Julian Assange statement by Mark Stephens gives Swedish band Abba’s ‘Mamma Mia’ a boost

We should neither put Wikileaks founder Julian.Assange above The Law nor make him a victim of it. His success and his (alleged) misdeeds are all part of the same person. It seems fair and just that he should either be charged in this country. Or that some sort of guarantee be given by the Swedish Government that the whole thing will be 'aired' in as public a manner as possible, starting with any  'charges' to be made. Mr Assange might not like this and neither might the Swedish authorities; but how else will things pan out? Incidentally, I cannot see the necessity for anyone to stand bail for Julian Assange. Where's he going to go after all? Australia? At least he'd go at his own expense and the current advertising says ‘There’s nothing like Australia’. But I don't expect the 'Celebrity Lawyers' would like that. Incidentally, before I could watch the statement by Mark Stephens, Julian Assange's lawyer, I had to watch a minute or so of Abba’s ‘Mamma Mia’ advertising the West End show, ‘Mamma Mia’. Excellent product placement!

Product placement in 'The Archers'

Oh dear! There's a storm brewing in the teacups of 'The Archers' characters at the moment. It's all thanks to a mention of 'Duchy Shortbread'. Duchy is the brand of shortbread produced by the Prince of Wales and I think it's really delicious. So does Ian, the Chef in 'The Archers' radio series (an 'Everyday Story of Countryfolk'). As he produces a pretty mean shortbread himself, this was praise indeed for the Prince's famous brand. Unless you were listening very carefully, though, you'd have hardly heard the word 'Duchy' as Ian barely whispered the word.

Nevertheless, it was enough to have listeners writing into the BBC. Many people think that the BBC should be above that sort of 'cheap' product placement.

It just goes to show that, even though most of the avid listeners of 'The Archers' are the wrong side of 30, quite a lot of them are not as doddery and 'over-the-hill' as you might think.