Lost in London with Flying Lizards' Deborah Evans-Stickland

Spent an enjoyable Sunday with my mate Deborah Evans-Stickland — she of the Flying Lizards and the definitive version of "Money" (1979, written by Berry Gordy in the 1960s) that you hear played every time there's an item on ... er ... money. Given that we're in the pits of a recession that's fast turning into a depression and financial meltdown at least for us poor stiffs at the bottom of the heap, that's a lot.

I was too spaced out from a week of bronchitis and pain to get behind a steering wheel so she picked me up in NW6 to go to Blackheath in South East London where TV cameraman Jeff Willis was going to video us with his home kit for a laugh. On a map of London — North West to South East — that's top left diagonally to bottom right.

Deborah arrived late with Mab the (possibly pregnant) husky because she'd neglected to bring a satnav and took a weird route. She'd stopped to ask directions and been given the "You don't want to start from here" answer which quite delighted me.

So we set off late and in the rain. It's amazing how much traffic turns out when it's raining, even on a slow Sunday like today.

"How do we get to the South Bank?" she asked me.

"Oh, down Abbey Road, cut though Camden and head for Waterloo Bridge." (Down and our left.)

This will mean nothing to those unfamiliar with our fair capital city but we ended up going down Abbey Road, west to Notting Hill, down through Hyde Park, and through Victoria. Instead of turning left for Westminster, we carried on south to Vauxhall Bridge, along the north embankment past Tate Britain, Millbank, Parliament Square and across the bridge to south of the river and no-man's land. To me. Elephant & Castle, Peckham, Deptford, Blackheath ... Instead of a nice straight line from top left to bottom right, we'd done a wide letter "d" and were now adding more letters of the alphabet.

A short detour for sushi, sarnis and a bean salad from an M&S refreshed us for the next leg of the journey and we were off again.

So a very very VERY late arrival.

In front of the camera, I asked: "So, Deborah, the iconic track 'Money' gets played a lot. Every time we hear it, does your bank balance go 'kerching' or does a kitten die?" Disappointingly, it doesn't go "kerching" but she did make one of the iconic records of the punk era, so who's counting?

We did good interview, everyone got fish and I directed us home — a straight line this time. But the unexpected deviations can't half be good fun when you're with a mate.

Video to come.

Steampunk Opium Wars VIDEO: Deborah Evans-Stickland sings "Money"

The Steampunk Opium Wars. So what's it all about? Deborah Evans-Stickland as Britannia sings her Flying Lizards hit, "Money" (That's what I want).

Rule Britannia played by Charles Shaar Murray.

The Narrator: Anna Chen

Camera: Jeff Willis

Pictures here.

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VIDEO: Britannia sings "Money"
What they said ...

Tony Blair's payback: raking in the rewards

Tony Blair not mugging for the photographers. "I do not practise posing in the mirror."

Virtue as its own reward is all very nice but you can't beat money and power. Who’s this with the dead eyes and the shark smile cutting through finance and politics like a big eating machine?

Thanks to Splinty whose browsing found this item in the Daily Mail. Hold your nose, keep a bucket by you, and read about the insane avarice of the former holder of the highest office in the land.

We suspected that Tony Blair was bought and paid for but now he's collecting his payback with a single-mindedness that is a marvel to behold. It's like watching someone in swivel-eyed frenzy on a supermarket sweep knocking everyone out of the way while stuffing his trolley with as much crap as possible. Oops! There goes the British taxpayer. Oops! There go the Iraqi people. Oops! There go the Gazans.

No way am I ever having a go at the Jade Goody circus or Jonathan Ross’s greed or any other entertainment figure’s inflated income while Blair’s alive and collecting. At least showbiz celebs give some sort of pleasure and don’t get people killed. The Blairs’ almighty mania for acquisition and power has made them buddies with some of the nastiest despots around.

And now it’s payback time.

Although, something appears to be preying on his conscience. At a recent prayer meeting with Barack Obama, "Mr Blair made no fewer than 31 mentions of God, declaring: 'In surrendering to God, we become instruments of his love.'"

Watch out for excessive washing of hands. No, Tony, that won't wash out the blood. It might serve you better in the wee small hours of the night to ask yourself: what profit a man that he gain the world and goes loony-tunes?

What did you have to do for that, Tony?

Hey, leave the Chinese out of this