Blamerbell en Paris
Sunday, June 17, 2007

What's happening then?

Don't expect me to tell you:)

As you may know, I've been away at the CNN European blog awards, which I'm pleased to say I won.

I went to Paris for the ceremony on Friday and it was actually rather a big deal. There was a huge media fair being held at the Porte de Versailles which, for future reference, is not really taxiable from the centre of town (unless you are willing to remortgage your maison).

The awards ceremony itself was quite a grand affair - there were a number of elaborate speeches before I was eventually called. I was given the prize by a chap called Emmanuel Chain, who is sort of the French Jeremy Paxman (for looks, think David Ginola rather than Tony Adams). I'm sure he said some nice things about my blog but it was all in French and all I can remember from GCSE is how to ask for an ice cream or report that my cello has been stolen.

And that is very much how the rest of the evening went - much French being spoken and much failing to understand on my part. Later, I went to a student party with the guy who runs the second placed blog, drank a couple of beers and asked for lots of ice creams.

Incidentally, if you want a taxi in Paris, don't automatically assume that a taxi sitting in a taxi rank with its light on and door open is necessarily willing to take you anywhere. I got in, sat down, said 'Gare du Nord', even said please (though now I wish I hadn't bothered) before I was unceremoniously ejected by an all too rude Frenchman.

So, it's good to be back in the UK. And it's great to see that Welsh politics has been as unpredictable as ever in my absence.

Hopefully, I'll catch up with all that later, though I hear Plaid are now leaning towards a deal with Labour, if only because Labour will find it almost impossible to deliver it.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 12:54 pm, ,


Something else!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Some of you may have seen an earlier version of this post, relating to the CFJ/CNN European award for the best student news blog.

Suffice to say, though, that I am nominated for the award, where I will have to fight off tough competition from France and Serbia.

(Even that) is something of a shock really, given that I mostly specialise in strained metaphors and the kind of news most people wouldn't touch with a bargepole covered in their own faeces.

Thank you all for contributing not just to this blog but to the emerging Welsh blogosphere in general, which was virtually non-existent (with some notable and excellent exceptions) when I started back in October.

As I sit and watch assembly members coax each other into a deep and intensely boring slumber in the Senedd, it's good to know that there's a potentially unlimited space online for lively political debate. The medium has certainly proved itself in recent months and long may it continue.

On another note, Rosemary Butler is chairing her first session in the chamber. Pink jacket, red hair - is that wise?

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posted by Blamerbell @ 3:12 pm, ,