The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
So the Paris bit is good?
Yes.
The London bit is OK, but it's a very different tone.
Paris is really the story of Orwell working in kitchens and relating anecdotes. The London bit is different; much more reportage than personal story.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
So the Paris bit is good?
Yes.
The London bit is OK, but it's a very different tone.
Paris is really the story of Orwell working in kitchens and relating anecdotes. The London bit is different; much more reportage than personal story.
This sounds like the first thread on Chesham & Amersham when I was ridiculed for my betting plan. Funny things can happen at by-elections particularly where the consensus is that the outcome is a certainty. I made £4,300 at C&A and have risked £5 here.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
How does it compare to 1984 / AF? Those are the only two of his I've read and I'm sort of glad I did but haven't felt much motivation to read more. If it's as good/better I'll queue it up.
You should read it. Firstly, it's not a novel, and secondly, it's not profoundly depressing.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
Wrote a few books, apparently...
Yes.
My approach to the question is to read and evaluate the books, rather than look up Orwell on some sort of spreadsheet of the world's 100 most influential literary brands. The answer is he's world class at autobiography and fiction, and pretty disappointing at essays and sustained political analysis.
His directions for brewing tea are contradictory. They would lead to an excessively strong brew, he extols the virtues of its bitterness, dismisses adding sugar as detracting from the taste, but then he adds milk to it. Baffling.
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
Surely Robert can ? I suspect it can get quite irritating for him.
Mike, Robert, myself, and the mod team can see it.
It annoys the hell out of OGH as they get an email for every off topic hit.
People have been smote with the ban hammer for misuse of the off topic button.
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
Surely Robert can ? I suspect it can get quite irritating for him.
Paul Sculley, whoever he is, has been sent out by Tories to defend this shit on QT.
Poor sod.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets apparently.
Not even sending a Minister of State or some party grandee. Lord knows what he did to get the gig.
Minister of London too supposedly, but even the government site seem unclear what level that is - it exists, wiki says it reports in to Housing (now the execrebly named Department of Levelling up) but no mention of the role on its own list of ministers.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
Surely Robert can ? I suspect it can get quite irritating for him.
Mike, Robert, myself, and the mod team can see it.
It annoys the hell out of OGH as they get an email for every off topic hit.
People have been smote with the ban hammer for misuse of the off topic button.
I think people (ahem) have just been having a bit of fun with it tonight as a collective one-off joke, so hopefully there won't be mass arrests and national trials over that.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
Dirty Leeds fans during the summer months turn up at Headingley and bring the 'football banter'.
It's a bit unedifying at times, which you don't see in other test grounds.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
Wrote a few books, apparently...
Yes.
My approach to the question is to read and evaluate the books, rather than look up Orwell on some sort of spreadsheet of the world's 100 most influential literary brands. The answer is he's world class at autobiography and fiction, and pretty disappointing at essays and sustained political analysis.
I think it's probably more accurate to say that his essays are wildly inconsistent. There are some which are real gems (I remember enjoying Books vs Cigarettes very much). And others which he clearly dashed off in an hour to meet his quota.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
So the Paris bit is good?
Yes.
The London bit is OK, but it's a very different tone.
Paris is really the story of Orwell working in kitchens and relating anecdotes. The London bit is different; much more reportage than personal story.
It’s only the Paris but I remember to be honest
Which pretty much answers the question as to which is the better half of the book!
Paul Sculley, whoever he is, has been sent out by Tories to defend this shit on QT.
Poor sod.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets apparently.
Not even sending a Minister of State or some party grandee. Lord knows what he did to get the gig.
Minister of London too supposedly, but even the government site seem unclear what level that is - it exists, wiki says it reports in to Housing (now the execrebly named Department of Levelling up) but no mention of the role on its own list of ministers.
I reckon he must have kicked Dilyn the dog to have landed this gig from hell.
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
Surely Robert can ? I suspect it can get quite irritating for him.
Mike, Robert, myself, and the mod team can see it.
It annoys the hell out of OGH as they get an email for every off topic hit.
People have been smote with the ban hammer for misuse of the off topic button.
Wait, so there are you three, *and* a mod team? Who the hell are they?!
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
Surely Robert can ? I suspect it can get quite irritating for him.
Mike, Robert, myself, and the mod team can see it.
It annoys the hell out of OGH as they get an email for every off topic hit.
People have been smote with the ban hammer for misuse of the off topic button.
I think people (ahem) have just been having a bit of fun with it tonight as a collective one-off joke, so hopefully there won't be mass arrests and national trials over it.
Surely through the Looking glass its first sentence then trial?
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
Surely Robert can ? I suspect it can get quite irritating for him.
Mike, Robert, myself, and the mod team can see it.
It annoys the hell out of OGH as they get an email for every off topic hit.
People have been smote with the ban hammer for misuse of the off topic button.
Wait, so there's you three, *and* a mod team? Who the hell are they?!
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
The BNP of course won an MEP in Yorkshire in 2009 and elected councillors in Kirklees and Bradford and Leeds as well
Prof. Devi Sridhar @devisridhar · 1h Fascinating new study: scientists have identified a gene that doubles risk of respiratory failure from COVID. 60% of people with S. Asian ancestry carry this- which could partially explain why ethnic minorities in UK & Indian subcontinent were hit harder.
Surely not, it was all the government’s fault. Something about institutional racism or other. Right?
Well, mortality rates are also high in other ethnic groups from Africa and Philipines too, so this gene doesn't explain everything. Deprivation, overcrowded housing, levels of obesity, cardiovascular disease, multi-generational households, concentration in particularly risky front line jobs etc etc. There are many factors involved.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
Dirty Leeds fans during the summer months turn up at Headingley and bring the 'football banter'.
It's a bit unedifying at times, which you don't see in other test grounds.
I've never come across cricket fans anywhere quite like those on the Western Terrace at Headingly. At the risk of being thought po faced it can be quite amusing until early afternoon but goes downhill thereafter quite rapidly and by tea has a definite edge to it.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
The BNP of course won an MEP in Yorkshire in 2009 and elected councillors in Kirklees and Bradford and Leeds as well
My postman in London was a BNP councillor, on the side.
Prof. Devi Sridhar @devisridhar · 1h Fascinating new study: scientists have identified a gene that doubles risk of respiratory failure from COVID. 60% of people with S. Asian ancestry carry this- which could partially explain why ethnic minorities in UK & Indian subcontinent were hit harder.
Surely not, it was all the government’s fault. Something about institutional racism or other. Right?
Well, mortality rates are also high in other ethnic groups from Africa and Philipines too, so this gene doesn't explain everything. Deprivation, overcrowded housing, levels of obesity, cardiovascular disease, multi-generational households, concentration in particularly risky front line jobs etc etc. There are many factors involved.
Yes, and my point was mainly in jest. Biology is always complex. I once saw Paul Nurse talk, and that was his take home - it’s complex. Too often we try to make things simple, and look for simple explanations.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
The second half isn't bad, but I agree the first half is brilliant. Especially the Parisian hotel kitchen portrayal.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
How does it compare to 1984 / AF? Those are the only two of his I've read and I'm sort of glad I did but haven't felt much motivation to read more. If it's as good/better I'll queue it up.
The Road to Wigan Pier is a documentary in novel form. Superb.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
The BNP of course won an MEP in Yorkshire in 2009 and elected councillors in Kirklees and Bradford and Leeds as well
My postman in London was a BNP councillor, on the side.
New YouGov poll for The Times (changes from 28/29 October).
Con 36 (-3)
Lab 35 (+2)
Fieldwork Wednesday evening.
Correct Horse Battery poised to collect on his wild bet if there's another poll in a day or two. I hope he's OK - haven't seen him here for a few days.
New YouGov poll for The Times (changes from 28/29 October).
Con 36 (-3)
Lab 35 (+2)
Fieldwork Wednesday evening.
Correct Horse Battery poised to collect on his wild bet if there's another poll in a day or two. I hope he's OK - haven't seen him here for a few days.
As if he had the bet he claimed to have had. As far as I know, no bookmaker is offering it, and if they were, they wouldn’t lay £5k on such a mickey mouse market
New YouGov poll for The Times (changes from 28/29 October).
Con 36 (-3)
Lab 35 (+2)
Fieldwork Wednesday evening.
Correct Horse Battery poised to collect on his wild bet if there's another poll in a day or two. I hope he's OK - haven't seen him here for a few days.
Just checked his Twitter page but he hasn't posted there for a few weeks.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
How does it compare to 1984 / AF? Those are the only two of his I've read and I'm sort of glad I did but haven't felt much motivation to read more. If it's as good/better I'll queue it up.
New YouGov poll for The Times (changes from 28/29 October).
Con 36 (-3)
Lab 35 (+2)
Fieldwork Wednesday evening.
Correct Horse Battery poised to collect on his wild bet if there's another poll in a day or two. I hope he's OK - haven't seen him here for a few days.
Just checked his Twitter page but he hasn't posted there for a few weeks.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
Dirty Leeds fans during the summer months turn up at Headingley and bring the 'football banter'.
It's a bit unedifying at times, which you don't see in other test grounds.
Ah, thanks. I wasn't aware of that (Headingley is the only common test ground I haven't been to, I think, despite having been my nearest for a few years)
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
The BNP of course won an MEP in Yorkshire in 2009 and elected councillors in Kirklees and Bradford and Leeds as well
My postman in London was a BNP councillor, on the side.
I think mine is a Marxist based on the odd chat we have had.
Still, he always makes sure my second-hand vinyl deliveries are well handled and not thrown over the fence like some other delivery companies I could mention.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
How does it compare to 1984 / AF? Those are the only two of his I've read and I'm sort of glad I did but haven't felt much motivation to read more. If it's as good/better I'll queue it up.
Homage to Catalonia is great, it gives an insight into how Orwell went off Communism, and also a fascinating insight into the Spanish Civil War and the political atmosphere of the late Thirties.
The Road to Wigan Pier is great reportage, as is Down and out in Paris and London.
Of the novels, I have a soft spot for Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and Burmese Days is a fascinating look at the fag end of British Empire, and how it degrades both colonised and colonialists. Coming up for Air is poor, but has interesting insights into the Thirties suburbisation of the Home Counties.
Orwell's politics are often misrepresented, particularly by anti-Communists. I think his real sympathies were always more Anarcho -Syndicalist. In Animal Farm his sympathies are with neither the Pigs nor the humans, but with the other animals, and 1984 is as much an attack on wartime and postwar Britain as anything else. The Ministry of Information is based on his experience of the wartime BBC.
Ultimately his politics are interesting in the context of the Times, but the Thirties and Forties were very different times to our own.
Tim Stanley not doing himself any favours by being the government smuck who is defending this crap.
Paul Scully cuts a lonely figure tonight. If I were a Conservative MP who had been railroaded into voting for Leadsom's amendment I would be spitting feathers.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
How does it compare to 1984 / AF? Those are the only two of his I've read and I'm sort of glad I did but haven't felt much motivation to read more. If it's as good/better I'll queue it up.
I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358 … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused. "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror. "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling! "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
Some samples:
- The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
- Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!
- Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...
- Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .
To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.
You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
was Orwell good?
I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though. I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
So the Paris bit is good?
Yes.
The London bit is OK, but it's a very different tone.
Paris is really the story of Orwell working in kitchens and relating anecdotes. The London bit is different; much more reportage than personal story.
It’s only the Paris but I remember to be honest
Which pretty much answers the question as to which is the better half of the book!
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
The BNP of course won an MEP in Yorkshire in 2009 and elected councillors in Kirklees and Bradford and Leeds as well
Not specifically a Yorkshire thing though - also the NW MEP and councillors in a number of other places.
Suspect Sunday Times in-depth look at what happened this week in the bunker is going to be brutal.
Also suspect there will be an announcement within days of some changes in No 10 staff, comms, chief of staff etc etc. As clearly someone has dropped a fecking bollock in the last 24 hours.
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
Damn. I can't click both 'Like' and 'Off Topic' at the same time.
The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.
There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.
What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”
What is the "very particular Yorkshire problem"? Does the county (or the club?) have more racists that other places, or clubs? I mean of course there's evidence for the latter, given the revelations, but the wording seems to imply something beyond the Rafiq case.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
The BNP of course won an MEP in Yorkshire in 2009 and elected councillors in Kirklees and Bradford and Leeds as well
Not specifically a Yorkshire thing though - also the NW MEP and councillors in a number of other places.
Coalville in NW Leicestershire too. Andrew Bridgen territory now.
Suspect Sunday Times in-depth look at what happened this week in the bunker is going to be brutal.
Also suspect there will be an announcement within days of some changes in No 10 staff, comms, chief of staff etc etc. As clearly someone has dropped a fecking bollock in the last 24 hours.
Yeah, it will be a fascinating read. The biggest balls up since the balls up last week.
Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.
Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
Do you remember Veritas?
I do.
Kilroy-Silk even flounced out of that party six months after he formed it. They achieved absolutely nothing but kept going for ten years after forming before folding into the English Democrats.
Tim Stanley not doing himself any favours by being the government smuck who is defending this crap.
Paul Scully cuts a lonely figure tonight. If I were a Conservative MP who had been railroaded into voting for Leadsom's amendment I would be spitting feathers.
Dear Sir Graham...
Yep. How many times can Johnson do this stunt? Marching them all into a hole in the ground and then announcing the hole was not worth defending. Sorry chaps, for all the dead.
Kwasi Kwarteng must have reached the end of his loyalty card points after this morning's round of interviews defending the crap.
Suspect Sunday Times in-depth look at what happened this week in the bunker is going to be brutal.
Also suspect there will be an announcement within days of some changes in No 10 staff, comms, chief of staff etc etc. As clearly someone has dropped a fecking bollock in the last 24 hours.
To adapt a common expression, if you keep finding bad apples perhaps the problem is the orchard.
Suspect Sunday Times in-depth look at what happened this week in the bunker is going to be brutal.
Also suspect there will be an announcement within days of some changes in No 10 staff, comms, chief of staff etc etc. As clearly someone has dropped a fecking bollock in the last 24 hours.
To adapt a common expression, if you keep finding bad apples perhaps the problem is the orchard.
Suspect Sunday Times in-depth look at what happened this week in the bunker is going to be brutal.
Also suspect there will be an announcement within days of some changes in No 10 staff, comms, chief of staff etc etc. As clearly someone has dropped a fecking bollock in the last 24 hours.
Trouble is that we all know who did the dropping, and he's not going anywhere willingly.
My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?
I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.
Fucking own up.
Damn. I can't click both 'Like' and 'Off Topic' at the same time.
I might be unwise to do so, but I’m interpreting the OTs as Ls
Paul Sculley, whoever he is, has been sent out by Tories to defend this shit on QT.
Poor sod.
Doesn't Paterson's resignation take a lot of the heat out of this situation.
Some, but nowhere near as much as it would have if the Party had accepted the report.
Soon attention moves to who else had their snout in the public trough for their own finances. How big is the iceberg of Tory sleaze?
That's the other thing the last 48 hours has done.
For two years, BoJo has done a remarkable job of holding the line that misbehaviour doesn't get you sacked. It's been an important principle for him. But we now have a sleaze line; anyone who behaves as badly as Paterson will find their position becomes untenable.
Up to now, BoJo's government has had a Teflon coating. But anyone who has bought cheap cookware knows, once a scratch appears in the Teflon layer tends to grow...
I mentioned how this weekend someone in No 10 will have to fall and things would be REORGANIZED...
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Chief Whip plans to reject Tory calls for his resignation after this week’s debacle.
Friend tells @christopherhope : “He does not regret for one second circling the wagons around a colleague who is in trouble. He would do the same with any other colleague”
I think mine is a Marxist based on the odd chat we have had.
Still, he always makes sure my second-hand vinyl deliveries are well handled and not thrown over the fence like some other delivery companies I could mention.
I had a Sainsbury delivery guy who was a big Trump fan. Wasn't clear why he wanted to tell me all about it, but I was a captive audience as he waited for me to unload the ready meal cargo, and it didn't seem worth arguing.
I mentioned how this weekend someone in No 10 will have to fall and things would be REORGANIZED...
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Chief Whip plans to reject Tory calls for his resignation after this week’s debacle.
Friend tells @christopherhope : “He does not regret for one second circling the wagons around a colleague who is in trouble. He would do the same with any other colleague”
Um, Chief Whip, wasn't the official position this was about a principle of natural justice, not circling the wagons to protect a colleague?
I mentioned how this weekend someone in No 10 will have to fall and things would be REORGANIZED...
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Chief Whip plans to reject Tory calls for his resignation after this week’s debacle.
Friend tells @christopherhope : “He does not regret for one second circling the wagons around a colleague who is in trouble. He would do the same with any other colleague”
Um, Chief Whip, wasn't the official position this was about a principle of natural justice, not circling the wagons to protect a colleague?
I think mine is a Marxist based on the odd chat we have had.
Still, he always makes sure my second-hand vinyl deliveries are well handled and not thrown over the fence like some other delivery companies I could mention.
I had a Sainsbury delivery guy who was a big Trump fan. Wasn't clear why he wanted to tell me all about it, but I was a captive audience as he waited for me to unload the ready meal cargo, and it didn't seem worth arguing.
Clearly you must have given off a very Trumpy vibe. You may want to work on that before your next election.
I mentioned how this weekend someone in No 10 will have to fall and things would be REORGANIZED...
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Chief Whip plans to reject Tory calls for his resignation after this week’s debacle.
Friend tells @christopherhope : “He does not regret for one second circling the wagons around a colleague who is in trouble. He would do the same with any other colleague”
I feel the Chief Whip has been unduly maligned in all of this. Surely his job was to win the vote, which he did comfortably enough given the circumstances. Not his fault Boris blundered about afterwards u-turning.
I think mine is a Marxist based on the odd chat we have had.
Still, he always makes sure my second-hand vinyl deliveries are well handled and not thrown over the fence like some other delivery companies I could mention.
I had a Sainsbury delivery guy who was a big Trump fan. Wasn't clear why he wanted to tell me all about it, but I was a captive audience as he waited for me to unload the ready meal cargo, and it didn't seem worth arguing.
Was probably very quick with the ready meals, unless you were stocking up for an expected lockdown?
Imagine if you had to handle pork shoulders, bottles of oil and packs of rice!
Comments
The programme for change yesterday was outrageously partisan and it was Johnson's wizard wheeze to save his own sorry arse at a later date.
Lead down to 1%
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1456391492621279233?t=4bL-x8OYImfgkI7ctPqF9A&s=19
Con 36 (-3)
Lab 35 (+2)
Fieldwork Wednesday evening.
The London bit is OK, but it's a very different tone.
Paris is really the story of Orwell working in kitchens and relating anecdotes. The London bit is different; much more reportage than personal story.
Cue off-topic clicks ;.)
It annoys the hell out of OGH as they get an email for every off topic hit.
People have been smote with the ban hammer for misuse of the off topic button.
I can cause a lot of mischief, I think.
Not even sending a Minister of State or some party grandee. Lord knows what he did to get the gig.
Minister of London too supposedly, but even the government site seem unclear what level that is - it exists, wiki says it reports in to Housing (now the execrebly named Department of Levelling up) but no mention of the role on its own list of ministers.
(Living in Yorkshire, I can't say I've found it any worse than anywhere else, but as a white man I'm probably not best placed to judge)
It's a bit unedifying at times, which you don't see in other test grounds.
Trump 4.3 / 4.4
Biden 6.6 / 7
Harris 8.6 / 9
DeSantis 12 / 13
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.176878927
Wait, so there are you three, *and* a mod team? Who the hell are they?!
Cons 36%
Lab 35%
Greens 9%
LDs 8%
RefUK 5%
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1456391492621279233?s=20
Electoral calculus gives Conservatives 314, Labour 253, SNP 54 and LDs 8 on the new boundaries.
So Boris' Tories and the DUP would have a lead of 1 seat over Labour, the LDs, SNP, PC, Greens, SDLP and Alliance combined
https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/usercode.py?scotcontrol=Y&CON=36&LAB=35&LIB=8&Reform=5&Green=9&UKIP=&TVCON=&TVLAB=&TVLIB=&TVReform=&TVGreen=&TVUKIP=&SCOTCON=22.3&SCOTLAB=18.3&SCOTLIB=6.3&SCOTReform=0.7&SCOTGreen=0.7&SCOTUKIP=&SCOTNAT=48.3&display=AllChanged&regorseat=(none)&boundary=2019nbbase
Tested positive dammit.
Still, it should give me the time to read the Grant biography which has been sitting around.
https://twitter.com/CorrectHorseB
Hope he is ok.
Have continued to be pretty careful, too.
Still, he always makes sure my second-hand vinyl deliveries are well handled and not thrown over the fence like some other delivery companies I could mention.
The Road to Wigan Pier is great reportage, as is Down and out in Paris and London.
Of the novels, I have a soft spot for Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and Burmese Days is a fascinating look at the fag end of British Empire, and how it degrades both colonised and colonialists. Coming up for Air is poor, but has interesting insights into the Thirties suburbisation of the Home Counties.
Orwell's politics are often misrepresented, particularly by anti-Communists. I think his real sympathies were always more Anarcho -Syndicalist. In Animal Farm his sympathies are with neither the Pigs nor the humans, but with the other animals, and 1984 is as much an attack on wartime and postwar Britain as anything else. The Ministry of Information is based on his experience of the wartime BBC.
Ultimately his politics are interesting in the context of the Times, but the Thirties and Forties were very different times to our own.
Dear Sir Graham...
Also suspect there will be an announcement within days of some changes in No 10 staff, comms, chief of staff etc etc. As clearly someone has dropped a fecking bollock in the last 24 hours.
Kilroy-Silk even flounced out of that party six months after he formed it.
They achieved absolutely nothing but kept going for ten years after forming before folding into the English Democrats.
Wiki has the 'details': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veritas_(political_party)
Kwasi Kwarteng must have reached the end of his loyalty card points after this morning's round of interviews defending the crap.
Soon attention moves to who else had their snout in the public trough for their own finances. How big is the iceberg of Tory sleaze?
COP is wiped out of headlines for next week I suspect as Fleet Street's finest comb the details.
Lab 62.6%
Con 37.4%
It's over for Johnson.
For two years, BoJo has done a remarkable job of holding the line that misbehaviour doesn't get you sacked. It's been an important principle for him. But we now have a sleaze line; anyone who behaves as badly as Paterson will find their position becomes untenable.
Up to now, BoJo's government has had a Teflon coating. But anyone who has bought cheap cookware knows, once a scratch appears in the Teflon layer tends to grow...
Ben Riley-Smith
@benrileysmith
Chief Whip plans to reject Tory calls for his resignation after this week’s debacle.
Friend tells
@christopherhope
: “He does not regret for one second circling the wagons around a colleague who is in trouble. He would do the same with any other colleague”
Despite JVT.
Despite the cack handed attempt to feck xmas by failing to deliver boosters.
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Imagine if you had to handle pork shoulders, bottles of oil and packs of rice!