I must admit I've never read anything by Giles Coren except for his recent tweets. He shouldn't come within my radar. He writes for The Times which I have never read and won't pay money to read in the future. He appears on television in programmes with Sue Perkins who I have never seen on television for more than 30 seconds without changing channels.
So without ever having read any of his "work", why did I refer to him as being a "piss poor columnist" on Twitter this week? It seems a little unfair. I should at least have made the effort to...
Wait a minute! I did get a book of his out of the library once. It was about his anger at things. It was boring. He was boring.
So in the back of my mind I've got this impression that Giles Coren is boring. Just a memory of being bored one day for about ten minutes. For ten minutes of my life I was bored by Giles Coren.
I didn't really need for that ten minutes to take on the significance it has. But for the past few days I've been obsessed with what people have been saying about him on Twitter. And what he's been saying. I've even contributed myself, calling him a sexist and a piss poor columnist. I said this because he called a woman a "barren old hag" and because he bored me silly once for ten minutes.
He didn't offend me, after all. He offended somebody I'm not the least bit interested in. Another journalist I've no interest in reading anything by. And Twitter is full of people making sexist, racist and all sorts of offensive comments to other people.
But that boring ten minutes keeps coming back to haunt me. It's like a bloke I met the other week who now works where I used to work. I spoke to him for maybe five minutes and it was the most boring five minutes of my life. And now he's there, too. In the back of my mind. Gnawing away.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Layering up
15 hours ago
That was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI can do it if I put my mind to it.
ReplyDeleteHe appears to be less amusing than his late father, his sister and his brother-in-law-to-be. Maybe he should change his name to Zeppo.
ReplyDeleteCareful of the bloke who works where you used to. He's probably gone home and told his wife "Hey I met this dead interesting chap today and had a great chat. Used to knkow him a bit ago. What a fascinating man!"
ReplyDeleteGiles Coren is the one my sister mixes up with Jay Rayner whenever I mention a restaurant review. I like Jay Rayner because he agrees with everything I have to say about Quo Vadis (not the movie).
ReplyDeleteSue Perkins is the one who has made me dislike listening to Just A Minute on the wireless. Usually I'm amused by desperate competitiveness, but on reflection I think that's only when it's Paul Merton.
Thought you'd want to know.
Tim - I've seen more of Zeppo Marx than of Giles Coren. I've led a charmed life.
ReplyDeleteLooby - I hope he could tell we weren't getting on. I don't want another 5 minutes.
Arabella - I've only ever seen Jay Rayner on The One Show with the sound turned down. He's always putting something in his mouth.