Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells
This afternoon I was on Radio BBC Southern Counties (what?! How could you miss it?) talking about a new Mr Man character. He is called Mr Rude and he encourages children to pull his finger and then he farts. Apparently he does all this in a French accent.
Call me old-fashioned, but isn’t this just a tad low-rent? And while we’re on the subject, last night I saw the most disgusting television ad I have ever seen. I won’t go into too many details but it showed a man on the loo. Bad enough you might think, but it got worse. He realises the loo-paper has run out and looks around him and then at the newspaper he is reading and decided the newspape is too good to use so doesn’t. His expression is disgusting, as is the whole idea of it.
What is this advertisement for? Some low-rent, down-market paper you or I will never have heard of? No, it’s for the football section of The Times. The TIMES for crying out loud? THE TIMES OF LONDON as it has proudly been known since 1803 when its name was changed from The Daily Universal Register.
At the risk of sounding like the legendary ‘disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’, I am just that. Although happily I don’t live in Tunbridge Wells.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2008
11 Feb 2008 helena
Hi Helena,
I’d love to have heard what you said about Mr. Fart! Why does he have a French accent?
In my Parisian apartment, in a very chic part, which I’m lucky enough to live in at the moment, a plumber came to fix the blocked loo. He thoroughly enjoyed himself all afternoon shouting ‘Merde!Merde!, and delightedly showed me what he had loosened!
Also, there’s a man who stands on the pavement nearby every morning, next to the inevitable heap of dog mess which has appeared overnight, and addresses only very well dressed ladies with ‘Comment s’appelle-ca?’ (What do you call this?) to get tremendous kicks out of the reply!
Dear Héléna.
I was born in Tunbridge Wells. And although not “disgusted”, I totally agree with your remarks.
Mr. Hargreaves has got it wrong with Mr. Rude. The French are not given to scatological humour, their rudeness is usually confined to the verbal affront of “merde”, “chier” etc. and it is not unusual to hear a respectable father call his unruly son “un petit con”. This comes easy to the French, rather like the British schoolboy equivalent of writing “bum” on the wall and running away.
Aren’t we lucky to have the “F” word?
As for the more unfortunate bodily functions, this is usually left to the Dutch and German ad agencies to make fun of. I’ve seen the commercial for The Times and it makes me squirm with embarrassment. Not an easy trick for someone who has spent over forty years as an advertising writer and art director. What on Earth were they thinking?
In defence of Tunbridge Wells. I don’t live there either. But if for some awful, unimaginable reason I had to return to the UK, Tunbridge Wells wouldn’t be such a bad option.
I agree Graham. Tunbridge Wells is not that bad. I don’t live in England at the moment but really enjoyed my 10 years there. Helena, I’m sure you know that Mr Hargreaves lives very close to TW. You should have told him off when you were in Sussex!
Hi Miko
I should have done. Actually I agree with you both that TW isn’t bad at all if you have to live in England, we lived in a lovely village called Mayfield very close to there.
Hx
I thought Roger Hargreaves died in 1988(?). Who is responsible for ths horrible addition to the Mr. Men series?
Roger Hargreaves died at the end of the 1980s. He had a beautiful farm near Edenbridge where I did some work. It must be his son - or wife - who has come up with this latest idea.
Can I add my support for Tunbridge Wells? The place I loathed was Tonbridge; I suppose it didn’t help that I went to school there.