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Archives for May 2009
A walk through CCTV
A pub landlord whose sophisticated face-recognition cameras guard, among other things, his koi carp; an independent CCTV training vehicle; a box factory and a barber from Barnet.
Listener Michael Dear's 2.5 mile route to work takes him past 122 cameras. On this week's iPM we spoke with people who live and work along his route about how the cameras affect them. Think of it as a snapshot of Britain under CCTV.
Below is part of a map Michael made to help us follow his route. It doesn't start quite where he lives, nor does it end exactly at his work.
You can listen to the journey in the player below:
Norwich based listener Conrad Costa first put us on to the issue of CCTV. But like all stories on iPM the end of the show isn't the end of our interest in the issues. If you've an experience to share,like those of the people we met on our walk, please do get in touch.
Your News
Each week listeners send in single sentences summing up a news event in their week. Major or minor, we don't mind. Leave your sentence as a comment below or email it to us.
These lines of news are then combined to form our Your News bulletin, which last week was read by our neighbour at Ö÷²¥´óÐã 6 Music, Joe Cornish (above in the glasses)...
"Living with four teenagers, it was my joy to discover... loo paper in the bathroom.
I saw my son on a DVD of a TV programme - the only video I have seen of him since he died of leukaemia seven years ago.
My daughter's joy at getting a job was spoiled when she came out of the interview to find her car had been very badly damaged.
My Spanish son turned six, but despite years of court action he is not yet legally my son and I can't even send him a card.
I was introduced socially to the solicitor who falsely accused me of domestic violence during my our divorce. It nearly killed me, but he didn't seem bothered.
One of my neighbours, who sits as a judge and is furious at the behaviour of the MPs, is raising eyebrows in the community by openly stating he is going to vote for the BNP.
After 7 weeks of silence I had an email from my husband who is on board a nuclear submarine.
In the School Library, a student from Year 8 sauntered through and, without stopping, spat on the polished wood floor... when challenged he looked at me as if I was mad.
I commemorated the 375th anniversay of the death of the forgotten Jacobean poet George Chapman by playing a bright pink ukulele outside his former home in Hitchin. A crowd formed.
Considered turning the heating back on, but opted for an extra cardie, a pair of fluffy socks and a cup of tea instead.
I opened the curtains at 5am to see a baby barn owl on my windowsill, he looked at me most indignantly before flying off.
A grandson was born as we flew to New York, O joy; then my foot got mauled by a trundling suitcase, O pain.
I finally gave in and started taking the anti-depressants.
Spent three hours listening to cases of violent crime, but refrained from claiming £3.24 for a sandwich on the way back to the office.
My rather timid cat has ventured into the garden only to be dive-bombed by a large crow."
Do you know your neighbours?
You asked. We polled. And it turns out 77% of you know your neighbours.
Scotland comes out highest with 80% of people knowing their neighbours. The lowest is the South-East with 75%.
If you live in a house, regardless of town or rural area, 80% of you know your neighbours, the figure drops to 75% if you're in a flat.
64% of 18-24 year-olds know their neighbours, this number climbs as people age and by 55, the figure is 88%.
Men are less likely to say they know their neighbours than women. The rich say they are closer to their neighbours than the less well-off.
The full results in the PDF file below and you can also read the pollster question as it was asked to those who took part.
PDF file: Neighbours survey - results in full (115 KB)
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,002 adults aged 18+ by telephone 15 -17 May 2009. The results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding.
ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at
Suggest a story
iPM is the programme that starts with its listeners. All ideas and contributions for what you want to hear on the programme welcome. Comment below, drop us an email or , thanks.
Listeners' Opinion Poll: the winning question....drum roll please
You set the question and, as promised, we're paying for the poll.
In short
Do you know your neighbours?
In pollster-speak
I would like to ask a question about neighbours, by which I mean other people who live in your immediate neighbourhood. Many people we have spoken to have said they don't know any of their immediate neighbours.
What about you? Do you know any of your immediate neighbours, in the sense of something more than exchanging 'Good morning' or 'Good afternoon' for example?
Congratulations to Anne Dean - and thank you for allowing Eddie to come into your home and pester your neighbours.
On next week's programme (23 May) we'll debate the results. But what are your thoughts? Who would you like to hear discuss this and what issues do you think we should cover?
Comment below, email us or . All ideas welcome.
"Could someone with a West Country accent ever become Prime Minister?"
"It would be really nice if Our New Prime Minister was from Piddletrenthide and greeted the morning press conference with 'all right my luvvies'. I don't think you can really 'spin' in a Dorset accent."
says Leon Yeats, self-described Dorset lad and 'proper straw sucking son of the land'.
The way we talk can point to where we've come from but it can also allow us to make sweeping assumptions about others. Advertisers apparently favour certain accents for voiceovers because they're more trusted.
People in some regions of the country can face prejudice and discrimination just because of the shape of their vowels.
Does this chime with your experience? Have you changed your accent? Comment below, email us or tweet.
"If you were asked, would you contribute an idea to iPM?"
Our opinion poll competition is now closed - and the results will follow soon.
But that's not an excuse to stop emailing us your thoughts or leaving a comment on our new blog (breathe deeply, it's still got that new blog smell. Burning plastic and wet dog). Or contact us .
We want to hear about your news in sentence, what you know about a thing you heard in the news and suggestions for stories you'd like us to follow up. Keep in touch.
On the latest iPM, a listener shares her pain about having a surname starting with a letter toward the end of the alphabet, we heard a personal view on assisted suicide and finally found a home for many of our rubber bands.
Is your surname holding you back?
Having a surname that starts at with a letter toward the end of the alphabet hasn't been a problem for the Windsors. But does alphabet discrimination exist? Are you more likely to be successful if your surname starts with A, B or C?
Sheila Wicks' grandson came home from primary school and said his turn to read to the teacher would be Friday. Sheila's heart sank. She writes:
"I've noticed that my children and grandchildren have often 'drawn the short straw' because their surname comes at the end of the alphabet. This ranges from
* reading to the teacher at infant school and almost any other activity in school
* being interview for whatever reason at the end of a long day
* being at the end of any allocation list such as having the worst room in the college hall
* clubs, etc. already being full before they come to your name
* last on the list of business placement agencies"
She also sent this
Sound familiar? Always finding yourself at the back of the queue? Or has your surname helped you? Are you a teacher or agency worker who works alphabetically down the register or spreadsheet list of names? Perhaps you've done research in this area?
Comment below, email us or send via .
Ruff justice?
The iPM Listeners' Opinion Poll competition has gone to the dogs, partly. We've a number of entries about the control of canines.
"Should we consider the re-introduction of the Dog Licence?"
"Should dogs in a public space be muzzled?"
We've also heard from another listener who has been hounded (sorry) from her local park by an unruly dog and its irresponsible owner. She took the case to the police, but they failed to follow up on any leads (I'll stop).
The government is currently looking at how are being used, and hopes to encourage police and local authorities to tackle the issue with greater vigour. Northern Ireland has retained the dog licence.
Do you know something about dogs behaving badly? Share what you know in an email or leave a comment on our blog.
Suggest a story or an opinion poll question
This is your space and we've lots of room for ideas.
Cast back to a question from last week, comment below, email or .
Or take a look at the iPM Listeners' Opinion Poll. Entries must reach us by midnight Friday 8 May.
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