The best-timed Wine Show ever... 12:25

I'm a huge fan of The Wine Show, an event for oenophiles that takes place every year at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Having missed it last year due to other commitments, it fills me with joy to discover this year's event has been planned for October 22-25. So, why am I so pleased? Well, this absolute cracker of an event falls very nicely between my wedding day and the start of our honeymoon. While we had originally planned to sensibly take our time planning and double-checking everything we had for our trip, it's a dead certainty we'll revert to type and end up spending our first few day as a married couple in an inebriated haze. Always the best way to kick off a marriage, I've been informed.

This year's show boasts all the usual bells and whistles with tonnes of suppliers, winemakers and celebrity experts avialable for wine walks and tutored tastings. Studying for a WSET Advanced qualification, I cannot emphasis just how useful events like these are in terms of being able to discuss the individual wines on the stalls with the people who make and sell the product. Whether a flight of the strong Aussie whites or tasting the newest reds from Portugal, I've never failed to learn a huge amount from every visit.

A new and interesting additions to this year's show will be an hour with Oz Clarke, which I'll be trying to tag along to, as well as the usual Coutts Private Cellar events and group tasting sessions. Not sure at his stage how I'm going to tackle the event to get the best out of it - a couple of days or just one evening - but I'll post back with any updates from the organisers as well as a selection of my favourite finds and tasting notes post-event. Roll on October.

Some myths exposed about the European election results 10:44

Tackling some of the misconceptions and myths circulating about last night's European elections in one easy guide...

There was a surge in support for the BNP
Not at all. Support for the BNP remained relatively stable at only 6.5 per cent of the national vote, up by 1.4 per cent. Less than a million people voted BNP.

Disillusioned Labour voters flocked to the BNP
There is no evidence of that. The key feature of these elections has been the collapse of the Labour vote, meaning that traditional Labour voters or those voters Labour has picked up over the last 12 years simply stayed at home in protest or in disillusionment. With just over 2 million votes, Labour’s proportion of the vote collapsed by a huge 7 per cent to just 15.3 per cent with the loss of 5 MEPs. That collapse in areas such as Yorkshire & Humber and the North West, increased the minority parties’ share of the vote and invariably let in the BNP whose vote remained steady.

Labour was to blame for the BNP’s wins
Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that Labour’s current lack of popularity and everything that has happened with the Brown government has led to disillusionment with the party and a collapse in its vote. No, in the sense that all the major parties are really to blame, firstly for the expenses scandal that has rocked the electorate’s appetite for the main three, and secondly, for not doing enough to mobilise the electorate generally. Of an electoriate of 40 million people, only 14 million voted.

Proportional representation was the reason to blame for the BNP’s wins
In part, yes. Unlike first past the post or any other non-PR system, the smaller and minority parties suffer as they generally need to poll about a certain percentage before winning any seats. PR reflects better the actually votes of the electorate. The Regional List system used in the Euro Elections is one of the purest forms of proportional representation. However, had turnout been vastly better, it is likely - as above - the proportion of votes received by the BNP would have been reduced and they would not have taken MEP seats.
By changing the system away from PR, it may actually threaten political representation in the European Parliament as wished for by voters of UKIP and the Green Party, who together polled considerably more than the BNP.

It was a great night for the Tories
Not especially. The Tories’ share of the vote was not a huge increase on 5 years ago, only rising 1.2 per cent to 28.6 per cent. That is well below the sort of number David Cameron would be wanting to win if a general election were round the corner. However, two caveats, it must be remembered the Tories were as badly hurt in the expenses scandal as Labour so this could be voters giving their protest vote; but more likely, it was the general lack of apathy for European elections from voters. The county council elections are perhaps a more accurate reflection of the electorates feelings towards the Conservatives and these will be more encouraging for David Cameron. UKIP and the BNP were the clear winners in these Euros.

Why a BNP MEP is even more dangerous than first thought 01:01

With the British National Party's victory in securing at two MEP seats in this European Election, the party has just not only put itself on the political map but has banked itself one big cheque.

The major parties can pour scorn upon the BNP from the House of Commons, Sky News and the pages of the national dailies as much as they like, but its election to the European Parliament is instantly going to have an effect on its fortunes, whether they like it or not. Put simply, the huge amount of resources put in the hands of the BNP's new MEPs, leader Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons, is going to be a shot in the arm for the right wingers. In fact, the leadership will be rubbing its hands at the windfall of cash those seats in the institution will hand the party, whose message has been traditionally strangled by lack of resources and coverage.

As well as an MEP's basic salary of £80,500, according to an Open Europe study, MEPs are able to claim expenses and allowances of £363,000 a year including a £261 daily subsistence allowance. The position also puts in the hand of a single BNP MEP a £186,776 in staff allowances, potentially creating a de facto secretariat of the organisation's most prominent members if employed in that office. As well as £87,407 in travel expenses, they are also able to claim over £45,000 in general office expenses, automatically paid without any evidence of receipts.

Going by how the UK's other anti-EU party, UKIP, has used their Euro expenses, it would not beyond the realms of possibility that the BNP - starved of funds from domestic membership fees and political donations - would not take advantage of these. Strangely, it is the anti-EU parties who have no lack of compunction in using the maximum allowances possible while decrying the European Union's profligacy.

The attainment of any political office, of course, will always likely provide a new and wider platform from which the party can push its message. However, therein lies an opportunity for the major parties with whom, it has to be said, the fault lies for the election of such a reactionary and extremist party.

Now the BNP has been placed on its elected plinth, it is down to the public, media and major parties to knock them down with as hard a force as they can jointly muster and reiterate the arguments against voting that way in the future. They made a huge error in underestimating how little they had effectively addressed voters' real concerns about immigration and jobs in their 'safe' constituencies; now they have five years to atone for their sin.

Can Bricktop save the day for Labour? - The case for and against Alan Johnson 01:19

So, the consensus among political commentators is that the inevitable dumping of Gordon Brown is going to lead to the coronation of Alan Johnson. Whether he'll face a long-winded and potentially damaging leadership election over the summer or if he's rapidly installed as PM by a desperate Labour party, Johnson has been marked as the man who can solve all Labour's problems.

I've always thought he bore an uncanny resemblence to the character of Bricktop in Guy Ritchie's Brit gangster movie Snatch. With that old-school trade union-style hairstyle and cockney geezer accent, he may be a man of the people but can he suddenly become the party's very own Bricktop, using some heavy handed tactics to kick his cohorts into shape in time for going to the country next year?

There are many reasons why he would be a good choice for the Labour party. A former general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, he's likely to have the support of the feisty Left leaning backbenchers and traditional Labour supporters on the ground. In government dominated by Brownite and Blairite factions spinning and infighting between themselves over the last 10 years, he has succeeded in remaining something of a de facto neutral. Although nominally aligned with the Blairite faction, Johnson has demonstrated a rather honourable (yes, I am applying that to a politician) trait of loyalty towards his esteemed leader, and even now staunchly maintains this stance.

His has a solid, if not revolutionary, record in the departments he has served and his cabinet positions as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Energy, Education, then Health. The safe hands he brought to the debacle over private cancer drug treatment showed he had a clear grasp of the issues in the public and media mind as he took a careful line to diffuse the row.

There's another reason why the people who matter may think he has a change to reverse Labour's fortunes - the focus on personality in politics works both ways. The Conservatives and the right wing media in particular have made the Labour party and government's woes synonymous with the individual - love him or hate him - that is Gordon Brown. Having built him up a perception of the figure over a decade as chancellor and during his less-than-spectacular two years as PM, removing that the source of all that scorn, Brown himself, could all of a sudden disarm the government's opponents. So much scorn and vitriol has been targeted and poured upon Brown, the personalisation of the nearly every issue the government has faced could allow any successor to distance themself from Brown's actions.

Few Labour MPs are going to be confident that any change this late in the game is going to stop the next government from having a Conservative complexion. Damage limitation at this stage is quite possibly the best option with so many marginal Labour seats looking extremely precarious. In the scenario that Johnson loses the next election, if under his stewardship he reduces Labour's losing margin by even 50 MPs, that's a lot of Labour members who have guaranteed another four years to regroup and consolidate ready to hand over the reins to a younger, more dynamic leader to beat the Tories in 4/5 years' time. As a stopgap, Johnson's probably the only one who would accept or could step in to be Labour's man for these circumstances.

Saying this, a lot of Conservative-leaning blogs may pretend that Johnson is the David Cameron's worst nightmare, but this is surely no more than a red (or should that be blue) herring. Conservative strategists know the ball is very much in their court, save a highly dramatic and improbable economic upturn before the general election that will sway a disillusioned electorate. The Conservative party is in its strongest position to win a general election since the early 90s, thanks primarily to Cameron as the first viable Tory leader for more than a decade. Young, vibrant, a family man - the public seems to care not a jot about his toff past - his only major threat would be a younger candidate like David Miliband.

Furthermore, Johnson's man-of-the-people demeanour has been pushed as one of the reasons why he has an advantage over Brown going into an election. Brown, for all his faults, is a heavyweight in comparison to many of his Labour colleagues, as shown through his performance during the beginning of the recession and his handling of the G20 negotiations. Questions have repeatedly been raised as to just how good Johnson would be on the campaigning trail. Going by his almost half-hearted performance against Harriet Harman in the deputy leader elections, the signs do not look good. He's likeable, probably popular among the electorate, but can he persuade the public at large he is anything other than a caretaker manager for the most important team in the country?

In the final analysis, it simply comes down to who else could do the job. Miliband, Purnell, Burnham et al simply do not appear heavyweight enough at this stage to contest a general election next year. The question may even be moot as he many not even want to scupper his chances of a future leadership bid by taking on the seemingly poisoned chalice of any government in the current economic climate.

BSkyB and Microsoft pact for live TV on Xbox 09:37

Microsoft and satellite broadcaster BSkyB have announced a major partnership that will see live and on-demand television and film content including Premier League football and Test Match cricket available through the Xbox 360 games console. [Cue Entertainment (subscription-only) 29/05/09]

Microsoft to launch Zune in UK 09:33

Microsoft will launch its music and entertainment service Zune across Xbox Live this autumn to a potential audience of 17 million subscribers. [Cue Entertainment (subscription-only) 29/05/09]

Lovefilm bows streaming service 09:34

Rentals-by-post operator Lovefilm has launched a streaming service through its website allowing both subscribers and non-subscribers the opportunity to view more than 400 programmes immediately. [Cue Entertainment (subscription-only) 21/05/09]

Bond dominates Blu-ray in March 09:48

Jody Raynsford takes a look at last month's retail charts. [Cue Entertainment (subscription-only) 01/05/09]

Smackdown strikes Silver 09:44

Fans flock to WrestleMania every year but Cue’s Jody Raynsford, who joined the Clear Vision party at this year’s event, discovers that WWE wrestling is a business with a firm grip in every aspect of entertainment. [Cue Entertainment (subscription-only) May 09]

Still pulling its weight 09:52

Demand for TV shows on DVD remains strong and the coming year offers great new selections from the UK and the US along with familiar favourites. Jody Raynsford takes a look. [Cue Entertainment (subscription-only) 01/04/09]