Mugs

You've got to laugh at all the hoo hah about Jeremy Clarkson and his now infamous comments on The One Show. OK so Clarkson made a joke that was not very funny but from all the ridiculous posturing on Twitter and the BBC's complaints line, you would think that some people really thought that he was advocating the execution of the public sector strikers. Some people (like Clarkson) get a kick out of winding people up and like nothing better than seeing their wind ups take root. It used to happen at work. Someone would find a chink in a colleague's armour and then work away at it until, to their great amusement, their victim reached boiling point. It might be a football team or a difference of opinion on politics but with the right comments and the right colleague the wind up merchant would go home happy.  


It was easy to avoid the wind up by simply ignoring the comments and if everyone had ignored Jeremy Clarkson last night he would not have achieved the notoriety that he enjoys. If you read his weekly column in the Sunday Times you would hardly be surprised at him spouting this sort of stuff. Every week his (very readable, I'm afraid to say) quarter page contains some outrageous comment or other that is clearly intended to shock but equally clearly written with tongue firmly in cheek. When the poor bloke who tweeted that he was going to blow up Robin Hood airport if they didn't clear the snow ended up being arrested everyone (except the police) knew it was a joke. So it is surprising that today, those very same people (the sort of people he LOVES to upset) fell for it hook line and sinker.   

Here's a tweet from popular comic Jimmy Carr. As someone from near Liverpool should I be complaining about this outrageous stereotyping? Ah no. It's a joke. Like Clarkson's it's not one of the funniest but I know he's not being serious. Or is he? Anybody want to write to the Liverpool Empire and get his show cancelled in April 2013?


And talking of jokes, the internet has been going bananas in the last seven days over Benton or Fenton the deer chasing dog in Richmond Park. It's a good little viral video and, like all good things there are all sorts of spin offs on YouTube. This one is better than the original. But if you are one of the two people on the planet who haven't seen the original watch it at the bottom before clicking on this or it won't mean a thing.


.