This is Godfrey Bloom, one of the MEP's for Yorkshire and Humberside. MEP means Member of the European Parliament. He earns around £90,000 a year before obscenely generous expenses and represents the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). He looks rather like the TV actor Richard Wilson who famously played Victor Meldrew in "One Foot in the Grave".
Godfrey is a nice, old-fashioned English name which I have often wished my parents might have given me. Then when playing football in the schoolyard, others boys would have yelled "Shoot God!" or "On me head, God!" etc. and at our family Sunday dinners my mother would have said "Fancy another Yorkshire pudding God?" God has a nice ring to it. Then I could genuinely have looked in the mirror, believing absolutely in the existence of God.
Anyway - back to Godfrey Bloom. He has been in the news this week because he made a controversial political speech in which he bewailed the very concept of foreign aid, questioning why Great Britain should send its hard-earned dosh to "Bongo Bongo Land".
Bongo Bongo Land? Where's that? Is it the Barra de Kwanza near Luanda in Angola or a smallholding close to Sloughhouse, California? Perhaps it's north of Atlanta in Georgia or on the north coast of Queensland, Australia. Maybe it's in a little village in North Wales or on the outskirts of Wrexham. Or could it be that Bongo Bongo Land is a mythical territory of the imagination like Eldorado, Shangri-la or Avalon? And do the residents plays bongos there?
Of course in a democracy, everybody is entitled to their opinions - Oswald Moseley, Benito Mussolini, The Iron Lady, Peter Sutcliffe, General Pinochet, David Icke, Adolf Hitler, Adrian's Images, Rupert Murdoch, Atila the Hun et al. Yes we are all entitled to our opinions - even Godfrey Bloom who has initiated such a deluge of debate that he may need to escape to his own Bongo Bongo Land where he will no doubt be feted by bare-breasted native ladies and carried aloft to his coconut palm palace as his grateful subjects chant "Long live God!"
"Bongo Bongo Land? Where's that?"
ReplyDeleteAs usual, you got it right first time...
Oh God! Really, bongos? My goodness who wouldn't agree you shouldn't give money to bongo land. No one really needs bongos do they?
ReplyDeleteHe's just a silly old buffoon.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that there is no such thing as bad publicity but as is your want you've caused me to modify my belief.
Thanks for the mention.
No Bongo Bongo near Sloughhouse, I'm sure his comment was racist, but I don't support the kind of foreign aid our governments waste, either. I do send money to Kiva. I think that's a good way to help people directly, instead of sending funds to despots who then arm themselves against their own citizens.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like victor meldrew
ReplyDeleteHIPPO So you actually live in Bongo Bongo Land? No Aid for you young fellow my lad!
ReplyDeleteDAVID OLIVER Playing bongos is not as easy as it looks. Bongo teachers will often help.
ADRIAN "Thanks for the mention"? I hope you like your exemplar bed fellows!
JAN BLAWAT A good thing about Bloom's speech is that it has aroused debate con the issue of foreign aid.
JOHN GRAY Errr...Did you read the first paragraph or just look at the picture?
"The wogs begin at Gibraltar."
ReplyDeleteHe reminds me a bit of Alistaire Cooke.
ReplyDeleteOK, Bongo Bongo Land may be a mythical El Dorado, but yet again the PC brigade are using his euphemism to hide the obvious truth of his concerns. He quoted RayBan sunglasses, but the list of private jets, mansions in Paris, and fleets of luxury cars for offspring, are all too common. When do the poor bloody starving minions get a look-in?
ReplyDeleteI say 'good for him', even though the Bongo Bongo bit was a bit offensive.
Yorky, sorry to spam your discussion of God ~ I just wanted to share this blog post with you from one of the other blogs I follow ~ they are featuring Yorkshire Fettle on their cheese board this week ~ thought you might enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteOops ~ forgot the link ~ duh!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.loverofcreatingflavours.co.uk/2013/08/cheese-board-yorkshire-fettle/
interesting.
ReplyDelete:0)
Let's send him to the well-known Blogland, along with about two dozen American politicians, and they we will let the natives at 'em!
ReplyDelete