Graham Smith Talks...DI Harry Evans

The EU and why I say...vote leave

I refuse to sit on the fence on the most important vote in our lifetime. If democracy and self-government are important to you, if protecting industries and the NHS is important, If avoiding the odious US /EU trade agreement TTIP is important, if being able to sack failing politicians and voting in new politicians is important then there is only one vote and that is a vote to leave the EU. We won't be leaving the continent of Europe, we won't stop trading with Europe but we will be free to trade with the rest of the world without the EU's onerous restrictions. 

 

The EU already has one flag, a national anthem, an army about to be announced and a future of a single state with no borders. It has expansionist hunger last seen which led to a world war and clearly would allow any old country to join regardless of it's financial strength or weakness, just to increase it's size. Financially it is a crippled behemoth. Britain will be forced to pay extra to make these weak countries stronger while our own services crumble, while our roads fall apart, while our NHS dies. If Greece defaults on the punitive austerity payments they are being forced to pay by their EU 'friends' especially Germany, the house of cards that is the Euro currency could implode and thank god we didn't join that when PWC, the city bankers, various trade industry bodies and so called financial experts were all campaigning for us to join the exchange rate mechanism and surrender sterling - the very same people now saying we should remain in the EU - why? Because they become extremely wealthy through the EU or get massive amounts of funding to keep them rich and us poor. 

 

A vote to remain is a vote for David Cameron, city bankers, and an anti-democratic state, the wholesale abandonment of our sovereignty to a single un-elected United States of Europe, which happens to be just ahead of the Antarctic continent in terms of growth (just ahead), a European army that will threaten stability with non-EU neighbours. An un-elected super state bleeding us dry, while forcing through an army which we have no control over. 

 

I've not even talked about borders or immigration, because let's be frank, to offer any thoughts on this subject makes you an out and out racist or bigot. The truth can sometimes be very uncomfortable for the politically correct. So forget immigration and look at what you stand to lose in terms of democracy and if god forbid we do vote to remain (especially after the Government so slyly moved the time to register to vote by two days) don't complain when you wake up on the 24th June or soon after to news of an EU army being formed and voted through by only 9 members of the EU not the 28 countries that usually have a veto on such important matters...but then again democracy doesn't count for much in the EU. You voice certainly won't...Keep you voice, keep your democratic right ...

vote leave

Ian Ayris talks...April Skies

Crime author, Michael Fowler talks...

The Year of the Derivative Title

Scene: Marketing room at a Major Publishing House

A boardroom with five white middle to upper class people, discussing a title change in order to launch a book

Rodney: Brainstorm guys!

Lucinda 1: Thought shower Rodders, Thought shower.

Lucinda 2: Yeah, Roddykins think of all those poor darlings with epilepsy or ADD or...ooh, shoes. (Lucinda 2 stares off into the distance.)

Lucinda 3: I’ve got it...(Lucinda 3 stands and walks to the flip chart, grabs a permanent marker and writes, The Girl. She sits down clearly exhausted.) Phew...blood rush.

All three Lucinda’s laugh and for some inexplicable reason Rodney turns red from the neck up.

Piers: Is it enough?

Lucinda 4 enters the room carrying a tray with a bottle of Bolly and six glasses: Have I missed anything?

Rodney: Lovely Lulu has come up with a spiffing title for our new thriller but Piers is concerned.

Piers: Is it enough? I mean with Gone Girl, Girl on a Train, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night

Rodney looks puzzled

Piers: Not one of ours Rodo! Savage Girl, Wartime Girls, Girl Interrupted, the list goes on

Lucinda 2: What about?...(stares of into the distance once more)

Lucinda 3: The Gone Girl On A Train With a Dragon Tattoo On A Saturday Night

The whole room turns to look at Lucinda 3, seriously contemplating her title idea

Piers: But what’s it about?

The 4 Lucinda’s respond “Who cares, who has read the bloody thing anyway” and cackle

Piers: shrugs and sweeps his foppish hair back from his eyes: Open the bloody champers, time to celebrate!

Rodney: We’ll print a million, chuck a few hundred grand at it and see what happens eh? Tube posters everywhere, lots of bus advertising and let’s give away 40,000 to generate word of mouth buzz. The buyers will love it!

Lucinda 4: It always seems to work Rodder’s!

Why I Want to Draw a Distinction between Self publishing and Indie Publishing

The term indie publishing appears to have been hijacked by the loose fitting collective that is self publishing. So where does that leave true indie publishers like Caffeine Nights and a host of other small but passionate publishers striving to make a difference and an impact in this industry?

If you use the term indie publisher these days many people often think you mean self-published, and like it or not along with that comes the baggage of the old days including vanity publishing. There is a growing consensus of opinion that there are some excellent beginners and professionals out there who are self-publishing very successfully. Sadly that also leaves around 95% of the self published market which is still happy to churn out unedited, unproofed drivel for pennies or free and congest an already swamped market. 

Whatever way they wish to look at it and indeed even some parts of the industry has started labelling these successful writing entrepreneurs as indie authors, they are and always will remain self-published authors and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just please don’t hijack the term indie. 

In this rush to embrace self published authors I think the true indie publisher has had to endure a difficult time in the market. On the one hand trying to compete with the big boys and on the other seeing what market forces brought about by the gold rush of everyone has a book in them has done to the hard fought for ground established by true indie publishers. Seeing that ground eroded by readers keen to devour or download every free or cheap self-published ebook available has made it an exciting but also frustrating time. 

Personally I don’t think many of those free books ever get read, but what they do is skewer the market affecting sales rankings and damaging sales. Readers need to be able to distinguish good from bad and by diluting or confusing terms such as indie publishing it becomes harder for readers to make informed choices especially with eBook purchases until they actually start reading what they have downloaded. 

Indie publishers provide that stepping stone between unpublished obscurity and often the next step for many authors in their career. Small enough to care big enough to produce lovely crafted books and occasionally win a small battle, gain a victory, garner a national review, persuade a buyer to take a book on in their stores, win an award or being short listed. 

Indie publishers deserve to keep their moniker and not have it stolen by an equally worthy set of self –published authors albeit a significantly small proportion of self-published authors who are doing the right thing in the right way.

Welcome to Lostland

In a little over 48 hours the good people of Scotland will vote in an historic referendum which decides not only the fate of its governance but also how the rest of the Union will be defined in the world. Make no bones about it; every vote cast is a momentous decision from which there is no return. Whatever happens, these islands will never be the same and Scotland will take a generation to recover. With a country divided, wounds are being opened that will if not treated carefully will fester as Scotland marches towards its future.

I won’t hide my feelings; I am a true believer of a United Kingdom. We are stronger together. The future is more assured and thanks to the arrogance and slack-jawed approach by not only our incumbent prime minister but coalition government and an even weaker stance by the Labour party we are on the verge of seeing the union dissolved.

I can understand a distrust of Westminster politics but to rage against that in the face of common sense and advice seems very short term against what could be long-term disastrous ramifications of a vote for independence.

An independent Scotland (I will resist using the term IS) will not have a currency union for the very reason that the Bank of England will not underwrite the huge risks involved with a go-it-alone small nation. It’s not a case of if Scotland’s oil revenue dries up but when Scotland’s oil revenue dries up. The UK estimates 16 billion barrels are left. Alex Salmond states 24 billion. If we go in the middle and suggest 20 million as a conservative estimate which equates to 20% of an independent Scotland’s entire budget who will make the shortfall when oil runs dry? If an Independent Scotland overspends who will make the shortfall? These are just two of the reasons why a currency union won’t happen because the Rest of the UK (RUK) won’t be the falls guys in this scenario.

The notion that an Independent Scotland will automatically join the EU is also a point which Salmond adamantly states even though the EU itself has stated this could take up to five years and then only if Scotland accepts the Euro as its form of currency. But that’s okay because an Independent Scotland can join the list of Nordic trading countries.

An Independent Scotland wants to rid itself of nuclear weapons, maybe blue facial paint and harsh language will work against unknown nuclear threat but one thing it won’t do is allow them to join NATO despite what Mr Salmond says. Alex Salmond seems to be living in total denial of any legitimate objection to an independent Scotland. Not just partial denial but TOTAL denial. An Independent Scotland is beginning to sound more and more like a one-party-state with President Salmond at the head. His attitude of it’s my way or the highway is very unsettling.

Yes, things aren’t sunshine over Leith with Scotland’s current arrangement in the UK. Believe me it’s not for England too. We don’t even have our own assembly/parliament, we don’t have the promise of extended powers, in fact as an Englishman I watch Scottish MP’s presiding over and voting on affairs which have nothing to do with the governance of Scotland but affect me as an Englishman. Things are not fair, things are not equal but things are a damned sight better together than apart.

This referendum has been divisive, it has been damaging to the economy of the UK and it has opened wounds which were once closed and caused rifts in families that were never there. I only hope that whatever the outcome on Friday morning that those divisions heal.

Regardless of which way you are voting, think about your children’s future and their children’s future and remember the old adage “How do you tell if a politician is lying?”

“It’s because their lips are moving.” is true.

If the vote is for yes then good luck and bon voyage because I think the voyage may be a lot lonelier than you anticipate. I will be sad to see Scotland annex itself from the rest of the UK. We will be weaker apart regardless of the spin and the hyperbole from the politicians on both sides.

If it is a vote for yes then Prime Minister Cameron should do the decent thing and immediately resign. There is little point in calling for a new election or even having the proposed election in May as we would then be placed in the bonkers situation of re-electing Scottish MPs to reside over UK matters for a period of 16 months while the road to independence is mapped out. If it is a yes vote then the RUK’s general election should be differed until Scottish independence is complete.

The political landscape for both an Independent Scotland and RUK will be changed forever, making it very difficult for any party to have overall power in the RUK. Alliances will be drawn and coalition governments will be the norm, with the balance of power held by parties such as UKIP and other independents.

I honestly believe this Pandora’s box was never fully thought through and I believe either way we lose. Welcome to Lostland...