Many people will have been watching The Andrew Marr Show this morning to see if Andrew Marr did the right thing.
He did.
Now, before we go any further - a word about last week's programme. You may have noticed that the Prime Minister looked mildly disconcerted when I put to him a quote about his views on fox-hunting. Well, not surprisingly. It turns out he never said it. I had the wrong information. We should have checked harder. It's my fault, and I have apologised to him. Just as important I'd like to apologise to viewers who have been misled. We can't expect politicians to apologise and then not do it it ourselves, can we? Sorry. And now to the papers...
He then began coughing uncontrollably, quipping (croakily) that it must be because of the apology!
Update: A video of the apology (but not the subsequent coughing) has already been uploaded to YouTube:
Update: A video of the apology (but not the subsequent coughing) has already been uploaded to YouTube:
Always wondered what it meant when people add [cough, cough] after quoted text. Seems akin to those BBC 'quote' that often appear
ReplyDeleteHow was the tonality & interruption coefficient for the man the BBC would have king?
A post on that very subject will be on its way shortly.
DeleteMarr sounded rather agitated about having to give that apology. He coughed and phlegmed a couple times and blamed his throat, but then when going through the papers intro he was audibly and visibly out of breath. He sounded wound up. Marr soon relaxed, no more coughing fits. Curiously.
ReplyDeleteHe got so agitated and out of breath that I felt a bit worried for him (given his recent medical history). As you say though, he was soon OK again.
DeleteI was thinking the same thing re: his health. I could hear him huffing and puffing as he was turning the papers over, and I honestly thought there was something wrong with him and wondered why one of the guests wasn't stepping in to help with the papers.
DeleteThen within a few seconds after his guests started talking, suddenly he was fine.
Soft ride for the Welsh lady. And where are all the Beeboid snarky tweets about her hair and dress sense resembling Sarah Palin?
ReplyDelete"Andy" tried to challenge Boris, but was woefully unprepared. Inept, because he's not a deep thinker on economic issues other than the usual neo-Marxist attitudes towards the distribution of wealth. I guess this would be the one benefit of Boris as Tory leader. He's so beloved by and chummy with the press - especially the wealthiest, highest-profile Beeboids like "Andy" - that they let him go back at them, laugh when he calls them "Leftie BBC journalists", and don't try so hard to talk over him or score points. In fact, he sounded more coherent and more solid about the issues than usual, and certainly more than any of the current leaders aside from Farage. Of course, that kind of friendliness is also harmful to government, so one isn't exactly enthusiastic about a Boris leadership on the strength of it.
Lilting Leanne definitely got an easy ride (about 5 interruptions only). Andrew Marr didn't put too much effort into that one.
DeleteBoris's jokes, loud voice and friendliness - plus some very good answers - carried him through easily. That jibe about "Leftie BBC journalists" did only provoke a smile - and both of them had a twinkle in their eye.
That expression “Turns out that” was addressed by comedian Bill Bailey in a performance of his stage-show called Qualmpeddler. It was shown on More 4 last night.
ReplyDeleteHe was incensed by the use of the phrase “turns out that” by a person called Chantelle who had risen to celebritydom by way of being on Big Brother.
Throughout her whole life Chantelle had been under the illusion that the sun and the moon were the same thing. Bill Bailey found this astonishing.
On being put right, she Tweeted “Turns out they’re two different things.”
Bailey observed that ‘turning out’ necessarily implies an actual transformation of some kind and not to a fool’s belated recognition of her own stupidity.
He contended that correct the use of “Turns out” would have to mean that the sun and the moon were originally the same entity, but became separate, possibly during Chantelle’s lifetime.
(Not before the ‘big bang’.)
As he strutted around the stage, as comedians now do, he became quite worked up and upset, between the Thatcher jokes and the critical observations about David Cameron’s appearance, which seem a bit rich coming from a troll who is both bald and long-haired, which, it turns out, are two things at once.