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 *

184. President of Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

At a time when the United States is threatening to withdraw from NATO, how can Europe maximise its power to deter Russia's threat? If Vladimir Putin were given the territory Donald Trump offered in hi... Continue

9 April 2026

Alastair Campbell’s diary: Here’s what Zelensky really thinks of JD Vance

After the madness of MAGA in Iran, meeting Ukraine’s president is a lesson in empathy and emotion... Continue

9 April 2026

519. Trump’s NATO Threat & a Critical Election in Hungary (Question Time)

Following Trump's threats to remove the US from NATO, is the alliance effectively finished? After nearly two decades in power, could Viktor Orbán finally be unseated in Hungary's upcoming election? H... Continue

8 April 2026

518. Is Trump a Fascist and is His War on Iran Unwinnable?

Has Trump crossed the line from right-wing populist to fascist? Is he fighting a war with Iran he cannot win? Is Iraq being dragged in against its will? Join Dominic Sandbrook and Alastair Campbell a... Continue

7 April 2026

183. From Bradford to Westminster: Faith, Identity, and Power (Naz Shah)

How did Naz Shah’s experience growing up in Bradford and her experience with her family in the legal system influence her to go into politics? What does it mean for a political party to truly “sta... Continue

6 April 2026

The Real Reasons Populism Is Taking Over

What is populism, and why is it so attractive to voters? Which human instincts do populists tap into to get votes? And what does a populist-led country look like? Alastair is joined by Liam Byrne, MP... Continue

2 April 2026

517. Is Trump Plotting Regime Change in Cuba? (Question Time)

Does Trump already have one eye on regime change in Cuba, as the US faces strategic failure in the Iran war? Who is more dangerous to the world right now, Putin or Netanyahu? Should Starmer be doing m... Continue

2 April 2026

516. Trump’s Iran Delusion and the Limits of American Power

Why has opposition to the Iran war been so muted within Trump’s America, and how is the US uniquely insulated from the worst impacts of the war? Do American tech billionaires now pose a serious thre... Continue

1 April 2026