Actually the Daily Mail article seems unbiased and factual, unless I'm missing something? Even the first few reader's comments seem fairly rational - I didn't spend long reading them though because I find it's generally bad for my health.

And this is newsworthy. It really irritates me when people get "offended" on someone else's behalf. The kid's hero was no not offended, in fact he was positively encouraging to him by posing for a photo and talking with him. That's the only opinion that should matter.

I assume it was just a very few idiots on twitter that think otherwise. Unfortunately the irony is that they're the kind of people that shout their opinions the loudest but don't listen to anyone else's...

+1. If the kid's hero and another black guy are okay having their pic taken, it's hardly "racist".

+1. The kid also had his hair done in the same style. Hardly the actions of a racist. If the hero was offended he would not have allowed his photo to be taken with him.

John Barrowman falls off horse during panto.

Just to clarify, it's a real horse, not a pantomime horse. Even though it was in a panto.

So do we have a no comment from the horse's spokesman?

Travelling from Edinburgh to Peterborough yesterday on East Coast trains.

Train is due to depart at 1830 but no platform is listed on the station notice board until 1820 or there abouts. Edinburgh Waverley is a reasonably sized station and there was a bit of a jam with everyone trying to get to the platform (which was naturally on the other side of the station over a bridge).
When we all got there the doors to the train were locked... until 1845 or there abouts. Engine failure.
So they hd to couple up a rescue loco (a Thunderbird apparently) to pull the knackered engine and the rest of the train and this apparently did not go smoothly.

We eventually set off at reduced speed (100 instead of 125 mph top speed) which really added up over the length of the journey.

These things happen I guess and I did get home eventually (arrived 0005 instead of 2235). However, a note to the people at Edinburgh - put some more tannoy speakers on platform 8. Couldn't hear a damn thing they were announcing and I wasn't the only one. There was also a suspicious lack of staff (station or East Coast) on the platform. If one person had been able to go down the platform explaining what was happening (or the announcements system was audible) everyone would have been a lot less frustrated.

Can't fault the staff on the train who were very apologetic about the delays and the guard told everyone about making a delay claim once the train had slipped over 30 minutes late. I just hope my claim form actually get processed properly - last time they made me post in the actual tickets with the claim form and then proceeded to misplace it and deny all knowledge. Trying the online system this time so fingers crossed.

I'm sure it will. My Dad's claimed back plenty of money from delayed trains before. I don't think he's ever had a problem.

And subtly, while avoiding blame with passive writing, the Dm is there to provide a megaphone for their world view.

I think my Dad's PM-ing a project to do a PA/display upgrade there sometime soon. He's certainly got a fair number of stations in Scotland coming up. I'll ask him about it next time we speak.

It ain't what you know.....

Emily carried her little Android tablet (Grandparent Xmas gift) into the kitchen when I was cooking excited to show me something. I turned around not knowing she was holding it out right next to me. Tablet hit the tiled floor and the screen is no more. Poor thing is devastated and keeps asking if she can have a go on her computer. I don't even think it's worth fixing.

By the way if anyone has an Android device they want to feel more comfortable with a child using then install Famigo Sandbox. It restricts the user to only the apps you allow in it's own interface which they cannot get out of. It can also block in-app purchases and linking to social media, etc. It's still not a replacement for parental supervision but it's nice to know the kids can't click on anything dodgy. Shame it doesn't help with tiled floors though!

Next time get a case for it?

I was still trying to find one the correct size before it happened. I've since been shown iBallz Mini which would have been perfect. Last week.