Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Countdown Begins ...

Following the distresssing news of Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond's high-speed crash, how long before the first "what goes round comes round" piece about it in either the Guardian or Independent ?



UPDATE - at 8.58 pm Richard Williams is first out of the pits in the Guardian.

"an expression of a culture that is long past its expiry date ... how could anyone possibly justify the need to drive a car - any sort of a car, in any circumstances - at more than 300mph ? .... Campbell ... Cobb .... distinguished ... engineering history ... the makers of Top Gear and their viewers, however, appear oblivious to the fact that those days have gone for good ... very stupid indeed ... heedless self-indulgence that imperils the future of the planet ... a culture that is now not only obsolete but positively dangerous ... to the human race as a whole, and to its habitat ... Some will say that Richard Hammond's accident used up scarce medical resources".

Others will say that Richard Williams uses up scarce oxygen.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not long, given they will probably dig out their articles on Steve Irwin's death & do a quick 'find & replace' on the name & swap 'cars' for 'crocodiles'.....

Anonymous said...

Yes. Young men need to be protected from themselves. We, the state,will do it.

DJ said...

Great minds, Julie ? That was my first thought too. But if someone parks a rocket up well-known agrarian reformer Bin Laden's chocolate starfish, the subsequent celebrations will prove the Right is bloodthirsty.

DJ said...

And Julia too.

Anonymous said...

"Young men need to be protected from themselves. We, the state,will do it."

To the contrary: we the state public service broadcasting service will encourage young (and older) men to risk their lives and those of others by displaying the delights of speeding. We should then expect the public to fund through the national health service the emergency treatment that is necessary to save their lives so they can later go out and do it again.

Anonymous said...

"To the contrary: we the state public service broadcasting service will encourage young...men to risk their lives and those of others by displaying the delights of speeding. We should then expect the public to fund through the national health service the emergency treatment that is necessary to save their lives so they can later go out and do it again."

Absolutely, Tom, with you all the way there.

I always hated the way 'Top Gear' presenters drove their Maseratis & Ferraris through the streets of London at speeds of up to 200mph, regardless of safety. And never reported on any new safety features. And never featured any cars other than go-faster Death Machines....

Oh, wait....

Anonymous said...

Richard Williams at CiF has the first piece of self-righteous condescending nonsense.

Anonymous said...

Even earlier bilge in CiF from Sam Wollaston:

"But these days, like the petrol guzzling 4x4s and supercars it still champions, Top Gear feels not just out of date, but wrong - the embarrassing old bloke banging on about torque and horse power in the pub. People do actually care about the future of the planet. And they also care about safety - and that includes the safety of Top Gear presenters."


But as one commenter nicely reposts:

"For those of you unfamiliar with Guardianese, allow me to translate the sentiments of the writer towards Richard Hammond:

"Ha ha, we told you so you fascist midget. We only wish it had happened to your Fuhrer Clarkson. Ban everything."

DJ said...

And I bet old Ricky and Sammy are exactly the type of people who think the sensible use of resources includes spending taxpayers money funding smackheads to make a figure of Jesus on the Cross out of their own faeces.

Anonymous said...

"I bet old Ricky and Sammy are exactly the type of people who think the sensible use of resources includes spending taxpayers money funding smackheads to make a figure of Jesus on the Cross out of their own faeces."

But never Mohammed, oh no. That's far too risky.....

Blognor Regis said...

Back in the smooth rocking early 70s Richard Williams used to present The Old Grey Whistle test and doubtless cooed over assorted druggy musicians some of whom will have died as a result of their pursuit of "good times" through chemistry. Rock and Roll!

Driving a car really fast, ski-ing, mountaineering, exploration, generally pushing the envelope: why that's far too dangerous. Why do these crazy fools do it?

Anonymous said...

Didn't take long for the glow-ball warming spectre to raise it's ugly head either!