles with different name.

     If there is a winner this week, it has to be Ed Miliband.  The Labour leader has really managed to show some steel and determination to push for change in the British press industry this week.  Miliband has put David Cameron under pressure and for me; the Prime Minister has not been convincing enough.  If Andy Coulson is charged by police, it puts David Cameron in a very difficult and stressful position.

     Ultimately, one of the main losers will be those studying journalism at colleges and universities.  The Press Complaints Commission code needs a total rework and the new restrictions and ratifications that will come into force will just make the job for journalists even tougher.  Fewer jobs will be around and if any budding journalism student had commonsense, don’t work for Rupert Murdoch!  He doesn’t care about people’s feelings; he’s only after money and that’s all he’s ever thought about.  So, he is the male version of Janine Malloy from EastEnders then!

     It has been a sad and damaging week for the British press industry.  The phone hacking scandal has dragged the reputation of many names in media through the mud and there are many losers in this.  The story won’t go away and is going to drag on for the rest of the year, especially with enquiries and investigations likely to continue.  If News International can ditch a newspaper and think it will solve the problems, they are seriously mistaken!

One more message; RESIGN REBEKAH! YOU’RE A DISGRACE! 

TV classics - The National Lottery

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

IN 1993, the growingly-unpopular John Major Conservative government made one of their few successful moves in office by passing an act to commission Britain a lottery draw.  Camelot Group was awarded the license and The National Lottery was launched.

     Playing the lottery was dead easy, providing the player was 16 years or over.  They needed to select six numbers from a block of 49 for just £1 to be entered into the upcoming draw.  It could be played at virtually any retailer in the country like Tesco, ASDA, WHSmith, Woolworths as well as in post offices and selected petrol stations.  Matching all six numbers would make the player a chance to become a millionaire.

PLAY: 'It could be you!'

     On November 19, 1994, over 20 million people tuned in to BBC1 to see the first ever National Lottery draw with Noel Edmonds overseeing the proceedings.  A jackpot of £6 million was shared between seven people leaving Camelot red-faced that none of them got an exact million pound winning.  Following this spectacular launch, the coming weeks saw The National Lottery Live broadcast from a different location every week with Anthea Turner and Gordon Kennedy hosting.

     In April 1995, it made the permanent switch to broadcasting from the Television Centre with Turner still presenting, though often sharing the now solo role with Bob Monkhouse and Dale Winton amongst others.  It was also at this time when Alan Dedicoat would begin to describe the draw as it happens and the fortune teller Mystic Meg would give physiological predictions on the draw.  Perhaps the most infamous moment in the Lottery’s history came on November 30, 1996 when the draw machine Guinevere, failed to start.  The draw was delayed for around an hour to fix the fault and avoid leaving millions of people demanding refunds.

     1998 saw the start of the transition of the Lottery draw being morphed into a format with a typical Saturday gameshow.  First came Big Ticket with Patrick Kielty and Anthea Turner which although proved to be entertaining, it never really warmed to the public.  Next was Winning Lines with Simon Mayo and then Phillip Schofield in later years.  Other shows given the lottery treatment included Jet Set, In It to Win It, 1 vs. 100 and Who Dares Wins.  As more and more games were churned out, the main lottery became a twice weekly draw with a Wednesday draw and was also joined by sister draws to give viewers more chances to win.  Thunderball debuted in 1999 and the appalling Lottery Extra which got ditched in 2006 (about 6 years too late to be precise!) with the more pleasing Dream Number.

     In May 2006, a protest by the activist group Fathers 4 Justice resulted in the lottery draw being taken off air for several minutes and somehow, managing to finish in time before the Eurovision Song Contest, as that was being held on the same night at its traditional 8pm start time.  This resulted in the BBC taking the inept decision from September 2006 to move the lottery draws to a specially constructed studio inside Lottery HQ.  This was increase security whilst the quizzes were now all pre-recorded and intercut with the draws, still being broadcast live.

     Throughout the years, popularity within the game has declined significantly, resulting in the jackpot prize being much lower than its peak in the nineties.  It is expected because not much progress or improvement can be made in this game unlike many others.  However, the impact that The National Lottery has made on the nation has been quite spectacular and will continue to be played week after week for many more years to come.

TV classics - The Bill

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

ITV started the eighties with a bit of a drama crisis.  Popular programmes Minder and The Sweeney had been consigned to the history books, so it fell to Thames Television to produce a selection of one-offs to try and launch a new show.  They all failed bar one.  1983 saw the airing of a police drama called Woodentop and ITV were for once impressed.  They commissioned for it to return the following year as The Bill.

     The Bill’s humble beginnings were a basic half-hour show, dealing with general issues in the fictional Sun Hill branch of the Metropolitan Police.  Although not cutting edge as many drama shows that ITV showed at the time, it paid off and soon translated into a twice weekly show.  Eventually, the episodes grew into an hour and it was also very lucky to be one of the few shows to survive on ITV after Thames lost its regional broadcasting franchise.

BEAT: The coppers outside Sun Hill police station

     Some of the most popular figures to grace Sun Hill were either usually around for a long time or memorable for deadly deeds.  Characters such as June Ackland (Trudie Goodwin), Bob Cryer (Eric Richard) and Tony Stamp (Graham Cole) were often at the height of the gripping storylines that the show was common for.  In the late nineties/early Noughties, the dodgiest copper was no doubt Don Beech (Billy Murray), who set up a secret second life by running a corrupt business and when unmasked, resulted in the death of a fellow officer.  He soon disappeared to Australia but was eventually tracked down and justice was done.

     The turn of the 21^st century saw The Bill make the move into the dark side.  It had covered typical crime stories but now it felt it was ready to tackle more extreme plots.  This was best represented in 2002 with a constant vendetta battle with gangs in the area.  First, veteran Derek Conway (Ben Roberts) was killed when his car was blown up in a petrol attack.  Then the same people responsible for this crime came back weeks later in a petrol bomb attack that exposed Des Taviner (Paul Usher) as a corrupt cop.  Sun Hill erupted in a fireball and the lives of another six officers were lost.

     As the years passed, darker storylines were introduced and several characters paid with their insurances, and most of the recruits were killed off soap stars including Lucy Speed, Ali Bastian and Todd Carty.  Although two live episodes in 2003 and 2005 respectively garnered much praise, the new attitude alienated viewers and ratings declined very sharply.  Surprisingly, ITV didn’t even seem to care about it.

     Eventually, ITV did announce that autumn 2009 would bring a major shakeup, reducing the programme to once a week and move it into the post-watershed slot at 9pm.  Granted, most of the issues raised now were certainly not suited to the 8pm slot but what ITV didn’t get right was the new style of it all.  The new dramatic format took the edge away that it had been famous for and also the famous theme tune was ditched by something that seemed to written more for a funeral.

     Truly the decline of The Bill was now indeed complete.  As ratings shredded even further, ITV had engineered its own downfall so it decided to engineer its death and the police drama quietly slipped away in August 2010.  It was a sad but rather timely demise for a show that had gotten ahead of its time.

     The Bill though did change the conception of drama programmes on ITV.  It made the risks that worked first but then, the repetitive uses of these meant the public got bored and criticised it for its lack of faith.  It will though be always remembered for the quality it delivered.

F1 classic races - Germany

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN DONE EARLIER THAN THE SCHEDULED DATE OF THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX, DUE TO MY IMPENDING WORK PLACEMENT IN LONDON NEXT WEEK!

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races staged under the German Grand Prix between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1994

WINNER: Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), 2^nd: Olivier Panis (Ligier Renault), 3^rd: Eric Bernard (Ligier Renault)

FERRARI’s victory drought of nearly four years came to an end in the 1994 German Grand Prix, but it won’t be remembered for Gerhard Berger’s dominant victory from pole position.  Instead, it will be remembered for the frightening refuelling fire involving Benetton’s youngster Jos Verstappen.  Verstappen was in fifth place when he came in for a scheduled pitstop.  A fuel filter had been removed and petrol escaped from the refuelling rig, before the Benetton went up in flames.  Amazingly, Verstappen escaped with only minor burns, as did several of his team’s mechanics.  This race would also be remembered for a massive pile-up at the start of the race.  Ten cars were wiped out including Johnny Herbert, Mika Hakkinen, Mark Blundell, Michele Alboreto and Eddie Irvine.  Hakkinen was blamed and earnt a one-race ban for his troubles.  Damon Hill failed to capitalise on a rare engine failure for Michael Schumacher by clouting Ukyo Katayama at the third chicane on the first lap and winding up out of the points.  The high attrition rate allowed the uncompetitive Ligier Renaults of Olivier Panis and Eric Bernard to finish on the podium.  Oh and did I ever forget to mention that Gerhard Berger won this race for Ferrari!

1997

WINNER: Gerhard Berger (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes)

IT WAS one of the greatest comebacks in sport.  Gerhard Berger came back from a sinus infection and the tragic death of his father in an aeroplane crash to record his final victory in F1 for Benetton.  He began in pole position and made an unfancied two-stop strategy work.  However, he did earn some fortune, as Giancarlo Fisichella’s Jordan suffered a puncture whilst leading.  Fisichella retired cruelly with suspension damage which allowed the home favourite Michael Schumacher to finish second.  Neither Williams finished; Heinz-Harald Frentzen after a first lap collision with Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve spun off whilst trying to pass Jarno Trulli’s Prost.

1999

WINNER: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Salo (Ferrari), 3^rd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan Mugen Honda

MCLAREN should have secured a 1-2 at the home of Mercedes-Benz, but they blew it, as they did traditionally in 1999 and Ferrari took the maximum points instead.  David Coulthard touched Mika Salo’s Ferrari early on and damaged his front wing.  Later, a stop-go penalty for cutting the chicane whilst passing Olivier Panis compromised DC further and he finished a distant fifth.  World champion Mika Hakkinen was cruising to another victory when a refuelling rig problem at his sole pitstop dropped him to fourth.  A lap later, he passed Heinz-Harald Frentzen, but suffered a 200mph tyre blow-out entering the stadium.  He careered headfirst into the tyres, but escaped unharmed.  Salo drove brilliantly all weekend, but handed certain victory over to team-mate and championship contender Eddie Irvine.  Frentzen completed the podium procedure and there was another notable drive from Ralf Schumacher, coming through from 11^th on the grid to a fourth place finish.

2000

WINNER: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

RUBENS Barrichello charged through from 18^th on the grid to win his maiden Grand Prix in an event full of crashes, overtaking and even a lunatic running across the track during the race.  The 2000 race started spectacularly when home favourite Michael Schumacher tangled with Giancarlo Fisichella, sending both into the barriers at the first corner.  Like in 1999, the McLaren’s of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard dominated the early stages before the disgruntled Mercedes employee walked across the road just after half-distance.  The Safety Car came out and Hakkinen was preferred over Coulthard by McLaren, leaving DC stranded back in sixth.  Another Safety Car was deployed after Jean Alesi and Pedro Diniz collided and this was followed by the rain.  Hakkinen and Jarno Trulli elected to pit for wet tyres, but Barrichello stayed out on dry weather tyres and as only the stadium section was damp, it turned out to be an inspired gamble.  The emotion on the Brazilian’s face as he broke down on the podium with his national flag showed how much it meant to him.  The two McLaren’s survived to finish second and third and Jenson Button starred in the Williams.  Having been forced to start at the back of the grid, Button finished an inspired fourth, his best result of a sensational rookie season.

2003

WRECK: Raikkonen's car in tatters, seconds into the 2003 race

WINNER: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 2^nd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Jarno Trulli (Renault)

THE weekend was dominated by BMW Williams at ‘Hotenheim!’  Their drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher were quickest in every single session, but Ralf was out seconds into the start of the race.  He wandered across the circuit on the rundown to turn one and squeezed Rubens Barrichello between him and Kimi Raikkonen.  The result was the three cars made contact, with Raikkonen’s McLaren connecting hard with the tyre barriers.  All three drivers; championship contenders were eliminated on the spot.  With Ralf out of the way, Montoya was left to win as he pleased, by over a minute.  There was a battle royal for second spot between Jarno Trulli, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and David Coulthard throughout the race.  Schumacher and Coulthard both passed Trulli, but fate dealt Michael a rare blow, as he picked up a puncture with just three laps to go.  He limped back to the pits and salvaged seventh place.  Coulthard finished second; his first podium since Australia and Trulli, despite being laid by a flu bug all weekend, came third for his first rostrum since Nurburgring 1999.  The result moved Williams to the top of the constructor’s championship and Montoya to within six points of Schumacher.

2009 – Held at the Nurburgring

WINNER: Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault), 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault), 3^rd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

HAVING fought back from a leg breaking shunt in pre-season, Mark Webber finally ended years of bad luck and misfortune to win his first Formula One Grand Prix.  Webber started on pole position, but his aggressive defence on Rubens Barrichello in the rundown to turn one earnt Webber a drive-through penalty.  Despite this, he put in the drive of his life; at times lapping over one second quicker than his nearest challengers.  The cooler track temperatures, coupled with a three-stop strategy and a faulty fuel rig turned a possible podium for Barrichello into a very frustrated sixth place result.  Afterwards, he launched an extraordinary attack on his team for making him ‘lose the race.’  Sebastian Vettel was outshone by Webber on his home ground all weekend, but completed a Red Bull 1-2, whilst Felipe Massa made a welcome return to the podium for Ferrari.  Force India lost the possibility of their first points in the sport, when contact with Kimi Raikkonen left Adrian Sutil without a front wing.  Sutil was left back in 16^th at the end, when fifth place was possible at the finish.

F1 classic races - Britain

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races held at Silverstone between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1994

HOME: Success for Hill amidst controversy in 1994

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Peugeot)

MICHAEL Schumacher was coasting away with the 1994 championship, but lost his head at Silverstone, which turned the season on its head.  Having been beaten to pole by 0.003secs, Schumacher overtook Damon Hill’s Williams on the formation lap, not once – but twice!  Although he leapfrogged Hill at the first round of pitstops, Schumacher was shown the black flag on lap 22.  The Benetton team challenged the decision, with the German ignoring the order to come in and serve a five-second stop-go penalty for another seven laps.  Hill won the race, whilst Schumacher was disqualified afterwards and banned for two races for his transgression.  Mika Hakkinen earnt a much-needed podium for the McLaren team, despite a last lap run-in with Rubens Barrichello, but team-mate Martin Brundle’s Peugeot engine erupted in a ball of flame when the lights turned to green, leaving the Brit furious and stunned.

1995

WINNER: Johnny Herbert (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 3^rd: David Coulthard (Williams Renault)

THE championship contenders clashed, which allowed the popular and usually unlucky Johnny Herbert to register his first ever Grand Prix win.  Damon Hill was on pole again, and led the early exchanges, but Benetton once again outdid Williams on strategy and had Michael Schumacher infront.  On lap 46, Hill, desperately wanting to take advantage of fresher tyres, made a desperate dive up the inside into the Priory bend and took the pair off into the gravel.  Hill insisted it was a racing incident, whilst the champion pointed the blame squarely at Damon’s door.  Herbert inherited the lead, but lost it to David Coulthard.  However, the Scot got a pitlane speeding penalty and dropped to third, so Herbert got his lead back and won the event.  Rubens Barrichello had a lucky escape when his Jordan nearly flipped the gravel trap after late contact with the McLaren of Mark Blundell.

1998

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

FORTY laps into the 1998 race and Michael Schumacher’s chances can’t have looked great.  On a wet day, his Ferrari was no match for the dominant McLaren’s of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.  However, Coulthard spun off on a puddle whilst lapping the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella.  With the rain level intensifying, Hakkinen spun off at Bridge and did some front wing damage to his car.  The Safety Car was deployed and Mika’s 40 second lead was washed away.  On lap 51, he ran wide at Becketts and Schumacher powered past, opening up a 20 second lead.  However, rather than a time penalty, he was wrongly given a ten second stop-go penalty with three laps to go.  The offence was for passing Alexander Wurz under waved yellows whilst Jos Verstappen’s Stewart was recovered.  On the last lap, Schumacher entered the pitlane to serve his penalty, crossing the startline in the process.  He effectively won the race in the pitlane.  McLaren appealed the result, but lost in the Court of Appeal, meaning Schumacher made it three wins in a row.  

1999

WRECKED: Schumacher's title hopes after his 1999 failure

WINNER: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams Supertec)

DAVID Coulthard’s first triumph at Silverstone was overshadowed by the accident that ruined Michael Schumacher’s title chances.  Schumacher made a bad start from the front row of the grid and dropped behind Coulthard and team-mate Eddie Irvine.  As red flags were waving due to the stalled cars of Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Zanardi, Schumacher went to overtake Irvine on the Hangar Straight when he suffered a rear brake failure and pitched off the road at Stowe gravel trap, hitting the tyre barriers head-first.  Despite attempting to exit the cockpit on his own, the German realised his leg was trapped in the wreckage and had to be treated by marshals with a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg.  On the restart, Mika Hakkinen led away, but lost a wheel and was forced to retire with a faulty wheel hub.  Irvine overshot his pit box on his first stop, handing the lead and the race to an overjoyed Coulthard.  Considering he didn’t know the well-being of his brother, Ralf Schumacher raced brilliantly to a podium result for the Williams team and Damon Hill led a lap and finished a fighting fifth on his final British Grand Prix appearance.

2003

WINNER: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 2^nd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)

RUBENS Barrichello won a crazy race in 2003, after pulling off some stunning overtaking manoeuvres.  He started from pole, but slipped to eighth on lap 11 as crazed religious lunatic Neil Horan ran onto the Hangar Straight and started waving signs about the bible as the cars were doing almost 200mph.  The Safety Car was sent out and the scramble saw the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso tumbling down the order.  Barrichello produced amazing passes on Ralf Schumacher, Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen and was a great winner of a great race which was full of overtaking.  Raikkonen ran wide at Stowe with 11 laps to go, gifting Montoya second place.  Michael Schumacher fought back from 14^th place to fourth to maintain his title advantage.  By use of a lucky strategy, 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta did a great job to lead the race for 17 laps, before finishing seventh.

2008

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Honda)

UNDER pressure from two dismal performances in Canada and France, Lewis Hamilton arrived at Silverstone in desperate need for a result.  He produced a mesmerizing drive to win by an entire minute, lapping at times, some seven seconds a lap faster than anyone else.  His team-mate Heikki Kovalainen claimed his first ever pole position, but was all at sea on raceday and finished a lapped fifth.  Hamilton was under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen early on, but Ferrari made the decision to keep Kimi on old tyres and the move backfired.  Raikkonen dropped down to 11^th, before recovering to fourth.  Renault made a similar mistake with Fernando Alonso, which left the Spaniard down in sixth.  At the height of a tropical downpour, Nelson Piquet and Robert Kubica were caught out and lost possible podium finishes.  With championship leader Felipe Massa having a dire day, spinning five times and ending up last, this allowed the BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello to take the final two podium positions.  Barrichello’s came from 16^th on the grid, when the Honda team took a gamble on extreme wet weather tyres and started lapping 15 seconds quicker than the midfield.  However, the 2008 British Grand Prix belonged to McLaren and Lewis Hamilton who showed he was the new ‘rain master.’

TV classics - Dream Team

IN OCTOBER 1997, Sky One and Hewland International came together to produce a football drama that no-one can live upto.  For ten years, viewers were gripped by ‘Dream Team,’ a series focusing on the events of a fictional club in the West Midlands, Harchester United.  For the first time ever, viewers got to see the makings of a football club and what really happens behind the cameras.  The show ended in June 2007, after 419 episodes full of murder, explosions, shootings, affairs, gambling addictions, pregnancy, battles for controls, match-fixing, bribery and murder trials.  Yep, Dream Team pretty much covered every base possible.  You wouldn’t want to be around this football club, because ten years of drama at Harchester United feels like the drama of an average family in their lifetime put together!

LOGO: HUFC emblem

     Dream Team began on Tuesday 15 October 1997, initially making two 30 minute episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.  The first series focused on the youth team, but for the following nine series, attention switched to the senior squad.  From series four (2000) onwards, the show moved into a successful one-hour Sunday evening slot.  At the height of its peak, Dream Team was Sky One’s most watched programme, with nearly two million (good figures) for a Sky show tuning into the series four finale, which culminated in the murder of unpopular chairman Prashant Dattani (Ramon Tinkram).

      The match action was used with permission from the FA Premier League and use of the Sky Sports archives, with a lot of the filming taking place at Millwall’s New Den ground.  The show proved the fronting ground for a lot of talented actors and actresses.  Jamie Lomas and Ricky Whittle became Hollyoaks icons, Rob Kazinsky likewise in EastEnders.  Duncan Pow is a hit with the Holby City fans, Stefan Dennis was the owner for a season in his break from playing evil Paul Robinson in Neighbours and Chucky Venice went into a similar show; Footballers Wives, after his Dream Team experience.  There were also a series of guest appearances from familiar football faces including Dennis Wise, Andy Gray, Harry Redknapp, Neil Warnock, Richard Keys and Alan Curbishley.

     The football might have been reality, but the off-field sagas that gripped the show were spectacular enough.  In series five, Harchester's first-team squad was travelling to the airport for the UEFA Cup final against AC Milan when it crashed off the M1.  Three first-team squad members were killed.  The following year, goalkeeper Jamie Parker (Jim Alexander) held the first-team hostage in 'The Siege,' in some of Dream Team's finest and grittiest scenes to be filmed.  After a tense stand-off with police, Parker was eventually gunned down to his death.

      The two most popular characters in the history of Dream Team were Lynda Block and Karl Fletcher.  Played by Alison King (now better known for playing Carla Connor in Coronation Street) and Terry Kiely, they were stalwarts in the show from its early beginnings.  Kiely’s character, Karl Fletcher was in the show from the first series and became instantly known for his ‘playboy’ lifestyle.  His character was a goal machine, helping Harchester to FA Cup success in 1998.  After an unhappy stint in Spain, playing for Real Mallorca, Fletch returned to Harchester and was accused of the murder of Dattani at the start of series five.  At the resulting trial, he was found guilty of his murder, before Lynda came clean at the last moment to reveal it was her who had struck the final blow.  Rather than be angry with her, Fletch and Lynda went onto have a steamy affair, but Sam Irving (Stefan Dennis) found out and called off the nuptials between him and Lynda at the altar.  With Lynda in jail, serving time for Dattani’s murder, Fletch went onto marry physiotherapist Abi O’Leary (Rachel Brady), and looked set to settle down at long last.  However, a crippling tax bill and a power struggle against manager Patrick Doyle (Shaun Scott) led to Fletch departing at the end of the sixth series for Saudi Arabia, in a bid to solve his money troubles.  He eventually divorced Abi, after she had a fling with French footballer Marcel Sabatier.  In series eight, Fletch returned to Harchester unexpectedly, but was struggling for fitness and was never deranged manager Don Barker’s favourite person.  In a showdown for supremacy, Barker murdered Fletcher in the changing room against a coat rail in the penultimate episode of series eight. 

     Lynda Block arrived in series two, as the wife of Chairman Jerry Block.  She got bored with Jerry quickly, and was soon having a sizzling affair with Latino player-manager Luis Amor Rodriguez (Martin Crunes) in one of Dream Team’s greatest ever storylines.  When Jerry’s dodgy dealings were exposed in series three, Lynda took over as chairwoman, but broke up with Luis when he went to play in Argentina for Boca Juniors.  So, Lynda continued her likings in Harchester managers, and went onto bed Ray Wyatt (Mark Moraghan), destroying his marriage.  However, series four was a power struggle for Lynda, with regular run-ins with the unpopular Dattani and a financial crisis that in the end saw her lose control of the club.  To compound matters, her affair with Ray was exposed to the press and sleazy local journalist Paul Hankin.  The resulting stress caused her to lose the baby she and Ray had been expecting.  In the final episode, Lynda’s patience finally snapped and she killed Dattani and ended up in jail at the end of the following series.  Series five was more of the same, with Lynda serving her time in prison after the breakup of her potential marriage to Sam Irving, as she was carrying on with Fletch.  She was released on a technicality three years later, on the day of Harchester’s darkest moment.

     The match-fixing scandal in the 2003-2004 campaign, caused by controversial chief executive Pilar Hernandez (Marem Hernandez) and bitter ex-player Stuart Naysmith (Terence Maynard) led to a chain of events which ultimately conspired to the death of the HUFC squad in Cardiff.  UEFA relegated Harchester United to the Coca Cola Championship and sweeping changes for the pre-season saw the feisty Don Barker (Jon Morrison) come in as the club’s new manager.  From the outset, Barker did things his own way and wouldn’t take any prisoners.  Clyde Connolly (Timothy Smith) couldn’t take it and jumped off the stadium after a Champions League match and Barker eventually lost his job over a sex scandal.  Having taken a position as West Ham’s director of football, Barker’s ultimate aim was to finish off Harchester.  He killed Fletch, revealed the secret of an affair between Ryan Naysmith (Ricky Whittle) and Chelsea Wright (Karen Ferrari) which drove nutty Viv Wright (Phillip Brodie) into a fit before the Championship playoff final.  After Harchester beat West Ham 1-0 to secure their place back in the Premiership, Barker wasn’t going to take it lying down.  So, he drove his cordoned off BMW, with petrol cans and Fletch’s body in the boot into the Harchester team coach.  The coach exploded, killing all but three of the first-team squad.

     Sadly, despite a new look and new characters, the glory days of Dream Team had come to an end.  Storylines either got boring or more sensationalised and in April 2006, it was decided that the show would be axed after a tenth and final series.  The tenth series focused on a storyline which evolved around the ‘Dragonslayer,’ a mysterious individual, exposing the secrets of the club.  The show bowed out with the offices of the Dragons Lair, Harchester’s ground going up in flames thanks to a dropped cigarette.  It was a disappointing conclusion, as no-one knew whether the ground exploded, killing thousands or Harchester won the Premier League title on the last day of the season.

     Dream Team certainly had its day and was quality football drama.  It has every right to be called a ‘TV Classic,’ especially if you liked the match action, attractive women and dramatic cliff-hangers.  Although a campaign for the ten series on DVD to be released has failed, the fictional legacy of Harchester United remains in the blood of many fans of the show.  There may be no revival, but the memories will remain forever.

More information on Harchester United can be found at http://www.harchester.net/ and http://www.harchester.tv/, where the latter continues the story where the TV drama ended for approximately another season and a half.