THE HULME TUNE

New musical drama series Britannia High was filming at the back of the Town Hall this afternoon around lunch time. The cast & crew were filming a music number.

Britannia High is a contemporary British performing arts school. The cast will play a close knit group of six students, all sharing the same hopes and dreams of success.

The drama series sees the students learning how to make their own mark on the world.

 According to the press release.

The drama series is set to air in Autumn 2008.

Britannia High - ITV Drama

No, not a rush for my autograph this time.. they were filming Arndale Centre’s  new TV advert. No more info than that really, but some nice pics. You may notice that these are the originals from my phone camera. So, they’re big and untouched by the free software Irfanview.

On The Hulme Tune, Thursday 26 June @ 10-11am on ALL FM 96.9:

We have an exclusive interview with Italian Film Director, Mimmo Calopresti, when he visited Manchester on 12th June.

LIVE guest will be Dave Morgan, who’s performing “Hovis In Wonderland” for Not Part Of Festival on Tuesday 8th July at Matt & Phreds Jazz Club in the Northern Quarter.

Chill Factore are hosting “An Evening of Selfridges Fashion, Music and Celebrity, on Snow!” this Tuesday 1st July. With special guest appearance of the British Alpine Ski Team & ski demonstration. There will be a fashion show and live music entertainment. Paul & Kaite will be there to interview the BAS Team and others. More details see Chill Factore and Manchester Confidential

News about Henry Winkler coming to Manchester. You know, the guy who played the Fonz in the 70’s US sitcom “Happy Days”.

The British Urban Collective is coming to Manchester and auditions are being held at the Zion Arts Centre.

MUSIC: Joe Loss & his Orchestra “In The Mood”, Alex Gaudino ft Shena “Watch Out”, Coldplay “Viva La Vida”..

FULL Italian Contemporary Cinema event interviews available from weekend on www.mymanchester.net and www.allfm.org as well the Podcast from the show.

Paul

Seriously, it takes a person in power, educated unto ignorance, to come up with the stupid rules which effects those on Incapacity Benefit living independently and wanting to do permitted work.

This Government says you can earn up to £81 a week for 16 hours and not effect your Incap. It seems a good deal.. doesn’t it? But, when you look into it more, you find that this Government takes it back, all but £20 or £5, by stealth again for those who rent their homes.

Yes, I would get to keep the money and benefits; but Housing and Council Tax Benefit is reduced so much that, after working for 16 hours, I would only get to keep £5 after paying FULL rent and Council Tax (don’t remind me). What a load of b*****it.

How dumb can you be and still breath? Which Bright Elected Representative Kingpin (BERK) in the Government stopped any incentive for me, who’s on Incap, to do any paid p/t permitted work at all?

£5 FOR 16 HOURS IS SLAVE LABOUR - WHERE IS THE INCENTIVE IN THAT?

Perhaps this money that this Government gets back goes on MP’s second homes - new kitchens for all + new chandeliers + cleaners + decor+ landscape gardening + maybe we are paying their Council Tax + window cleaning + new fitted carpets + expensive mahogany furniture and 4 poster beds for all 4 or more bedrooms? While some of us on Incap are still trying to keep one single roof over our heads and wondering how we make ends meet! Is this where some of the duty on fuel is going?

Any jobs going in Parliament? I could do with 2 homes and being chauffeur driven or helicopter to work.

Why doesn’t this Government do something more constructive and not obstructive - change this stupid rule?

HELP - that is. Obviously some of the info is private and this would give the council insight to a new strategy and we don’t want to give them an inch… do we?

The good news is, is that the bailiffs cannot break into my flat to take my stuff - it’s illegal for them to do so. Something the council nor Jacob’s doesn’t want the public to know. Each of the bailiff’s visits cost me £24 for the first one and £18 for the next one. Yet, all they can do is stand outside - in the pouring rain, I hope. It will put an extra £44 on the total bill and me, being on Incapacity Benefit, cannot afford this cruel diabolical extra cost by this Manchester City (Mafia) Council. ‘PAY or DIE!!!’ - so to speak.

Who cares if I become homeless - AGAIN! They certainly don’t.

What if Manchester City Council made me homeless? Well, the council would give me a newly built flat within a month and £500+ worth of goods from DWP benefits and then another Council Tax bill to welcome me back with.

If only this Government could invest in helping us heavily, poor, over council-taxed souls on to a new brighter positive path to better mental & physical health and further educating all into university for free and thus freeing our minds from the torment of stresses, anxieties and depression due to Council Tax payment withdrawals, with the threat of an unscheduled house clearance courtesy of Manchester City Council.

Then moving, with forward thinking, to the beams of endless possibilities of career opportunities. Therefore, gloriously transforming our ignored human existence from parasite to contributor? Which previously awaited those that were privileged and exclusive, having parents on such high incomes that they can afford to pay all of their 2.4 off-springs’ University fees 10 times over.

I did go to the CAB in Hulme, after all. They were very nice and, more importantly, very helpful indeed. I may be able to get even more money in unclaimed benefits.

In the meantime, all this is costing YOU the council tax payer even more money as the administration cost to local government mounts up. Which leads to higher council tax rates next year and a deficit in this year’s council budget. All thanks to Gordon (Ebenezer) Brown, our very own Sheriff of Nottingham, and now he’s Prime Minister. Give it to the poor in one hand and take it back with the other - tighter than a Russian economy.

By now it must have cost the council more money than the £112.33 owed. Not my problem, as the cost to this council increases every month.

Dear Government,

It would have been cheaper to the British tax payer if you gave those on Incapacity Benefit FULL Housing and Council Tax Benefits.

Signed.. ME

Will I pay it… maybe.. eventually, when it cost this council more and more money in the administration costs alone.

I can’t wait until Manchester City Council takes a man with a disability, on benefits, to court to face jail. Prisons are over crowded, so they’ll release him by letting him off. Then he doesn’t have to pay the council tax bill at all .. He won’t have to do the time.. and YOU pay the cost in legal fees, on both sides, and this resulting in increased council taxes. When people do come out of prison, they get a new home, benefits and money for household items and re-decorating, incentives to get more education (I hear) and a social worker to help them claim every penny from the Government - British tax payer, again, footing the bill.

Hopefully, this Government or the next one may see clearly that there needs to be a change to give those who have a disability on Incap full H&CT Benefit. To live independent lives - not having to go back to living with aging parents, to be a burden to them, or ask a friend to put them up and risk their Housing Benefit being stopped.

Why did the Government introduce the Council Tax in the first place?

I did go down to Manchester City Council to see why they had sent the bailiffs round to my flat to seize my property. The £112.33 owing was accumulated over a period of a few years, where I struggled to pay the ridicules amount that the council, through this Government, were charging those on Incapacity Benefit.

When they first wrote to me about the amount, they asked me how much I could afford. I told them that I could only afford to pay £5 per month. However, this was rejected and MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL threatened to send bailiffs. I told them that I am on benefits and cannot afford to pay the council’s heavy demand.

I could hardly believe what I was reading. I miss read it. I thought they meant I owed £20 and not that they wanted £20 per month.

I AM STILL PAYING WHAT I CAN out of the little I get off the Government. With the soaring rises of gas and electricity costs, incl. water charges, this Government is making it more and more difficult for people on benefits to live independently.

How many more are suffering the injustice of this heavy handed city council?

This afternoon, when I went to find out why Manchester City Council was sending bailiffs round to seize the little I have, they STILL REFUSED TO ALLOW ME TO PAY WHAT I OWE AT £5 p/m

People I know have suggested seeing the Citizens Advice Bureau. But, if Manchester City Council won’t listen to me, what can CAB do that I couldn’t? Would the council listen to them?

I find it disgusting the way this council treats the poor on benefits and act like vicious debt collectors with no mercy!

I’ve just rang MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL bailiffs and they say that in order to cover costs they will take £1,000 worth of goods for a supposed CT bill of £112.33, which I don’t have the money or a £1,000 in goods and this could mean a total clearance of my flat. If this is so, then it could leave me homeless. It’s ironic that this Government is wanting people to come off the streets, but then, when they do, they want to put them right back on them.

I was homeless once. You try to build a life again and the Government just wants prevent any chance you may have.

If I try to steal the money at least they will send me to jail where I will have a roof over my head. Then they will release me or let me off seeing that prisons are over-full.

I rang the MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL bailiffs this morning and had to leave a message. I told them that I had been awarded Council Tax Benefit. I also told them that I am unwilling to pay, seeing that I refuse to steal the money or pay it in installments, and that they can come and take my goods away.

If they take my old furniture and other things, I can then apply to the Department of Work & Pensions and put a in a new claim for new furniture. To replace the junk the Manchester City Council bailiffs will take.

The real loser here is the tax payer. All thanks to either incompetence of Manchester City Council’s Council Tax Unit not updating Jacobs Certified Bailiffs or this Government wanting to make the poor very poor indeed.

Either way.. if I am still paying my council tax, then why am I being victimised by this council? If it really is a Manchester City Council error, then it is the British tax payer that will, in the end, foot the bill. Why should I worry and make my condition worse over this? This type of thing can make even the healthiest person sick and I am sick & tired of this Sheriff of Nottingham style Government treating us poor like this. They’re not going to put me in an early grave!

Do you remember that time when a certain council took a pensioner to jail over this? This was the Government again, making sure that the poor, the needy, the vulnerable of our society is worse off - without a voice.. until the press got wind of it. Well, I, too, have a voice and I’m going to SHOUT!

You may think, ‘Why doesn’t he write to his MP, Tony Lloyd?’

Glad you asked! I did. All he did was write to the HB&CTB and all they did was to send an officer around to check that it was really me living here - he did nothing to bring it to Parliament and try to change the way Councils and the DofW&P takes back the money given to the poor. Twice when I complained to Tony Lloyd MP all I got was a visit from HB&CTB. When I ring him, his secretary is very rude to me.

1 in 5 people in the North West claim Incapacity Benefits. That’s 1 million people out of 5 million - that is a lot of voters.

I’ll laugh at the next letter I receive from Jacobs as well.

In March 2008 Moss Side’s Peace FM was granted a 5 year license from Ofcom. This means that there will be a full time radio station serving Moss Side, Hulme and South Manchester, even though ALL FM are still broadcasting shows from the Zion Arts Centre.

Peace FM have transmitted from the Zion Arts Centre in the past when they had a limited 1-month RSL license. This time its for 5 years. I believe that ZAC is still the place where they will transmit and thus serve Hulme.

Broadcasting can start within 2 years, but Peace FM might even be on air towards the end of the year.

MEN Article

Ofcom Website

This means that the show I do for ALL FM - The Hulme Tune - will be axed!

I am an individual and am, in no way, funded by anyone to do my show. All my shows’ expenses have come from my own pocket. I won’t be joining Peace FM as I’ve enjoyed my time at ALL FM.

It’s up to Peace FM to run with their vision for Hulme when they start broadcasting. I don’t believe that gangs go around listening to community radio. Not the ones I’ve seen.

Community radio should be for the whole community and not one select group of people. Erinma Bell has said in the press that they want other genres of music to be played, a powerful signal and quality professional productions. Com radio relies on voluntary staff, many of whom want to break into the industry. Any one with professional skills would want to be paid. Unless they are really dedicated to the vision and want to stay for free until advertising revenue is built up to pay them.

There again, should the BBC or Independent Local Radio snap up the talent, then Carisma’s Peace FM may struggle quality wise, until it can break free of reliance on funding and into being an independent local radio station capable of attracting advertising from businesses willing to pay for exposure on yet another new radio station. With so much competition from other ILR stations (Galaxy 102, X-FM, Smooth FM, Rock FM, Big 1458am, Century 105, Imagine FM and Key 103), news papers, websites, billboards and other advertising platforms in Manchester, it has to be competitive to survive. They may have people willing to listen regularly, but will it be enough?

It has taken years for ALL FM to reach the level they have, having a wide variety of shows and opening studios in East Manchester and Hulme. It could mean that ALL FM may close their Hulme studio, as this would compete with Peace FM and its not about competition - it’s about the people we serve.

I will still do a show, but not from Hulme. I will chat to ALL FM staff to see what their schedule is like in the future. In the meantime, enjoy the last of the shows… and thanks for listening!

- Paul

From foam fun to Britain’s Next Top Model Living in the Arndale.

- here are snaps I took this Saturday.

———–

FOAM FUN in EXCHANGE SQ.

Kids young & a bit older enjoying their own foam party

- looks like somebody has poured shampoo into the water display.

BRITAIN’S NEXT TOP MODEL in MANCHESTER

Manchester Arndale hosted this year’s Britain’s Next Top Model

competition - to see who will go into the finals from our region.

And the winner is..

…NATALIE from Manchester.

Now below is another very attractive model… Mmm, nice body!

Meanwhile, somewhere in the crowd…

..maybe dreaming of being the next top model herself.

Could this be Britain’s Next Top Model next year?

She certainly has my vote!!!

RAF in ALBERT SQ.

The RAF were in Albert Sq on a recruitment drive

- for a career that could take you to new heights.. solo!

What on earth is Stagecoach buses doing employing drivers that don’t understand PLAIN English?

I caught a 192 at 1505, vehicle number 19057, from Levenshulme on my way back to the city centre after putting the finishing touches to the show’s trailer at ALL FM. The weather is hot and the heater on the Stagecoach bus is full on, pumping heat out on the lower deck. After suffering top temperatures and wondering can my deodorant take it, I boldly went up to the driver to ask him to turn the heat off. Do these or any bus driver understand anything about passenger comfort? In many cases, NO.

The driver did not understand what heater, heat or heating meant. He shrugged his shoulders and looked puzzled, “Heater??”

‘What?’ I thought. ‘If this driver from over-seas cannot understand plain English, then how the hell can he read road signs and answer passengers’ inquiries?’

Well, I got off the mobile sauna at Longsight and caught another Stagecoach bus. This time the English driver decided to set off while a plump woman in her 40’s was trying to get to a seat. He set off with such force that she nearly fell over. I find this typical of Manchester bus drivers, they lack respect for older and disabled passengers and don’t have any basic understanding of passenger comfort.

The train would have been more comfortable! A car even better.

Another driver last week kept jumping on the brake, jerking the bus and making walking to the door a ride from hell.

I know drivers get sick of dysfunctional passengers and bad drivers on the road, but their top priority should be the very people they are employed to carry. Why take anger, frustration and road rage out on us fare paying passengers by letting off steam through bad driving?

Last weekend I saw a car making life hell for one bus driver by waiting in the bus lane then setting off and braking suddenly, turning hard left onto Hulme St. All this while the police drove past, oblivious to what was going on at the side of them on Oxford Rd on Sunday night. What happened to good policing and who are watching these cameras? I just hope the bus driver calmed down and remained professional.

Did the cameras notice a 20+yr old guy trying to follow a pair of 14/15yr old girls, who looked drunk or had taken drugs, on Monday night around 7.40pm? Was he just a relative? Perhaps the brother of one of them. He kept getting close to them, but they kept pulling away. Was he a stranger and his intention was rape and/or robbery? Maybe he was aware of the cameras and tried to look natural as can be as not to draw suspicion, while all the time waiting for his opportunity? They aren’t likely to ring the police if they themselves have been under-age drinking or taking drugs. What if I’m wrong?

Maybe others heard what he and the girls were saying, as they made their way towards McDonalds? After the tram attack, did bystander apathy and fear of attack stop any one from ringing the police? If police were present, perhaps people could approach and raise their concerns and suspicions. Then if it was all family, then nothing lost. This is not scenario, this did happen.

How can 1 man follow 20 screens?

As I traveled along Oxford Rd Monday evening, after doing the bank holiday Drive Time show, I saw loads of young teenagers going to see a band at the Academy, but not one policeman or police car was present.

Any of these young teenagers could be vulnerable to criminals waiting to rob or attack them and just follow, all innocently looking, until out of the watchful eye of the cameras. Experienced police on the beat would recognize offenders or use his/her instincts. A camera will just watch, record and, instead of preventing crime, the footage is used after the criminal has struck. Not exactly crime prevention. How can a camera recognise a guy wearing a hoody? “Come down this alley!” - where there are no cameras.

The dangers of drugs is not only addiction, money and health problems, it can make users easy targets for criminals.

The teenage girls were drawing attention to themselves near the Palace Hotel, so I would imagine that the cameras along there would have been watching them. As I looked round, there were no police at all. I hope they got home safely. If the police were present, hopefully, they may have stopped all 3 of them and checked - however, a camera doesn’t and never will!

It’s a false sense of security to imagine that cameras stop crime. It may be reduced, but they should never replace police presence.

3 years ago, in that same stretch of Oxford St, where the Palace Hotel is, 2 guys high on drugs started threatening me. They asked was I selling tickets. I think they were after money and wanted to rob me. I kept being pushed back, I thought they were going to physically harm me. What if they had a knife or gun? Finally, I was able to back into the Hotel reception where they followed me. Eventually they left, smiling and laughing. I asked staff did they have cameras. No, they didn’t. I rang the police, but they weren’t interested. I’m glad I don’t stay at that hotel!

Instead of the odd crack downs on Oxford Rd every now and again, why don’t the police patrol it regularly?

If we all used the freedom of information act to see CCTV footage… how much will it cost these companies? Would the council have to pay for all the costs involved?

Anyway - apart from the odd journeys from hell, care of Manchester buses, I had a great day!