Sporting futures

OK. We all know that Beijing held a very impressive Olympic games. Though whilst technically excellent, and laden with majesty, it was sadly lacking with simple fun. It is well known that the Chinese government and the organising committee wanted to lay on something that would wow the world, and in order to make sure, they stopped people from any kind of unscripted activity. This meant that the Olympic village was devoid of any kind of vibe brought out by having people just spontaneously meeting and having fun.

Same goes for the opening and closing ceremony. With the huge numbers of people involved, the amazing costumes, the careful choreography, it was very impressive. Unfortunately, with the massive numbers of people, and this desire by the Chinese to "impress the world" they ended up with a ceremony that was pompous (The English know about that!) and ponderous. It was a visual feast. But amazingly ponderous. The pace never changed. Again, like the rest of the games, whilst it was fantastic, it just felt a little devoid of that extra spark that other games had.

Example being how they marshalled the athletes at the close, and under no circumstance where they allowed to get close to the pop stars. Unlike previous games, where the athlets would get up on stage!

Then, we roll on to 2012, and Londons Olympic games. As part of the closing ceremony, the next host is allowed a small 8 minute slot in the middle of the ceremony.

And boy! Did it need it! Again, Beijing laid on a wonderful dramatic ceremony that ended up dragging a little. The huge numbers of people, and the intricacy of it all does slow it down.

Thankfully, London rolled in and with a show of fun that is only possible in the UK, a dose of irreverence, put on a rock n roll 8 minute segway through the fun that will be had in London. Featuring a London bus that opened up to reveal a bunch of privet hedges cut to look like scenes from London. Surrounded by modern dancers, and a bunch of people riding bikes. Including Chris Hoy.

Out of the bus emerges Leona Lewis, and Jimmy Page, who proceeded to belt out "Whole lotta love!" Whilst David Beckham drove the crowds officially bananas as he kicked a ball into the crowd. The volunteer who picked up the ball was NEVER going to give it up!

And, of course, once 2012 has finished, 2016 rolls on to Rio De Janiero. Where we are promised a festival of magnificent proportions. A chance to spread the Olympics to a new continent, and allow Rio a chance to really spruce itself up and get ready for the party.

Now, the ink is barely dry on the documentation confirming Rio as host city, as the speculation begins as to the host of 2020!

So, who is in the frame at the moment for 2020?

Well, I will run alphabetically, but finish with Japan.

So, first of all, the Americas.

Birmingham, USA. Yes, really, Birmingham in the USA wants the Olympics. The Mayor even ran with the slogan of "Birmingham, why not?" Well, for some reason, the USOC chose to not really listen... Cant say I blame them.

Boston, USA. Ah, now, here we go. A more serious contender. Boston has plenty of history, as the home of the beginnings of the American Revolution with its famed "Tea Party." Also, home to plenty of sports, with the Patriots being an amazingly successful NFL team. Boston is also home to the Bruins, the Revolution, and the Celtics. As well as the very famous Boston Red Sox.

Guadalajara, Mexico. A huge city, surrounded by beauty. Mexico has hosted the Olympics, and Guadalajara wants to step out from Mexico City's shadow.

Lima, Peru. Spurred by Rios success, Lima has begun to study how a bid could be made to keep the Olympics in South America. Unfortunately, their bid hinges hugely on Rio. If Rio is doing well, then maybe the IOC will be amenable to keep the games in the same continent, which they dont really do. If Rios planning for the games is sliding, and budgets going bezerk, then Limas chances slip to just about zero.

Minneapolis/St Paul, the USA. A committee is beginning to look to see if this conurbation can pull of f the Olympics. Seeing as how this is actually 2 cities, there is the capacity there. However, what have they done to fire the imagination?

Monterrey, Mexico. See Guadalajara. A beautiful city, trying to climb out from behind Mexico.

Toronto, Canada. Montreal has hosted the Olympics, but at a crippling cost the city is still paying off today. However, Toronto is a cool city, and is bidding to hold the Pan American Games. Holding this will go a long way to proving Toronto's technical competence.

Finally, Tulsa, the USA. Tulsa promises a bid that will draw on its location in the heartlands of the US. Tulsa promises that their bid will benefit the native American community, and draw on them heavily.

Now, Africa.

Cape Town. South Africa. Following on from the (hoped for) success of the World Cup in South Africa, they will hope that this will prove their ability to host big events, and gun for the Olympics in 2020.

Durban, South Africa. Is also interested in bidding. Not surprisingly, they are taking Rio's idea, and pushing the fact that this would allow the IOC to deliver a games to another new continent, Africa.

Rabat, Morocco. Same as Durban. First games in Africa. Not only that, but it would be the first games in a Muslim country!

Next, Europe.

Budapest, Hungary. This beautiful city wants to cement a place as one of the worlds great cities. It is a fab place. Beautiful, full of pretty people, and cheap! However, can it match up against other cities that will want to bid for the games?

Lisbon. Portugal. Lisbon has played host to the finals of the Euro 2008 finals, so has got some experience for organising big things. However, Lisbon has always pretty much had to play second fiddle to Madrid. Given how close Madrid got last time, I personally think they will try one more time!

Rome, Italy. Rome has hosted the games before, but feels that Italy needs something to focus on, other than Berlusconis young feminine company! It is an amazingly pretty city full of history. Can they organise this? Of course. But something will spectaculary blow up, like all fantastic Ferraris.

St Petersburg, Russia. As part of a resurgent Russia, they are bidding for everything now! Sochi has the 2014 winter olympics, and with the oil money sloshing around, looksl ike they will try to win a bid for Russias second city.

Venice, Italy. Interesting one, this. Venice is an achingly beautiful city, that is sinking slowly into the sea that surrounds it. If they have a hundred thousand tonne arena built there, will it herald the end!

Warsaw. Another wonderul city that is looking to step out onto the central stage. However, Poland does have issues with racism and crime at the moment...

Finally, Asia.

Baku, Azerbaijan. A past bidder, but did not even make the shortlist for 2016. Dont really know anything about this city, other than the IOC had concerns with corruption, and, er, everything else.

Busan, S. Korea. S. Koreas second city, and looking to show the world that there is more to their nation than Seoul!

Delhi, India. A beautiful city, following China with a booming economy, but with a couple of decades behind. Delhi is hosting the Commonwealth Games for 2010, but are behind on so many projects that it is worrying the Commonwealth on wether Delhi can do this. Making a mess of the smaller Commonwealth Games does not bode well for their hopes to cope with the Olympic games.

Doha, Qatar. Bidfor 2016, the oil money means that they can spend a huge amount on this. However, they wanted to fix the games on to days when the temperature would not be so bad, but that put it outside the IOC calendar. IOC where not so keen.

Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul has gone for the Olympics on many occasions. Never hosted, never won a bid. However, they will be more than happy to keep trying, and sell the bid on the strength of Istanbuls location as an Asian/European city.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur wants to be seen as a major city, and has experience after hosting the 1998 Commonwealth Games which where a big success.

And finally,

Tokyo is going again. Big city, money, facilities, but can they learn their mistakes from last time? Japan has built itself up as a nation of exporters. However, unlike Britain, and the US, it was not really built on trade. As such, Japan has not got a big international reputation. In order to re-shape itself as a more international nation, the Japanese government is taking steps to promote itself. Part of this was backing Tokyo in its bid. Tokyo wants to rebuild itself as a true international city, and use an Olympic games to promote itself, build a legacy, and help begin to rebuild its stressed finances. A second bid is definitely on the cards!

However, throwing its name into the hat was the city of Hiroshima. Famous for being on the receiving end of a nuclear bomb. Hiroshima's bid is on the strength of world peace, and a nuclear free world! A noble sentiment, and likely to play hard with the IOC members!

There is one snag with Hiroshima's bid. They want to do a unity, "world peace" bid with fellow nuclear neighbour, Nagasaki. The sentiment is noble, but the logistics will be difficult to do a joint bid given that both cities are a good 300 km apart!

The other problem is that the Olympic charter does state, 1 city, 1 host. Making Hiroshima's bid look like it has a mountain to climb. However, points to both parties, they have both declared a determination to push on with the investigative process, and try to generate a competitive bid.

So, the ink is barely dry on the contract with Rio, and there are cities in the process of putting their hats in the ring for 2020 already! Also, 2012 was a tough bidding process, 2016 took it to a whole new level. 2020 promises to take it to a whole new level.

Let the games begin!

J-League. Squeaky bum time!

To quote Sir Alex Ferguson, we are approaching "Squeaky bum time" in the J-League in Japan. Now, at the summer break, Kashima had their noses well in front, and where looking solid for the title.

However, the mid-season mini-break in the summer put paid to the sheen of invincibility that they had.

Since the summer break, all the top 6 teams have been dropping points to lower teams, and taking points off each other. It has closed up the top of the table, with only 5 points between 6th, and top spot!

As it stands, Shimizu S-Pulse are top, on 50, Kashima in second on 50 (goal difference), third goes to Gamba Osaka who are just 1 point behind, Kawasaki and Niigata are 4th and 5th on 46 points. Again, split only by goal difference. The surprise is, Urawa, who have been a perrenial challenger, have since slipped out of the top , and been replaced by Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Urawa currently hold 8th.

To show how this has gone, Just to highlight Niigata. The first game back off the break saw Albirex Niigata claim a 1-1 draw with Shimizu, then went on a 3 game losing skid. 2-1 losses to Osaka, and then Kyoto. Osaka is a fellow top team, so losing was not such a surprise. Kyoto Sanga are currently 12th, so most pundits where predicting a Niigata win. Oops.

Niigata dropped all the points to Nagoya in a close fought game that saw Niigata lose 1-0. However, they only had themselves to blame. The game was tight, but Niigata did have the better chances, and yet, contrived to fluff the lot!

So, duking it out at the top of the table, and dropping 9 points. In most leagues round the world, that would sound the death-knell to any chance, as you would expect the top teams round you to claim at least half those points and pulled further ahead. As it was, after this 3 game skid, Niigata dropped only 3 places, from 3rd, to 6th.

Looking to get the challenge back on track, Niigata had a game against the leagues basement team, Oita Trinita. Trinita have a pretty shoddy defence, and a strike force that is still gun-shy.

Oita managed to hold off Niigata for a good 0-0 draw.

Finally, Niigata managed to get things back on track with a 2-1 win over top 6 rivals Hiroshima. Niigata then went on to do a massive favour for the top of the table, by going to Kashima, and scrapping out a 1-0 win!

So. All the teams in the top 6 have been chopping and changing. Niigata have sprung from crashing round the bottom of the league, and mounted a challenge. S-Pulse have improved a lot on last year, but the big surprise this year has been Urawa! For some reason, Japans best supported (Niigata is 2nd!) team, a perennial challenger, has fallen apart this year!

OK. Panic over.

Well, that turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Super Typhoon Melor tried to push over the mountains to get me, but ended up turning, and trundling up the middle of Japan (Ha! Just scared of me!). Well, this means that Kashiwazaki did not get struck full-on by the Typhoon, instead we got the slightly weaker western edge of it.

Not only that, but for a Typhoon, it is shifting! Heading along its path at a fairly brisk 50 kph!

Basically, quite a bit of rain, some strong winds, but really nothing devastatingly hairy to worry about. I almost feel let down by it all. Still. It has left a trail of mess as it passes over Japan!

So far, 1 dead when his motorbike hit a fallen tree. And a reported 18 injured. Though that is likely to rise. *edit. Now risen to 2 dead with another being clobbered by a branch.*

At the moment, quite a few homes have been damaged, such as having their roofs blown off, roads washed away by flash-floods, and several thousand homes have been left without power. Having said that, that is not a surprise. The Japanese have, in the past, spent a lot of time stringing power cables up from poles, rather than bury them like we do in England. However, in Kashiwazaki, as part of the governments stimulus, and because it might work out better, the city is spending quite a bit of cash burying cables underground, in flexible pipes. The flexible pipes should, in theory, bend, rather than break in an earthquake! Well, there we go. My first typhoon.

It has been a massive inconvenience. 315 flights cancelled, the Shinkansen network has been halted, and local railways have either been stopped, or severely delayed. It is understandable for the local trains, Japan uses a smaller gauge for its local services, and they can be pushed off the rails!

The people I do feel sorry for, are the people in northern Philippines. Typhoon Parma has now been downgraded to tropical storm, but this storm has passed over the north 3 times! And right now, it is sat over the Philippines, just raining!

However, this may not yet be over for Japan. The Typhoon season is drawing to a close, but we are now seeing 2 more systems forming at the moment in the Pacific, off the Philippines. We will see what happens with them!

Its coming! Flee! Flee for your lives!

As I type this, Kashiwazaki is beginning to feel the lead bands of Typhoon 918, or Typhoon Melor. The biggest typhoon that has rolled around the Pacific for quite some time, and the fantastic news is that Kashiwazaki has a ruddy great bulls-eye painted on it!

Japan is beginning to look like a Christmas tree with pretty much every prefecture either under a weather advisory, or warning. Mostly in the south and east of the country at the moment, and mainly due to the heavy rain now lashing the country.

Niigata is still under an advisory, not a full weather warning. However, that will change soon enough!

The weather is going to get worse, with rain being dumped across Japan. Wind is not the major killer in a Typhoon, though it does not exactly caress the land with soothing fingers, but the rain. The rain, combined with the wind can create devastating landslides and flooding. The likes of which have already devastated the Phillippines.

However, what really gripes me is the fact that tomorrow, about the time the Typhoon turns up, I was supposed to have engineers round fixing my air conditioning unit. Something I have been pestering my employer to sort for a good number of weeks now!

As it stands, the Typhoon is due to pass right past Kashiwazaki, just off the coast. Not over us, but as close as makes no difference.

So, there is a good chance I will be out of communication for a while.

If I can, I will try to take some pictures of all these doings and post them on line!

Let the party begin!

Well, today was a big day. Not for me personally, but in Copenhagen, a bunch of grey people sat around and then decided either based on totally altruistic reasons, or through some self-serving purpose, voted on who would be the next city after London to host the Olympics.

A lot of people wonder if all the hoopla is worth it. Can the Olympics really bring all these benefits that they speak of?

Speaking as someone who was a volunteer at the Commonwealth games in Manchester in 2002, I can personally testify that yes, they can! After the IRA bomb in 1996, Manchester was wondering what it was going to do. However, in true northern style, Manchester rolled up its shirt-sleeves, dusted off all the plans, and focused on the upcoming games, and began to drive through all the plans.

The city centre was rebuilt, many new facilities that before where just a pipe dream got finished due to the games hoving into view. By the time the games rolled around, the city centre boasted a totally new vibe, and a city determined to put on a show. And by God we did! Even when it rained!

Next up, is London. During the bidding process the British government stepped up with a lot of taxpayers money, justifying spending Manchester taxpayers money in London by saying that a London games will bring real benefits to the rest of the nation.

We are still waiting to really see these "benefits."

However, the Olympic project is already delivering benefits to London. One of the big examples is the new Javelin train service being introduced (ironically, being developed by Hitachi Heavy Industries and based on Shinkansen technology!). The main stadium is ahead of schedule, the sailing venue is finished, the velodrome and swimming centre are all going up.

It is a massively expensive project that will totally regenerate an area of London famous for decades of neglect, and return a horribly polluted desolate area of scrubland back to useful life. Will it inspire a generation to take up sports? We will see. Will it bring all the other benefits? We will see.

But it promises to be a party.

As long as Lord Coe manages to keep politicians well out of the planning loop!

Well, moving on.

Today saw the Olympic convention in Copenhagen to pick a host city for 2016. However, first, a short paragraph on each city.

First up, Chicago.

Had the star power to make all the other cities to blush. Able to call on famed world sports stars, as well as some minor bloke called Barrack Obama, who does something for the US government. The bid itself made great use of social media, potraying itself as bringing the Olympics into the future. Also, Chicago's bid was by far the most compact of the bids, and had many facilities already. It was hurt, however, because the bid ranked lowest on its technical aspects, and there was doubt over financing.

Next, Madrid.

This bid was the most advanced in that had most of its venues ready to go. Madrid was also able to call on some pretty big names, including the whole Real Madrid squad! The bid was technically sound, and the strongest supported by the city populace out of all the bids. A bid full of emotion, it was a strong bid (including Samaranch who could campaign for them!), but there would have been an issue with awarding the games to Europe twice in a row, following on from London.

Now, Rio.

Rio de Janiero had to work hard on their bid. At the start of the process, it was technically weak, with big doubts over many aspects of it. However, they worked hard, and brought the standard of the bid up. Rio was able to bring in Pele to back their bid, as well as able to inject a lot of emotion. The "ace in the hole" so to speak, was that the bid was sound, and would be the first time for a South American city to host! Though doubts linger over Rios technical ability.

Finally, Tokyo.

Technical ability was not an issue for Tokyo's bid. A Japanese games would be loaded with techno stuff, and would blow the socks off the rest of the world. Tokyo's bid was rated as technically the strongest, and was a solid reliable bid. Tokyo would deliver an amazing games, no doubt. However, Tokyo was hurt because the bid suffered from the lowest levels of local support, and where just unable to inject the same passion and emotion into their bid that Rio and Madrid could.

So. Who won?

Well, in round one, the voting went as follows:-

Chicago 18

Madrid 28

Rio 26

Tokyo 22

A major shock, but Chicago was eliminated in round 1! Whilst Chicago was not a lock for winning the rights to host the games, there was no expectation that they would drop out in round 1.

Round 2.

Madrid 29

Rio 46

Tokyo 20

Tokyo out. Technically a solid bid, Tokyo was unable to generate so much passion for their bid like the other cities. However, it had a strong "dark horse" chance of keeping enough votes to slip through as a very popular second choice.

On to the finals.

Madrid 32

Rio 66

So, there you have it. Rio has won the rights to be the host of the Olympic Games in 2016. The other host cities put together amazing bids, and all of them stand an excellent chance of winning the games should they choose to go for 2020. And for each, the chances rise! Tokyo because the Beijing games will slip further into history, Chicago simply because the US is the biggest single market, and Madrid because There will have been a games splitting 2020 from Londons games!

So, it the last thing for me to say, is whilst I am personally disappointed that Tokyo did not get it, I hope Rio all the best. Organising the Olympics is a huge task. They will have to stay on top of it all the time, and if done right, it can deliver improvements to the city that will be felt for decades!

The EPL has faced off!

Well, the EPL has dropped the puck and started! Cue much excitement! We have had 4 games (2 weekends) and we are beginning to see the league flesh out a little. Here are a few of my own personal thoughts on how the teams look.

First of all, my own team, the Phoenix.

Whilst I have not seen them play, I have been in touch with people who have, and read up on them and how they have done.

Well, at the moment, the Phoenix are 3 wins from 4. Starting with a win against Basingstoke, with Ed Courteney on fire, then a close-fought game with Swindon with the Phoenix winning by the odd goal, followed with another close win against Sheffield. Unfortunately, Milton Keynes rolled in, spoiled the party, and ended the Phoenix' perfect start. Apparently, though, the Phoenix' import contingent did not step up to the plate, and MK managed to play an excellent, tough game against Manchester and rattled the squad. Still, it was another odd goal affair.

Milton Keynes, tough team, sensible coach known to Manchester fans in Nick Poole, and a settled squad that is uesd to playing together. One of the EPL's perennial thereabouts team, only squad with a 100% record. Will be near the top of the pile come the end. Will the finish above the Phoenix? Maybe. Nick has a lot of experience at this level. Whilst Manchester has a good team, their experience at this level is limited.

Basingstoke. Same record as the Phoenix, 3-1. Good solid team, and expected to be fighting for silverware. Lost to Phoenix on opening night, then rolled into Guildford and stamped on the Flames. Follwed with another weekend of happy hunting. A close game at home against last years surprise champions, and then a comfy 6-1 win against Romford.

Guildford. The "chequebook" team. A title that might well end up being passed to the Phoenix or Basingstoke! However, Guildford is similar to MK, there or thereabouts all year. Solid team, some excellent players, and a good winning mentality. However, this year. they currently have a 50% record. Losing their opening weekend games, against MK and Basingstoke, but last weekend enjoying victories against Swindon and Slough.

Swindon. Solid team that is hard to play against. Competent team members, but lack the budget of some of their rivals. Opened the season with a 6-1 win against Romford, but then just lost to the Phoenix, followed by a 4-2 reverse to Guildford, and a 10-2 kicking from Bracknell.

Bracknell. Lost a lot of players from last years thank to the ownership crisis which nearly sank the team over the summer. However, some quick and sensible recruiting. Starting with Claude Dumas. Who has been in the UK game since we used rocks for pucks! The squad itself has some sensible imports, and a list of good young Brits, and has the potential to upset a lot of people. So far, a big loss to Slough (9-0) followed with a better result later (5-7) coupled with a 5-2 turnover from MK. However, Bracknell did thump Swindon...

Sheffield. A squad that is doing its best under the shadow of the more moneyed Steelers. Has a squad that once boasted Ron Shudra, one of the UK's biggest names in the game. But now led by the more than capable Jon Rowbotham, the Scimitars are proving to be a difficult squad to beat. Opening weekend saw wins against Peterborough and Romford, the following weekend saw them lose to The Phoenix, then bounce back with a 2nd win against Peterborough. However, they have since lost their first goalie, Paul Jones to a hip injury. Surgery will keep him out until the new year at the moment!

Slough. This team suffered a whole-sale clearout of players. Once the ever-green Moria was released and ended up just up the road in Basingstoke, he enticed several of the Jets critical players, such as Nicky Chinn. However, the new coach Peter Russell has built a tough squad that lies second in the table. An opening night 9-0 win over Bracknell has been followed by wins over Peterborough and a second over Bracknell. Broken by an OT loss to Guildford.

Peterborough. Last year saw this team claim pretty much all the silverware, including the cutlery off the table! However, that overstretched the club financially, and this year has seen the pain kick in. Several of the squad had to be cut and cheaper alternatives brought in, and the results have suffered accordingly. Not getting beat by much, but currently on an 0-4 record.

Finally. Romford. Like Bracknell, had ownership issues which rumbled on so long that the whole squad effectively is brand new. Also, assembled on a budget, and it looks like a tough year. On paper, a great team. Lots of promise, but like Peterborough, 0-4. With a worse goal record. It is still early, and maybe they can turn things around, but at the moment, look like odds-on for the bottom slot.

So, the table at the moment.

place Team Played Win Loss Points

1 Milton Keynes 4 4 0 8

2 Slough 4 3 1 7

3 Manchester 4 3 1 6

4 Sheffield 4 3 1 6

5 Basingstoke 4 3 1 6

6 Guildford 4 2 2 4

7 Bracknell 4 1 3 2

8 Swindon 4 1 3 2

9 Peterborough 4 0 4 0

10 Romford 4 0 4 0

How do I see the league shaping up? Well, Fully expect it to be Manchester Basingstoke and Milton Keynes making it the top 3, followed next by Slough, Guildford and Sheffield, with Swindon and Bracknell staying close, then the basement made up by the teams there now. I am, of course, ready to be proved wrong!

Inherited politics

This is not such a big article this time, but just been listening Radio 5, and the Breakfast Phone in show, where the public where asked if Gordon Brown was the right man to lead Britain forwards. Quite frankly, in my own humble opinion, no.

Every time I hear from someone in the Labour party, I want to smack them. There is a constant spin on news, they dont like confronting bad news, and Gordon brown has shown an amazing ability to miss what is right in front of him. "Taxes will be changed to make them fairer!" Then pulls the 10p tax, whilst insisting it wont hurt anyone.

Then back-pedals rapidly.

Another one that really got me was the mega-casino thing. Manchester's Eastlands community would have seen millions poured in which would have delivered economic benefits all over the shop. Other regions missed out on the mega casino, but many areas benefited from smallre regional casino plans.

Gordon Brown got in, and nixed the mega casino plan for its anti-social aspects (gambling addiction, etc). This, I have no major issue with. I am quite neutral on the gambling issue. I have no objections to one being built, and the only objection I have to blocking one is that people should be treated as adults and allowed to choose. Yes, gambling does have its inherent issues of addiction and debt, but a mega casino could fund help programmes to assist people who fall into that trap, and the vast majority of us are reasonably sensible enough to make our own decisions.

However, Brown nixed it, and after Manchester ploughed a tone of cash in to the bidding process and organising for the benefits, had all this pulled out from under it, and nothing put on the table as compensation.

I have no issue with nixing it per se. However, as a marker of his style, Brown does what he wants for his reasons, the later has to scramble when he realises there are wider issues at play.

However, that little rant over.

What I really wanted to talk about was political dynasties.

Britain's political structure allows people to carry on in politics for a very long time, so the offspring tend to move into business rather than follow in the family line and go into politics themselves. Also, they see the hassle their parents go through, and dont want that for themselves.

However, there are dynasties in Britain. Most famous being the Benns.

William Wedgewood Benn (Tony Benn) was in parliament in the 20's followed by Anthony Wedgewood Benn who served with Harold Wilson, and now we have Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary. Following in the family line, Hilary's niece, Emily Benn is bidding to be the youngest ever MP (20) at the next election.

Harold McMillian was followed into parliament by his son Maurice, Gwilym Lloyd George followed his father in, and the most successful family is possibly the Balfours, (Marquess' of Salisbury) with about 5 of them to go into parliament.

America, famously, has had some amazing dynasties. Let us not forget the recent history of presidents, with Bush, Clinton, back to Bush again, with Hillary Clinton forging her own political legacy. And of course, with the Bush's, The other brother is sitting as governor in Florida. And of course, the most famous example is the Kennedy's. A political dynasty that looks like it is coming to an unfortunate end with the sad passing of Ted Kennedy.

However, this pales into insignificance, when you look at the political scene in Japan. The recent ruling party, the LDP, saw at least 50% of its members inheriting their seats directly from their parents. Usually father to son. The most obvious example is possibly the most famous PM in Japanese recent history, Junichiro Koizumi (Him with the hair!) retiring from his seat, and his young son stepping in and taking over.

Shinjiro, in the past, could have expected a near shoo-in for the seat, except that now, political inheritance is slowly becoming a dirty word in Japanese politics, and the DPJ has tried hard to begin to move away from this history, with only about 10% of its new members being from a political family.

However, since Koizumi, every leader of the Jpaanese government, Koizumi, Abe, Fukuda, Aso, and now Hatoyama are all directly descended from grandfathers who have either been prime ministers themselves, or involved with high levels of government!

Another aspect of Japanese politics has been "amakudari" or the art of those working for the government (politician and bureaucrat) who retire, and take up a lucrative position with a private company. Usually a company that works in the government officials department. The most common area is construction. Which is one of the reasons why you see so much concrete in this country.

People look after the company, giving them contracts that most would term as wasteful, and then, surprise, that same company offers them a comfortable position upon retirement!

Corruption is common in Japan. It is a faceless crime that many people judge to be relatively harmless, and not a direct attack on someone, which would be improper!

I am not saying that British politics is anything like Japanese politics, but noting a word of caution. Unless controls are put in place, the political dynasties can grow and become detached from the world around them, and look where Japanese politics has ended up. The DPJ has made noises about changing it all, reducing bureaucrat powers, ending this policy of amakudari, and encouraging the ending of dynasties.

As for Emily Benn, whilst I disagree with your politics (I cant bring myself to vote Labour. I just cant!), I wish you luck in your ambition. However, I would suggest getting out and working first. Sample life as the rest of us see it. It would help before you start to legislate on it!