I took my wife to Liverpool for her birthday recently, where we spent a few hours looking around the famous Albert Dock (you might recognise the photo above if it had Fred Talbert’s weather map floating on the water from 1990′s This Morning on ITV).

Afterwards I took her to see the live version of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, featuring football Robbie Savage, actor Chelsee Healey (Waterloo Road), Jason Donavan and drummer Harry Judd among others.

Below are a few pictures from the day, taken from an iPhone so the quality isn’t as great as I’d have liked!

Having enjoyed the free trial since I was given an iPad at Christmas by my wife, I tried to subscribe to the Guardian iPad edition last week, at £9.99 per month.

The problem, the subscribe button didn’t work. I couldn’t read my favourite paper an more (and the actual paper in he iPad edition is a much better experience than the up-to-the-second news on the website).

So, oil deleted the app and reinstalled it to see if that would fix the problem. It didn’t, but it did give me the latest edition free of charge! For the last week, since he free trial ended I’ve simply deleted and reinstalled the app each morning for a days free news.

I’ll keep going too until the Guardian fix their app. Maybe companies will learn to start testing their apps before release some day?

Got an iPad? Get the app now: Guardian iPad Edition(iTunes link).

Driving along the M65 in Lancashire and high on the hilltops in the distance is a little space rocket poking out of the hill. Head towards it from east or west and the rocket directs you home. Of course, it’s not a rocket, it’s Darwen Tower, or Jubilee Tower to give it it’s official name.

Late in 2010 strong winds blew the dome off the top of the tower. This weekend, thanks to the generosity of local engineering firm WEC, the tower has been re-roofed, with the aid of a couple of helicopters lifting it into place.

Protest
noun
An organized public demonstration expressing strong objection to an official policy or course of action.

Fans of Blackburn Rovers Football Club have been protesting for some time, both about the lack of ability being shown by the teams rookie manager Steve Kean, and the lack of leadership and direction from owners Venky’s.

The latest protest is to be a 24 hour event outside the clubs Ewood Park home, followed immediately by a protest march in the Ewood area and pre and post match protests inside the stadium as Rovers take on Fulham in the Premier League.

The protest organisers are doing all they can to help make Rovers fans voices heard and have recently changed tactics and started to call for the resignation of the day to day directors at Ewood, following a string of broken promises by the club.

Although the protests have drawn widespread support from football fans around the country and abroad, large sections of the media, and those involved in football professionally have condemned the protests and falsely reported that fans are protesting against the players on the pitch. Much to the contrary, fans have the players best interests at heart and are desperate for then to succeed. In turn, many players have indicated their support for the protesters.

The problem is, the manager is largely ignorant of the protests and the fans wishes, and the owners have not been heard from in months, other than posting a link on Facebook following the Christmas victory at Old Trafford, which was quickly removed when fans commented on the post calling for the owners to sell up.

Venky’s were very open when they bought the club, about their reasons for the purchase. They want to promote their brand worldwide and to popularise football in India.

Today, I’m calling on everybody on loved in the protests to think differently. Venky’s are not taking notice of the protesters message, and the only time they will take notice is when it hits them in their pockets. I personally am all for a boycott of Ewood Park, but football fans are a loyal bunch and you will never convince enough people to give up their matchday.

Therefore, I now call for protests to be staged in the town centre, outside the Rovers store on Church Street and outside Barclays Bank on Darwen Street.

At the store, there are two direct hits. A large group of peaceful protesters will deter people from entering the shop, reducing takings and hitting the owners financially – although by not a great deal in one day. The shop also hosts a tea room, which is owned independently of the club. If this business suffers as a direct result of a protest it could cause all sorts of ruptures at Ewood and possibly the loss of a paying tenant.

Barclays Bank are Rovers bankers a d they are eager for the clubs large overdraft to be repaid by Venkys. Reports indicate that the owners failed to make a £10m reduction to the debt due by the end of 2011. A large and vocal presence outside the branch would put many off entering and put those who do enter off staying for more than a few minutes, thus limiting the sales and new business the branch is able to undertake. A direct financial hit to the bank, indirectly caused by one of their customers (Venky’s) is not likely to be tolerated for very long, and they should be encouraged to pile pressure on Venky’s to pay up or sell up.

Direct protests have failed. Now is the time to hit the owners where it hurts.

Chloe got the iPad she always wanted this Christmas. How about you?

Here are 25 photos that tell my story of 2011.

Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean has been on the receiving end of fans protests for months now. Recently however, they have grown in number, in volume, and in aggression.

Rovers fans cannot be blamed for venting their anger at a manager who is simply not up to the job. In his 12 months in charge Kean has failed to make any progress on the pitch, and his comical, ever positive public persona has infuriated fans and seem him become the butt of many jokes, comparing him to a range of people from TV characters, to Iraq’s Comical Ali.

Kean has not done himself any favours either, he hasn’t made any attempt to bring the fans on side; initially saying he was unaware of any protests, then that he was ignoring them.

More recently, the local MP, Jack Straw has spoken out against Kean, as has the local paper and the clubs only major sponsor, Wayne Wild of the WEC Group. Players, ex-players, pundits and the media have also been calling for his head. Yet Kean remains defiant and cites support from top managers in his defence.

His persona has turned from ignorant, to arrogant and, certainly since the Bolton game, to one where fans have started to call into question his mental wellbeing.

The best thing that Kean could do right now, for himself as much as the club, would be to walk away. The protests are griping louder and louder at every game, and it’s no longer constrained to matchdays. The media have been all over it this last week; the Lancashire Telegraph have had him on the front page twice so far, and the situation is only likely to get more intense.

Christmas

One important thing that all Rovers fans must now remember. Is that no matter how bad Kean may be for the club, he is still a living, breathing, person – with feelings.

He can deny that the protests are affecting him all he wants, but seriously, how would you feel in his shoes.

The football world has recently lost Garry Speed, who took his own life for reasons that we do not know. Kean, no matter what he says public ally, must have been affected by what has happened, and the cracks are showing each time he faces the cameras.

It’s Christmas weekend and we have some massive games coming up. I’m calling on all Rovers fans to raise the volume of their protests and make them heard in India, but at this time of year more than any, those protests must be directed at Venky’s. Let the manager enjoy his Christmas with his family. Remember he isn’t as indestructible as he keeps telling us and at the end of it all, no club is as big as any mans life.

Let’s show some compassion for Steve Kean the person, vent your anger at the owners this weekend. The last thing any of us want is to see news of another footballing personality taking their own life, or their family having their Christmas/life ruined. We all know what the media think about Rovers, let’s not give them any more ammunition, let’s allow the Kean family to have as normal a Christmas as possible, and let’s hope that when all this is over, he can walk away from Rovers with at least his health intact.

“Yellow and black* till Kean get’s the sack, we’re doing it for Uncle Jack.”

After the defeat to Bolton Kean once again said, “On another day it might have gone our way.” He has been in charge of Rovers for over 365 days, and recorded seven league wins in that time. Which ‘other day’ does he mean?

[*Yellow and black are the colours of Rovers' current away kit]

Very often this season, Blackburn Rovers have found themselves in a strong position in a game with around 20 minutes to go. The manager has made tactical substitutions and Rovers have gone on to lose the game, or draw from a winning position.

Some fans blame these repeated events on what they believe to be poor timing and needless substitutions. The team have really struggled to see a game out for the whole 90 minutes some think it is due to a lack of mental fitness and ability in the squad, or tactics handed out by the manager.

Whatever the situation though, there is always a need in football to carry on giving your all until the referee blows the final whistle.

On Saturday, for only the second time in the league this season, Rovers won all three points. The first time was against Arsenal, where Blackburn relied on two Arsenal own-goals to seal the points. Against Swansea this weekend there were no late hiccups, however nobody would have been surprised if Swansea had gained two late goals to share the points.

What a lot of people were surprised about however, is the persistency of fans, protesting for the removal of manager Steve Kean during and after the win. Kean himself, some Rovers fans, fans of other teams and the media all expressed their confusion as to why anybody would protest against a manager when you have just won the game.

Well, we can relate this back to the full 90 minute analogy, one thing that Kean has struggled with since he took charge a year ago. You see, the managers record is not one to be proud of, surviving on the final day of last season and sitting bottom of the league going into the Swansea game. The fans have serious concerns about his management and indeed about how the club is being run from the very top.

There has been an awful lot of time, money and effort put into the protests so far and fans are determined to show owners Venky’s that it isn’t simply a minority of fans who disapprove of the manager, and that those fans aren’t fickle hypocrites who think three points is the start of something great. Rovers aren’t going to finish in the top 10 this season and they won’t be heading towards the Champions League any time soon. A number of first-team regulars have also shown their support for the protests, and others their displeasure with the manager.

We’re now 14 games into a 38 game season, 63% of the season remains. There are 72 points still to play for and mathematically we can still win the league. However, lets look at some facts:

- Rovers need to find 10 wins from 24 games to make 40 points, last season we finished on 43 points.
- Rovers have 10 points from 14 games. Carrying on at the same rate would see Rovers relegated on just 27 points.
- Since taking over, Kean’s Premier League record is P19, W3, D5, L12. That’s 11 points with an 11% win ratio.

Three wins in 19 games. Even when Portsmouth were relegated on 19 points a couple of seasons ago, they still managed 7 wins.

Cutting to the chase

While Kean might give up the game after 80 minutes, Rovers fans are much cleverer than the Scot. They know that one win doesn’t mean the season has been turned around, unlike Kean who said after the Swansea game, “I think we’re in a good run of games.” DLDLLW does not indicate to me a good run of games!

Rovers fans must keep up the pressure on Kean, and on the owners. There is an outside chance that he will turn things around and surprise not just the fans, but the entire football world. If he manages it then I’m sure that the fans will turn and the protests will end. The aim for all fans is to have a club who can play successful football and have a bit of ambition. Kean can’t get the fans onside by telling them he’s a happy chap and the dressing room is “bouncing”. The only way he can do it is to prove himself as a manager, by improving results on the pitch, week in, week out.

If by the end of January we have won another five games and sit in midtable then I’m sure the protest groups will reassess the situation, but until then, until Kean has proven his ability, it is imperative that fans continue to make their concerns known, before, during and after games.

Most importantly of all, is not to get carried away with one solitary win. All the fans know this isn’t a “good run of games”, and to get carried away after one win, against a Swansea team who are in their first season in the Premier League and struggling for goals, would be foolish.

The only fools at Ewood Park these days are the manager and the owners. Keep up the pressure on both of them, Rovers fans.

Fans have taken to wearing the teams away colours of yellow and black as part of the protest movement, so remember, “Yellow and black till Kean gets the sack, we’re doing it for Uncle Jack.”