Seriously??
David Cameron on Letterman? Nick Clegg and his You Tube single release? Jimmy Saville a kiddy fiddler? Funny Man Justin Lee Collins physically and mentally harassing his girlfriend? This month has left me very confused. You think you know someone and then……I mean never has the saying from early 19th Century American Humorist Will Rogers rung so true: “People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.”
Firstly let”s discuss Jimmy. Now then, now then, isn”t it frowned upon to speak ill of the dead? This week Saville must have turned so many times in his grave, his shell suit must be needing a good iron. Who would have thunk it, hey? A children”s TV Presenter? When I read the headline- Jimmy: Kiddy Fiddler I thought they were referring back to an episode of Jim”ll Fix It when a kid wanted to learn the violin. Get the violins out indeed though as the whole story is pretty torrid.
I mean we gave this guy an OBE for crying out loud? Turns out we should have given him a CRB. But oh how he made us laugh on a Saturday night when he made kids” dreams come true with Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and other Sound Of Music lyrics. How can it be? His familiarity echoed the relationship of a close family friend, or that of an Uncle……..and Uncles aren”t exactly renowned for………oh wait…..hang on……… I thought paedophiles were only rife in The Catholic Church though? Now what with Wacko Jacko and Gary Glitter (who Saville defended) it seems its not just in The Catholic Church but people on the telly too. I”m now getting increasingly worried about Songs Of Praise.
But in all seriousness I”ve watched “THAT” documentary (with my Ma and a Martini, life doesn”t get much better than that does it?) and I was appalled and outraged by the whole debacle. It left me both angry and deeply saddened that it has only come into light after his death and in my opinion he should most definitely be posthumously stripped of his OBE.
And Justin Lee Collins psychologically and physically abusing his girlfriend? Tell me it isn”t true? It can”t be, I mean this guy is friends with Alan Carr!! Surely that”s a good qui sera automatiquement sauvegarde dans le systeme et etre mis a votre disposition la prochaine fois que vous vous connectez et jouez. enough indication of his character? Anyone who knows Alan Carr must be half decent surely? (Obviously with the exception of Gok Wan- with his endless Channel 4 patronising self help drivel, I wouldn”t be surprised if Gok was Jeremy Kyle”s love child.)
But wait I”m getting sidetracked….back to Justin. Justin”s from Bristol! The men in Bristol don”t have the capacity to cunningly,psychologically manipulate their partners or abuse them physically Trust me I”ve lived and dated many a man in Bristol. Bristol men think simply and plainly: cider, women, good times. And that”s that. But despite all this JLC has been found guilty. Bad times. (Sorry, I couldn”t help it).
These stories are shocking because Saville and Justin are synonymous with fun, laugher and good times. Its like when Lindsay Lohan went from sweet, innocent child star to mental rehab crazy/damaged celeb or when Abbey Titmuss did a serious play. Its out of character. We expect candy floss and rain drops from our Children”s TV Presenters and Comedians not the corrupt, shambolic or sinister.
Another surprise this month was Nick Clegg letting a You Tube single of him be released. Showing that he has the capacity for a sense of humour! GSOH and humility is not something you ordinarily associate with politicians, but it is becoming increasingly evident that having that all important “human” side, often benefits a politician”s popularity and consequently their campaigns. Of course one could describe it as a “happy accident” that his “apology” to the Nation for breaking his pledge not to raise tuition fees was artificially and technically modified by auto tune. The consequence of this comedic mockery was that his apology went viral and was heard by a much wider scope of audience than it would have been if left untouched. It seems a case of “Pricks and Tories may break my glory but artificial musically engineered You Tube clips will never hurt me.” for Nick Clegg. Him and his party automatically recognised the silver lining of it all and jumped on the band wagon, letting the auto tune artists release the single and using the money to raise funds for Sheffield Children”s NHS Foundation Trust. Ahhh, bless-what a nice guy, hey?!. By people laughing at Clegg he has, infact, had the last laugh, and his party joked they would be collaborating with the auto tune artists in the next Liberal Democrat Campaign. (Careful Nick, often a singer”s second track is widely scrutinised and reviews of being a one hit wonder could be damaging.
Not to be up staged, David Cameron shows his comic and jocular side by having the balls to get interviewed by the legendary Letterman. Whilst the world went a little OTT about him not knowing what Magna Carta meant (big deal), no one really cared and marvelled at his relaxed banter with the host. His popularity (in particularly with Americans) as a result soared.
So maybe it”s not always good to judge a politician or a comedian by their job title. It would seem that often they can surprise you-pigs can fly as they say. It would be silly to emit the one guy that appears to constantly be on the edge of politics and comedy; Boris Johnson. Politician he may be but no one really takes him seriously. Hello! He dangled from a zip liner in Victoria Park-I mean come on! But now there is talk of him possibly campaigning to be Prime Minister. To be quite frank, I don”t think BJ 4 PM would quite work, mainly because it sounds like Oral Sex in the evening and that”s never a good idea.
Going back to Will Rogers quote at the start of this blog “People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke”. Maybe it serves as a reminder that people can surprise you, proceed with caution and that sometimes people are not always as they seem. Sometimes this can be a “happy surprise” and sometimes in the case of Jimmy Saville and Justin Lee Collins it can be nothing but cutting, deeply saddening and savage.
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