Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Tune Into the Daily Politics but Wear Your Sunglasses

I'm at Nairobi Airport waiting to fly back. Just thought I'd warn you not to watch the Daily Politics tomorrow - I shall be talking about which books politicians might be reading over the summer. But I should warn you that I might be wearing a particularly memorable shirt which I bought in Rwanda. Nelson Mandela would be proud of me. And there's a sentence I never thought I'd write.

UPDATE: 11.21am I've beendumped stood down from the Daily Politics as they are going to do a feature on Dame Pauline Neville Jones's report instead. That's TV for you!

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

And I thought the ties were bad!

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...

Don't suppose it says:
"London Calling to the imitation Tone - forget it brother we can go it alone"
on the front?

@molesworth_1 said...

..aswell as the comedy shirt and over-size novelty sunglasses, you might also want to try rolling up your trouser-legs. you wouldn't want to be seen as out of touch, hem-hem...

Newmania said...

On past form Iain I`d guess when you think you look bad you look cool...althought it is entirely random.

It will be good to have you back

Unity said...

You didn't forget the knotted hankie?

These things have to be done properly, you know.

Tapestry said...

yo nigger

HM Stanley said...

Could someone post a pic for those of use who cannot watch Daily Politics?

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Military Wing Of The BBC said...

The bias of the BBC is in not what they say but what they leave out.

If "right-wing" IDS had been in America visiting "self-help" projects whilst Tory seats flooded wouldn't the BBC/Sky be leading with it?

As it happens we're lumbered with the MSM's "pet" Tory leader visiting a "pet" project in Africa. Are the MSM screaming for his blood? Are they B@@@@@ks.

The ordinary man on the street don't want a leader of the right jumping rainbows. They want a leader calling for action about illegal shed building projects for human habitation in the back gardens of houses in Slough.

If Chamberlain waits 10 years he'll be able to visit huge 3rd world projects IN ENGLAND.

He needs to go but the MSM won't put any pressure on him so we're lumbered and England is lost.

We need PR, we need another Dowding, we need our own Pym Fontein, we DO NOT need a f@@@ing Imitation Tone.

David Anthony said...

Gordon Brown - Richard III

David Cameron - Either 'Julius Caesar' or 'Much Ado About Nothing' .. depending on your viewpoint.

Ming Campbell - The Comedy of Errors

George Osbourne - Macbeth? ... I wonder.....

@molesworth_1 said...

it would apere from the comments above that the 'welcoming comittee' is all asembled, and wait with breath bated, just the right side of passport control...
..."And what was the purpose of your visit, sir?"
"Did you pack this bag yourself?"
"Are these video cassettes yours, sir? 'Hello, control...'"
"If you could just step this way, sir....."

Welcome back ,dere boy, welcome back, hem-hem...a

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

I suppose it won't be the first atrocity to come out of Rwanda.

Ted Foan said...

Richard Madeley said...
"I suppose it won't be the first atrocity to come out of Rwanda."

No, but what a wonderful spoof site you have created. Can you keep it up though? Perhaps Judy can answer that.

Alan Douglas said...

Dear Iain,

So now there are two reasons we might all go blind ?

Alan Douglas

Johnny Norfolk said...

I suppose you will be going to the West Country to cheer up the flood victimes.

PS. take plenty of drinking water with you.

Aaron Murin-Heath said...

Nelson Mandela?

Was he the freedom fighter or the terrorist?

I always forget which one he is.

Chris Paul said...

Nelson may forgive you Iain, but be "proud of you"? But can you remind us where you, Cameron, Johnson and your Tory generation stood on apartheid, sports tours, Barclays Bank and indeed Mandela himself?

I seriously suggest you keep your exotica shirt-wise to yourself. Assuming you want to have a serious moment about what you've witnessed how will this look in a ha-ha-ha timmy-mallet-esque laugh-a-minute tourist shirt?

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...

Chris Paul
- can YOU remind us where you stood on Mugabe?

AnyoneButBrown said...

Shame about the Daily Politics, but you can save your shirt for the next time.

Hi Chris Paul, I'm a fully paid up Tory activist and have been a party member since the early eighties.
I opposed apartheid but believed (and still do) in engagement rather than sanctions, I believed the imprisonment of Mandela was wrong and highly counter-productive for South Africa, but I believed politics had little to do with sport.
I'm a right-winger and frankly refuse to apologise for anything anymore and am tired of putting up with jibes from the left (such as yourself) who claim a false moral superiority that is somehow a basis for your continued governance.
For example, I note that Cameron was jeered by Labour MPs for being in Rwanda and not political disaster sightseeing at the floods. He was in fact attending a ceremony to mark the largest racial genocide in 60 years, and some of the comments about this from Labour have bordered on racism.

Jim said...

I see that David Davis and Billy Vague have been posturing over the past couple of days...Oh Dear

Anonymous said...

Replaced by Neville Jones? You need to be made a Dame Iain.

Jim said...

The summer recess is only days away. Camera On and his bunch of do gooders in Rwanda ought to have scheduled their trip during the recess. Another example of Cambo making a bad decision

Unknown said...

I tuned in especially! :-(

Anonymous said...

The BBC obviously daren't run the risk of your many followers switching on to watch you thereby causing a power surge(and a severe a drain on the national grid)so quickly after the Walham emergency.

Of course it may be they felt your choice of shirt could have affected the more sensitive viewers and put them off their lunch.

Unsworth said...

Well she's got much better hair than you have, Iain. The suntan's fine, but if you could just get some highlights or something that might help. You know how fixated they are by appearance these days. And they wouldn't want you to upstage Andrew or Daisy....

Oscar Miller said...

He was in fact attending a ceremony to mark the largest racial genocide in 60 years, and some of the comments about this from Labour have bordered on racism.

Wholly agree anyonebutbrown. The way claims to a moral high ground have been donned by the left in a purely tribal, bullying fashion is all about power and nothing to do with principles of any kind. I haven't heard a word from anyone on the left who would normally support 'making poverty history' and action in Africa, who has shown any interest at all in Rwanda and why Cameron went there. Unlike you I'm from the left but can't tolerate the total abandonment of any principle from a party that just wants to be in power with no scruples at all. Nulabour is a morally bankrupt entity that lives off plagiarism and spin. I'm perplexed that so many Tories are turning against themselves instead of taking the fight to such a degraded, hollow crew.

Chris Paul said...

Where I stood/stand on Mugabe? What is it you say around here? Mugabe is obviously a complete and utter ****. Funnily enough I spent quite a lot of time promoting music from Zimbabwe, particularly in the second half of the 80s.

The band I spent most time with were the Bhundu Boys with whom my charges Distant Cousins had a symbiotic relationship. They were and are named after the "bush boys" who fought to get Mugabe in.

The band had a ruck and Biggie Tembo the leader was usurped as a bit of a dictator and personality cultist. He died in very tragic circumstances that the band could not have foretold. Andy Kershaw ranted about it for years.

Mugabe was already well on the way to being a bit of a dictator and personality by then, almost 20 years ago. If only his party and his people had acted surgically as Biggie's band did.

Many of the members of the original line up and of their replacements have died from drinking "bad beer", which is their euphemism for HIV-AIDS, starting in about 1988 with the bassist David the first.

So there you go. My answer. Now how about more of you Tories explaining your position on South Africa back in the day.

How many of you cheered on apartheid? Thought sports teams should tour? Banked with Barclays to defy the NUS action as suggested by FCS, or whatever the youngsters were called? Approved of SA government measures?

Now of course opposed to sports tour to Zimbabwe etc.

PS On the update Iain you've been saved from an embarrassing fashion and political gaffe.

David Anthony said...

The great Daily Politics conspiricy, what was the REAL reason?

1)The BBC found out that he had put every politician down as reading the 'Big Red Book of Labour Sleeze'

2)Andrew Neill made a jibe about his shirt colour, and Iain Dale replied with a compliment about Andrew Neill's choice of hair colour.

3)The BBC staff couldn't find Iain Dale in the Lobby as he'd been wisked away by BBC News 24 staff to give his opinion on a breaking copyright lawsuit.

4)Iain Dale : 'Hello, I'm here to be a guest on the Daily Politics.'

BBC Receptionist : 'And You are?'

Iain Dale : 'Iain Dale'

BBC Receptionist : 'Iain.... who?'

5)On the way to the studio his shirt got him arrested for crimes against fashion, taste and decency.

Alan Douglas said...

Dumped ? They got wind of the shirt ....

Alan Douglas

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...

Chris Paul
but you havn'y really explained your position on Mugabe.

Many Rhodesians fought Mugabe because they believed that he was a corrupt Marxist leader who would turn into a corrupt Marxist dictator.

"The left" said this was racism not politics.

This is a question for you:

Would the average Zimbabwean be better off today if Ian Smith had remained in power?

Roger Thornhill said...

Be thankful. You would have had to sit next to Labour's Bushbaby Margaret Hodge. Why do they have that person on any show except as a cruel joke?

She is like Polly Toynbee without the testosterone...a kind of "mini-bee".