Wednesday 19th November  17:27 pm Good Afternoon

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Nelson's Column February Live Earth London 9th February 2007 Can Concerts Fit into City's Hectic Schedule? Following hot on the heels of the admission that Wembley might not even be ready for this year’s FA Cup Final, it looks like a further lack of foresight might put paid to another landmark London event this summer. Thankfully this planning shambles isn’t anything to do with Londoners. Strangely, the blame lies at the door of former US presidential hopeful, Al Gore, now the head of climate change coalition Save Our Selves. Announced amongst great fanfare at a celeb-studded press conference last week, it turns out that the Live Earth concerts – set to imitate Live 8 with a worldwide set of simultaneous gigs, this time to raise awareness of global warming – don’t even have a licence or venue confirmed in London yet. In fact, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the London authorities haven’t heard a thing about it. What’s more, they have pencilled in the concert on the same weekend that the Tour de France hosts its prologue time trial in London for the first ever time. With the race route skirting the edge of Hyde Park – the natural venue for this huge concert – and the city already expecting two million plus cycling enthusiasts, this could mean trouble for Al. Now, I am sure that, for such a cause celebre, the powers-that-be will be bending over backwards to accommodate Live Earth. No doubt our good mayor will be putting the full force of his influence behind it. Remember - last year the Prince’s Trust called off their annual fundraiser in Hyde Park to make way for Live 8. But somehow I don’t think Le Tour will be so generous. Of course, there are a host of other venues in London capable of hosting the concert – Clapham Common, Victoria Park, the Millennium Dome even. Plus, the cycling buzz is very fitting - it might encourage a few more people to hop on their bikes. What could be more inspirational than hundreds of steroid-enhanced superhumnans, boasting sub-40 bpm resting pulse rates, speeding past, astride gleaming racers with funny handlebars? Hopefully Live Earth will find itself a home in London alongside the world’s greatest cycle race. As well as raising awareness of climate change, with any luck it might spur Londoners on to doing their own little bit. Live Earth needs to set an example. So listen Al, let’s have sustainable snacks, not Amazon-razing burgers; recyclable cups and plates, not tons of landfill-destined litter; and how about a solar powered stage? Oh, and tell the stars to make their way here by public transport, not on board Lear jets. Last of all, I want to implore the organisers to consider a more ‘sustainable’ line-up. The bands announced so far are Keane, Snow Patrol, Paolo Nutini and Duran Duran. So, that’s three times dreary indie, and one lot of 80s has-beens (you can’t fault their recycling policy). Compared to the all-encompassing blend of past-masters, fresh talent and crowd-pleasers that wowed the crowds at Live 8, it’s nothing short of mediocre. The only blessing is that Bono hasn’t volunteered himself as curator. For Live Earth to be a success, everyone must be talking about it, and that means an inclusive collection of fantastic bands that gets everyone involved. Could do better. Second-Hand Sotheby’s An oil painting scooped up for a fiver from a Twickenham Charity Shop could be a Picasso original. The artwork – spotted in the Relief for Romania shop on York Road – boasts a “Picasso” signature and, if proved to be genuine, could be worth anything up to £100,000. Mined the Door A 60-year-old, unexploded World War II bomb, used to prop open the door of a garden shed, has been removed from a house in New Malden. Bomb disposal experts were called to the house in south London following concerns expressed by the owner’s neighbour. Muse-ic in the Square Staunch Muse fans are being amassed to take part in a group summer sing-along in Trafalgar Square to herald the band’s two Wembley Stadium gigs on 16th and 17th June 2007. The stage is set for the 15th June with three hours of singing planned from 6pm. Fans can register to take part via the Muse fan site. October 2008 24th October Boris v Jingjing 17th October Soaps in Pole Position September 2008 23rd September Chips too Chavvy for Chelsea 16th September The London Restaurant Awards August 2008 26th August No Smoking, No Ducks, No Barbecues 20th August The Olympics July 2008 24th July Sandwiched Out 17th July The Show Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady's on Page 3 June 2008 26th June Love All at Wimbledon 16th June Miller Puts the Heat on Tennant May 2008 27th May Booze Banned on Buses 20th May Same Again? April 2008 23rd April By George 11th April Back to the 80s March 2008 28th March How do You Solve A Problem Like Medea? 20th March Flight Fantastic February 2008 20th February Dark, Satanic Turnmills 6th February A Diamond in the Drink January 2008 21st January People Wanted for Plinth 14th January Boo! Hiss! December 2007 28th December Tate That - A Hirst for Art 20th December Christmas Shopping November 2007 27th November Mind the Gap 26th November London On A Tray October 2007 26th October Leaving the Station 14th October The Sky's the Limit September 2007 26th September The Play Within A Play 19th September Fashion, Frocks and Celeb Shocks 12th September Saying Tanks for the Mammaries August 2007 24th August Heathrow under Siege 17th August Gormless 10th August Losing Face July 2007 24th July Are We Reaching Boiling Point Yet This Summer? 13th July Red Ken versus Blonde Boris June 2007 22nd June Last Orders at the Fag Machine 11th June London the Musical May 2007 21st May What Lurks Beneath 10th May The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of April 2007 27th April London’s Walk on the Wild Side 20th April Stand Behind the Yellow Line 13th April Like Water for Chocolate March 2007 23rd March So, Another Magazine 16th March Avoiding iContact February 2007 23rd February Sex and Art... 16th February C-Charge Protest Fails to Bring Down Government 9th February Live Earth London January 2007 26th January A Vote for Shilpa is a Vote for Britain 18th January Carriage on up the West End December 2006 29th December Food for Thought 22nd December A Poisonous Marketing Campaign 15th December In for a Penny, In for Five Pounds November 2006 17th November Big Department Stores Leave Santa Out in the Cold 10th November Failing to Save the World October 2006 27th October Frozen Prawns and Melting Icecaps 20th October Predatory Pelicans and Happy Woodland Folk 13th October Hope at last for east end of Oxford Street September 2006 16th September Lite the Blue Paper and Stand Well Back 9th September Of Poles and Twiglets August 2006 25th August Free Fares For the Fat and the Fashionable 11th August London Friendly 4th August Archway To Organic Heaven July 2006 21st July London - Celebrity Frat House 7th July Out of the Galleries into the Streets June 2006 23rd June Mayors, Nightmares and Marias 16th June Downright Rude in Paris and London 9th June Enter the Inferno May 2006 26th May Curvaceous Border 12th May Vegging Out April 2006 21st April The Camden Crawl 17th April Down the Pan 13th April I Want to Break Free 9th April Big Brother seems to have been left in a bar somewhere 7th April Don't Box Me In March 2006 24th March Political Correctness Reaches New Heights February 2006 24th February A Stadium's Tale: Cup Final Goes West 17th February Modern Musicals are Rubbish 10th February The City-Side Alliance January 2006 20th January February Sales 20th January Moby Sick 13th January Glass Half Full 3rd January Three Cheers for the Tube Station Workers December 2005 22nd December January Bites 16th December A Remarkable Year November 2005 25th November And a Partridge in a JCB 11th November Driving Miss Sadie 4th November Spam, Spam, Spammity-Spam, Shakespeare, Zorro, Chico and Rasputin October 2005 28th October Trick or Treat? 21st October We Don't Mind a Little Delay... 14th October Final Resting Place for Young British Artists September 2005 16th September Just a small urn for me, please barman 9th September DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! 2nd September The Free Tenor August 2005 30th August Samba Rhythms Breaking Out All Over The Stadium 20th August Getting Behind the Iron Farce