MAN OVERBOARD! DID HE JUMP, OR WAS HE PUSHED?

Drummond Bone-Head has finally resigned as Chair of the Capital of Culture Board.

Did he jump to go to a highly paid university sinecure somewhere more salubrious, or was he pushed over the side by fireman Bradley?

Whatever the answer - and there is much informed speculation about both possibilities - one thing is clear.

His departure brings to an end two wasted years, during which time his Culture Company Board have done a resounding bugger all to make 2008 a success for Liverpool.

Instead they have constantly re-arranged the deck-chairs on the Titanic (and thrown public money around like it was confetti), while watching helplessly from the rails as the ruinously expensive ship slides slowly beneath the icy waters (he's getting quite poetic these days, isn't he? ed)

The Maserati-driving Bone Head has been singularly unimpressive. His dull and listless performances have, at times, even made the Harbarrowboy look as though he has got half a brain.


Indeed he is only just trailing behind Jase in the 'sack him' demands from blog afficionados.

Bone-Head's main claim to fame has been cosying up to professional Scouser Cilla Black at some posh do for the great and the good in Westminster. This was in fact, why Bone Head agreed to be Henshaw's placeman on the Culture Company Board - so some of the anticipated (but still missing, ed) glitter would be liberally sprinkled over his benevolent shoulders and he would pick up a gong in gratitude from Gordon Brown's New Years Honours list for 2008.

Alas, for him both the glitteratti and the gong have failed to materialise (like much else that has been promised for 2008, ed)

So another departure from the Culture Company - first Robbing was given the push and then there was a night of the long knives for the other useless placemen and women who were serving themselves. It is bound to raise even more questions and doubts about the 'plans' for 2008. (But you won't read any of this in the Echo, ed)

Bone-head has been an utter disaster in charge of the do-nothing Culture Board and is jumping ship before he is forced to carry the can for 2008.

Which means, someone (Roger Phillips? Phil Redmond? Colin Cover Up? Cilla? ed) will now have to step forward to shoulder the increasing burden.

Talk about a poisoned chalice...

Betting for the new Chair of the Board: That bloke from the Phil 6-1, Mike Storey 9-1, Roger Phillips 25-1, Sexy Rexy 50-1, Stan Boardman 9-4 on, Tony Blair 5-4 (well he's got nothing better to do now, ed), Cilla evens, Jimmy Tarbuck 250-1, Sir Diddy 500-1 (and he was lucky to get the one, ed)

POLICE QUIZ LIB DEM CHIEF WHIP OVER ELECTION 'DIRTY TRICKS'

POLICE have questioned a senior Lib Dem under caution over allegations that he was at the centre of local election 'dirty tricks.'
It's claimed that Lib Dem chief whip Councillor Steve Hurst was caught delivering a fake leaflet to voters in Belle Vale ward.
Hurst, a fireman, was caught in the act of posting a leaflet through letterboxes purporting to be from 'a real socialist party - TUSP', it is alleged.
When confronted by angry residents, there was a doorstep dust-up during which, it's claimed, Hurst assaulted a member of the public as he tried to escape.
It is also believed that one resident had used his mobile phone to photograph Hurst in the act of delivering the bogus leaflets.
In the fracas that followed, Hurst also dropped his filofax, containing his name and address details, before finally scarpering.
There may also be complaints that Hurst caused criminal damage to private property during the confrontation.
A string of official complaints about Hurst's actions have now been made to city council chief executive Colin 'Cover Up', Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe and the Chief Fire Officer, Tony McGurk who has already promised to dismiss any staff guilty of intimidation.
Hurst's nasty leaflet was a clumsy and crude attempt to try and blacken the name of local Labour councillor Pauline Walton, whose husband is also a fireman.
The Lib Dems were clearly panicking that they could not win the seat and decided to step into the gutter.
The leaflet broke election law by carrying no imprint giving the name and address of the organisation which had printed and published it. (What has Cover Up done about that, then? ed)
It was obviously hoped that using the disgusting leaflet to spread lies about Councillor Walton and her husband would damage Labour's vote in the ward.
In the event, the voters of Belle Vale had the good sense instead to elect Labour candidate Janet Kent to join Councillor Walton.
But now Councillor Hurst, who as Lib Dem chief whip is responsible for internal group discipline (you couldn't make this stuff up, could you? ed) faces some serious questions.

Police interviewed Hurst under caution earlier this week and are expected to send a file to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if he should be prosecuted.

Cover Up and Mr McGurk could also take action.

But we doubt whether the Leader of the Council, Councillor Warren Bradley, who is also a fireman and a close friend of Councillor Hurst, will condemn these election dirty tricks and suspend him. (Although he should, ed)

£35 MILLION FOR THE EVERYMAN AND PLAYHOUSE - "A rip-off to support the few"?

WE POST THIS COMMENT FROM ONE OF OUR CULTURAL CORRESPONDENTS IN THE INTERESTS OF PROVOKING PUBLIC DEBATE (and stirring things up a bit, ed)....

I have been reading a lot recently about the Everyman Playhouse redevelopment and I am absolutely astounded that these 2 poorly attended theatres will get £25 million pounds of local funding.. a further £8million will come from the Arts Council.
I dont know what you think, but there seem to me to be at least 2 other theatres in town, The Neptune and the Royal Court, which could do with a couple of million each to refurbish them.
I know the Neptune is closed at the moment but the Royal Court seems to be quite busy, and when they have been producing their own shows they sell out.
I know the history behind the Playhouse, but £35million, come on it's a ripoff to support the few.
Maybe 2000 people go to the Everyman and the Playhouse each week, and if they were to pay £1 extra it would take over 335 years to repay the money.
So the public are expected to sponsor the art snobs for the next 3 centuries.
any way just my tuppence worth

Takeme Hatoff

The venerable Alan Churchman writes to Chas Cole re The Sefton Pops

Dear Mr Cole,

Australian Pink Floyd?

What next, The Japanese Wurzels?

If this is world-class entertainment worthy of public subsidy, then I am Tony Parrish.

Yours sincerely,

Alan K. Churchman.

BANNED AGAIN! Culture Company spin chief gives blog order of the boot!

CULTURE company spin king Paul Newman (also known as 'the invisible man', ed) has banned the blog again!
The move follows the city council's ban on the liverpoolevilcabal blog earlier this year, which badly backfired when it created huge national interest.
Not one to learn from such past mistakes, Newman has now ordered his news staff, under threat of disciplinary action, to stop sending us Culture Company press releases.
So while Newman is perfectly content to keep the Daily Mail, Express, Star, Sun and other national journals of ill-repute fed with Culture Company bollocks (which they all blissfully ignore anyway, ed) he has drawn the line at the Liverpool subculture blog.
"He doesn't like what you are saying about the company," explained one insider, "so he says that from now on you can get your information from elsewhere. We have been told we will be suspended if we send stuff out to you."
Quite how Newman justifies this selective distribution of public information (surely you mean Culture Company mallarkey? ed) is anyone's guess.
Perhaps a friendly councillor might have the temerity or the bottle to ask him the question. After all Newman is a public servant, publicly accountable, spending public money on public information. Or not, as the case may be.
Newman, the Director Of Communications, (we're not kidding, ed) has distinguished himself at the Culture Company by being indistinguishable from the wallpaper and by his willingness to say 'yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir' to anyone who cares to listen.
The loud critiscism of the Culture Company's failure to communicate anything decent, has been deafening. But Newman has so far escaped all responsibility. (Probably because no-one knows he exists or what he does, ed)
Apparently, our Christmas quiz was the source of much unhappiness inside the Fun Palace at Millennium House (and we thought this was the season to be jolly, ed) together with our affectionate and oft-repeated nickname for Jason the Harbarrowboy.
News officer Mike Doran had originally put us on the Culture Company's email list (thanks Mike, ed) but then the alarm was raised when Newman saw our site.
We were instantly removed from the list and told never to darken the Culture Company's doorstep ever again.
So as a result, we are going to slink off into a corner, lick our wounds and start to praise the Harbarrowboy and all who sail with him aboard the Titanic. Either that or we will be forced to cease production of this site entirely.
Only kidding. (He's had a few too many sherries with his mince pies folks, ed)
But you will be glad to learn that we do still have some loyal and kind friends amongst those who the Culture Company has deemed suitable to receive its words of wisdom.
They are happily forwarding on to us every press release, as soon as it is issued by Newman's loyal staff. So no harm done.
Not that we pay much attention to what is written, but, you will understand, its the principle of the thing, isn't it?
For when did official censorship become one of the Culture Company's 08 responsibilities?

OUR MISSION STATEMENT : SUBVERSIVE, INDEPENDENT, CAMPAIGNING AND CONTROVERSIAL (SICC ! )

Welcome to Liverpool subCulture - the independent web site for Capital of Culture, 2008.
We aim to subvert.
To cause trouble, to challenge established orthodoxies and to give cause for concern to the city council and the Culture Company.
Remember the celebrations above when Liverpool was chosen to be Capital of Culture in June 2003?
A lot has changed since then.
And yet nothing has changed.
Culture is still not being used to change the lives of Liverpool people for the better.
Too many Liverpool people are being left out.
Too many good staff are not fully involved.
Too many outside consultants are being hired at huge cost.
And too little has been done to deliver what was promised - the best ever European Capital of Culture.
More than three years after the title was awarded and all we get is platitudes.
Lots of empty words and little action from the bureaucrats at the council and the Culture Company.
We will hold them to account for their (in) action.
They have forgotten that it was the people of Liverpool who won Capital of Culture for the city.
Not the bureaucrats. Nor the politicians. Nor the highly paid directors who are 'here today, gone tomorrow'.
The Liverpool subCulture website, which has been inspired by the crusading example of the legendary Tony Parrish blog liverpoolevilcabal, will give the people of Liverpool a voice to have their say about their city.
About the run-up to 2008.
About the year itself.
And about the long-term future of Liverpool.
The legacy that will be left behind when all the fuss has died down.
We will provoke, challenge and poke fun.
We will cause a fuss.
We will give credit only where it is due.
And we will ferociously slag off those who let Liverpool down.
Most of all, we aim to give a voice to the people no-one hears.
To those who are ignored and left out.
To those who have a huge contribution to make to Capital of Culture.
To the people of Liverpool...