No? Really?! Part II

I’ve been like a Daily Mail reader possessed this weekend. What a mardy moo! I would like to blame it on hormones but I think its more likely a dose of self righteousness mixed with middle England annoyance.

A quick rant about the floods damage before my main event. Being flooded is awful. Our house was flooded, it is a horrible and distressing thing to go though, especially if you lose sentimental items but at the end of the day we live in a civilised country with the option of insurance. The material items get replaced at the end of the day.

Now on the news they’ve had a lot of people whose homes have been damaged by floods who seem to think the government should cough up because they’ve got no insurance. Excuse me for appearing heartless, no you have my sympathy but not my taxes. I should hope my taxes are used by the government to ensure the infrastructure can cope, keeping hospitals in working order, supporting the emergency services, providing adequate alternative shelter and trying to minimise the disruption to our youngsters and vulnerable. My taxes are not there to replace peoples plasma screens.

On a video diary one family without insurance went around their damaged home bemoaning they’d lost everything. This was a nicely presented home where they could afford big tvs, sky, games consoles, a giant trampoline and ashtrays brimming with fag ends– could you really not budget £10-£20 a month insurance, did that not cross your mind as a sensible option even if it meant going with a 28" instead of a 32" tv? I’d like to have Sky TV but not at the expense of my household insurance so I do without it, hardly the end of the world, probably better off not watching more crud.

If the house had been struck my lightening and burnt to the ground would they expect the Government to step in and replace the lot? No, so why because it is a widespread natural disaster.

Bah that’s just the start of the rants. Let us move on to….Live Earth.

I have celebrity endorsement fatigue. I cannot bide another famous person putting on their best grimaced face and telling me to feel guilty about something else.

Actually the annoyance was setting in with Saving Planet Earth on Friday night. I love the idea of opening up people’s minds to the problems facing the natural world. I understand that celebrity endorsement does engage some people at the first line but wasn’t it a bit hypocritical pointing the finger at global warning then sending a hoard of celebs all over the world to look at aforementioned species. I know what a elephant looks like and elephants know what a celeb looks like – there isn’t one they haven’t met. Couldn’t tv crews across the world have filmed locally with local people. Let me hear what they feel about their corner of the world and what their problems are.

Did you know everyday 1% of all the worlds endangered species commit suicide for fear of being visited by Vanessa Feltz with a film crew?

And don’t anyone start spouting carbon offsetting at me. That’s designed to make people who holiday in Tuscany feel better about themselves. Yes it is better than doing nothing and we should do it but don’t think it brings an environmental halo with it.

So we get to Live Earth. A massive extravaganza of musicians, some of whom are endangered species themselves having never made the top ten in the last decade. Save the planet? There was some saving of careers a cynic may think!

And there is nothing worse than when any of them start lecturing. Keane were enough to make me run around switching all the lights on and opening and closing the fridge door to try and end the world quicker to save me from the froth.

Here’s an idea why don’t all the worlds musicians put out a video at their concerts, lay on free information stands and organise a set of webcasts/tv shows from where they are. I know the thought was nice but I can’t take much more of every musician/actor/person who sleeps with the aforementioned pounding on whatever cause is fashionable today.

Or, this is really radical, why don’t they make music/make films/shag people making music and films and if they want to tell us now and then what concerns they have we will listen in a short interview and then go and make our own minds up – you don’t need to keep reminding us that you are ooh so thoughtful and insightful.

Even after a whole day of celebs telling them to love the planet, this is how much of the message got through to the crowd…the rubbish strewn across the ground, the plastic cups and bottles, were just kicked by revellers going home saying how great Madonna had been *sigh *

Perhaps a better booking for the final slot would have been The Wombles.

I told you I was a mardy moo.

Comments

[Ms Mac]

No, you're not because I agree with you about it all. It was Razorlight what done my head in. And yes, insurance is evil but necessary. A bit like Big Brother, really.

[Pete]

"Did you know everyday 1% of all the worlds endangered species commit suicide for fear of being visited by Vanessa Feltz with a film crew?" = ROTFLMAO

Agree with you over the insurance. People moan all the time about the nanny state and then expect help when they haven't taken responisiblity for something like obtaining insurance.

[Thursday]

Excellent post Beki, I'm with you all the way.

[Stegbeetle]

Mardy? Maybe, but certainly not wrong. I didn't watch any of live Earth because I knew my stomach wasn't strong enough (and because I just knew the BBC wouldn't be able to bring themselves to show Metallica and Spinal Tap in full - the only 2 artists from Wembley not shown in full apparently).
I can only assume that growing children are no longer taught the need for household insurance in the same way that they are no longer taught respect and good manners.

/lurchtoright

[Attila the Mom]

Amen! I was thinking about all the private jets, the trucks for the equipment, the entourage....

Why don't they just film it in their basements? LOL

[kaz]

Came over on Pete's recommendation.
I couldn't agree more about the bands and celebs being concerned for their careers.
Look what happened to Queen and U2 after Live Aid.
World domination (but sadly not for Freddie).

[Kit]

So true - the hypocrisy of these celebs leaves me completely open-mouthed. There they are with their five or six homes all over the world, jetting here, there and everywhere, driving about in their huge cars and they have the temerity to lecture ME about global warming! Sentence them all to one home, one small car and a once-a-year-if-you're-lucky holiday abroad. Oh, and if 90 per cent of them could just stop singing too, that would be a bonus.

[andrea]

Great post -- and hilarious about Live Earth! So -- when's your first book for adults coming out..?

[Yhanks you]

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