Top British songs of 2013

For my last 2013 show of London's Calling on Pet Rock Radio ((if you haven't checked out the show or station yet...DO IT!!!) http://www.petrockradio.ca/ ) I decided to pick my favourite British songs of 2013 that I have played on the show this year. If you're interested, here's the list:

Eugene McGuiness - Fairlight
The Vaccines - Melody Calling
Younghusbands - Silver Sisters
Treetop flyers - Things will change
Splashh - All I wanna do
The Courteeners - Van der Graff
Paul McCartney - Struggle
Temples - Keep in the dark
Wolf Alice - She
Street Parade - Famous
Lovechild - Black cat bone
Palma Violets - We found love
Arctic Monkeys - Stop the world I wanna get off with you
Miles Kane - Better than that
Jake Bugg - What doesn't kill you
The Family Rain - Reason to die
Stereophonics - We share the same sun
Ed Harcourt - Murmur in your heart
The Broxton Hundred - She brings the light
The 45s - Around and around
Cosmo - Yalla
Emily Moulton - No way out
These Ghosts - The Great Unknown
Turin brakes - Guess you heard
London Grammar - Strong
La bete blooms - Home
Novella - Marys gun
John Newman - Cheating
Gentlemen - Children of the Setting Sun
James Blake - Retrograde

My point of view on this week's events

I cannot believe it is already mid-December, where the feck has the time gone. Things have been busy in the world of lissysergi (that's me lol). I have moved to the idyllic settlement of Millbrook. I love Peterborough but I love being out in the country more.

So this week has been another jammed pack week of news stories. Here's my take and views on some of the stories occurring.

• Yesterday was the last day mourners could view Nelson Mandela's casket before his burial. An estimated 100,000 South Africans lined up in Pretoria but about a third of the overwhelming crowd were sent away without being able to file past the bier. There are a lot of things I could say about Mandela that have already been said and you've probably read. I have to say one of the best articles I have read since the death of Mandela is CBC News' Neil Macdonald's piece. Give it a read, it's a goodun: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/mandela-s-gut-check-for-the-political-right-1.2459082

• Demonstrators are arriving in Kiev ahead of a mass rally on Sunday. Hundreds of protesters remain camped out in freezing temperatures on Independence Square, behind barricades of snow and ice, reinforced with pallets, benches, metal barriers and wire netting. As we all should know, protests erupted last month after President Yanukovych pulled out of an association agreement with Brussels, which would have been a crucial step towards the country's integration into the EU. Amid a violent crackdown that occurred on Nov 30th, which was met with international outcry, a Ukrainian court has now freed nine people arrested during the clashes between pro-EU protesters and riot police. There is a lot of talk that Russia is pressuring the Ukraine administration to tie themselves more to them than the EU. Yet even though some protesters are calling for closer ties with the EU, what Ukrainians want is a free-democratic country with a government that represents their needs without corruption or manipulation. Whether the EU could provide them with that and a more open and transparent economy will remain to be seen. I do find it slightly intriguing that the US has spoken so readily about their support for the Ukrainian people. I wonder if they would care if it was another Eastern European country or if it is just because of the Ukraine's existing ties to Russia, America's old enemy. Some things in world politics never change eh! 

• In a week where the UK and US have both suspended aid to Syrian rebels, word has it that talks may begin again with the Assad regime. After all they did cooperate with the UN regarding chemical weapons and with several extremist rebel groups being reported, maybe this is the way to go. The crisis in Syria may yet take a long time to resolve and who is to say that is the best outcome for the Syrian people. Hopefully a free-democratic country but here's wishing. What can be done is aid to the millions of Syrian refugees who have had to flee their country. Almost 97 percent of Syria's refugees - estimated by Amnesty to be 2.3 million in total - have fled to five neighbouring countries: Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt since fighting began. Now the EU is under fire over refusal to provide safe haven for refugees. It's hard to imagine your country being war-torn, making the difficult decision to leave and then be met by such hardship and terrible conditions when you think you have made it to a safe haven. Whilst you're enjoying this festive period maybe take a second to appreciate how lucky you are and even delve into your pocket of change and donate to one the many charities supporting Syrian refugees.

• Uruguay passed a bill this week so that there is direct state control of the cannabis market. Whether good or bad, the effects of the government's pioneering move are certain to be scrutinised and analysed by both opponents and supporters of cannabis legalisation not just in Uruguay but across the world. What I found even more interesting whilst reading up on this story was that I had no idea that Portugal had decriminalised drugs back in 2001. How did I not know this! The results have been astounding; Health experts in Portugal said that Portugal’s decision to decriminalise drug use and treat addicts rather than punishing them is an experiment that has worked. I'm not advocating drug use but drug addiction is an illness not a crime and should be treated as so. If you would like to read more about this check out the following link: http://m.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-891060.html#spRedirectedFrom=www&referrrer=https://www.google.ca/