I see that The Greatest Living Englishman will be back for a third season of Clarkson’s Farm, and I couldn’t be happier.
Having just binge-watched Season Two (on Amazon Prime), however, I must say that I now understand why Brits aren’t allowed to own AK-47s — because after watching the show-behind-the-show (Jeremy’s clashes with Parliament, the West Oxfordshire Council, and the local village council) which explains in excruciating detail how Britain’s farmers are being fucked six ways to Sunday by all the above, all I wanted to do was reach for mine and do a little hunting.
And not badgers, although they too need to be exterminated. Badgers spread bovine TB, but they’re protected ergo you can’t kill them, so if you’re a cattle farmer, you are essentially powerless and you’re going to go out of business.
Time after time, Jeremy’s attempts to make his farm at least marginally profitable are thwarted by bureaucracy — good grief, just his struggle to “register” newborn calves with their unique ID codes (quoi?) had me climbing out of my seat in frustration. But then there’s this:
Council: All the farm store’s customers’ cars are parking on the roadside verges and causing traffic problems.
Clarkson: Can I put in a gravel parking lot on my own land to accommodate them and end the problem?
Council: No.
And then:
Clarkson: Can I build a small restaurant (using an existing building) that will provide jobs for locals and help the local farmers, all of whom are going to go bankrupt because of government-created problems?
Council: No.
Clarkson: Why not?
Council: Because you don’t have a parking lot to hold the customers’ cars.
If you haven’t watched the series yet, you should — if not at home (because you don’t have Doubleplusgood-Bezos), then at a friend’s- or family member’s house. Apart from the frustrated hatred the show engenders, it’s also wonderfully funny, in a way that only Clarkson can create.
Just lock the guns away first, or a new TV might be in your future.
Why is it logic does not hold sway in government?
Not rhetorical–I really do not understand.
Because there is no mechanism in place to force accountability.
In the American system, there is ultimately the vote.
Is the British system of local-district councils similar? Or are they appointed?
We vote for our local councillors, but turnout is often very poor so the party faithful often swing it. 37.6% here in Aberdeen.
The main logic that holds sway in politicians is doing what they think will get them reelected, and given that stupid and ignorant moonbats are easily swayed by feelgood blather and eco bullshit, and that they tend to vote en bloc, that’s what the pols do.
Hold on, as I recall, the Ditilly Squat Farm WAS profitable last season. Didn’t he say the accountant told him he showed a profit of 1 pound 6 ( What ever that is in real money )?
I just noticed that Season 2 of this show is available so the missus and I are going to binge watch it this weekend.
I thought season 1 was fantastic and I’m sure it only showed a bit more than the tip of the iceberg of government bureaucracy. There aren’t enough bureaucrats swinging from trees and lamp posts. Clarkson showed how bad it is in the UK for farmers. I can only imagine in the US that government bureaucrats just aren’t as bad as European bureaucrats. Yet.
JQ
I think the best line he had was “Most villages only have one idiot, I have six”
Might have to watch this. I have been watching Marshall Dillion on Grit of late. Man that guy left a trail of bodies.
I do not think we have valid elections in the USA anymore. Maybe some limited ones but over all we have let the wrong people in the hen house. I will still keep voting just for appearance but we have moved past the point where we think we are making anything happen.
I think George Carlin may have made the observation that “if voting worked, they wouldn’t let us do it.” or some words to that effect.
JQ
Its that way in the states too. Except most of the fuckery happens at the Federal level.
Having never been to the UK I can’t speak for all Brits, but the ones I have run into sure do seem to love their fucking government at all levels.
we have far too much fuckery at the town level right now. We had a very hateful and angry, petty and spiteful woman ousted as First Selectman. We have a Republican now who had a very easy bar to step over to be better than his predecessor. We are now on the hook for buying new fire fighting equipment that previous administrations never set aside money for and a 9.5million senior center which is outrageously expensive for the area. We also got reports that the Senior Center will go over its approved budget. On top of that the board of education is demanding a spending increase of nearly 10%. The first selectman also convinced a developer to buy an old car dealership in town that would be rented to the Town or sold to the Town because the various offices of the Town government have outgrown their space at the Town Hall. The third floor of the Town Hall is currently empty. The current First Selectman campaigned as a fiscal conservative yet he has turned into an utter asshat who needs to be ridden out of town on a rail. He’s so bad that he’s wrecked the Republican brand in town so we’ll likely to get an even worse Democrat in office.
JQ
Can’t disagree with your particular experience. Mine is slightly different. But if you’re looking for someone to advocate burning local/state/federal to the ground and starting over. I’d be hard pressed to argue with you.
(for all you Feeb fucks reading this thinking your going to incite something, go somewhere else)
I think Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear/Grand Tour character was just that, a character – loosely based on the real Jeremy Clarkson, but something of an exaggeration, all the same. What I love about Clarkson’s Farm is that he’s a lot more genuine, especially in his interactions with the folks (Kaleb, Gerald, etc.). He genuinely seems to care about them and the farm and he seems to be honestly striving for their goodwill and respect. I’ve always liked Jeremy, but after watching Clarkson’s Farm, I’m developing an enormous amount of respect for him, as well.
I’m sure there must be some good Poms but in general I’m an Anglophobe. The IMF forecast for 2023 shows all European nations achieving mild growth except the UK, which has already entered recession. If only there were a stronger word than schadenfreude. They brought this upon themselves.
The old Strylian drinking song goes,
I wish I were in London, I do, I do,
I’d walk into Trafalgar Square and say to old Lord Nelson,
Get fucked, get fucked, you one-eyed Pommie bastard!