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The Daily Bite - Sian Claire Owen

Our straight talking Lancashire lass takes a sideways look at the daily news.

Recent blog posts

Jan 31

Facts are sacred, but user comments are amusing

I love news, but sometimes I get the feeling that the daily news reels are rotated in 24-hour cycles with little change during the day. The stories I watch in the morning are generally repeated ad nauseum until the 6 O’Clock News, and then Newsnight. And not just on TV, but in the papers, on...
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Jan 30

Happy musical Mondays

Today is a day of musical reunions. The Happy Mondays, icons of the late 80s, early 90s MaDchester era, have announced that they will be reforming with the original line-up for a May tour. I kind of liked them when I was younger. I had a mild crush on Shaun Ryder, but I thought that Bez was a bit...
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Jan 26

Wrap up folks, it’s about to get chilly!

The Great British Public love nothing better than to discuss the weather at length, and I like to include myself in that cohort. Unfortunately (or not, depending on which way you look at it) this winter has been a bit of a damp squib. Last year we saw blizzards, snow storms, freezing fog and...
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Jan 26

Kids are an expensive commodity

When I was younger I really wanted a big family when I grew up. I wanted three boys and two girls, and a fabulous husband to boot. In my mind’s eye I saw that we’d live in a beautiful big town house in the leafy suburbs, we’d have a caravan, a four-wheel drive and we’d go on...
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Jan 25

Pink for boys, blue for girls?

Hold your horses people… Lego is going pink and pastel! Oh the horror!!!! This is part of a sinister bid to encourage the next generation of girls to develop their skills as princesses and housewives. Or is it? Gender politics have been the soup du jour this week. It began with a rather...
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Jan 24

Oil rich, morally poor

They used to say that money makes the world go round, but I think that oil does. I know that oil equates to money, but it’s so much more than that. Black gold is as much about power and control as it is about economics. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. Today’s news stories are...
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Jan 22

Welfare reforms = money for old rope

Today Parliament will clash over Welfare Reforms that will see benefits capped at £26,000 every year. That’s the equivalent to £35,000 before tax. That’s a helluva lot of money. This comes as public sector workers face payment freezes until 2020. Work and Pensions Secretary...
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Jan 20

Cowell’s in space!

Earlier last year I penned my thoughts about Simon Cowell’s quest for world domination. Specifically the probability that at some point he will stamp the X-Factor logo onto the face of the moon, so that when we look into the night sky we are reminded of just who is lording if over us all. Of...
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Jan 19

Johnny Depp's divorce, Angelina Jolie's pregnancy

This past week has seen some seismic shifts in Celebesville. Johnny Depp and his long-time partner Vanessa Paradis have allegedly split up, and according to ‘sources’ (i.e., tabloid hacks) they are living ‘sad and separate lives’. Meanwhile Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt are...
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Jan 18

The sky at night meets Mock the Week

This week I’ve been enjoying the delightful company of Dr Brian Cox and his physicist friends via the medium of Stargazing Live on BBC 2, and I have to admit that it’s been the best live TV I’ve seen in ages! There’s something wonderful about settling into my sofa with a cup...
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