Shitegeist
Oh, Sweet Jesus. Anybody else in need of a a hand transplant after watching the British ‘presentation’ in Beijing? I gnawed my fist clean off.
We really did outdo ourselves. What could be more British than a queue? That’s the message to send to the people you want to come to London and unload their wallets, no? Umbrellas? Yes, remind them it pisses down all the time, why don’t you?
What else? Ah, yes, the unerring eye for stereotypes. The singer successful only through the patronage of a cultural vandal. The multimillionaire footballer who plies his trade in America.
(And forgive me, but where were the extra-London stereotypes in this circus? According to the dangerously over-optimistic and self-deceiving Tessa Jowell the 2012 Olympics are for the ‘whole country‘, not just London. She was peddling this fiction as late as this week. Where were the morris dancers, the kilts and haggis, the sunburnt, knobbly-kneed holidaymaker in his vest and knotted hankie? I missed the Bacardi Breezered-up harridan ralphing into a gutter as well.)
What about the all-too-British over-enthusiastic amateurism as embodied by the Legz Akimbo-esque dance troop? It’s the quality we thought so charming when a gambolling New Labour introduced it in 1997. That was before they raised it to the terrible, twisted artform that left us neck-deep in the shit we find ourselves in today.
(Boris Johnson unable to control the flag while looking like he’d slept in his clothes was just the peanut in the poo.)
But the most, most, most British thing of all in the whole thing – by a long, long, long way – comes at the 3 minute 40 mark in the BBC video – a privileged child strolling to where they want to be across the bent backs of the people. Perfect. I had a tear in my eye.
(The ‘handover’ ‘party’ at Buckingham Palace sounds like it was a cracker as well.)
Posted on August 24th, 2008 at 7:21pm under Bread and circuses
| Related posts... • All I want for Christmas… • New Labour: Slightly less awful than the Tories Part 1 • Happy Easter |
• Permalink • Trackback • Subscribe |
|
|
|
• 6 Comments |
Reminded me of nothing so much as the hilarious wanky travesties that get concocted by The Apprentice candidates when they have to produce a TV ad or other ‘creative’ effort.
Ben’s latest blog post… There Will Be Bled
Reminded me of nothing so much as the hilariously wanky travesties that get concocted by The Apprentice candidates when they have to produce a TV ad or other ‘creative’ effort. Perhaps it was a secret task when they were filming the latest series.
Ben’s latest blog post… There Will Be Bled
whoops. Us brits, eh? Can’t do anything right.
Ben’s latest blog post… There Will Be Bled
Great post, but I think you’re wrong and I’ve said why here:
http://www.londonecho.com/20080824269/bring-on-brucie-for-british-games.html
Or to save you reading it – we ARE a nation of queues and bad weather. The last thing we should do is try to copy the drones of the Chinese ceremonies, picturesque as they were.
Londinium’s latest blog post… Bring On Brucie For British Games
The whole bit with the bus and the Q was teeth-grindingly awful and when the bus transforms into the London skyline, in hedge-style, I was stunned at the herculean idiocy of it. And then….stone me, Jimmy Page gets up with Leona Lewis and they belt out ‘Whole Lotta Love’. Which for some reason (probably to do with growing up in the 70s) I found quite exhilirating.
Could have been worse, could`ve been that gurner Robbie Williams blanding out `Angels` for the 99millionth time.
I’m with you here CY. Utter bollocks.
2012 Pearly Kings and Qoeens? Give me a break. I think I might even become Australian….