Rutland's news is a bit like Preston Hill...

On the up-side:This week Sarah Outen, of Oakham, heads into waters known along the the Indian Ocean, and you can follow her progress with her blog live from the boat here. We wish our intrepid Raddleman well.

On the down-side: It was a sad story this week to hear RPC, one of Rutland's biggest employers, is set to make redundancies. Based along the Pilling's Road industrial estate, RPC is well known for it's plastic works within several key industries.

Forget Foggy-Bottom and Pentagon City

The next train at, Platform 1, is for AOL...

Liberal Island Discs

I awoke after last night's PR night out to Desert Island Discs on the radio, with guest Richard Madeley (of Richard & Judy fame). I heard his Who song choice and was thoroughly impressed. I didn't manage to catch the whole programme, and it is one of the few not available as a catch up on the BBC iPlayer.

As I walked into town, I suddenly decided to begin part hum and part sing a couple of Feeder songs. I think I was pondering about some long lost love interest, and one of Feeder's songs, Just The Way I'm Feeling, came into my head and reminded me of her.

Later on, I was doing a due essay for University, and had my music player on Shuffle Play-All. The Jam's (commercially most successful) b-side, Butterfly Collector, came on, as did the Travelling Wilbury's Dirty World.

This had me pondering, if I was stuck on an island full of liberals, what would be my desert island discs (not minding an island to myself, an island of liberals might just send me off the wall). One might argue I'm already on that island, but that's for another blog post, another time.

In typical R4 fashion of maintaining the rules, I'll choose my 8 tracks, a book and a luxury item.

So, which tracks, who by and why? (Links to videos of the song have been included)

1. Just The Way I'm Feeling - Feeder: The track that really switched me on to the band, I vividly remember them in concert. What a band. Reminds me of so much in my life.
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana: Bedroom Rock at it's finest, this was the band when I was 14. Their Unplugged session was, in my opinion, their best session and album. This track, though, is their symbol. Kurt = Hero
3. Freestyler - Bomfunk MCs: Hungarian euro dance techno whatsit at its finest. My first ever album, In Stereo, by the band was and still is a real treasure. This classic tune still hasn't lost it's original glory with me. A remixed version, compiled by me and some D of E chums, also helped us when we climbed some distant hills in Exmoor.
4. Cherry Pie - Warrant: Filled with lude humour, innuendo, and a video that can make any man lust after Bobbi Brown, Warrant really get into the 80s hair metal. Released in 1992, this song captures all of the 80s rock you can think of, and doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the two most stable women in my life, the other being Greggs ladies of Fawcett Street
5. Mama Weer All Crazee Now - Slade: A karaoke must and good clean rock & roll. Played all the way up the A6 to Ballathie, and many places since. Anyone can sing along to the simple chorus at the end, and guaranteed to get everyone rocking out the place.
6. Baggy Trousers - Madness: Oakham School in a nutshell. It was 2004 I picked up Madness: The Lot, 6 of their best albums digitally remastered. This track now just makes so much sense. 'Oh what fun we had, but did it really turn out bad?'
7. Stronger - Kanye West (feat. Daft Punk): A strange choice. I'm not usually a fan of rap/r&b etc, but this song makes an excellent fusion of house and rap. It just reminds me of 4 months of my life: September - December 2007. Starting University, I suddenly found life really was Harder Better Faster Stronger. I'd still like to give shout out to P. Diddy, M.O.P, 2pac and a little 50 cent. All of them 20 tracks in my WMP library classed as 'rap', they all have their place. 
8. Round & Round - The Fantasticks: One of the most undiscovered musicals in the UK, this was my last foray on the stage. A truly fantastic musical, full of humour and romance, despair and hope, this song is one of my favourites from it. I played Henry, the aging bald actor who was really about ready to retire from the stage (an ominous sign in my real life, it still nearly brings a tear to my eye).

If they were all about to be washed away, and I could save only one record?: Feeder's Just The Way Im Feeling

My book?: The House Of Cards by Michael Dobbs - The book that introduced me to Politics and Public Relations. I can only dream of one day being in Francis Urqhart's position of power

My Luxury?: Toilet Paper, the no. 1 item that goes into a D of E rucksack any day

And there you have it, The Rutland Correspondent's Liberal Island Discs. Id urge any of my followers to post their Liberal (or Desert) Island Discs on their blogs, it can really surprise you and your friends when music tracks old and new come up for discussion

The train approaching Platform 1...

...is the 07.51 National Express Service to Glasgow Central, calling at...

As I sit in a first class carriage, on my way back to Sunderland, I thought I would take the time to say thanks to all the people at National Express East Coast for making the east coast service a fantastic rail service.

The only real service between Peterborough and Newcastle, NXEC (the old GNER) is a benchmark which other train services should look up to.

How funny that a privatised railroad, often overtly critiscied by the many, really is a dream come true. Ticket prices are very competitve, service is fantastic and the efficiency is most noticeable.

On the subject of trains, don't you wish you had a pair of these?!

I’m not a politician. I’m a businessman, with a sense of history

The Lessons of The Long Good Friday

A very young cast of Pierce Brosnan, Hellen Mirren and Bob Hoskins all star in what is arguably the best British gangster film.

When reading The Spectator (a magazine with mainly right-wing comment) this week, I came across the article on how we have learnt lessons from the film. Below is the video of one of the best scenes in the film, Harold Shand giving his famous speech 

Skip to 1.15, otherwise you may be put off by the story arcs introduced so early on; it's the speech Id like to focus on.

A true visionary, but are we living out his own downfall? By the end of the film, Harry is slowly losing grip on his empire, and the ambiguous last scene is roughly where we are now in the recession

No comment from me this time, I leave that to The Spectator, as I cannot improve on it. 

One final note: Buy this film (£4 from leading retailers), Watch it and enjoy 

Previously along Uppingham's High Street West

While Obama is losing the battle in DC, the Uppingham Raddlemen are triumphing over the town's great 'parking war'. 

Viva la Conservatives

From Clacton to Manhattan, on Social Media Airways' Business Class

Whilst sitting in my Social Media class at university, we came across the story of Kimberley Swann, a 16 year old Essex girl who was asked to leave her employer. Her dismissal was down to her posting as her Facebook status that she was 'Bored at Work'.

Whilst the saying goes 'all publicity is good publicity', the firm at the center of the row, Ivell Marketing & Logistics, has seen a huge rise in groups opposing her dismissal. Just searching for the company on Facebook displays an array of groups that seek to show their near hatred for the company.

As a class, we were asked to pick a firm we know to have a web presence, and do a communications audit on them. Simply put, this is a review of what they say, what we say, and whether its good or bad, on several different platforms. The stipulation: Our only source of information was the internet.

Two of my passions in life are food and the USA. Where better to review than one of my favourite restaurants, the Comfort Diner in Manhattan, NY. Famed for good quality food, and featured in the Rutland Correspondent Recommends listing, it seemed the perfect choice.

Like Spandau Ballet, 'To cut a long story short', I didn't quite lose my mind; I instead found some fairly interesting stuff. 

Having searched Youtube, Facebook, Amazon, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, Flickr and Review sites, one great feature was clear: It was nearly all very positive user-generated content. The good people at the Comfort Diner have a website, and very little else which they themselves control. A fanbase internet-wide has formed, without the Comfort Diner doing very much. On being asked 'What would you do if you were the Comms. Dept for Comfort Diner?', I had a typical Raddlemen's answer: Multum In Parvo.

By not publishing as much, and having user generated content, Comfort Diner should have a fantastic press. Much press from little input. Though there would be a lot to be said for not publishing very much either. How do I tell my diners about new menus? How do I tell them about the new Staten Island Diner? Without using some self-publicising, I wouldn't be able to tell them.

While it's good to have great reviews and a huge fanbase appreciating what you do, be it food or clothes, insurance or wealth management, you need to give back to them. Don't be afraid to publish yourself or your product, even if you have a strong and loyal fans.

Perhaps all publicity is good publicity. Like a good pancakes and syrup, pour some publicity over that large mountain of fans.

Photos A'hoy

Some photos of Whitby, as promised

Taken using the HTC TyTN II phone; apologies for poor quality