Gunning for John Doe

Public enemy number one? Probably any twenty-something Scouser starting a jail sentence in British in the last few weeks.

Except Jon Venables by now probably speaks the Queen's English with a Home Counties' accent and may be furnishing a clutch of A-Levels for all anyone knows.

The problem with any release of accurate information about Mr Venables' recent return to prison, 17 years after his release with a new identity, is that it would render any future trial impossible. The rage since James Bulger's murder in 1993 has not diminished: any mob vengeance against Mr Venables would muddy the morality of the case and bring society down to the level of gangster anarchy.

Meanwhile, newspapers seem to be printing what they like. The moment an editor goes to jail in the instant the public will know truth from rampant speculation.

And whatever happens in the future, like Winnie Johnson (mother of Keith Bennett, victor of the moors' murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley), Denise Fergus, formerly Bulger, will never really have closure.

A Match made in heaven?

Quick post-production work has meant the Match.com ad filmed recently in Lower Marsh has already premiered on British television.

I still have no idea why they needed three days to film the ad though, and the lights they used outside would have lit Wembley Stadium. It must have cost a fortune to make.

Presumably the Camel & Artichoke next door to the film location was simply a re-fueling pit-stop in getting ready for the next take.

Lord Mycall Cashcroft

What's the equivalent of unions using worker subscriptions to fund the Labour party?

Non-domiciles like Lord Ashcroft who use the tax they don't pay to support the Conservative party.

I'm not sure this is equitable, but there is a huge row going on at the moment: Lord Ashcroft's peerage was contingent on him giving up his tax exile status and making significant contribution to the upper House, back in 2000. The crux of the row is that this did not happen.

And the corollary is that Lord Ashcroft will want favours for his backing, especially in his Caribbean empire.

Uncle Oscar is back: 82 ceremonies and counting

The notion that the Oscar Awards ceremony runs itself is a nonsense. It is rehearsed to within an inch of its life.

Presenters do their schtick in casuals in front of an empty theatre (save for printouts of faces on seats of who will fill the spaces on the night), hosts practice jokes on no one in particular and the technicians, and the technical people run the various musical numbers and VT slots.

There is an army of ancillary workers backstage during the awards ceremony. Stars follow the show backstage on video feeds and put on a show when exiting the toilet. Make-up artists pampering the famous as they wait to go on stage. And A-List actors sneaking out the back for a crafty fag.

And yet the show itself can overrun, with over-exuberant acceptance speeches, and the host and presenter jokes can fall flat.

With Steve Martin (and Alec Bladwin) this year on hosting duties it remains to be seen if the event will be more The Man with Two Brains (i.e. original and genuinely funny) rather than The Pink Panther (i.e. self-referential and tired).

Love on the Marsh

Lower Marsh is the London street on which I work. For some reason it has become a hotspot on the film location trail.

Last summer it was Woody Allen ... and a Bentley ...

Last week it was internet dating site Match.com, filming a sixty-second ad in three days. To the untrained eye, this comprised of man and woman bumping into each other as one left a musical instrument shop façade (the erstwhile independent bookseller, Crockatt & Powell, having croaked its last -- even the valedictory YouTube Depeche Mode video on its blog got removed for copyright violation) and the other staggered out of the Camel & Artichoke drinking den.

Quite why this process would take three days on location beats me. How many times can you film two people meeting before 'love at first sight' starts to look like 'oh no, not you again'.

On yer penny farthing, Norman

An entertaining insight into the mind of maverick Tory grandee, Lord Tebbit of Chingford: he describes the Conservative leadership thus ...

'Young people with no political past and no ties. The sort of people you see in TV advertisements for deodorants.'

The jackboots may still be kicking but the direction is unclear.

Campaign wives

The leaders of the British political parties may be centre stage when it comes to appealing to voters to pick their their. But their wives provide a fascinating counterpoint.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, is married to a Spanish woman called Miriam González Durantez. She is an international lawyer, specialising in trade and foreign affairs. She remains, however, under the radar.

David Cameron's wife, Samantha has a slightly higher profile. Her dress sense was commented on by Conservative conference delegates. She heads a de luxe fashion and stationery brand, Smythson of Bond Street. Both Camerons have ancestry leading to royalty.

Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, may be a subtle yet telling asset to the current prime minister. She was previously a book publishing PR executive and, as the prime minister's wife, has forged a strong network of friends and acquaintances while promoting a number of charitable causes. In a strange way, it is as if Mr Brown is married to a expert media consultant: not exactly Maxine Clifford, but very savvy none-the-less.

My guess is that Sarah Brown is a very important voice in how the Labour party presents itself and, with the general election beckoning, her influence may be key.

I've no idea who would bake the best cookies, though, which is often a factor in US presidential elections.

Tony's Journey: a road to nowhere?

Tony Blair, the former prime minister, may have a rhinoceros skin, but we'll soon see if he has a glass chin.

With televised political debates between party leaders a new and integral part of the forthcoming UK general election, Mr Blair's memoirs, The Journey, are to be published in September 2010.

With so much capital spent in the Chilcot Inquiry, will Mr Blair have anything new to say about his time in office ... and, if he goes on a walkabout publicity tour, will people allow him to say it?

Search Amazon.com for tony blair

All the world's a book ...

... at least for today: World Book Day, in the UK.

This annual event of generic promotion has morphed in Britain as an opportunity to flog books to children: mentally and materially.

Prior to 1997, there was no concerted event around which the book trade -- publishers, booksellers, libraries and educators -- could coalesce. I know, I was one of the voices advocating such an event (through the channel of the ginger group, Booksn), and was a founder member of the steering committee for World Book Day.

The challenge has always been to involve adults more, for World Book Day to be seen as an event for all ages. The original UNESCO concept had no such problem: World Book and Copyright Day always takes place annually on 23 April, building on Catalonia's Book and Rose Fair (staged on St George's Day) and the fortuitous anniveraries falling on the date (including William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Vladimir Nabokov and Josep Pla).

Whatever the origin, books remain vital to culture and our sense of humanity, and World Book Day provides an opportunity for that fact to be remembered.

An education: Letts goes to HarperCollins

Some publishing companies get serially taken over more often than Portsmouth FC.

Letts is one such case. This list of revision guides and national curriculum aids started life as the education department of Charles Letts & Co. Ltd, the diary people: I know, I was there as an editor.

The pass-the-parcel dance started in 1991, with a sell-off to BPP: the list became Letts Educational. From there, on to Granada Media in 1999; then to Huveaux in 2006; and now to HarperCollins, in ever decreasing circles. The imprint sold for £28m in 1999, £12m in 2006, and £10m in 2010.

So why the decreasing price? Educational publishing is going through a tough phase. Letts is an established brand name, but revision guides face completion from digital products and from access to national curriculum materials in a world where exclusivity in contracts is becoming more important. The Government has preferred partners.

What's in it for HarperCollins? Synergy, and safety in numbers: together, the educational brands will be stronger, and costs will be cut. It's no surprise to imagine that various heads will roll: they always do when publishing imprints and/or companies merge.