Following on from the relaunch of the BBC program ‘Room 101′, the program which the celebrities are invited to put things which annoy them into this room to be banished forever, I thought I would like to create a shortlist of things which I would put into the room, if I were ever invited onto the show.

Alcohol

We have all been there, we have all had far too many drinks and some of us have even wanted to become best friends with the lamppost. Putting all alcohol into room 101 is perhaps a little too far, and perhaps should put in cheap alcohol that is drunk to excess every week across the UK by many. The drinking culture that we have in the UK, which is unlike that of any other culture in Europe is perhaps best kept for another blog post; however once the copious amounts of alcohol has been drunk, the NHS and therefore tax payer are often forced to pick up the bill for those who require a stomach pump or night in the cells.

Hundreds of millions of pounds are used to mop up the streets and protect innocent members of the public from alcohol infused incidents, and with the prices of alcohol getting cheaper and cheaper the money that could be used to fund education, better public transport and shorter waiting times in the NHS are instead being used on the people who’s idea of fun is going out, getting completely smashed, starting a fight before occupying a NHS bed for the night.

Umbrellas

What on earth could be wrong with umbrellas, after all they keep us dry when it rains? Well there are two main bugbears with umbrellas that I have, firstly the quality and secondly the user interaction some have with them.

Lets first take the quality. You get super tough ones that are able to withstand force nine gales however are unable to withstand the British weather – how can this be so? Over the past few months we have been quite lucky in Manchester not to have rain as much as we are used to, and my umbrella looks deductively at me by not being used, and to be honest I would love to use him, however guaranteed that the moment he steps foot outside the house, he will turn inside out and ruin my life by making me look ridiculous as I struggle to put it the right way.

Secondly people who use them. These fall into two camps and you know who they are. The first camp are the people who walk as bold as brass down the street with their brolly open even tho their is not a drop of rain in the sky. It is almost as if they are practising for the high wire at the circus just wanting to practice holding it. Yes the rain my make your hair wet, but there is no rain, so you don’t need it open! The second of the two camps are those who have MASSIVE umbrellas. The ones I’m talking about are the golf umbrellas that you can fit a family of four under, perfect for a natural disaster area where that said family of fours home has been destroyed by a tsunami, they are not however suited to walking down the street. Pavements in the UK are able to support two lanes of traffic, perhaps three on a good day; and what we do not need are these lanes of pedestrian based highway to be congested with a large umbrella that has been half turned inside out which shouldn’t have been opened in the first place as there was no rain!

Computerised Telephones

What was wrong with humans answering the phones? Oh I know, they were too expensive, so instead companies who make billions in profit decide that they would spend serious money on a computer system that efficiently deals with your calls, putting you through to the correct department to be quickly death with. Well if it were like that, I wouldn’t have a problem- yes the fact that the call has been made that much more impersonal, but I would be dealt with quickly.

Instead we have two options, the first of which is the ‘intelligent’ computer system; one that you can talk to normally and it attempts to figure out what you are saying. Well it doesn’t, you spend five minutes telling it that you want to speak to customer service, only to be told that you are going to be transferred to the accounting department. Accounting department doesn’t sound like customer service at all, its totally different – so how can it make such a mistake?

The second option you could get is the ‘non intelligent’ computer system; the one where you have to “select the following option” from your keypad. If it were between a handful of options I could deal with that. I like to think that I have a relatively good short term memory, however I defy anyone to remember 9 option choices, it becomes a test of memory, its almost as if you can’t speak to a representative unless you have an IQ of over 110 and can remember 9 things inside out. If a person answered the phone, I would remain calm, get to speak to whom I wanted to, and all would be well in the world.

Smokers

Perhaps the most controversial on my list for room 101 items. Firstly lets tackle the issue of smokers rights, yes you do have rights, you are an ordinary citizen of the community apart from you want to smoke. I can live with that, I can almost live with the fact that huge amount of NHS resources are dedicated to smoking related illnesses as this is contracted by the tax and duty that is paid on cigarettes (although smoking outside hospitals still baffles me), what really gets my goat is where smokers smoke.

Picture this, you are in a nice park, the birds are singing the sun is on your neck and you are going for a walk. Or if that is not your cup of tea perhaps envision yourself walking the beach, the crashing of the waves lap around your feet and you breathe in to smell the fresh air only to get a nose full of smoke from the person in front of you cigarette that they have just lit up. Oh I can hear the arguments smokers are putting up, you shouldn’t stand so close, you can always walk somewhere else etc etc, but why should I? Firstly I don’t chose to stand close to smokers, far from it, I want to get as far away from them as possible, and as for walking in a different direction putting aside the fact smoke lingers in the air, why should I change the way I live my life, just because I don’t want to be the victim of passive smoking, and instead breathe in fresh air not that of Silk Cut!

Footballers Pay

First of all a small disclaimer, I don’t enjoy watching football; thats not to say that I’ve not been to any live games. I have, I’ve actually seen Manchester United play, not once but twice, and whilst live football isn’t as bad as having to endure it on the TV for over 90 minutes, but its still not my idea of fun.

Lets look at the skills involved with being a good footballer. Top of the list is being able to kick a ball, with the second most important skill is being able to kick it well. For this sheer amount of talent what would you expect someone to be paid? Over £40,000 a week!!! Lets contrast this with a fairly typical job, say, I don’t know, a nurse. As with our footballer, lets look at the skills involved; be patient, be knowledgeable of lifesaving skills, being able to be on ones feet all day – often without taking a break, etc etc etc. Average pay for this £27,000 a year!

Yes, for those who are talented enough to be able to kick a football, they are paid more in a week, than the nurse gets paid in a year. Justifiable? I think not!

Complaining – People Cant Do It Properly

For the majority of us, we British are well mannered people, we are the experts in cuing up and biting our tongues when something happens we don’t like. This is all well and good, but there are times when something really gets under our skin, and because very few of us have stood up for our rights in the past we are unsure how to do it properly.

The key eyed amongst you will have seen many a blog post on my site where I have locked arms with companies including Sky and Play.com being amongst my favourite, and after no small amount of resistance, I eventually got what I asked for. In this economic downturn we as consumers need to make sure that our money goes further than before, and often the companies which claim to be on our side are those whom make the highest profits; and one can’t help but wonder why. Is it because they don’t invest properly in customer service training, cut corners on quality control, or simply don’t have enough people manning the phones at stores or head office. When something goes wrong with either an item or service you have paid for stand up for yourself, go to the top if need be, and remember, it costs more on advertising for a large company to gain a new customer, than to help rectify a problem of a current one.

Racists, Homophobic’s & Antisimitics

If there is one thing that we all have in common, is that we are all different, and from an early age we as children learn to accept this. It is only when we become older that we are put into social categories, and expected to confirm to those stereotypes. Now for those who kill, burgle and commit other unspeakable crimes, then they are arguably able to labeled with public stigmatism’s as they have brought this misfortune upon to themselves. They have chosen to stand out from the crowd and are different from the norm.

Those who single others out on being a different religion, different sexual orientation or even go as far as insight racial hatred are highlighting the difference between humans for no reason other than to attempt to give justification to what is in affect bullying. I have be brought up with the view that provided someone lives their live differently in a way that doesn’t affect me I should take no offence to that; and quite rightly so. Taking this to the extreme, if someone wanted to dress in pink from head to toe, yes I would find it weird, but provided they don’t insist I should dress from head to toe in pink why should it bother me? It is the same with religion et al.

Most of us have been on holiday abroad, and for those who take the time to sample the local cuisine (not just drink beer and eat chips) you will appreciate the excitement of experiencing of trying new flavours, and then going and carrying out local activities such as scuba diving, or rock climbing. All of this is possible because we are all different. If everyone lived the way that people in England did, there would be no point going abroad (apart from the improved weather). If everyone celebrated the same holidays then there would be no holidays such as St Patricks Day, Chinese New Year and Halloween as not all of these holidays are native in our country of residence.

There is no point in disliking someone over their skin colour, religion or sexual orientation, for one reason, they may be different to you, but you are also different to them.

Public Transport

There is one thing that the UK can not get right, no matter how many billions of pounds we put into it, no matter how many consultants are on the payroll or times changes are made we simply can’t get public transport right.

There are two main branches of public transport which I will hope to look at, buses and trains. Both run by private companies however all receive large subsidies from government. The main issues I have with public transport are as follows:

Firstly the timetable, what is the point in it? Very rarely does a bus or train actually run to the scheduled time, more often then not they just turn up when ever they feel like it, and in the case of buses you will spend 30 minutes waiting for one bus, then 3 of the same route will go past in as many minutes. On the continent they have satellite tracking and display screens at stops telling you how long you have to wait, in the UK we have a piece of paper with an ‘estimated’ time.

Secondly the lack of seats. You pay for a ticket, you walk to the platform or bus stop only to see a line of people already waiting before you. You wait patiently, perhaps even cue, then as the bus or train pulls up (10 minutes late) you see that its already full. So as the cue moves forward the possibility of getting a seat goes down, in-fact so does the change of actually getting on this bus/train. The driver asks everyone to move further down, however no more space becomes available, so you have to wait for the next one. You look at the timetable then realise, there is no point, as the next one will come when it feels like it.

Finally, we are told to get out of our cars and use public transport. Be Green, don’t drive to work, have a stress free trip by allowing someone else to do it for you. Well thats all very well and good, however its hardly stress free. The chances are that the bus/train won’t arrive on time so you would be late to work and there will be no room for you to sit down meaning you will have to stand getting all hot and bothered as you try to prevent yourself from being thrown across the vehicle with every turn and stop. Yes, if you travel off peak the service is relatively good, however as an alternative from a car, its just not a viable alternative.

How can we be getting it so wrong, when you look at some EU countries and other first world transport systems, and their run so well!

Small Talk

Oh we have all been there, you know the occasions, the ones that you had no intention of going to, however because of ‘political’ reasons you feel duty bound to put in appearance. Having walked through the door the atmosphere is mediocre at best, everyone dressed up smartly, glass of something in one hand, and some form of miniature food in the other all talking about something pointless as they skirt around the major issues of life.

You know the topics I’m on about, ‘the weather’, ‘the state of the country’, ‘recent deaths’, ‘recent births’ and even ‘the new Argos adverts on TV’.

Now if these are the highlights of any get-together then clearly I am either attending the dregs of social gatherings or I’m the only one who can’t see the point in making such small talk. Getting dressed up smartly I can see the point to and seeing people you have not seen for some time, I can see the point to; however after that it tends to go downhill. Miniature food, not really much point, i’d rather have full sized food if I’m honest. A miniature spring roll is nice, but a grownup one would taste even better. Small talk is just as pointless as speaking to a computerised telephone, you walk away from the conversation knowing no more than you already knew, the only downside is that with small talk you have to nod and smile, something that you don’t have to do whilst on the phone, perhaps the only perk!

Prices For Cups Of Tea

Millions get drunk each year, you may choose to embellish yours with a drop of milk or a sprinkling of sugar, and if the occasion calls for it a biscuit may be served on the side. Getting in from work or a particular busy day a cup of tea will often hit the spot, releasing the muscle tension and allowing the worries of the day to flow out transporting you to a state of bliss.

But what happens if you’re out and about when the stress becomes too much or thirst strikes you down? The only option is to purchase a hot beverage from a coffee shop or vending machine. Baring in mind that the cost of tea bags, hot water, milk and sugar when at home are minimal, the most expensive ‘ingredient’ is likely to be the electricity, one would expect that such hot beverage outlets would be able to get a discount for buying their materials in bulk, sadly they don’t.

More often than not a cup of tea from a vending machine will cost you £1.25, if you go to a proper shop the prices can range from £1.50 all the way up to £3.50 depending on your brand and size. Well this in itself may not seem a lot but lets contrast this with the cost of another vital liquid, petrol. At the time of writing this post the average price of one litre of petrol was £1.301, so for less than the cost of a cup of tea you get more liquid than a cup of tea.

Petrol, made from oil, going through such an intense chemical processes costs more than a bit of hot water and a few tea leaves. Madness!

Alcohol, Umbrellas, Computerised Phones, Smokers, Footballers Pay, Complaining, Racists, Public Transport, Small Talk and Cups of Tea - just a few things I would put in room 101

Tags: Alcohol | Antisimitics | Complaining | Computerised Telephones | Cups of Tea | Entertainment | Fail | Footballers Pay | Homophobic | Homosexuality | Humour | Life | Madness | Public Transport | Racists | Rant | Room 101 | Small Talk | Smokers | Stress | Tea | Umbrellas

Well another year has gone by and February 14th is upon us once again, and that date can only mean one thing, the dreaded Valentines day.

Personally I think the meaning is now lost, it seems to be a competition to see whom has received the most valentines day cards, for example on February 15th, what is the first question you are greeted with? “Did you receive any valentines day cards, and if so how many?” It is almost as if love has been turned into a competition.

In a world where there is so much hatred and war going on, it is nice to see that a day that celebrates love still exists, however for some it is often overshadowed because they have no-one to love.

This is where I think they are wrong!

Everyone has someone they love and whom they can wish a Happy Valentines day to. There are people who are in our lives who we may not be physically attracted to, but do love, as they have either been with us from a young age, shared special memories with or been through the same tough times.

These people you arguably love just as much as you would do (or perhaps even more so) a girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, you simply love them in a different way.

Personally, I think Valentines day has been highjacked by some couples, and its time that we reclaim this day for day we can all love.

So after all of that, whom am I wishing a Happy Valentines Day to:
* My family; including Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Nephews (if I have any), Nieces and Cousins.
* Manchester Metropolitan University Girlies and Ian.
* University of Salford People; in particular Harry Power, Stevie Ball and Sarah Capjon.
* My followers on Twitter
* My readers of my blog.

Happy Valentines Day To You All xxx

Tags: Holidays | Life | Love | Valentines Day

This article has been taken from The Jewish Chronicle and available in its original format by clicking here

JFS has provoked anger from parents and pupils by teaching sixth formers that homosexuality can be “cured”.

As part of the school’s Jewish studies curriculum, pupils are shown a website from the American group JONAH – Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality.

It promotes the idea that homosexuality can be “mitigated and potentially eliminated” and sends participants on retreats such as “Journey into Manhood”.

The JONAH website is introduced at the end of the textual study part of a lower sixth lesson on homosexuality and the Orthodox viewpoint.

Pupils have complained that, coming at the end of the lesson, there is no opportunity for debate and that the JONAH website was effectively presented as the authoritative statement of the Orthodox view.

One of the students at a recent lesson said: “We discussed whether someone chooses to be gay or not. Then there was the concluding voice of “the Jewish view”, where we looked at Orthodox Judaism, which condemns homosexuality.

“At the end, we were asked what we thought about religious Jews who might hate themselves because their religion condemns being gay. The last slide on the PowerPoint was a picture and a link to the JONAH website, after we were discussing what gay Orthodox Jews can do, if they hate themselves.”

The student said there was no condemnation or discussion of the controversy around gay “conversion”, and no alternative group was mentioned. “I was appalled; it felt like it was saying, ‘If you are having doubts, check this out’.”

Another pupil who was in the lesson said: “If I were gay or worrying about my sexuality, sitting through that lesson, I would have been so upset. They could have advertised other organisations, which are not there to convert but to support whatever decision people want to make. I know most people were offended by it.”

JONAH has run sessions in the UK. Rabbi David Mitchell of West London Synagogue said he was aware of people who had been involved in the organisation’s “therapy”. He said: “I find it deeply distressing that this group was referred to as part of a Jewish studies lesson, and have concerns about whether those preparing have students’ best interests at heart, without referring to the damage JONAH has done.”

Keshet UK, the lesbian, gay and transgender forum, whose co-chair Dave Shaw is an ex-JFS pupil, said it was “appalled” at the claims.

JFS head teacher Jonathan Miller said the JONAH website was intended to illustrate the different Jewish perspectives on the issue. Mr Miller said: “It is absolutely not the case that we promote JONAH. The teaching materials explicitly state that Judaism would utterly condemn homophobia and discrimination.

“The website is referred to at the end of the lesson, as another opinion, ‘some Jews think this’, to leave students with food for thought.

He said the school was looking into the issue of when it should be viewed during the lesson. “We are always reviewing what we teach after something like this comes up. There have already been discussions about it at the school. Absolutely, we will address it.”

Personally I think this is disgusting, as a Jew I am of the view that those who life their lives in a way that does not affect me should be able to do so without the fear of hatred; and as such I have sent the co-directors Arhur Goldberg & Elaine Silodor an email expressing my disgust.

I would advise you to do the same, however if sending an email please put your points across in a polite manor. Their email address is info@jonahweb.org

A copy of the email I sent is below.

Tags: Criticism | Homosexuality | Jew | Jewish Chronicle | JONAH | Judaism

I do love iCloud for syncing of Contacts/Calendars, however I do think document syncing is as yet undeveloped.

Tags: Apple | Apple Mac | Dropbox | iCloud | iPad | iPhone | SugarSync | Syncing | Technology

David David for today is the day,
Nineteen years ago my parents did say,
Jonathan we have someone else to join us from now on,
A little boy, a brother, a son.

For today is your birthday – nineteen years ago,
So I have written a little poem – I thought you should know.
Over six feet tall you are bigger than me,
With feet over size 12 – they should belong to a yeti.

For this very reason your birthday present would not fit,
However do not fret as I have you another little gift.
I take my virtual hat off to you as you have not turned sad,
By remaining at home for another year with your parents, and not yet gone mad!

So from this little boy that followed me around,
You have grown into this big brother whom speaks his mind aloud.
That is not a bad thing as you have a heart of pure gold,
Something that you will have until you are 120 years old.

This is the fifth stanza whereas others have only had four,
But don’t tell our darling sister as she will want more.
Your poem is longer because you are older and comic timing is candid
I understand you more – apart from your obsession with Manchester United.

Ive run out of things to say and you want to sit on the sofa,
Is it to watch the lamp that is made out of lava?
So with that I shall write this the penultimate line,
Of your nineteenth birthday rhyme.

You Are The One And Only David Isaacs!

Tags: Birthday | David Isaacs | Family | Poem

Normally my film reviews are balanced, or at least give an in-depth reason as to why I either like or dislike a film; in this case its going to be brief, mainly because after 30 minutes I had resided to tweeting on my phone. Well that was until 25 minutes prior to the end when my iPhone battery had died.

What was wrong with it? Well firstly Robert Downey Jr, cards on the table, im not his biggest fan, in-fact I wouldn’t even say I was a member of his fan club. He was good in Iron Man but that was about it. His monotone voice coupled with a botox-esk acting face was in my opinion something that was an insult to the creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Whilst Robert was good in Iron Man playing a wealthy American inventor, I don’t think his acting skills are best suited to that of playing an eccentric British detective. The acting wasn’t all terrible, Jude Law gave a very convincing portrayal of Dr. John Watson who is embarrassed at the actions of Holmes; I have yet to work out if this was genuine acting by Law, or whether he was genuinely embarrassed by Roberts performance. There was also a smattering of an appearance from Stephen Fry, however sadly he was only on screen for a few moments at a time, and so wasn’t able to distract me from the on screen personnel.

The story also contained a certain level of action sequences, come to think of it the first 15 minutes or so gave way to fighting and chase sequences, with most stunts carried out I believe by the actors themselves. This would have been good if you could actually have seen what was happening. The camera movement was such that if you shook your head side to side quick enough and gave yourself a headache whilst looking at a wall – this is the effect that you were given.

Was there anything which I like about it? Well to my surprise there was. As I was tweeting away on my phone, the soundtrack kept me entertained (even though it was ruined by Robert’s attempt of a British accent). Hanz Zimmer who has composed music for films such as The Da Vinci Code, The Rock, Pearl Harbour and Gladiator has done it again. His work is simply breathtaking on its own, and even though the film was not the strongest, the soundtrack was first class.

So to sum it up. Yes I did only watch the first 30 minutes, and the last 25 minutes however from a 128 minute film, the 43% of what I did watch wasn’t my cup of tea at all. The lead actor was awful. The action was unfocusable thanks to camera movements that resembled an first person shooter PS3 game, and the humour was scarce and unfunny.

Would I watch it again, no, would I download the soundtrack, maybe.

Overall, was it a great film, no. Was it a good film, no. Did it have its good moment, yes but not nearly enough.

Tags: Film | Film Review | Hanz Zimmer | Jude Law | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows | Stephen Fry

Following on from my post about Play.com’s customer service from couple of weeks ago. I thought that I would firstly update you on the progress of that complaint, and then inform you of a new issue that had arisen.

One Problem Solved, Another One Has Cropped Up - I Wonder How This One Will Get Put Right?

Tags: Complaining | Consumer Advice | Consumer Success | Customer Serivce | Fail | Madness | Play | Play.com | Rant | Shopping | Stress

My darling sister it is now the time,
Where I put key to keyboard and write you a rhyme.
Why am I doing this, I really don’t know,
Perhaps its because you’re my favourite little sister and I love you so.

Fifteen years old, where has the time gone?
It seems like yesterday you were only one!
A voice and opinion are assets you have – as well as many others,
Believe me its one of your strongest – but not to be used on your brothers!

Very tall, long hair and with a wardrobe full of clothes,
You always keep your emotions in check and never lets them blow.
The truth is I am very proud of you – I hope you can see,
Even though you probably won’t want to admit it, you are just like me.

Strong willed, loud voice, never wrong are qualities we both share,
Qualities that we won’t admit are that we always care.
I have run out of ‘permissible’ things that I can put on this post.
You are my favourite sister, and I love you the most.

My Darling Sister, My How You Have Grown

Tags: Family | Poem | Politics | Rachel Isaacs

For several years now, clay pigeon shooting has always been something that I have wanted to do; and thanks to my loving mother giving my brother, father and myself (AKA the men of the household) a 50 shot experience for Chanukah, yesterday was the day where we got to play with some guns.

The shooting range wasn’t too far from our home, and so after a short 15 minute drive (it would have only been 10 minutes if it were property signposted) we arrived to the noise of guns being fired.

As we arrived in plenty of time, this gave David, the perfect opportunity to talk to a dog with an Irish accent as we waited patiently for our turn.

The first thing you notice about holding a shotgun is that it is rather heavy. We were told that these guns weigh just over 4kg (9 Pounds in old money), which in itself isn’t a lot, but when you consider your arm is outstretched, and this weight is pushing down on the tip of your fingers, you start to appreciate how heavy 4kg really is.

Very brief safety talk over, and David was the first to take aim and fire, (as you can see by the pictures below) his face was quite a picture when he first pulled the trigger, not knowing what to expect. He managed to hit a few clays before it was dads turn. Naturally dad knew what to do (thanks to target practice in our back garden several years earlier) and so wasn’t quite as nervous as David and I were, and he to managed to hit some clays.

Then it was my turn, being the only right handed member of the party, I felt I had something to prove; however from watching both David’s and Dad’s attempts a few moments prior to taking up my stance, it was clear that it was not as easy as the professionals make it look.

With the gun loaded in my hand, and not knowing what level of kick back was to be expected I held on to dear life and said the all important words ‘pull’ (a cue for the trap boy to fire the clay).

Ill be honest, I didn’t hit the first clay, or indeed the second, but I did manage to fire the gun, which I suppose now qualifies me to be a bank robber.

After the time went by the three of us managed to hit a few clays each, which out of fifty each was bound to happen. The main thing was that we enjoyed ourselves and had fun. Yes we didn’t master the skill of shooting, but what do you expect, we were complete beginners, and so hitting any target hundreds of meters away, the size of an ash tray, travelling at over 25mph (whether or not it was down to pure luck) was quite an achievement.

As I write this blog post a day later, with my arm only aching a small amount and contemplating would I do it again; yes I probably would. It is an expensive hobby, however many years from now I can see it being one that I will enjoy, provided that I am good at it. If I don’t improve, then I suppose I will have to find another hobby for me to enjoy into retirement!

Tags: Clay Pigeon Shooting | Family | Outing

And so the eighth series of The X Factor comes to an end, the question on everyones mind is will it return again next year?

Personally I think that The X Factor aired one more series than was necessary, and that it should have quit whilst it was ahead last year and that changing of all the judges (bar Louis) was perhaps the final nail in the coffin of controversy that shrouded Simon Cowells creation of a talent show.

As with many viewers of this program I begun to watch The X Factor with some hesitance when it was first aired back in 2004, however by the time the second series aired the following year we had already forgotten who the winner, Steve Brookstein was, and instead tuned in to watch the never ending list of no-hopers parade themselves across the stage, closely followed by witty and humorous comments from the judges.

Come to think whilst each year there has been a winner, who has usually won the Christmas number one, a few weeks later they have disappeared into the pages of history. It is usually the case that those who have come second or third do better than those who win.

For example JLS have had more records released than Alexandra Burke, and I challenge anyone to state that the winner of series 7, Matt Cardle has done better than boy band One Direction.

I can’t but help wonder why do those who come second or third do better than the winners? Surely the if the public were to vote for those they wanted to win, than their songs would do better than their competition?

That aside, whilst my viewing of last years X Factor was lower than previous years, I did still watch it; however I boycotted the Xtra Factor with the terrible host Konnie Huq; the only presenter/act who caused me to feel sorry for the producers for what was being broadcast.

This year I boycott the whole thing. When thinking as to why I honestly think that it was due to Simon’s absence; even tho he was usually rude and almost always blunt – he was the only judge that spoke the truth. The others defended indefensible acts (Wagner as an example), and his one liners were something that occasional was worth a channel hop over to see.

With the public last year trying desperately to prevent an X Factor hit becoming a Christmas number one, it is my opinion that Simon knew this format was beginning to lose its appeal, and perhaps this was his reason for trying his luck on the American market. Viewing figures are down considerably from previous years, and perhaps this year no action will be required to rid the winners single from the Christmas charts.

The question remains as to whether The X Factor will return for another series? We don’t know if Simon has signed a ‘Golden Handcuffs Deal’ with ITV and so they will be obliged to produce the program for further years to come – however with growing controversy over the new judging panel, standard of the acts, and increasing popularity of other programs; I think there is a serious chance that this year of The X Factor will be the last time they face the music.

It Doesn't Matter Who Receives The Most Votes, The Only Winner Is Simon - However This Time I Think His Luck Is Over

Tags: Alexandra Burke | Christmas | Christmas Number 1 | JLS | Konnie Huq | Matt Cardle | One Direction | Simon Cowell | The X Factor | TV | TV Programs | X-Factor | Xtra Factor