Room 101: Frankie Boyle

I am still stunned by the shocking display of nonchalance both the BBC and Channel 4 have shown this past year. Both British TV channels have in their own way supported the vile and grotesque jibes controversial comedian, Frankie Boyle, has made towards certain factions of society by refusing to publicly apologise for the offense he has caused.

Boyle, a Scottish comedian best known for his shocking and dark humour, has been a panellist on the BBC’s popular comedy show Mock The Week, and currently has his comedy stand-up show Tramadol Nights aired on Channel 4. This past year saw several of his sketches scrutinised by the public and media at their outrageous content.

One incident occurred when Boyle referred to the British Olympic gold winner, Rebecca Adlington, as someone whose face resembled the reflection you get when looking into the back of a spoon. This dig, made on the satirical and often offensive Mock The Week, was magnified in the media’s response to Adlington’s public call for an apology from the BBC and the comedian himself. The public, on the issue of the apology, were split. Many were supportive of Adlington’s claim, but thousands of people also thought that because the athlete is in the public eye, she has to accept that she is now open to public observation.

With this understanding, because she is by trade a swimmer who happens to have won international recognition for her abilities, is she now anyone’s game merely for the fact that she has been on TV a few times? More importantly, does she now have to accept that she can be made fun of on national television for something entirely irrelevant to her ‘fame’ in the first place?

This bizarre logic was used last month when Katie Price’s (aka Jordan) heavily disabled son, Harvey, was picked on once again by Boyle. His quips ranged from “Jordan and Peter Andre are still fighting each other over custody of Harvey – eventually one of them will lose and have to keep him” to him assuming that the reason why Price married a cage fighter was because she “needed a man strong enough to stop Harvey from f*****g her”.

The ‘price of fame’ logic would suggest that because Harvey has appeared in Jordan’s many reality TV shows he too now has to accept being publicly attacked because he is in the ‘public eye’. But why is it that even a disabled child, who has no means of defending himself, is not off limits? If we allow bullies, of which I would classify Boyle to be, to appear on TV and online for the world to see, what is stopping a child in the playground to laugh at a disabled or ‘different’ looking classmate? We would have to respect what the child had to say, and allow him to continue to say it, if we are to follow the example set by the BBC and Channel 4. And this example isn’t being set on obscure channels that no one watches, they are happening on mainstream television, and more disturbingly, these comedians are being paid to say these remarks.

I find it humiliating that in our society we still have set-backs to social progression in the form of bigots like Frankie Boyle and the bosses of institutions like Channel 4, and it is my biggest hope that in 2011 our moral compass will begin to re-align itself.

National Geographic's Photography Contest 2010

The annual National Geographic Photography compettition (2010) closed it's doors to submissions at the end of the November and the winner will be announced in the next few days. There are hundreds of fantastic photographs - it's going to be a tough job choosing the best. I think they all deserve to win! Below are one's that stood out for me... you can view the others at www.nationalgeographic.com

'A Ghost' by Julien Legrand




'Child's Play' by Carl Bertram




'Lightening Strike NY Harbor' by Jay Fine




'Inside a Hot Air Balloon' by Bakhtiyor Rasulev




'Supercell Thunderstorm' by Sean Heavey

'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas' (and don't I bloody know it)

For a few months now I have been living with my Mum's new dog. I am not naturally a canine lover; the smell, the constant attention and the jumping up are not qualities I have the patience for. With Skat (the dogs name - 'darling' in Danish) though, I have had to compromise. He is now a fixture of our home and has come to dominant our lives. It would be impossible and impractical to ignore his existence - I live in a basement flat so his presence (even if he is not visible) is always felt.

Looking at him he is the picture perfect puppy. A little black Labrador that you would find on a postcard. He does an adorable little dance around you when you're about to give him his food. He comes bounding up to you when you shake his treat box. And when he's waiting for his treat he always looks up at you and cocks his little head, his soft ears shaping his beautiful face. It is hard not to allow your heart to melt into his stare.

However, a lesson I quickly learned, is that he is not looking deeply into your eyes and thinking what a lovely creature you are too - these little moments of calm are not because you are sharing a special 'bond'. Rather, he has momentarily been hypnotised by the possibility that soon he will have something delicious in his stomach. He is a 'dog driven by food' as our trainer puts it (and nothing else it seems). In fact, Skat will eat pretty much anything in sight; socks, plastic, nails, wood and even his own business have all made appearances in his digestive system.

I am more of a cat person. So on his first display of 'anything goes' in terms of whats edible, my initial reaction was 'how unsophisticated'. You would never see a little kitty munch on some of the things the dog will. And this is pretty much how our relationship has continued. He lacks charm and class, he just thunders into a room, wreaks havoc and then charges off. He will respond to anything that can be eaten and never enjoys or seems to want to enjoy the 'quiet moments in life'. Perhaps this is because he is still a puppy (we're nearly celebrating his sixth month mark) and hopefully this is true.

What I must add though, that with all his lack of elegance, he is one of those things you love to hate. He can be the most irritating, tiresome and tactless of animals, but he is ours now. We must embrace his 'odd ball' qualities and love every inch of his dark fur. As the days pass by, this is getting easier to do. He is beginning to at least hesitate before he charges off after something while you are screaming his name and telling him to stop in his ear. This, however small, is an improvement that we must take as encouragement. Although I would never admit it, I do hope he manages to stay on after Christmas...!