Culture

The shareholders of Cadbury, the iconic British-based company, recently accepted an improved takeover bid from US food giants Kraft, much to the disgust of British workers, customers and trade unions. Kraft promptly reneged on its promise to keep open the Cadbury’s factory in Bristol, resulting in 400 job losses. Did this confirm Cadbury’s Chief Executive Todd Stitzer’s response to the original bid when he launched a fierce critique of “unbridled capitalism”, comparing it to what he calls his firm’s “principled capitalism”?

As yet another season draws to a close, we think that it’s time to reflect on the state of our beloved national game. We think that it’s become stale and predictable. Too much money at the top and too little elsewhere, players diving at the hint of a tackle, referees spoiling games with daft decisions and players having tantrums to make a two-year-old ashamed. So we’ve made a list of proposed changes – some sensible, some less so – which, if implemented, could make the 2009-10 season one of the fairest and most fun for a long, long while. What do you think......?

We’d always cited Innocent as a shining example of the resistance to ethical and independent companies selling out to global corporations*. The funky smoothie maker with a halo in its logo was an exception to the rule that an ethical start must end in a sell out justified with weasel words. So when we read about Innocent selling a share of its business to Coca-Cola, we felt like we’d lost a friend. And judging by the amount of negative public comment on the brand’s own website, we’re not the only ones who feel disappointed. Has the halo slipped?

It’s been almost three years since we went to see Mark Thomas and heard his tales about Coca-Cola and its rather disturbing practices around the world. That inspired me to write one of Take the Red Pill’s most popular articles* and the redpillcrew to discourage as many people as possible from buying any Coke products. Now Mark Thomas has published his book showing in more detail the link between buying a cheap sugary drink and the oppression of poor people in the developed and developing world. Put your can or bottle down and read on........

I have supported Crystal Palace for almost 40 years. Over those 40 years there have been only a handful of seasons when Palace slumbered in mid-table. Most years I spend the months of April and May sweating over whether they will achieve promotion or avoid relegation. Consistency is not a word easily associated with Crystal Palace Football Club. They are my beloved yo-yo club. So it was with no huge sense of expectation that I travelled to Preston for the second match of this season.

I can remember going to parties at the end of 1979 armed only with a copy of Time for Action and doing my best to get it played as often as possible during the evening. Sometimes this involved lifting the needle halfway through some lame 70s disco song in order to get my way. So last Saturday’s trip to London to see a reformed Secret Affair was also a scary trip down memory lane. Here’s the gig review and a few stories from those heady days of scooters, sharp dressing and seemingly endless run-ins with skinheads and bikers......

In our first article* we revealed the huge corporations behind some popular, fashionable and supposedly ethical or organic brands like Green & Black’s, Body Shop, Prêt A Manger, Ben & Jerry’s & Tom’s of Maine. That was almost a year ago and the sad fact is that we have even more bad news. Now, more than ever, it takes a bit of amateur detective work to find out who’s making loads of money when we purchase our favourite products. If you took the blue pill, best stop reading now and pretend everything’s as you always thought it was......

TTRP continues its musical journey with a trip to see Cuba’s finest, the truly world famous Buena Vista Social Club. Taking a break from watching four piece indie bands with jangly guitars and pretty black fringes, we spent an evening in a theatre, in the company of lots of very English people, being wowed by thirteen amazingly talented musicians. With an average age kept down only by a young pianist, this was no youth orchestra event but it was a night which had quality – calidad – written all over it.

I don’t really do clothes. I don’t mean I wander naked round the villages of Northamptonshire like some crazed Old Testament prophet. It’s just that I’m very happy with my beloved Blackspot boots, my favourite jeans, one long-serving pair of shorts, a rapidly deteriorating jumper and my faithful furry-hooded parka. I do have one weakness in the clothes department.   T-shirts. Occasionally I like to give my mouth a rest and let a slogan do the work for a while. So when I came across some “sporting outfitters of intellectual distinction”, my bank manager was afraid. Very afraid.

For quite a long while, I have been thinking of writing an article on the subject of swearing.  I’ve been wondering whether it’s just an issue on which I have quite strong opinions or whether it could actually raise some important and wider questions of principle.  Well, here it is at last.  Those of a nervous disposition or easily offended by words like ‘bottom’ might want to click away at this point so that we can still be friends.

Take the Red Pill has a quick look at a couple of fair trade and organic beers.  Obviously we couldn’t do a proper write up by just looking so we had to open the bottles and try the products ourselves.  Professional interest only, you understand.  It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.

A few red pill thoughts about Christmas.  Like how to avoid being a gullible consumer of the fake McChristmas AND avoid being a miserable old git like Ebenezer Scrooge.  Is it possible to party without presents?  Why is an obese nation stocking up on extra food?  What do you give to the person who has everything?  Do sprouts come straight from Satan’s kitchen?  Will Tesco launch its own brand of myrrh?  And who is that fat bloke in the red?  No, we’re not talking about Wayne Rooney..........

There’s only so much nostalgia a man can take but I went for the full overdose last weekend.  We dropped in to the quiet Northamptonshire village of Roade, better known for its mobility scooter rallies, for the 2 for the Roade Scooter Rally.  Customised Lambrettas & Vespas.  Old mods, punks and skins.  A much-loved mod punk crossover band I’d last seen at the Marquee in London over 25 years ago.  A DJ spinning mod, punk, ska and Northern Soul tunes.  And a leisurely ride out in the sun on Saturday morning.  It was almost enough to make a grown mod cry...

Ok, so it’s not exactly Venezuela but lower budget expeditions demand more creativity to turn them into real adventures and provide lasting memories.  A tale of friendship, cross-dressing, shins shred on jagged rocks, secrets heard through paper thin walls, slices of cake the size of skate ramps and a man made entirely of fruit & veg.  Thankfully, the whole holiday was in English, except for those parts spoken by people from Preston.  So, how much ‘fun’ can you cram into a week in Devon??

The Transport Department has announced radical changes to the Highway Code which are due to come into force with effect from Sunday 1 July 2007.  The move comes following fierce lobbying by the BMW Drivers Club and the British Pig Breeders Association.  Department spokesman Ivor Jerman-Carr explains, “the government has come to realise that BMW drivers have been right all along.  They really are more important than anyone else on our roads.”  The changes to the Code attempt to reflect this new highway hierarchy.  Our roads may never be the same again...

Returning from Venezuela in January, I thought that I had withdrawal symptoms after three months without a curry.  Two months later, the sad truth has dawned – the thrill has gone.  I’m indifferent to Indians, bored with balti and tired of tikka.  I’m looking for new flavours and textures to tickle my taste buds.  One of the small pleasures of my rare trips to London is the opportunity to hunt down good food.  Usually something not on offer in the culinary deserts of the East Midlands.  On one such quest last Thursday, I stumbled across Just Falafs in Wardour Street.

The football season is in full flow with the leagues taking shape and the various cup competitions reaching their final stages – it’s the Carling Cup Final today.  TTRP takes a look at what’s been happening in 2006/7 with stories of child trafficking, Premiership managers taking over the House of Commons, footballers blushing at official naughty language and, disappointingly, the state of the nation’s pies.  A bit like a fierce round of Risk that’s interrupted for your tea, football remains a game of two halves……

A powerful group of retailers and manufacturers have got together to launch a food labelling scheme as a direct alternative to the one proposed by the government.  Rather than furious and expensive lobbying behind the scenes, these companies have decided to tackle the disagreement over food labelling in a confrontational manner.  This raises questions about who is actually running the country or, to put it another way, did we elect Tesco or Tony Blair in 2005?  It’s a worrying development in the corporate takeover of Britain.

More and more people are choosing to buy local or organic or fair trade but many of us might be buying things without realising where our money is going.  Recent articles in the Guardian and Bulb magazine (excellent student magazine - not a gardening journal) have highlighted some of the fat cat names behind the cool products.  You may want to know where your hard-earned cash is going before you buy certain products again……

It was billed as a festival of the beautiful game, a gathering of the best footballing nations and the greatest players from around the world.  For a whole month the eyes of the world were glued to TV screens and voices became hoarse as we cheered our heroes on.  Now, a week after the final, what highlights can I remember from the 2006 World Cup Finals?

Is it just me or is it more and more difficult to find something interesting when eating out?  Last week I found myself, through no choice of my own, sitting in one of those pizza and pasta places, desperately scanning the menu for something to excite my taste buds.  Ooh, let me guess, a pizza with pepperoni and chillies with a scary name and miles and miles of pasta prepared with tastes so bland they could only be created in chain restaurant hell…….

I started worrying that, having read our article, It’s The Real Thing – The Bad Coke Joke, some of you might have kicked your coke habit, only to have picked up another filthy one – buying bottled water.  So I thought I’d show you some of the stuff which I’ve come across whilst looking into this multi-billion pound business.  Between 1970 and 2000, the annual volume of bottled water sold worldwide rose from 1 billion to 84 billion litres.  So what caused this incredible growth?  Briefly, the answer appears to be a mixture of fear, vanity and aggressive marketing.

To the kid in McDonald’s or the nominated driver in the pub, it’s almost predictable that they will order a coke drink.  It’s part of modern life, coke as shorthand for soft drink.  Worried about your weight?  Diet Coke (strangely often ordered with a large lardburger and huge fries).  Fancy a change?  Try Cherry Coke.  In fast food chains and motorway service stations, there is often little or no choice apart from drinks from the Coca-Cola or Pepsi family.