Against all expectations, Danny Boyle last night did the UK proud. In the kind of morale pep talk grey management consultants can only fantasise about, he created a spectacular opening show for the Olympic Games (note to LOGOC: up yours) which not only roused an old cynic like me, but showed the face of a downtrodden but proud country. What we were shown was ourselves – mad, off kilter, inventive, cynical, witty, rebellious, but proud of our social history, creativity, working class and NHS.
The show received almost universal praise. Universal, except for one MP, the delightful Aidan Burley, who inexplicably won Cannock last time around, despite knowing little of the area and having somewhat of a charm deficit.
This New Zealand born man, a political tourist parachuted into Cannock from Hammersmith and Fulham where he was a councillor, appears to have all the appeal of a septic boil and the variety self righteousness that only comes with being force fed the monetarist creed.
Readers will no doubt remember that Aidan got into a scrape after attending a Nazi-themed stag do in France, and then continuing to make shambling excuses for his abhorrent lack of judgement.
Lat night, his tweets about the ceremony showed a man not only out of touch, but hypocritical and nasty.
http://twitter.com/AidanBurleyMP/status/228958648892792832
http://twitter.com/AidanBurleyMP/status/228963706665574400
Later, after the storm ensued on the internet and media, he tried to calm the troubled waters:
http://twitter.com/AidanBurleyMP/status/228991668534263808
I have a message for you Aidan. You came to this country as an immigrant. Due to the generally open and caring nature of our society, you did well for yourself, and enjoyed everything this country has to offer. You are now a wealthy man, earning a very large wage and with it, we expect the dignity, respect and decorum that goes with the position.
You have failed on all counts, and make me sorry for Cannock, which must surely be wondering what they did to deserve you.
I have no time for privileged people currently running down my country. I, like everyone else I’ve spoken to was proud of the UK last night. Danny Boyle presented an extraordinary spectacle, and showed charm, vision, humour and guile. In short, all the features you and your tawdry, nasty outpourings lack.
Our country is currently being yanked apart by a government of spivs, chancers, idiots and charlatans, all of which are held in high regard by this sneering, charmless MP. However, we will endure. We will show this government that we are not to be browbeaten. I am proud of the multiculturalism Aidan so hates, of the NHS, social state and history of protest and rebellion. This is what we are. If you don’t understand it, you’re not part of it.You may well have been elected to represent us, but by your actions, you show you re not one of us.
I hope your party deselects you Aidan. You are a disgrace.
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YAWN
Good to see Mensa in town again…
Bob
Bloody marvellous. And a great big hear hear from me.
Not misunderstanding, but inadequate, inaccurate use of English! The Member for Cannock should accept responsibilty for his own words. Not reassuring from someone who claims to be able to speak for his constituents.
its easier to gain publicity by slagging something off that others like and appreciate, than working hard and doing good things to to get it.
This was the best show of its kind that I’d ever seen and will rate as the top one to be better for many games to come.
What is really peeing me off is the negative British comments I’m seeing all over the net. Topped off by the Cannock MP, many just have not seen the work and organision by the many 1000’s of volunteers that have put so much time and energy into last nights opening show, well done all those involved.
On the subject of political tourists parachuted in from London you have to wonder how the residents of Erdington feel about having Mr. Harperson, oops, Jack Dromey as their representative. He seems to be the only male to finish at the top of his harridan missus’s all female short-lists, so well done there.
All that stuff you’re so proud of, I don’t understand it either, so obviously I’m not part of it. I must have spent my 50+ years living somewherer else.
Oh look, it’s the miserable fisherman. Hi Rob, wondered if you’d shuffle in. If only you had spent 50 years living somewhere else, you might have been happier…
Cheers
Bob
Carry on wandering if that’s what you’re doing.
How you can judge my body movement is amazing.
Perhaps if others had spent 50 years living somewhere else I’d be happier too.
And now you’ve quietly corrected your “wandered” spelling error.
So fearless.
I corrected it while I added the link because I can’t do the HTML thing. Sorry, did I spoil your spelling flame? Oh dear.
Cheers for the giggles
Bob
You haven’t spoiled anything. Just mind you don’t mix the words up next time you sing the Red Flag.
Rob at 8:26pm. As we are having a spelling test, exactly where is “somewherer else”? Over the rainbow with Toto perhaps?
If you look at your keyboard you’ll observe the e and r keys adjoining. Hitting an adjacent key by mistake is universally regarded as a “typo”.
Conversely the a and o keys are at opposite ends of the keyboard so I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about the intelligence of the type of person who could confuse the two.
Sorry chaps, been in the pub.
I use a mac. The operating system includes a spelling autocorrect. My typing is awful, so I will have aproximated ‘wondering’ which autocorrect replaced for wandering. This is why there are often odd word substitutions in my posts.
Sorry if this distresses you, but nobody died and the gist is clear.
Cheers
Bob
Sad or frustrated, lonely or just bored? Social life? I think not.
Hmm. FWIW, I didin’t like the ceremony. Mainly because I really hate that kind of thing, but I do think it was done quite well. It could have been awful, but actually came off well.
It did sting a bit celebrating the NHS when our current government is doing it’s best to dissasemble it though.
One of the few tihings I think we can be proud of in this country is that we are (mostly) multicultural and tolerant, and it makes the country richer- as it has for thousands of years.
As for Obergruppenfuhrer Burley, why can’t he fuck off back to where *he* came from, as he doesn’t like or multicultural island? What exactly would be wrong with a tribute to our welfare state, or would he rather starve on the streets of he fell on hard times?
It is always a good idea to praaf read, Nob. Sorry, Rob.
So the practise is to subject anyone who contests what Saint Bob says to verbal abuse via the medium of playground “humour”?
You’re such cards.
Goodness me, no. Not just anyone.
Not just anyone? That’ll be victimisation then.
Right on, brothers/comrades.
Easier than expressing an opinion on keyboard ineptitude I guess.
Like Gove’s performance at the Leveson Inquiry, Burley is looking for a job after the next election…
News Corp chief executive Rupert Murdoch tweeted that the ceremony was “surprisingly great even if a little too politically correct”.
The Global edition of the New York Times…
“It’s hard to imagine any other nation willing to make so much fun of itself on a global stage, in front of as many as a billion viewers.”
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/28/for-britons-great-and-unusual-pride-over-olympics-spectacle-what-did-you-think/
Burley doesn’t seem to know that when in a hole you should stop digging. Mind you, that’s lucky for us as it shows him up to be the prat he is!