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Whenever our fair nation enters a time of crisis, a man (or, far less frequently, a woman) emerges to call the shots, take the country by the scruff of the neck, give it a good dressing-down and lead it onto a brighter future. And you invariably also get a load of self-aggrandising gobshites who reckon they’re helping when they’re really just shooting their mouths off about how clever they are. Robert Peston falls into one of these categories*.
Who is Robert Peston? He’s the BBC’s business editor, and, like former economics editor Evan Davis (now presenter of Dragons’ Den, spoofed extremely cruelly by Harry and Paul at the end of this clip) - and former political editor Andrew Marr, he appears to be an honours graduate of the “wobbly hands” school of BBC reporter training.
The current BBC mythology states that Peston was alone in “seeing the financial crisis coming” - and - Hey Pesto! - as a result, he’s now a multimedia-bestriding colossus, windmilling his arms for all he’s worth on every BBC TV news programme going from Breakfast to Newsnight, enthusiastically interrupting presenters on BBC Radios 2, 3, 4 and 5 (the credit crunch hasn’t hit happy little Radio 1 yet), and being fawned over by every broadsheet imaginable.
If I were to liken Peston to a foodstuff, it would be extremely tenuous, erm, it would be to a huge dollop of gloopy green basil-and-cheese-based sauce ladelled over-liberally onto the rapidly-congealing overcooked pasta of our media. (Geddit?)
Isn’t it time he Pest-off?
(* - Editorial caveat - Robert Peston might in fact be an extremely able journalist and affable man, and equally this entire post might or might not be driven solely by the fact that he has a multi-punnable name.)
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 9:31 am and is filed under Fatuous comments and ridiculous generalisations, Film / Telly / Books, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Isn’t that description laying it on a bit thick?
Let the record reflect that I was merely engaging in wordplay; I actually have no opinion on Prestondigitation.
Grazie, Cane - it was understood. The revision of my initially harsh editorial position was undertaken subsequent to an anticipated bollocking from a BBC friend who is very keen on Peston.
Would your recipe constitute a “spaghetti peston”?!
Quite possibly, susan; although traditionally, the classic pesto is served with linguine. Peston is of course an able journalist, and as such has used all his linguinistical skills to arrive at the top of his chosen profession. (And this metaphor has now been stretched pasta the point of no return…)
Presumably, he writes with good old penne and paper, yes? Perhaps we should stop before these puns get too fusilli. After all, opening this particular worm-filled cannelloni end in tears.
Good work LZ - but I think we’ve been down this road before. The results weren’t pretty, I tagliatelle you.
I’d forgotten all about that. But come on - it was almost TWO YEARS AGO.
I don’t get it - you’ll have to explain that pasta-based pun to me, LZ.
God almighty, nearly TWO YEARS since I became Very Poor? Plus another nearly-two for the Sandwich? I’m practically Old Testament.
Those who forget the pasta are doomed to repeat it.
‘The BBC’s Robert Peston was accused of helping to trigger the tumultuous fall in UK bank shares on Tuesday by breaking news of a private meeting between the Chancellor and bank bosses. Viewers and listeners awoke to hear the Corporation’s business editor reveal that three of Britain’s biggest banks - Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB - had asked Alistair Darling for billions of pounds in funding.
‘But the report by Mr Peston - rapidly becoming known as the man who moves markets - set off a fresh bout of chaos in the City, with shares in RBS plummeting by almost 40 per cent, wiping around £10billion off the bank’s value.
‘City traders were angered by his report, which unleashed renewed market turmoil, and there was astonishment at the Treasury and fury within Government that news of the secret meeting had been given to Mr Peston. Amid speculation over precisely who ‘leaked’ what to the BBC man, one political website described him as a ‘market menace” - The Daily Heil.
Welcome back, Chez - again, I’m struggling to find any puns based on Italian food.
No, interesting article from the Daily Heil - not least because it’s probably the only article to appear in the paper for the last 2 years which appears to point a finger of blame at someone other than paedophiles, immigrants or Gordon Brown.
Actually, Taf, I think you’ll find that was back from the days of the good ship Sandwich. I’ve only been reading your blog, in whatever manifestation it might be, for two years or so.
Nope, didn’t get that one either.
COME ON, people - pasta-based puns!
Make up your mind - you told me off for doing it eight posts ago.
However, I think your punnitis is catching. I found myself leaving a note for my housemate this morning saying, “I’ve got chicken to use up - do you fancy enchiladas for dinner tonight? Fajita’ll be great.” And that’s actually true. Fortunately, she’s the kind of person who likes to write notes in binary simply because she can (that is to say, she’s as big a geek as I am), so she found it funny.
After getting caught with my food in my mouth over the Preston/Peston-based incident, there was no way you’d want anymore from me–orzo I thought. But, you’re a gluten for punishment (and I hate to have you bouillon around your readers), so I wracked the old noodle for you.
Cracking stuff, Cane - despite your departure from classic Italian to a carbohydrate free-far(f)-alle(*), I won’t gnocchi your efforts. It may sound cheesey, but I’ve ricotta hand it to you; you truly are a fontina of pun wisdom.
(* - ouch.)
Seems that the Government is going away from old-fashioned Capitalism to a holdy-handy nanny state type thing. Guess you could say it really is the end of lasagne-faire.
(Double ouch)
But will the Tories do any better? I know that LZ gets all gigli, spätzle when George Osborne is on TV, but frankly I think he’s all Torchio.
“lasagne-faire”
That nearly made me falafel my chair.
Bravo, boys.