Monday 21 March 2016

Priggy McPoface

As the world + dog now knows, many members the great British public have done us all proud with the joyously silly decision to vote to name a £200 million polar research vessel "Boaty McBoatface."

Helena Horton, writing for the Telegraph, is not amused. Her sense of humour bypass doesn't surprise me in the least - when your day job is writing about things like George Osborne's economic competence, Iain Duncan Smith's social conscience and Boris Johnson's prime ministerial qualifications, whilst keeping a straight face, having your funny bone surgically removed must be more or less an entry-level qualification.*
"... public have decided to christen this magnificent ship with a ridiculous name ... blow for democracy ... not taking it seriously ... no respect ... disgraceful ... young people nowadays ... grrrr ... hrrumph!"
Interestingly, though, there's a readers' on-line poll at the bottom of Ms Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' article and - guess what. I completed the on line poll this morning and, to my great glee was informed that I - along with 76% of the readers who'd completed the Telegraph's own poll - had voted Boaty McBoatface. I guess you have to take this with a pinch of salt - there was nothing like e-mail verification to stop a group of jolly pranksters tampering with the result and, for all I know, by now all the retired Colonels have had the hired help clear up after they sprayed Darjeeling and kedgeree over the breakfast table in spluttering outrage, logged on and voted to make the Telegraph's front runner something less impertinent, like the "RRS Very Earnest Shackleton (No Talking In The Ranks)." Still, it made me smile.


* To be fair, Helena Horton is described as "a trending news journalist for the Telegraph, trawling the depths of the internet [sic] so you don't have to" so maybe her day job has more to do with skateboarding ducks than Boris on a zip wire, although these days, mainstream politics and infotainment are more or less indistinguishable, anyway.

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