Less a blog than an apology for not having done one

  • Post

  • 21 June 2009

  • Posted by Alastair Campbell

  • 6

Since starting this blogging malarkey some months back, I have done at least one every day. Obsessive, moi? This is really just a way of keeping up that record, though when we go away for our summer holiday I do not intend, unlike on the Scottish holiday we had at Easter, to blog every day. So why has it taken until almost seven pm before I put finger to keyboard? Answer, a combination of tiredness and cricket. Tiredness because last night we were up north for a very enjoyable family birthday/wedding anniversary party, which meant a late night, then an early start to do the longish drive to get back in time for the Twenty20 Finals. Not being sexist, ahem, I was keen to get back to see the women's final as well as the men's. It was a bit of an anti-climax, as England's women hammered New Zealand with the ball, and once they began their own innings, the result was never in doubt. I was impressed though, and really pleased England won. (Cue angry comment from Wyrdtimes re my confused national identity.) The stadium filled up for the men's final, which I fully expected Sri Lanka to win. They didn't. Pakistan did. So as well as being one of the shortest blogs I have ever written, it is also contains a rare admission I got something wrong. Someone asked me today 'who invented Twenty20?' I don't know the answer, but whoever it was deserves a lot of praise. A final thought - Margaret Beckett for Speaker, gardening bills or not. Dunbloggin'

6 responses to “Less a blog than an apology for not having done one”

  1. I see Margaret Beckett being done on the front page of the Telegraph today. Am assuming they saved that one up for today to try to damage her in the vote for the speakership tomorrow, so I hope she gets it. The way the Telegraph has been using its illgotten computer disc to damage politician after politician is obscene

  2. Every day? Well done, and may I say though I do not come on here every day, when I do I always find something interesting.

  3. Watched a bit of the women’s cricket. All just a bit slower and less intense than the men’s. Mind you —- men’s final not that exciting

  4. Reading your blog, you frequently complain about our dismal media culture, then let slip you were chatting to rebekkah, gordon and cameron at murdoch’s party. Irony not your strong point is it?

    Yes our media and political culture in England is abysmal, but you should acknowledge your part in that, not least our entire political class sucking up to the odious Murdoch. And to answer a previous question, no media site I know of lets you post negative comments about them, which says it all.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

491. Trump at Davos: Rory and Alastair React

What does Trump's rambling speech to world leaders at Davos mean for Greenland? Are Europe and the UK ready to act together against Trump's threats? And what lessons does Mark Carney's approach to Tru... Continue

21 January 2026

490. Trump’s Greenland Ultimatum: What Next?

Is the US now an adversary for Europe? Has Europe's appeasement strategy failed? How should NATO respond if appeasement is no longer an option? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questio... Continue

21 January 2026

Alastair Campbell’s diary: A lesson for Robert Jenrick: How to plot a proper defection

My secret plan once wrecked wrecked a Tory conference, but this turncoat has only wrecked himself... Continue

20 January 2026

171. Neil Kinnock: A Labour Rebel’s Path To Power (Part 1)

Whilst an early career MP, why did Neil Kinnock rebel against the Labour Party so regularly? As Labour leader, how did Kinnock take on militant and the ‘ultra-left’ within the Labour Party? What r... Continue

19 January 2026

Will AI End Humanity?

If there is even a 1% chance that AI could destroy us, should we keep building it? Are we creating machines that will one day outthink humanity? And is the race to dominate AI accelerating us toward a... Continue

15 January 2026

489. Musk’s AI Deepfake Disgrace & JD Vance’s Minnesota Lies (Question Time)

Will the UK ban 'X' over explicit, nonconsensual deepfake images of women and children generated using its AI tool? What does JD Vance's outburst against the Minnesota ICE shooting victim tell us abou... Continue

15 January 2026

Alastair Campbell’s diary: It’s time for a European army

Keir Starmer wants Britain to get closer to the EU. The war in Ukraine and Trump’s military posturing put European security at the heart of that realignment... Continue

13 January 2026

488. Is Iran on the Edge of Revolution?

Could the Iran protests finally break the Supreme Leader’s brutal reign, or will the regime's deadly crackdown contain the unrest? If the US intervenes militarily, what would a Trump-style plan for ... Continue

13 January 2026