A two-day postal strike has begun despite last-minute talks between the Communication Workers Union and the management of Royal Mail.

Royal Mail said it was disappointed at the move and advised customers not to post mail on strike days.

Julie McMaster from the customers’ watchdog Postwatch said small business would suffer very badly.

“OK, you have electronic e-mails and that sort of thing, but if you are waiting for that cheque, that one cheque can be the breaking of a business,” she said.

This has really annoyed me today. C’mon Royal Mail, sort it.

Ronan Keating on the record

By Rodney Edwards

There I was browsing the wide range of delectable breakfast cereals in a local grocery store when my mobile phone went.

Mesmerised by the abundant amount of oat based chocolate coated products in front of me, I answered the call with a disorientated grunt; “Eh, hello?” “Ock hello Rodney, its Ronan Keating here,” came the rather courteous reply; “Oh hello Ronan,” I whispered, sounding totally uninterested as I eyed up a packet of Coco Pops, “Do you want me to ring you back?,” asked Ronan, sounding concerned that something was actually up; “Em, aye, would you?” I said, without hesitation; “I’m a little preoccupied at the moment to be honest.”

And so that was that, and I made my way to the checkout with a packet of Choco Rocks under my arm and Ronan probably got back to watching Bargain Hunt or reruns of Top of the Pops from the 90’s. A few minutes later he phoned back again and it was time to talk – once the pleasantries were out of the way I wanted to know if Boyzone were getting back together or not because (ex manager) Louis bloomin’ Walsh won’t stop blathering on about it; “Boyzone are not coming back. No matter what is said in the press, I’d happily go down to the bookies in the morning and bet that it’s not going to happen.” said a defiant Ronan, quashing rumours that his old band are to return to the pop scene after much speculation in the press over the last year.

The Irish star also believes reformed Take That are the undisputed Kings of Pop; “Take That are the best. They are amazing, I went to see them when they played in Dublin and was just blown away by how phenomenal they were. Everything about them was just amazing and I was very impressed, not many bands can compare to them.”

Not even Boyzone? In just six amazing years, Boyzone knocked up 16 consecutive top five hits and six number ones - including “Words”, “All That I Need” and “No Matter What” and they even sold a staggering15 million albums worldwide. Boyzone were the biggest boy band on the planet and Ronan along with Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham and Stephen Gately were untouchable. “We made it up as we went along,” says Ronan. “It was rock ‘n’ roll. We weren’t throwing TVs out of windows but we’d be up all hours drinking every night. Next morning we’d get on the plane drunk. It was full on. There were parties thrown for us after every gig, money thrown at us - all sorts.”

But it wasn’t to last forever as Boyzone split in 1999 when Ronan walked out to go solo. Initially it was supposed to be a temporary break but after his solo career rocketed particularly following the massive success of “When You Say Nothing At All”, part of the soundtrack to Notting Hill, plus a hit album he never returned.

And why bother? His solo career has propelled him into mega stardom and shows no signs of diminishing, Clocking up a total of 14 top ten singles (most of them covers), Ronan has had big success with hits such as “Life is a Rollercoaster”, “The Long Goodbye”, and “If Tomorrow Never Comes”, as well as three number one albums in addition to his previous success with the group - plus he’s had no singles which have charted outside of the top ten.

He also believes his last album ‘Bring You Home’ is the best record he’s ever made; “I think my strengths in music are my ballads so I made the best record I could about love songs which I know I’m best at. It’s full of heart and soul and the inspiration came from my life and my imagination. I don’t need to do or say things to place me in a position where I look a bit cooler. I wanted to be Jon Bon Jovi and Bono. But I’m not that cool. I don’t need to be. I’m not a rock star. I am who I am.” He said.

In the past Ronan has collaborated with some big names in music, the likes of Yusef Islam, Leann Rimes and Lulu but wants to try and move his popular duets to a whole new direction; “The next time I do a duet I want to try something different. I’d like to work with Kayne West or Mary J Blige because of their diversity and how different they are to me - Kayne is just brilliant. I don’t want to work with the likes of Will Young because duets are about collaborating with people who are from a different world than you.”

When Ronan fell out with former manager and X Factor judge Louis Walsh it was one of the most spectacular celeb fallings out of all time. Ronan says the music mogul destroyed their close bond when he started talking about him negatively in the press, labelling him ‘a lot like Cliff Richard’ and accusing him of ‘not being able to sing,’ so it’s fair to say it looks like the ongoing feud will never be resolved; “I have no reason to want to go and meet up with Louis.” says Ronan. “If he comes up and says sorry then I’ll shake his hand and let bygones be bygones. He’s said a lot of things about me and I feel embarrassed for him. My music is doing well, my records are selling, my tours sell out and I’m back on top again and if he wants to keep saying those things about me then fine but I feel really sorry for him.”

With fellow Irish megastars Bono and Bob Geldof constantly trying to save the world, has Ronan any wish to set down his microphone and go and join them? “No. I wouldn’t know what to do but I do think what they are doing is great. Bono doesn’t care about the negative press because he’s helping save lives. Bono and Bob are incredibly intellectual and well educated and they are both using their privileged positions to try and help people so I think it’s better for the world we live in.” finishes Ronan.

Ronan Keating’s contribution to music is a lot like Natasha Kaplinsky – dull and lifeless; but he’s still a pleasant chap that’s made millions from old ladies buying his stuff, so he must be doing something right.

Catch Newton Faulkner

By Rodney Edwards

What’s that sound? It’s acoustic guitar like we’ve never heard it before. It’s things done to six strings that will boggle the ears and eyes. It’s a throaty but gentle blues croon that speaks of backwoods and beaches over the top of delicate strumming – and his name is Newton Faulkner and he’s great.

Until recently Newton Faulkner was as unheard of as postal strikes. But now, like the bloomin’ pickets, he’s popping up all the time and causing disruption (but in a good way) at a shocking rate. His debut smash hit album “Hand Built By Robots” capitulated him to major stardom earlier in the year, and caused mayhem to the previously sanctimonious sugar coated and dreary music biz.

Faulkner’s fantastically refreshing single ‘Dream Catch Me’ earned him the sort of success that musical debris Shayne Ward and Lisa Scott Lee crave for in between their shifts at McDonalds. So, it’s quite a simple equation really; Newton Faulkner equals good but rubbish pop and those striking posties equals bad. And now, he’s become something of a musical mastermind, as his profile just keeps on rising.

It’s his inventiveness that makes this 21-year-old from London one of the most buzzed-about DIY artists of the year. With no promotion and bugger-all money his first release, last spring’s ‘Full Fat’ EP, reached Number One on Amazon’s singles chart in 2006.

The shuffling beats; Faulkner’s laidback scat singing and gutsy holler; the chewy blues riffs; the ‘tapping’ of strings – these had (pardon the pun) struck a chord with anyone who had stumbled across his shows in the England, causing the low-key release to sell-out its 3000 copies.

With his wonderfully nimble approach to guitar, Faulkner is as exciting to watch as he is to hear.

‘Tapping,’ explains Faulkner, ‘is prodding the strings really hard with your other hand, your picking hand. You can have stuff coming from both sides of the strings. There are certain frets which work really well – you get two notes and they harmonise with themselves. It sounds like there’s more than there actually this. You’re getting stuff out of both sides of the guitar.’

But Faulkner doesn’t want to go on about his guitar too much, even if he does play his handmade guitar (‘it’s been built to take a hammering’) with proper affection. He just wants to move us, and himself, with his music. Which is why prefers writing while he’s touring rather than while sitting at home. ‘Everything makes more sense on the road,’ he says. ‘When you’re not gigging you write stuff that’s for you in a way that you don’t when out doing gigs in pubs. If you’re doing gigs whilst writing you know what you need, you have a clear understanding of what people like and want – which I can’t seem to remember when I’m at home. Which is really stupid,’ he says with a grin, ‘but it’s just how it is.’