Hi everyone
Hope you’re doing okay. I have just got back from a family holiday in Barcelona so my brain is a bit fuzzy and full of tapas, but I could not resist sending a newsletter given the wonderful pictures sent in by a web correspondent called Richard Banks.
Yes the photo above is a woollen/crochet recreation of Jason Beer KC’s questioning of the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells. Even better, it is a piece of guerilla public art currently sitting atop a post box outside a Post Office in the village of Pant, Shropshire. Honestly:
It is an astonishingly detailed and well-executed piece of work, and you can see more of it here.
Shaikh vs Clark
The redoubtable Eleanor Shaikh has kindly made a guest contribution to the Post Office Scandal website. El makes some good points about former Secretary of State Greg Clark (pictured) and his recent evidence to the public inquiry. Read it here.
Noel News
Former Subpostmaster Noel Thomas is a man I am proud to know. His stoicism, humility and humanity mark him out as a very special person. The readers of this newsletter were significant players in helping Noel raise the money he needed to translate his life story into English. Noel (along with his daughter Sian and ghostwriter Aled Gwyn Jôb) has now written the second and third books about this scandal.
Last week Noel was inducted into the Gorsedd of the Bards at the National Eisteddfod. This is just about the highest honour one can receive in Wales and is clearly a measure of the esteem in which he is held. Read the BBC report here.
Your vote is kindly requested
The Radio Times has set up some awards. The ITV drama, Mr Bates v The Post Office, has been nominated for two of them and the Radio 4 series The Great Post Office Trial has been nominated for another. I had a hand in both productions and I know the people behind them would be thrilled if you would consider voting for them.
If you can bring yourself to do this – be careful. The voting form is all on one page, but you have to ignore the big yellow “vote now” banner (see above) and scroll down to the first category, the “Happy” TV award.
Pick one of the nominations to vote for, scroll down to the bottom of the category, click the button confirming your vote, then clicking on the same button (which will now say “Next”) to open up the next category.
It sounds like a dog’s breakfast, but I found it relatively intuitive. Other correspondents didn’t.
You can do it. I know you can. Think of it as an initiative test. Mr Bates vs The Post Office is featured in the Empathy Drama and the Watercooler awards. The Great Post Office Trial is in the Trust Award for Radio. Please vote for them if you feel so inclined.
Also – if you’re stuck for a choice on the Stress Buster Award category, please vote for the BBC’s Death in Paradise. My friend Tim (who was my successor at Shout FM, the 90a student radio station at Liverpool John Moores University) has been exec producer on that programme for many years. He deserves a break.
Slight pause
I am shortly away again which may preclude me from writing many more newsletters this month. If I can, I will. In the meantime – have a great remainder of the summer and thank you for all your correspondence. Apologies once more if I don’t get the opportunity to reply.
Yours
Nick