Circuit City - are you local?

You are supposed to be able to get the measure of someone by the company he keeps. Not sure if you can really judge someone by their friends (or enemies) but here are the people I most like or admire or enjoy, and some of the people I don't have time for.

Heroes:

Keith Moon
He just didn't care. Enjoyment was his only priority and we must all sometimes wish we could dare to ignore all our responsibilities like that.

Tony Benn
Whether you agree with him or not, you can't doubt his sincerity and compassion.

Rick Wakeman
You couldn't wear those capes and not have a sense of humour! Since found out he is a Tory supporter, but can even forgive him that.

Robert Rodriguez
Not only are his films all enjoyable, but he obviously loves his work and comes across as a genuinely decent person.

Julian Dicks
Not sure if I would get on with him personally, but it was always a pleasure to watch him play football.

Spike Milligan
Genius

Stephen Jay Gould
Before he died he did his best to make science accessible to everyone in his immensely readable books.

My Mum
OK. No need to be making all those pass-the-sick-bag gestures. She brought up three children on her own, while also working and studying to become a teacher. We never had a lot of money as a family, but never ever did we feel deprived. I can see a lot of the same attitudes in my wife and how she raised her children before I met her.

Carlos Santana
Not only a great and talented guitarist, but you know his heart is in the right place.

Amir Khan and his Dad
I am not a fan of boxing at all, but young Amir and his dad have probably done more good for race relations in Britain during the 2004 Olympics than any dozen politicians. You do wonder how the BNP, who are very active in his home town, feel when they see Pakistani muslims parading around wrapped in the union flag and being cheered by crowds of all colours.

John Peel
Thought he was brilliant while he was alive, then he died and realised I missed him more than I could have expected. There will never be another like him and half the bands in Britain (and elsewhere) owe him a huge debt.

Villains:

Thatcher
I don't really need to explain this do I?
I really do believe she was motivated by selfishness and greed, and I can imagine her actually taking pleasure in all the misery she caused.
Generally I try to forgive and forget, especially when they die and it costs nothing to respect the dead, but for her I will make an exception. I will join the (long) queue to dance on her grave.

Jean-Marie Le Pen
Another obvious one.
I still can't believe that a country which was occupied by the nazis can be persuaded to vote for them!

And for similar reasons...

Nick Griffin
Leader of the BNP. Or has he got the boot yet?

Tom Peters
Surely he just makes up all that cobblers in those business theory books which were so fashionable in the 90s?

Shirley Porter
Although I don't know why: she was not doing anything that a lot of other 80s Tories were doing, she was just more blatant about it and got caught.

Celebs
No room here for all the waste-of-space so-called celebrities like Will Young, Robson & Jerome, Jordan, or even Simon Cowell. Just because they are not my cup of tea, doesn't make them bad people. Only the truly evil make my list of villains.