Very sad news for fans of the 1970 TV series UFO. In a rather grim coincidence, Ed Bishop and Michael Billington, who played Commander Ed Straker and Colonel Paul Foster respectively in the groundbreaking Gerry Anderson production, died on consecutive days this week.

As a kid I absolutely loved UFO, a science-fiction drama set ten years in the future, where SHADO, an ultra-secret military organisation funded by the world's governments defended Earth against ruthless, mysteriously silent alien invaders. It captured my imagination like no other TV programme before or since, and I confess, it retains much of its appeal for me to this day. Bishop in particular had an extremely charismatic screen presence in his role as the unyielding, ice-cold Straker, an almost tragic figure whose personal life suffered from his obsessive commitment to his command.


Anderson's vision of a future ten years hence (1980) was as mesmerising as it turned out to be inaccurate, and despite the fact that the last episode was filmed over 35 years ago, UFO retains a remarkable cult popularity with a thriving fan community, given a new lease of life firstly by the advent of the Internet, then by a DVD release of the entire series in 2002. Both Bishop and Billington were regulars at UFO conventions, and perhaps remarkably, both are still idolised by many female fans, both in the UK and the US. I'm afraid there will be an outpouring of grief in the UFO fan community today, as the news is absorbed.

I happened upon Ed Bishop by chance at the Tesco Metro supermarket in Covent Garden about four years ago. I couldn't resist saying hello, and found him to be a thoroughly pleasant chap. He'd made a living in England for many years, appearing in the occasional radio play and theatrical production.

Michael Billington died on Monday, June 6th, aged 63, following a battle with cancer. Ed Bishop died on Tuesday, June 7th, aged 72. He is believed to have contracted an infection which proved to be fatal while undergoing hospital treatment.

The UK government proposes to introduce "pay-as-you-go" road charges, using satellite technology to track the movements of every private car (story here). I've just sent the following fax to my MP.

Dear Mr Laxton,

As one of your constituents, I write to express sincere and heartfelt contempt for Alistair Darling's proposals to introduce "pay-as-you-go" charges for motorists using public roads.

It seems to me that this is another example of the people who pay for our country's infrastructure being penalised by people who don't. Those who use public transport receive their own bus lanes, generous subsidies and even free rides in many cases, while the hapless motorists who already pay through the nose via road tax, taxes on fuel and more recently a congestion charge, will get hammered again - yet another example of Labour politicians buying power by forking out money predominantly supplied by taxpayers who wouldn't vote for them in the first place, a practice you have turned into a fine art.
 
Additionally, I find the notion of my every private car journey being monitored and recorded by the state profoundly repugnant.

Yours sincerely,
James Gibbon