Engage brain before mouth

I regularly watch back episodes of the BBC programme,Top Gear on the Discovery channel and whilst I enjoy most of the antics of Clarkson, May and Hammond, I do get irritated by some of the comments they make about cars. To tell viewers that an Alfa Romeo will fall to bits and is not even good to drive but then suggest that none of this matters and we should all buy one because of its looks seems crazy. It is alright for people who have more money than sense to waste it on cars that are totally impracticable but for the rest of us, we need something reliable, comfortable and sensible – the very cars that the three presenters  enjoy deriding.

I cannot for the life of me see the point in cars that are capable of jaw breaking acceleration and top speeds three times the legal limit on roads, especially when they offer little by the way of comfort to the driver and worse still any passengers that can be squeezed in. If they were just meant for use on the track, that would at least make some sense but they are not. Many of these cars are supposedly intended for people to use as everyday transport on the road.

Leaving aside the business of car, there are also times when the three presenters overstep the mark with their comments about other matters as well. For example, I recall Clarkson getting into deep water over his remarks about Mexicans.

Not one to learn from his mistakes, it now seems that Clarkson has made comments about striking public sector workers. On the “One Show”, he apparently said that he would have them all shot and went to explain that he would take them outside and execute them in front of their families. As if that wasn’t enough, he later complained about the fact that the train to London regularly stopped at Reading because someone had jumped on the line. His suggestion was that the train should just carry on because stopping would not help the person dead on the track.

Jeremy Clarkson, who enjoys a £1m salary from the public sector, clearly thought he was being funny but unfortunately many have not seen it that way. To disagree with strike action is one thing but in the present mood of Britain, Clarkson’s remarks were at the very least insensitive. There may come a time when he needs the assistance of one of those striking nurses. If that happens, I hope they don’t remember what he said about them yesterday.