h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Whilst listening to NPR yesterday morning I heard an announcement that Bill Clinton will be speaking at the University of Texas right here in Austin next week, and that the tickets will be free http://www.utexas.edu/spotlight/clinton030122.html

We called the number this morning to find out what time the ticket office opens today and got a recorded message telling us that it's open from noon to 6pm... and that all the tickets have gone

Apart from rallies in London, I've never been to a speech given by a politician. I'd love to see Tony Benn speak, but I doubt I'll get the chance. He's well over 70 now.

Actually Tony Benn isn't that great most of the time. I've seen the chap at a number of CND / dockers / miners / anti-war things over the years and find that he just wanders off at a tangent and it becomes quite dull quite quickly

Really?

I'd still like to be able to say that I've heard him speak though

Incidentally, Gosho - I don't know if you'd have heard, but the Government finally gave in and handed over control of the Tube to Ken Livingstone yesterday, which the way I see it can only be good news!

I didn't hear that Number Six So there'll be no PPP? I'd better head off and find some news stories about this

I *think* there will still be PPP

Dang.

Couldn't find a story about on the London Live site (is it still called London Live btw? I just want to call it GLR).

I'll check the main BBC news page.

I remember Gerald Kaufmann giving us a talk when I was in Sixth Form. He was very convincing, and it was only afterwards that I realised how much of what he'd said I heartily disagreed with, but I'd been swept along. It makes you realise how easily rabble-rousers can gain a following.

I also heard Betty Williams (Labour MP for Aberconwy) talk many times, but not often about politics. Her son was a school friend of mine, and she was only a Borough Councillor at the time, not one of Blair's Babes!

I knew someone at school whose father was a Labour MP... can't remember his name for the life of me He might have been MP for Paddington... or not

What a way you have with anecdotes.

Well, I could have said that he was MP for either Paddington... or somewhere else

Did you find out about Ken and the Tube, then? I haven't heard any news since 7am today...

Not yet - I'm currently reading about my computer's BIOS at howstuffworks.com

Well, we really weren't meant to hear Bill Clinton speak.

First off we found that the tickets had all gone. Then we heard that it had been moved to a much bigger venue and more tickets would be available at 8am on Monday, but we forgot all about it on Sunday evening and didn't set the alarm (just as well really - apparently people started lining up at 5am, and you'd have had to have been there by 6.30 to get one). Then we heard that there's be a video webcast of the speech... but the server's full and I can't get a stream

I hope they archive it

Oh sorry, I forgot one step - I forgot all about it tonight and didn't try listening until almost half an hour after it had begun

It's prolly over by now.