I am trying to watch the Open on TV, but for some reason the BBC feel the need to interpose some fool with an estuary accent, who has no apparent connection to the sport. We missed Tom Watson’s second to the second because this idiot was interviewing somebody from Celebrity Come Dancing.
It reminds me of the ruining of Panorama by populism, exemplified by it being fronted by the deeply unpleasant Jeremy Vine, who has also been introduced to election coverage, just in case we miss estuary accents there also.
If the BBC exists in a popular culture where current affairs must be explained not by intellectuals but by diamond geezers, and golf presented by unqualified chirpy chappies, it really no longer does anything that the private sector cannot do. It is time to close down BBC Television and abolish the license fee. Radio three, four and the World Service are genuine public services, and could be funded by a small sum from general taxation. A small grant from general taxation should be given to producers of highest quality TV drama. The rest of the populist rubbish should be cut adrift into the private sector, and 97% of the vastly expensive bureaucracy sacked.
I think you’ll find that Craig dislikes the BBC’s habit of fronting programmes exclusively with people who wpeak in politically correct regional accents. It’s not the accent itself, which is perfectly OK – provided all the viewers and listeners can understand it, of course – but the belief that commentators who amy sound too “posh” need to be insulated by someone with a more demotic tone. Reminiscent of Tony Blair’s disconcerting habit of changing accent depending on his audience: the Fettes and Oxford educated prime minister could come across like a real Del Boy when addressing people he felt would think better of him for it.
ScouseBilly Thanks. I would never have got that answer. I was going down the literary character/film actor/author route. Strange that Wiki do not include that piece of history on their page about him. He performed many heroic actions by their account.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Tandey
An account of his saving of Hitler is added at the end as an external reference I see.
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Learning a lot today and on the other posts here too.
Mary, this is the link that brings the strands together:
http://www.hoffstrizz.com/2010/07/7-people-who-nearly-killed-adolf-hitler.html
The artist, Fortunino Matania is an interesting character himself.
“BBC journalists in one-day strike” says BBC headlies.
Apparently the source of the problem relates to a new draught of their contracts which specifies amongst their duties that they are expected to uncover and report news.
Another list. Can’t see the BBC tribe in there. A lot of entertaining goes on. I suppose we stupid idiots pick up the bill.
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http://blogs.journallive.co.uk/journalblogcentral/2011/07/pm-visitors-to-chequers.html
How sad that you are a snob. The post has changed my mind about you Murray.
Thanks for that ScouseBilly.
I have a theory that we seldom see aliens because the first flying saucer to arrive landed on a golf course, examined for a moment our ludicrously ineffective method of placing a ball in a hole, and decided to come back later. Much later.
Filled in that BBC survey and left my details for a reply. I’ll let you all know…
We “seldom” see aliens?
Do tell, Vronsky!
@ Marcus. “How sad that you are a snob. The post has changed my mind about you Murray.”
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Marcus, I suspect you don’t hear what Mr. Murray is saying. 1) Golf or any sport, or any let’s say fact based program depends on a good and knowledgeable host to be enjoyable. 2) The state sponsored TV that used to represent high quality culture programs, documentaries and news has gone down the toilet, quality-wise. It used to represent a critical voice if needed. Nowadays it’s the political agenda of the establishment and obscure intelligence interests that dictate what is broadcasted.
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It takes a gentleman to question the modern establishment’s degradation, lies and corruption. Because if you do, you will be called a snob by those who aren’t educated enough to see through all corruption and degradation.
Mary, thanks, I was relaxing in North Berwick for a few days – I’d recommend it, btw. R.L. Stevenson played there as a child. I agree with Mike Cobley and Duncan on this one. Yes, Birtism/Thatcherism/Blairism has a lot to answer for. DeepGreenPuddock, you’re right that it’s a complex cultural matter and that the last remaining politically independent bit in the BBC died along with Dr David Kelly. Channel Four, remember, also went downhill when Michael Grade took over – in Jeremy Isaacs’s time, C4 was superb. It is possible, though, to be complex on television – there is far too little creative ambition these days.
Hope you had a good time with fine weather. Did you happen to spot any of these wonderful creatures? I seem to remember that North Berwick is a good place to see them.
{http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/naturallyscottish/whales.pdf}
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Sky News have just shown a clip of this film about a humpback whale being freed from a fishing net by a group of people on a small boat and then afterwards, rejoicing in its freedom, the whale puts on a display for them. The whale was pregnant. The rescue took place in the Sea of Cortez. Nearly a million viewings of this film have taken place in a month which shows that we do want to know about something as beautiful and wonderful as this and that we do not want the tacky Murdoch worldview.
http://www.nodeju.com/11691/hump-back-joyous-display-of-gratitude.html
Speaking of the “tacky Murdoch worldview”:
I just saw this on Twitter:
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“Breaking News: Heat wave plunges much of U.S. into a deep fryer” http://yhoo.it/qd5wdF
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Might drive the message home that there really is Climate Change going on. [Although people die in heatwaves, and I don’t wish that on anyone.]
Sounds like you’ve gone into full Prince Philip meltdown – “…and another thing!”
@Dreoilin
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The only real and life threatening climate change that exist is a mental climate change.
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People minds have reached a temperature where they are prepared to accept any criminal activities of establishment as long as they still can watch reality shows, rap-monkeys and other mindless celebs on TV.
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The perpetual war with Eastasia (the War on Terrer as Mr. Bush would say) is there to remind them to be grateful to the establishment for protecting them by observing everyone and everything, all the time, on camera.
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Over and out from Airstrip One.
Mary, yes, thanks, the weather was excellent, we were lucky! We didn’t see any whales, but we did take a boat-trip to the Bass Rock, once the retreat of the Northumbrian Lindisfarne hermit, Baldred. They Rock is home to 150,000 gannets, as well as birds aptly and hilariously-named ‘shags’ who, unlike gannets (who stay with one partner for up to 30-40 years and never re-marry if the partner dies), do not remain faithful to their life-partner, but are incredibly promiscuous (!) We also saw a colony of seals, who live in a deep cave within the rock and who, as seals tend to do, came out to say hello! The white covering of the Rock is actually thousands-upon-thousands of gannets, rather than droppings. Interestingly, this is a recent phenomenon; in 1925, there were only 25,000 gannets there and in Mediaeval times, there was a castle and later, a prison. So it seems that as the people left, the birds came in.
http://www.north-berwick.co.uk/bassRock.asp
“The only real and life threatening climate change that exist is a mental climate change.”
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Each to his own, Sunflower. Each to his own. I’ll stick with the scientific consensus on that. George hadn’t factored it in.