A PC system modelled on the TARDIS has been launched by a UK firm. Bolton-based Scan Computers has been officially licensed by BBC Worldwide to produce the aluminium scale model, which has been finished in the Pantone blue of The Doctor's time machine. It comprises forty five pieces of individually-cut brushed aluminium, all of them based on the prop model, and measures two hundred and five millimetre by two hundred and five millimetre by four hundred and thirty millimetre. The basic technical specifications includes, an Intel Pentium G2120 dual-core processor, eight gigabytes (or, a gazillion snots) of 'Corsair Vengeance' 1,600MHz DDR3 memory, five hundred gigabyte hard drive, a Blu-ray reader and Microsoft Windows Seven. The PC system, which has been developed with Dorset-based design house Head Cases, is also available to order with a variety of specifications.
Yer actual Keith telly Topping his very self considers this, somewhat, to be an example of, if you will, PC gone mad, I tell ya. Nah, lissun.
Meanwhile, here's a glimpse of The Doctor's most terrifying encounter yet. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Holby City will be heading to Scandinavia in early January for a special storyline which has been described as 'one of the most ambitious episodes' the series has produced so far. The story will see Jac Naylor (deliciously sour-faced Rosie Marcel), sent on a mission to discover exactly what has happened to Henrik Hanssen (the excellent Guy Henry). Jac is told that Hanssen is in his native Stockholm and is actively blocking a financial offer from a Swedish pharmaceutical company which would pump forty million smackers into the hospital. 
She is then charged with the task of going to Stockholm, finding Hanssen and more particularly, finding out why he is sabotaging what would be a lifeline to Holby General. What follows is a story exploring Hanssen's past, discovering why he has been missing for the past few months, and also looking towards his future and whether he will indeed return to Holby. And, presumably, when Jac catches up with him, she'll smack that mother right across the chops till he bubbles, and begs for mercy. Or something. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Luc is haunted by events from the past and despite Michael and Sacha's best efforts, he seems to be heading off the rails. Will he be able to face his fears and get back on track?
Yer actual Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer his very self will be awarded The Writer's Guild of Great Britain Award at The British Comedy Awards later. Mortimer said: 'I'm really proud that Jim and I have always written our own guff. It's great to have that recognised.'
Cuba Gooding Junior, Louis Smith and Joan Collins will be handing out awards. Why, no one knows. It will also be revealed who has won the Outstanding Achievement award, voted for by fans. Alan Carr, Sarah Millican, Lee Mack, Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall and David Mitchell have all been nominated. The last two will also battle it out for the Smuggest Unfunny Tit Of The Year prize. Allegedly. Comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer have written and starred in several programmes together on TV since 1990, including Vic Reeves' Big Night Out, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and the cult quiz show Shooting Stars, which was broadcast intermittently between 1993 and 2011. Reeves said on hearing the news: 'I am most cock-a-hoop over being awarded this most prestigious of trophies.' Which he did so with a straight face, yer actual Keith Telly Topping wouldn't dare to hazard a guess.
The police operation investigating alleged abuse carried out by alleged dirty old scallywag and rotter Jimmy Savile has been completed, with the number of alleged victims now alleged to be well over five hundred. According to press reports. And, of course, they're always right. Scotland Yard said that Operation Yewtree, the inquiry into allegations of historic abuse, was 'collating its report' and hoped to publish early in the New Year. Yewtree has three strands - offences alleged to have been committed by Savile himself, offences alleged to have been committed by Savile in conspiracy with others and offences alleged to have been committed by others. Seven people have been questioned by police so far. Of these, six were arrested. High-profile names arrested in connection with the investigation are self-styled 'PR consultant' Max Clifford, the (alleged) comedian Freddie Starr, former Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis and former TV producer Wilfred De'Ath, who all deny any wrongdoing.
Former pop star and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, who was also arrested, but has not yet made a statement concerning his reaction to the charges. A man in his eighties was also questioned under caution, although was not arrested and, this week, another - unnamed - man in his sixties was arrested. Operation Yewtree has thirty officers and has so far cost the taxpayer around two million quid. Scotland Yard said it hoped to provide 'as clear a picture as possible' on Savile's alleged offending, 'giving a voice to those who have come forward and helping shape future child protection safeguards.' Savile, who died last year aged eighty four, was best known as a Radio 1 DJ and the presenter of Jim'll Fix It on BBC1. The BBC has announced two inquiries as a result of the abuse claims and a further review into the current sexual harassment policies at the corporation. There is a further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dropping of a Newsnight investigation into Savile in 2011. Other inquiries being carried out into Savile's alleged behaviour, besides Operation Yewtree, include the director of public prosecutions' review into the decision not to prosecute Savile in 2009.
The Daily Torygraph, the most persistent monitor of MPs' expenses, ran a piece on Tuesday about the lack of culture secretary the vile and odious rascal Miller being reported to the parliamentary standards watchdog because she claimed ninety grand for a second home where her parents lived. According to a front page story in Wednesday's Torygraph, the paper claims that it was 'warned' by the vile and odious rascal Miller's 'adviser', prior to publishing its story, 'to consider the minister's role in implementing the Leveson report.' The Torygraph alleges that the vile and odious rascal Miller's 'special adviser' said she wanted to 'flag up' the minister's connection to press regulation after the paper had established that the vile and odious rascal Miller's parents lived in her taxpayer-funded second home. The vile and odious rascal Miller has stated that this 'arrangement' is 'perfectly reasonable' and that her expenses - having been audited twice before - are 'absolutely in order.' But, the Torygraph, surprised at the response by Miller's office to its revelations, has taken the unusual step of deciding 'to disclose details of the private conversations' between its reporters and the minister's advisers. So, this is war, basically. Ms Miller, we will not let you go, and all that. The Torygraph states that it has done this 'amid widespread concern about the potential dangers of politicians being given a role in overseeing the regulation of the press.' They state: 'This organisation first approached the culture secretary's office on Thursday afternoon last week, a day before David Cameron announced that the government would be backing gay marriage and allowing ceremonies to take place in some churches. When a reporter approached Mrs Miller's office last Thursday, her special adviser, Joanna Hindley, pointed out that the editor of the Telegraph was involved in meetings with the prime minister and the culture secretary over implementing the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson. "Maria has obviously been having quite a lot of editors' meetings around Leveson at the moment. So I am just going to kind of flag up that connection for you to think about," said Miss Hindley. Hindley also said the reporter should discuss the issue with "people a little higher up your organisation." Miss Hindley immediately contacted the Telegraph's head of public affairs to raise concerns about the story. The news group decided to delay publication in order to ensure the facts were correct. Having carried out further checks, the newspaper concluded that the story was accurate and decided to publish the article at the first opportunity, meaning it appeared on the day same-sex marriage was debated in the Commons.
Miss Hindley also accused the Telegraph of "harassing" Mrs Miller's father, John Lewis. In fact, reporters had a brief conversation with Mr Lewis in order to establish how long he had lived with Mrs Miller. Over the course of the conversation, Mr Lewis said he enjoyed reading the Telegraph. Mrs Miller also contacted the Telegraph to complain about her parents being approached. "Irrespective of whatever you are investigating, I cannot see a justification for this family intrusion. I should be grateful if you could confirm that you now understand the basis of my concern and that on reflection this could have been handled differently," wrote Mrs Miller. She also claimed that the journalist had not identified herself at the start of the conversation, which was inaccurate.' So, that's them told. It transpired that the vile and odious rascal Miller was reported to the parliamentary commissioner for standards on Monday by Labour MP John Mann. He pointed out that her arrangement was 'identical' to that of the former Labour minister Tony McNulty, who in 2009 was required to pay back more than thirteen grand in expenses claimed on a second home occupied by his parents. The vile and odious rascal Miller claimed more than ninety thousand smackers on a house in Wimbledon, between 2005 and 2009, where her parents lived with her family. A spokesman for the vile and odious rascal Miller said the parents lived with the family 'as dependants.' The parliamentary commissioner John Lyon stated in his report on McNulty that this was 'unacceptable.' The vile and odious rascal Miller's aides insisted that her arrangements were 'approved' by the parliamentary fees office and audited twice. But McNulty's expenses were also approved by the fees office. Now the Gruniad have got hold of the story as well and, in a strong worded comment piece yer actual Roy Greenslade notes: 'I think Miller's aides - and Miller - have questions to answer, not just about the expenses, but about the way the Telegraph was treated. The mention of Leveson, and the call to the Telegraph's "head of public affairs", were sinister moves that, on the face of it, amounted pressure to prevent publication. It would be extraordinary for any minister to respond to a paper in such a way. For a culture secretary who is involved in the sensitive business of deciding on the implementation of the Leveson report, it was a disgraceful act.'
Simon Pegg, Rob Brydon, Martin Clunes, David Walliams and Gillian Anderson are among the star names providing the voices for BBC1's new Christmas Day animation Room On The Broom. From the team behind The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, the thirty-minute broadcast is among the BBC's festive highlights. Based on the award-winning book by Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, it tells the story of a witch who invites an unusual mix of animals on her broomstick, much to the annoyance of her cat. The episode was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures.
The BBC1 science show Bang Goes the Theory misleadingly downplayed the likely impact of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster by stating it has only claimed about one hundred lives, the BBC Trust has ruled. Indeed, I mean everybody knows about the horrors of Soviet underpants and Chernobyl fallout. The Trust's editorial standards committee has ruled that a show broadcast on 3 October last year looking at the issue of nuclear power and the impact of radiation gave a 'misleading impression' by failing to include research suggesting there could eventually be up to sixteen thousand premature deaths from the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. The Trust ruled Bang Goes the Theory failed audiences by not looking at the wider impact of radiation, particularly given its mission to reveal 'the truth about the effects of radiation. Viewers would be likely to be left with the impression that a relatively small number of deaths was the only serious adverse health outcome from the radiation fallout from Chernobyl,' said the BBC Trust. 'The committee considered this would be a misleading impression based on the evidence and there had been a breach of accuracy in respect of how the programme reflected the health effects of radiation fallout from Chernobyl.'
Bang Goes the Theory was looking at the issue of nuclear power in the wake of the reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima plant in Japan following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. One section of the magazine show aimed to 'wipe the slate clean and find out the truth of the effects of radiation.' The show argued that in the wake of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the second world war an inaccurate public perception of the actual health risks from nuclear power plant disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima had developed. The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee received a complaint on behalf of more than fifty co-signatories that the show was 'extremely selective' in the figures it quoted about the impact of radiation released following the Chernobyl disaster and minimised the 'more significant and contentious issue' of the secondary effects of health problems such as thyroid cancer. Bang Goes the Theory cited the Chernobyl Forum report as authoritative and one of its key sources for its nuclear power piece. But the ESC found that the show failed to mention in its broadcast comments made to the BBC in March last year by one of the report's principal authors that there is an expectation of forty thousand extra cancers as a result of Chernobyl, resulting in sixteen thousand premature deaths.
The outgoing chief executive of the Royal Television Society has accused BBC News executives of 'an unwillingness to address things that are manifestly wrong' over a Newsnight report earlier this year which incorrectly portrayed a working single mother as unemployed and dependent on benefits. Simon Albury, a former World in Action producer, said there was a 'culture of denial' at senior levels in BBC News as he expressed his frustration over the slow way the corporation dealt with complaints over Newsnight's 23 May interview by political editor Allegra Stratton with black single mother Shanene Thorpe. Within three days of the interview being broadcast an online petition asking the BBC to apologise had gathered twenty thousand signatures. Newsnight apologised privately to Thorpe just over a week after the report was broadcast and published an apology on its website, but did not broadcast an on-air apology until more than three months later. Albury also linked this incident with the BBC's tardy reaction to the furore over Newsnight's abandoned Jimmy Savile investigation in late 2011 and subsequent treatment of Lord MacAlpine. He said there was 'a culture of denial at the top of BBC News and Current affairs and an unwillingness to address things that are manifestly wrong.' Albury, in his speech at his retirement party from the society on Monday night, said that he became worried about the Thorpe interview because in February Newsnight had won programme of the year at the RTS Journalism awards for its output between November 2010 and November 2011, and was displaying the RTS logo in its end credits.
The online petition was addressed to nine people – programme editor Peter Rippon, BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow, BBC News executives Helen Boaden and Peter Horrocks, Newsnight presenters Jeremy Paxman, Kirsty Wark, Gavin Esler and Emily Maitlis, and then director general Mark Thompson. After three days, Albury said he asked the BBC what Newsnight's response was and got the reply: 'We are aware she has started a petition. When we actually get the complaint we will investigate and respond.' He added: 'So the whole top chain of command from the Newsnight editor up gets a petition from twenty thousand people raising a serious issue of misrepresentation – and the BBC don't plan to investigate because they haven't received a formal complaint. It took Newsnight more than three months to broadcast an apology for creating the impression Shanene Thorpe was unemployed, wholly dependent on benefits and living off the state as a lifestyle choice – none of which was true. It is inconceivable to me you would find this kind of misrepresentation outside the BBC – on Sky or any other commercial public service broadcaster. The Shanene Thorpe story and the events of the last few months show that today it is the commercial broadcasters who keep the BBC honest.' Albury concluded by saying: 'At least with Tony Hall [as director general] the BBC stands a chance of being restored to its former pre-eminence.'
The UK government's Draft Communications Data Bill is to be completely rewritten after being subjected to widespread criticism during a review. The controversial legislation would have forced Internet service providers and website owners to monitor every page its users visit, and turn the data over to police, tax officials and other security services if deemed necessary. However, MPs and Peers from the UK's major political parties condemned the so-called 'snooping bill' in its current form, forcing the government to take it back to the drawing board. 'We recognise this is a difficult issue. We will take account of what the committee said,' said a spokesperson for the coalition.
A pre-legislative review committee concluded that the proposed measures are in violation of web users' privacy, would require deeper consultation with service providers, and are likely to cost far more than the predicted £1.8 billion. 'There is a fine but crucial line between allowing our law enforcement and security agencies access to the information they need to protect the country and allowing our citizens to go about their daily business without a fear, however unjustified, that the state is monitoring their every move,' said the committee's joint chair Lord Blencathra. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was among the most vocal of the bill's opponents, admitting his government must have a 'fundamental rethink' on the matter. 'We cannot proceed with this bill and we have to go back to the drawing board.' Despite the backlash, Home Office continues to back the reforms, insisting they are vital to bring 'paedophiles, terrorists and other serious criminals' to justice.
Kraftwerk fans have brought the Tate Modern's website to a standstill after a rush to buy tickets for a retrospective of their LPs in February. The German electro pioneers are due to play eight shows in the Turbine Hall, playing an LP in full each night. But Tate's website crashed under the demand when booking opened at 07:30. Lines were then jammed after the gallery advised fans to try booking via its telephone booking system as Kraftwerk brought the Internet to a standstill. Vorsprung Durch Technik, as it were.
Kraftwerk were at the forefront of synthesiser pop and had a huge influence on hip-hop, electronic and dance music from the late 1970s onwards. Kraftwerk: The Catalogue is described as a 'chronological exploration of the group's sonic and visual experiments' and promises 'spectacular 3D effects.' It was first performed at New York's Museum of Modern Art earlier this year. Beginning with their fourth LP, 1974's ground-breaking Autobahn, the quartet will also play Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour De France (2003), along with additional compositions from their back catalogue. The shows will be the group's first in London since 2004. And yer actual Keith Telly Topping his very self, a massive fan of long-standing, is, frankly, Goddamn pissed off that, because he's in the middle of a triple-dip recession, he's unable to get down and see one of the shows. Even if he could get through on the phone.
Walking back towards Stately Telly Topping Manor from Mama Telly Topping's nearby gaff on Tuesday evening, on a beautiful cloudless (and very cold) winter evening on Tyneside, yer actual Keith Telly Topping looked skyward and saw a beautiful shining object in the East with a smaller, less bright, slightly more orangey object below to its left. 'Ah,' Keith Telly Topping his very self thought to himself, 'so yer actual Sir Paul McCartney MBE was right all along. Venus and Mars *ARE* all right, tonite.' (Except, as it happens, 'Venus' was really 'Jupiter.' But that doesn't make such a good LP title.)
The Indian sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar has died in the US, aged ninety two. His family said that he had been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla near San Diego last week, but had failed to recover fully from surgery. Shankar, often referred to by the title Pandit, gained widespread international recognition through his outstanding music which brought the sound of the sitar to a Western audience and, more specifically, through his association with The Beatles during the 1960s. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Ravi as 'a national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage.' Shankar became Asia's first superstar musician in the Western world, but was always drawn back to the revered classical traditions of his beloved sitar. 
In a statement quoted by Reuters, Shankar's wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said that he had recently undergone surgery which would have 'potentially given him a new lease of life. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery,' they said. 'We were at his side when he passed away. Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. He will live forever in our hearts and in his music.' His close friend and one-time student George Harrison once described Shankar as 'the Godfather of world music.' Ravi played at both Woodstock in 1969 and the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and also collaborated with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane who named his son after Ravi. 
His other regular collaborators included the Bengali sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan and his father, the multi-instrumentalist Allauddin Khan and tabla player Chatur Lal. Shankar also composed a number of film scores - notably Satyajit Ray's celebrated Apu trilogy (1951-55) and Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) - and collaborated with US composer Philip Glass in Passages (1990). Talking in later life about his experiences at Monterey, Ravi said he was 'shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly.' He told Rolling Stone magazine that he was 'horrified' when Jimi Hendrix infamously set his guitar on fire on stage. 'That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God,' he said. In 1999, Shankar was awarded the highest civilian citation in India - the Bharat Ratna, or Jewel of India. Born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, in April 1920, into a middle-class Bengali family in the ancient city of Varanasi, Ravi was originally a dancer with his elder brother's troupe. The family lived in rather modest circumstances and rarely saw Shankar's father, an Oxford-educated lawyer and prominent Sanskrit scholar and lecturer, and when Shankar's brother, Uday, made a name for himself in Europe by forming his own dance company, Ravi, their mother and his two other brothers joined Uday in Paris. 
There they mixed with luminaries like the novelist Gertrude Stein, classical guitarist Andres Segovia and the songwriter Cole Porter. Touring Europe and North America as part of Uday's troupe, Ravi became captivated when the virtuoso Indian musician, Baba Allauddin Khan, played with them. Ravi gave up dancing to study the sitar at the age of eighteen and spent the next seven years studying under Khan, the founder of the Maihar Gharana style of Hindustani classical music. Ravi often studied with Khan's children Ali Akbar Khan - who became a life-long friend and frequent collaborator and Annapurna Devi - whom Ravi later married. Shankar began to perform publicly on sitar in December 1939 and his début performance was a jugalbandi with Ali Akbar Khan, who played sarod. 'Khan told me you have to leave everything else and do one thing properly,' Shankar later said in an interview with the Associated Press. Ravi completed his training in 1944 and moved to Mumbai, joining the Indian People's Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets. He began to record music for HMV India and worked as a music director for All India Radio in New Delhi, from 1949 until 1956. Shankar founded the Indian National Orchestra at AIR and composed for it; in his compositions he often combined Western and classical Indian instrumentation. Ravi married Allauddin Khan's daughter Annapurna Devi in 1941 and a son, Shubhendra Shankar, was born in 1942. The couple separated during the late 1940s and Ravi then had a lengthy relationship with Kamala Shastri, a dancer. An affair with Sue Jones, a New York concert producer, led to the birth of their daughter, the Grammy award-winning singer, Norah Jones in 1979. In 1981 another daughter, Anoushka Shankar, was born to Ravi and Sukanya Rajan, whom Ravi had known since the 1970s and whom he married in 1989. Shanker built a reputation for himself as a classical soloist and composer of innovative stage musicals and film scores. The violinist Yehudi Menuhin was enchanted by Ravi's music, comparing his genius to that of Mozart. 
The pair became close friends and together issued three volumes of East Meets West recordings in the 1960s. By that stage Shanker was already known to a select circle in the West thanks to a series of brilliant virtuous recordings, beginning with Three Ragas, recorded in London in 1956. Shankar befriended Richard Bock, founder of World Pacific Records, during his first American tour and recorded most of his LPs in the 1950s and 1960s for Bock's label. The Byrds recorded at the same Los Angeles studio as Ravi, which led them to incorporate some of its elements in their own take on raga-rock (most notably on 'Eight Miles High' and 'Why?'). In 1965 David Crosby introduced Shankar's music to his friend George Harrison who subsequently became interested in Indian classical music, bought a sitar in London and used it to used to great acclaim on the John Lennon song 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)'. Shankar, who was typically direct, later said that 'it sounded horrible!' Harrison first met Ravi in London in 1966 and, later in the year, visited India for six weeks to study sitar under Shankar's tutorage at the latter's home in Srinagar, Kashmir. During the visit - and a subsequent one in 1968 - a documentary film about Shankar named Raga was shot by Howard Worth. It was eventually released in 1971. Shankar's association with Harrison greatly increased Ravi's profile in the West. In 1967, he performed at Monterey and won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance for West Meets East, one of his collaborations with Yehudi Menuhin. The same year, The Beatles' released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which included 'Within You Without You', the most overt example of Harrison's devotion to the Hindustani classical music to which Ravi his introduced him. Shankar opened a Western branch of the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, in May 1967, and published an autobiography, My Music, My Life, in 1968. Ravi's appearances at Monterey and Woodstock were not an entirely happy experience. He was said to be rather disturbed by the drug-taking of the great unwashed hippie scum masses and - slightly more seriously - hurt by some Indian critics who sneered that he was becoming 'Americanised.' 
His own doubts that some of his Western audience derived anything meaningful from his music were, at least in part, confirmed at one of the Harrison-organised concerts to raise funds for the Bangladesh refugee crisis of 1971, when his and Ali Akbar Khan's two-minute tuning session was greeted by a standing ovation at the end. 'If you appreciate the tuning so much, I hope you'll enjoy the playing even more!' he said with a dry and gentle wit. Nevertheless, whilst Shanker's Western audience continued to grow, at the same time he set about rebuilding his domestic audience, performing ancient ragas in traditional form, whilst retaining his international profile. During the 1970s, Shankar and Harrison worked together again, recording Shankar Family & Friends in 1973 and touring North America the following year. 
The demanding schedule weakened Shankar, and he suffered a heart attack in Chicago in November 1974. The touring band - including Shankar and Harrison - visited the White House at the invitation of John Ford, son of the then-President Gerald Ford. While living with his second wife in San Diego, Ravi enjoyed the blossoming talent on sitar of his daughter, Anoushka, with whom he played on tour. But it was the daughter from his earlier relationship with Sue Jones, the multi Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones, who claimed more attention. Shankar continued to be a bridge between East and West into his eighties. More precious to him, though, were the traditions of India: yoga, dance, the philosophical ideas and, above all, the music. For the last years of his life, Ravi Shankar lived in Encinitas, California, with his wife, Sukanya. His last performance was with Anoushka on 4 November in Long Beach, to mark his tenth decade on the musical stage. यात्रा कर कर के बिना बिना सब कुछ कर रही पहुंचें
So, for those younger dear blog readers who, perhaps, have never even heard Ravi Shankar play, yer actual Keith Telly Topping's 33(s) of the Day feature a couple of pieces of genuine Indian mystique. In New York
And at Monterey
Jai Guru dev.
Meanwhile, here's a glimpse of The Doctor's most terrifying encounter yet. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
She is then charged with the task of going to Stockholm, finding Hanssen and more particularly, finding out why he is sabotaging what would be a lifeline to Holby General. What follows is a story exploring Hanssen's past, discovering why he has been missing for the past few months, and also looking towards his future and whether he will indeed return to Holby. And, presumably, when Jac catches up with him, she'll smack that mother right across the chops till he bubbles, and begs for mercy. Or something. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Luc is haunted by events from the past and despite Michael and Sacha's best efforts, he seems to be heading off the rails. Will he be able to face his fears and get back on track?Yer actual Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer his very self will be awarded The Writer's Guild of Great Britain Award at The British Comedy Awards later. Mortimer said: 'I'm really proud that Jim and I have always written our own guff. It's great to have that recognised.'
Cuba Gooding Junior, Louis Smith and Joan Collins will be handing out awards. Why, no one knows. It will also be revealed who has won the Outstanding Achievement award, voted for by fans. Alan Carr, Sarah Millican, Lee Mack, Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall and David Mitchell have all been nominated. The last two will also battle it out for the Smuggest Unfunny Tit Of The Year prize. Allegedly. Comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer have written and starred in several programmes together on TV since 1990, including Vic Reeves' Big Night Out, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and the cult quiz show Shooting Stars, which was broadcast intermittently between 1993 and 2011. Reeves said on hearing the news: 'I am most cock-a-hoop over being awarded this most prestigious of trophies.' Which he did so with a straight face, yer actual Keith Telly Topping wouldn't dare to hazard a guess. The police operation investigating alleged abuse carried out by alleged dirty old scallywag and rotter Jimmy Savile has been completed, with the number of alleged victims now alleged to be well over five hundred. According to press reports. And, of course, they're always right. Scotland Yard said that Operation Yewtree, the inquiry into allegations of historic abuse, was 'collating its report' and hoped to publish early in the New Year. Yewtree has three strands - offences alleged to have been committed by Savile himself, offences alleged to have been committed by Savile in conspiracy with others and offences alleged to have been committed by others. Seven people have been questioned by police so far. Of these, six were arrested. High-profile names arrested in connection with the investigation are self-styled 'PR consultant' Max Clifford, the (alleged) comedian Freddie Starr, former Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis and former TV producer Wilfred De'Ath, who all deny any wrongdoing.
Former pop star and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, who was also arrested, but has not yet made a statement concerning his reaction to the charges. A man in his eighties was also questioned under caution, although was not arrested and, this week, another - unnamed - man in his sixties was arrested. Operation Yewtree has thirty officers and has so far cost the taxpayer around two million quid. Scotland Yard said it hoped to provide 'as clear a picture as possible' on Savile's alleged offending, 'giving a voice to those who have come forward and helping shape future child protection safeguards.' Savile, who died last year aged eighty four, was best known as a Radio 1 DJ and the presenter of Jim'll Fix It on BBC1. The BBC has announced two inquiries as a result of the abuse claims and a further review into the current sexual harassment policies at the corporation. There is a further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dropping of a Newsnight investigation into Savile in 2011. Other inquiries being carried out into Savile's alleged behaviour, besides Operation Yewtree, include the director of public prosecutions' review into the decision not to prosecute Savile in 2009.The Daily Torygraph, the most persistent monitor of MPs' expenses, ran a piece on Tuesday about the lack of culture secretary the vile and odious rascal Miller being reported to the parliamentary standards watchdog because she claimed ninety grand for a second home where her parents lived. According to a front page story in Wednesday's Torygraph, the paper claims that it was 'warned' by the vile and odious rascal Miller's 'adviser', prior to publishing its story, 'to consider the minister's role in implementing the Leveson report.' The Torygraph alleges that the vile and odious rascal Miller's 'special adviser' said she wanted to 'flag up' the minister's connection to press regulation after the paper had established that the vile and odious rascal Miller's parents lived in her taxpayer-funded second home. The vile and odious rascal Miller has stated that this 'arrangement' is 'perfectly reasonable' and that her expenses - having been audited twice before - are 'absolutely in order.' But, the Torygraph, surprised at the response by Miller's office to its revelations, has taken the unusual step of deciding 'to disclose details of the private conversations' between its reporters and the minister's advisers. So, this is war, basically. Ms Miller, we will not let you go, and all that. The Torygraph states that it has done this 'amid widespread concern about the potential dangers of politicians being given a role in overseeing the regulation of the press.' They state: 'This organisation first approached the culture secretary's office on Thursday afternoon last week, a day before David Cameron announced that the government would be backing gay marriage and allowing ceremonies to take place in some churches. When a reporter approached Mrs Miller's office last Thursday, her special adviser, Joanna Hindley, pointed out that the editor of the Telegraph was involved in meetings with the prime minister and the culture secretary over implementing the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson. "Maria has obviously been having quite a lot of editors' meetings around Leveson at the moment. So I am just going to kind of flag up that connection for you to think about," said Miss Hindley. Hindley also said the reporter should discuss the issue with "people a little higher up your organisation." Miss Hindley immediately contacted the Telegraph's head of public affairs to raise concerns about the story. The news group decided to delay publication in order to ensure the facts were correct. Having carried out further checks, the newspaper concluded that the story was accurate and decided to publish the article at the first opportunity, meaning it appeared on the day same-sex marriage was debated in the Commons.
Miss Hindley also accused the Telegraph of "harassing" Mrs Miller's father, John Lewis. In fact, reporters had a brief conversation with Mr Lewis in order to establish how long he had lived with Mrs Miller. Over the course of the conversation, Mr Lewis said he enjoyed reading the Telegraph. Mrs Miller also contacted the Telegraph to complain about her parents being approached. "Irrespective of whatever you are investigating, I cannot see a justification for this family intrusion. I should be grateful if you could confirm that you now understand the basis of my concern and that on reflection this could have been handled differently," wrote Mrs Miller. She also claimed that the journalist had not identified herself at the start of the conversation, which was inaccurate.' So, that's them told. It transpired that the vile and odious rascal Miller was reported to the parliamentary commissioner for standards on Monday by Labour MP John Mann. He pointed out that her arrangement was 'identical' to that of the former Labour minister Tony McNulty, who in 2009 was required to pay back more than thirteen grand in expenses claimed on a second home occupied by his parents. The vile and odious rascal Miller claimed more than ninety thousand smackers on a house in Wimbledon, between 2005 and 2009, where her parents lived with her family. A spokesman for the vile and odious rascal Miller said the parents lived with the family 'as dependants.' The parliamentary commissioner John Lyon stated in his report on McNulty that this was 'unacceptable.' The vile and odious rascal Miller's aides insisted that her arrangements were 'approved' by the parliamentary fees office and audited twice. But McNulty's expenses were also approved by the fees office. Now the Gruniad have got hold of the story as well and, in a strong worded comment piece yer actual Roy Greenslade notes: 'I think Miller's aides - and Miller - have questions to answer, not just about the expenses, but about the way the Telegraph was treated. The mention of Leveson, and the call to the Telegraph's "head of public affairs", were sinister moves that, on the face of it, amounted pressure to prevent publication. It would be extraordinary for any minister to respond to a paper in such a way. For a culture secretary who is involved in the sensitive business of deciding on the implementation of the Leveson report, it was a disgraceful act.'Simon Pegg, Rob Brydon, Martin Clunes, David Walliams and Gillian Anderson are among the star names providing the voices for BBC1's new Christmas Day animation Room On The Broom. From the team behind The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, the thirty-minute broadcast is among the BBC's festive highlights. Based on the award-winning book by Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, it tells the story of a witch who invites an unusual mix of animals on her broomstick, much to the annoyance of her cat. The episode was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures.
The BBC1 science show Bang Goes the Theory misleadingly downplayed the likely impact of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster by stating it has only claimed about one hundred lives, the BBC Trust has ruled. Indeed, I mean everybody knows about the horrors of Soviet underpants and Chernobyl fallout. The Trust's editorial standards committee has ruled that a show broadcast on 3 October last year looking at the issue of nuclear power and the impact of radiation gave a 'misleading impression' by failing to include research suggesting there could eventually be up to sixteen thousand premature deaths from the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. The Trust ruled Bang Goes the Theory failed audiences by not looking at the wider impact of radiation, particularly given its mission to reveal 'the truth about the effects of radiation. Viewers would be likely to be left with the impression that a relatively small number of deaths was the only serious adverse health outcome from the radiation fallout from Chernobyl,' said the BBC Trust. 'The committee considered this would be a misleading impression based on the evidence and there had been a breach of accuracy in respect of how the programme reflected the health effects of radiation fallout from Chernobyl.'
Bang Goes the Theory was looking at the issue of nuclear power in the wake of the reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima plant in Japan following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. One section of the magazine show aimed to 'wipe the slate clean and find out the truth of the effects of radiation.' The show argued that in the wake of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the second world war an inaccurate public perception of the actual health risks from nuclear power plant disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima had developed. The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee received a complaint on behalf of more than fifty co-signatories that the show was 'extremely selective' in the figures it quoted about the impact of radiation released following the Chernobyl disaster and minimised the 'more significant and contentious issue' of the secondary effects of health problems such as thyroid cancer. Bang Goes the Theory cited the Chernobyl Forum report as authoritative and one of its key sources for its nuclear power piece. But the ESC found that the show failed to mention in its broadcast comments made to the BBC in March last year by one of the report's principal authors that there is an expectation of forty thousand extra cancers as a result of Chernobyl, resulting in sixteen thousand premature deaths.The outgoing chief executive of the Royal Television Society has accused BBC News executives of 'an unwillingness to address things that are manifestly wrong' over a Newsnight report earlier this year which incorrectly portrayed a working single mother as unemployed and dependent on benefits. Simon Albury, a former World in Action producer, said there was a 'culture of denial' at senior levels in BBC News as he expressed his frustration over the slow way the corporation dealt with complaints over Newsnight's 23 May interview by political editor Allegra Stratton with black single mother Shanene Thorpe. Within three days of the interview being broadcast an online petition asking the BBC to apologise had gathered twenty thousand signatures. Newsnight apologised privately to Thorpe just over a week after the report was broadcast and published an apology on its website, but did not broadcast an on-air apology until more than three months later. Albury also linked this incident with the BBC's tardy reaction to the furore over Newsnight's abandoned Jimmy Savile investigation in late 2011 and subsequent treatment of Lord MacAlpine. He said there was 'a culture of denial at the top of BBC News and Current affairs and an unwillingness to address things that are manifestly wrong.' Albury, in his speech at his retirement party from the society on Monday night, said that he became worried about the Thorpe interview because in February Newsnight had won programme of the year at the RTS Journalism awards for its output between November 2010 and November 2011, and was displaying the RTS logo in its end credits.
The online petition was addressed to nine people – programme editor Peter Rippon, BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow, BBC News executives Helen Boaden and Peter Horrocks, Newsnight presenters Jeremy Paxman, Kirsty Wark, Gavin Esler and Emily Maitlis, and then director general Mark Thompson. After three days, Albury said he asked the BBC what Newsnight's response was and got the reply: 'We are aware she has started a petition. When we actually get the complaint we will investigate and respond.' He added: 'So the whole top chain of command from the Newsnight editor up gets a petition from twenty thousand people raising a serious issue of misrepresentation – and the BBC don't plan to investigate because they haven't received a formal complaint. It took Newsnight more than three months to broadcast an apology for creating the impression Shanene Thorpe was unemployed, wholly dependent on benefits and living off the state as a lifestyle choice – none of which was true. It is inconceivable to me you would find this kind of misrepresentation outside the BBC – on Sky or any other commercial public service broadcaster. The Shanene Thorpe story and the events of the last few months show that today it is the commercial broadcasters who keep the BBC honest.' Albury concluded by saying: 'At least with Tony Hall [as director general] the BBC stands a chance of being restored to its former pre-eminence.'The UK government's Draft Communications Data Bill is to be completely rewritten after being subjected to widespread criticism during a review. The controversial legislation would have forced Internet service providers and website owners to monitor every page its users visit, and turn the data over to police, tax officials and other security services if deemed necessary. However, MPs and Peers from the UK's major political parties condemned the so-called 'snooping bill' in its current form, forcing the government to take it back to the drawing board. 'We recognise this is a difficult issue. We will take account of what the committee said,' said a spokesperson for the coalition.
A pre-legislative review committee concluded that the proposed measures are in violation of web users' privacy, would require deeper consultation with service providers, and are likely to cost far more than the predicted £1.8 billion. 'There is a fine but crucial line between allowing our law enforcement and security agencies access to the information they need to protect the country and allowing our citizens to go about their daily business without a fear, however unjustified, that the state is monitoring their every move,' said the committee's joint chair Lord Blencathra. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was among the most vocal of the bill's opponents, admitting his government must have a 'fundamental rethink' on the matter. 'We cannot proceed with this bill and we have to go back to the drawing board.' Despite the backlash, Home Office continues to back the reforms, insisting they are vital to bring 'paedophiles, terrorists and other serious criminals' to justice.Kraftwerk fans have brought the Tate Modern's website to a standstill after a rush to buy tickets for a retrospective of their LPs in February. The German electro pioneers are due to play eight shows in the Turbine Hall, playing an LP in full each night. But Tate's website crashed under the demand when booking opened at 07:30. Lines were then jammed after the gallery advised fans to try booking via its telephone booking system as Kraftwerk brought the Internet to a standstill. Vorsprung Durch Technik, as it were.
Kraftwerk were at the forefront of synthesiser pop and had a huge influence on hip-hop, electronic and dance music from the late 1970s onwards. Kraftwerk: The Catalogue is described as a 'chronological exploration of the group's sonic and visual experiments' and promises 'spectacular 3D effects.' It was first performed at New York's Museum of Modern Art earlier this year. Beginning with their fourth LP, 1974's ground-breaking Autobahn, the quartet will also play Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour De France (2003), along with additional compositions from their back catalogue. The shows will be the group's first in London since 2004. And yer actual Keith Telly Topping his very self, a massive fan of long-standing, is, frankly, Goddamn pissed off that, because he's in the middle of a triple-dip recession, he's unable to get down and see one of the shows. Even if he could get through on the phone. 
In a statement quoted by Reuters, Shankar's wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said that he had recently undergone surgery which would have 'potentially given him a new lease of life. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery,' they said. 'We were at his side when he passed away. Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. He will live forever in our hearts and in his music.' His close friend and one-time student George Harrison once described Shankar as 'the Godfather of world music.' Ravi played at both Woodstock in 1969 and the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and also collaborated with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane who named his son after Ravi. 
His other regular collaborators included the Bengali sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan and his father, the multi-instrumentalist Allauddin Khan and tabla player Chatur Lal. Shankar also composed a number of film scores - notably Satyajit Ray's celebrated Apu trilogy (1951-55) and Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) - and collaborated with US composer Philip Glass in Passages (1990). Talking in later life about his experiences at Monterey, Ravi said he was 'shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly.' He told Rolling Stone magazine that he was 'horrified' when Jimi Hendrix infamously set his guitar on fire on stage. 'That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God,' he said. In 1999, Shankar was awarded the highest civilian citation in India - the Bharat Ratna, or Jewel of India. Born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, in April 1920, into a middle-class Bengali family in the ancient city of Varanasi, Ravi was originally a dancer with his elder brother's troupe. The family lived in rather modest circumstances and rarely saw Shankar's father, an Oxford-educated lawyer and prominent Sanskrit scholar and lecturer, and when Shankar's brother, Uday, made a name for himself in Europe by forming his own dance company, Ravi, their mother and his two other brothers joined Uday in Paris. 
There they mixed with luminaries like the novelist Gertrude Stein, classical guitarist Andres Segovia and the songwriter Cole Porter. Touring Europe and North America as part of Uday's troupe, Ravi became captivated when the virtuoso Indian musician, Baba Allauddin Khan, played with them. Ravi gave up dancing to study the sitar at the age of eighteen and spent the next seven years studying under Khan, the founder of the Maihar Gharana style of Hindustani classical music. Ravi often studied with Khan's children Ali Akbar Khan - who became a life-long friend and frequent collaborator and Annapurna Devi - whom Ravi later married. Shankar began to perform publicly on sitar in December 1939 and his début performance was a jugalbandi with Ali Akbar Khan, who played sarod. 'Khan told me you have to leave everything else and do one thing properly,' Shankar later said in an interview with the Associated Press. Ravi completed his training in 1944 and moved to Mumbai, joining the Indian People's Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets. He began to record music for HMV India and worked as a music director for All India Radio in New Delhi, from 1949 until 1956. Shankar founded the Indian National Orchestra at AIR and composed for it; in his compositions he often combined Western and classical Indian instrumentation. Ravi married Allauddin Khan's daughter Annapurna Devi in 1941 and a son, Shubhendra Shankar, was born in 1942. The couple separated during the late 1940s and Ravi then had a lengthy relationship with Kamala Shastri, a dancer. An affair with Sue Jones, a New York concert producer, led to the birth of their daughter, the Grammy award-winning singer, Norah Jones in 1979. In 1981 another daughter, Anoushka Shankar, was born to Ravi and Sukanya Rajan, whom Ravi had known since the 1970s and whom he married in 1989. Shanker built a reputation for himself as a classical soloist and composer of innovative stage musicals and film scores. The violinist Yehudi Menuhin was enchanted by Ravi's music, comparing his genius to that of Mozart. 
The pair became close friends and together issued three volumes of East Meets West recordings in the 1960s. By that stage Shanker was already known to a select circle in the West thanks to a series of brilliant virtuous recordings, beginning with Three Ragas, recorded in London in 1956. Shankar befriended Richard Bock, founder of World Pacific Records, during his first American tour and recorded most of his LPs in the 1950s and 1960s for Bock's label. The Byrds recorded at the same Los Angeles studio as Ravi, which led them to incorporate some of its elements in their own take on raga-rock (most notably on 'Eight Miles High' and 'Why?'). In 1965 David Crosby introduced Shankar's music to his friend George Harrison who subsequently became interested in Indian classical music, bought a sitar in London and used it to used to great acclaim on the John Lennon song 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)'. Shankar, who was typically direct, later said that 'it sounded horrible!' Harrison first met Ravi in London in 1966 and, later in the year, visited India for six weeks to study sitar under Shankar's tutorage at the latter's home in Srinagar, Kashmir. During the visit - and a subsequent one in 1968 - a documentary film about Shankar named Raga was shot by Howard Worth. It was eventually released in 1971. Shankar's association with Harrison greatly increased Ravi's profile in the West. In 1967, he performed at Monterey and won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance for West Meets East, one of his collaborations with Yehudi Menuhin. The same year, The Beatles' released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which included 'Within You Without You', the most overt example of Harrison's devotion to the Hindustani classical music to which Ravi his introduced him. Shankar opened a Western branch of the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, in May 1967, and published an autobiography, My Music, My Life, in 1968. Ravi's appearances at Monterey and Woodstock were not an entirely happy experience. He was said to be rather disturbed by the drug-taking of the great unwashed hippie scum masses and - slightly more seriously - hurt by some Indian critics who sneered that he was becoming 'Americanised.' 
His own doubts that some of his Western audience derived anything meaningful from his music were, at least in part, confirmed at one of the Harrison-organised concerts to raise funds for the Bangladesh refugee crisis of 1971, when his and Ali Akbar Khan's two-minute tuning session was greeted by a standing ovation at the end. 'If you appreciate the tuning so much, I hope you'll enjoy the playing even more!' he said with a dry and gentle wit. Nevertheless, whilst Shanker's Western audience continued to grow, at the same time he set about rebuilding his domestic audience, performing ancient ragas in traditional form, whilst retaining his international profile. During the 1970s, Shankar and Harrison worked together again, recording Shankar Family & Friends in 1973 and touring North America the following year. 
The demanding schedule weakened Shankar, and he suffered a heart attack in Chicago in November 1974. The touring band - including Shankar and Harrison - visited the White House at the invitation of John Ford, son of the then-President Gerald Ford. While living with his second wife in San Diego, Ravi enjoyed the blossoming talent on sitar of his daughter, Anoushka, with whom he played on tour. But it was the daughter from his earlier relationship with Sue Jones, the multi Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones, who claimed more attention. Shankar continued to be a bridge between East and West into his eighties. More precious to him, though, were the traditions of India: yoga, dance, the philosophical ideas and, above all, the music. For the last years of his life, Ravi Shankar lived in Encinitas, California, with his wife, Sukanya. His last performance was with Anoushka on 4 November in Long Beach, to mark his tenth decade on the musical stage. यात्रा कर कर के बिना बिना सब कुछ कर रही पहुंचेंSo, for those younger dear blog readers who, perhaps, have never even heard Ravi Shankar play, yer actual Keith Telly Topping's 33(s) of the Day feature a couple of pieces of genuine Indian mystique. In New York
