Adebayor's started so well for Man City
Archives for December 2008
Happy New Year..
Which New Year resolutions have you actually kept?
Celebrity Mastermind
I should apologise for my erroneous use of the phrase "crib sheet" yesterday in our conversation about Celebrity Mastermind on the programme. Having said I'd been invited onto the show a couple of the papers have picked up on my use of that phrase. As I explained yesterday, what I meant was that they offered me research guidance - and there was never any question that they were going to give me the answers or give me short cuts.
How do you say thank-you?
How will you be saying thank-you for your Christmas presents? Do you write a card or a letter? Drop someone an email? Or it is okay to just send a text? Post your thank you letters here.
Happy endings
We've been catching up with some of our most memorable callers from 2008 this morning. Clive emailed us
My wife Lindsay bravely called your phone-in about miscarriage earlier this year. We wanted to let you know that we are now the proud parents of 15 week old twin girls, Bryony Gwen and Imogen Cassie. This will be a very special Christmas for us all.Here's a picture of his twins:
Your Family's Christmas traditions..
Is there a particular tradition or ritual that is unique to your family when it comes to Christmas? A colleague in local radio always buys her whole family a new pair of PJs. They open them on Xmas Eve, go to bed in their new jimjams, wake up in their new jimjams and open the rest of their pressies wearing them. Please post your unusual family Christmas traditions here...
Good news for Gavin and Stacey fans
The news that Gavin and Stacey fans have been waiting for has arrived: it's not only back for a special on Christmas Eve, but there will be a third series of the comedy too.
The writers and stars and James (AKA Smithy) came on the programme this morning to tell Victoria a bit more:
How's the economic downturn affected your Christmas?
It may be a bit unfashionable to admit it but I absolutely love Christmas. Even though everyone seems to be cutting back big time, and some people I know have had a really rubbish year, they are still determined to make Christmas as good as possible. How have your plans been affected by the downturn?
"What he's done can never be forgiven"
This morning we broadcast the first interview with the son of the man jailed for life after fathering nine children by raping his two daughters. Our reporter Gavin Lee spoke to the son and he explains why he decided to speak:
"The son of the man described as - the man who fathered nine children by raping his daughters - told me he wanted to speak to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã for two reasons.
Firstly he wants to know why nothing was done to stop the abuse a decade ago, when he says he reported the allegations to police. He told me how this would have stopped the misery before more children were born. The sexual abuse continued until earlier this year. Last month the 56 year old was given 25 life sentences for his devastating crimes. He will spend at least 19-and-a-half years in prison.
Secondly he wanted to speak out on behalf of anyone who may be suffering a similar fate, either now or in future and encourage them to speak to people and not to keep the abuse hidden.
He was also physically tortured himself and has 49 scars in the back of his head. He says he lives with the constant memory of the devastating abuse whenever he looks in the mirror.
To protect the identity of the victims, the interview has been recreated with an actor. The exact words are spoken. Be aware that the nature of the interview and subject is distressing. It was a difficult interview to go through, but he felt it was important to tell the full story."
You can listen to the interview below:
You can read more on the story on the including a in the case.
Russell T Davies and the Next Doctor
The Doctor Who Christmas Special got its first screening today. Various TV critics got to see "The Next Doctor" in a special showing. The rest of us will have to wait until Christmas night to watch it though. Joining David Tennant will be David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan.
After the screening, Victoria spoke to Doctor Who Executive Producer Russell T Davies and our entertainment reporter Colin Paterson (who'd got to see it). Have a listen below:
You can always check out the latest promo for the Christmas special on the Dr Who site. There's also the Dr Who Advent Calendar and make your own trailer at bbc.co.uk/doctorwho.
Sleepwalking woman sends email
We're asking for your stories about sleepwalking and what you get up to after reading about a sleeping woman who sent emails to people asking them over for drinks and caviar.
According to a :
"The 44-year-old woman, whose case is reported by researchers from the University of Toledo in the latest edition of medical journal Sleep Medicine, had gone to bed at around 10pm, but got up two hours later and walked to the next room.
She then turned on the computer, connected to the internet, and logged on by typing her username and password to her email account. She then composed and sent three emails."
So what happens to you when you sleepwalk? We're also asking what causes it and what you can do about it.
Tarique Ghaffur interview
The former Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, Tarique Ghaffur, gave his first broadcast interview since leaving his job as Britain's most senior Asian police officer to Victoria yesterday.
He's recently reached a settlement with the force that led to him withdrawing his claim that the then head of the Met Sir Ian Blair had acted towards him in a racist or discriminatory manner.
In a wide ranging and exclusive interview Tarique Ghaffur spoke about security for the 2012 Olympic games, measures to stop young British muslims being radicalised and issued a challenge to the Met to reveal how much money they paid him in the settlement (he's legally gagged from making the revelation).
You can listen again to the interview below.
On his settlement with the Metropolitan Police
Listen to Tarique Ghaffur on Olympic Security
Tarique Ghaffur on terrorism and the challenge faced by the Metropolitan Police
Jer-ry, Jer-ry, Jer-ry, Jer-ry...
Jerry Springer (yes, THE Jerry Springer) is on the show tomorrow (Friday).
We're going to put your questions to him - or you could ask him yourself if you call in.
So if you've got something you've always wanted to ask Jerry, you can pop your question on this blog, email victoria@bbc.co.uk or call us tomorrow morning on 0500 909 693. We'll try to film the interview too - so check back on the blog if you want to see it.
UPDATE 15 Dec 08
Apologies for the delay in getting it on the blog but, in case you missed it, here's the audio of Victoria's interview with Jerry.
How are job losses affecting you?
With the news about a before Christmas, listeners wanted to talk about redundancy and how they cope with it. We've heard from people who've already lost their jobs at Woolworths and from people prepared to take a pay cut just to stay in work - something staff at Corus are considering.
'David' in Hertfordshire was made redundant by Woolworths last week.
John is a chef from Berkshire who took a pay cut to try and keep his restaurant business running and himself in work.
Real or fake Christmas tree?
A firm in Dorset is renting out Christmas trees for £25. After the Twelfth Night they'll collect it; re-plant it and rent it out again the following year. You've been telling us which is better - real or fake? And you've been sending us pictures of your trees.
Terence in Holland says "We bought an artificial tree from Woolworths in Erith in 1984 and, 24 years later, it's still going strong. The 'snow' on it may be a tad yellow but is hidden by the decorations. Best of all, no needles on the carpet."
Phil in Devon sent his tree too "This is my plastic christmas tree that i have used for the last 4 years i think it looks good what do you think ?"
Should a suicide be shown on TV?
The wife of Craig Ewert says if showing the moment her husband dies on TV .
Mr Ewert travelled to Switzerland to the clinic that assists suicide because he has motor neurone disease and said he didn't want to become "a living tomb".
Critics say showing his death on TV tonight is dangerous because it could have a copycat effect, it glorifies suicide and is grotesque voyeurism.
Victoria's glasses
By popular demand: a picture of Victoria in her new glasses.
She's a bit self-conscious.
We think she looks great.
Jessica Knight and the man who saved her life
The parents of 14 year-old Jessica Knight, , are calling for everyone who carries a knife to hand it in.
Richard Knight and Jill Walmsley's daughter Jessica was attacked when walking home through a park in Chorley last January. A 21 year-old Frenchman Kristopher Bedder was jailed for life yesterday. He'll serve a minimum of 12 years behind bars before he'll be eligible for parole.
Jessica was saved by a man who was cycling past just after the attack - his name is Gareth Crook.
You can listen to Victoria's interview with Jessica, her parents and Gareth Crook here
So many questions...
Will banning cigarettes from view in shops make any difference? Also are you ever too old for Top Shop? Fern Britten's photographed in a Kate Moss-designed top shop dress in today's papers - some think she's too old in her 50s to be wearing that - is she? Plus we'll talk to Jessica Knight the victim of that horrendous stabbing attack - a French national was jailed for life yesterday for attempted murder. And a filmmaker from Bangladesh has spent 39-million-pounds on a replica of the Taj Mahal. He says he's done it so that people can who can't afford to visit it in person, can see what it's like. So if you cld build a replica of something in yr backgarden so people cld visit it, what wld it be?
Do teenagers make good parents?
Britain has the highest level of teenage pregnancy in Europe and teenage mums and dads get a lot of bad press. This morning we've heard from some who say having a baby is the best thing they've ever done. Two of those teenagers have written an entry for the blog about what it's like being a teenage parent.
Emily is 19 and she has a 2 year old son:
When I fell pregnant with LJ I was 16 and my boyfriend Karl was 18. It took a long time for it to sink in that we were actually going to be parents. We have both found it hard to deal with the comments and views that other people have shown towards us but we have been determined to prove that we are good parents even though we are young. LJ is two now and we have a beautiful home. We both work and are both at college as we want LJ to be proud of us when he is older. Even though there have been some really difficult times where our relationship has been tested and money has been really tight, having LJ has made it all worth it. It makes me sad when people put young parents down because we can make great parents. LJ has given us an incentive to make a great life for him.
Kelly is a mum of four - she had her first baby when she was 15:
I'm Kelly, age 24 with four children - Thomas nine, Daniel six, Keira two, and Jessica who is one. I had Thomas when I was fifteen with my then boyfriend, the same age as me. We had another child together but broke up when I was nineteen. I then met my present partner Mark, the father of my two younger children. People criticise girls like me for getting pregnant under-age - but I believe I did the best for my first child, Stayed in school (Books and Babies) and now have a happy stable family. How many can say that?
Wogan says adieu to Eurovision
So, Sir Terry Wogan is stepping down as commentator on the Eurovision Song Contest after three decades. Graham Norton will take over for the 2009 contest, which will be hosted in Moscow.
5 live's Colin Paterson spoke to Terry who said he'll miss working on the song contest. You can hear the interview below:
An Olympic champion gives me a red rose
A delicious surprise today when gold medal-winning boxer James DeGale sent me a single red rose and ten quid in one pound coins: he was paying up after I bet him a tenner he'd turn pro long before London 2012.
One of things I dislike most in the world is people who don't pay their bets (along with people who never buy a round). James DeGale is clearly a gent.
Here's what he wrote in his card: "Hi Victoria. Enclosed is our bet money, now we are quits. Make sure you tell the listeners I've paid in full. P.s. Sorry about the change but bit broke at mo so I have raided my Mum's piggybank."
You can listen to my interview with James when he turned pro here:
Letting us know about snow
It's a kid's dream and a parent's nightmare. Hundreds of schools across the north of England and Scotland are shut after heavy snowfall.
If you're off we've been asking you to take a photo and tell us what you're up to instead. You can text them to 05058 or email them to victoria@bbc.co.uk
Barry in Leeds is one of those and he sent us the following:
"This is the view from our house. Kids off school and I can't get to university due to the snow."
A common story? If you've got the kids at home or can't get out of the house, what are you doing?
Keeping their mum's memory alive
13-year-old Thomas and his 10-year-old brother Harry lost their mum to cancer earlier this year. With their dad too distraught to organise a fundraising event in her memory, Thomas and Harry set out on a secret mission to single-handedly do it themselves.
Thomas found a venue - a place where he remembered the whole family had once had a great day out - persuaded local entertainers to perform for nothing and local businesses to contribute to a raffle. The event was a huge success, and as far as Thomas is concerned, just the start of his fundraising campaign.
You can listen to the interview below
The Christmas shopping challenge
Where's the best place to get a bargain? Online, on the high street, or in a shopping centre? Yesterday we set three of 5 live's finest reporters a challenge: to find the cheapest christmas presents, as nominated by you. You asked them to find:
- an ipod
- a digital radio
- a satnav
- a leather jacket
UPDATE 11:50, 02/12/08
If you missed it on the programme, you can listen below and hear how they got on as well as one overjoyed listener who they found a bargain for.
And then read more from our brave reporters.
Naked in bed with his mother-in-law
By popular demand, here's our interview with Greg from Cambridge, explaining how he ended up naked in bed with his mother-in-law. Listen to it all below.
Being mum to conjoined twins
Doctors are hoping to decide tomorrow whether to separate newly-born conjoined twins Faith and Hope Williams this week. Their mother, Laura Williams from Shrewsbury, made medical history by becoming the world's youngest mother of conjoined twins at just 18.
They're joined from the breastbone to the top of the navel, and are being cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Joan Varley knows what Laura Williams is experiencing. She gave birth to conjoined twins in 1997. Aoife and Niamh shared a liver and were separated when they were 12 weeks old.
We spoke to Joan from a studio near her home in County Mayo in Ireland. You can hear the interview below and see photos of her twins at birth and now.
What's wrong with the police raiding an MP's offices?
The fall-out from Tory frontbencher Damien Green's arrest continues. His home and parliamentary offices were raided by counter-terrosim officers last week. One retired chief superintendent writes this morning "his arrest on suspicion of committing an offence that is directly related to his democratic responsibilities should ring alarm bells to every citizen of the UK who places a value on justice and democratic freedom".
The Ö÷²¥´óÐã Secretary says it wld be "Stalinist" if MPs intervened in what the police were doing. There's talk of some backbenchers staging a protest at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.
So what should happen next?
