04aug04: From Mr Hot of Tunbridge Wells

BBC discovers global warming

The snows of Kilamanjaro are almost gone
The dreamy Maldives drowned and overrun
The polar bears will have no place to roam
They'll lounge their listless lives on solid ground

Casting storms across the Gulf of Mexico
Will God's true aim hit Mickey Mouse and Co
Or will countless sad old dreamers rue the day
When the brothels of New Orleans are blown away

Once leashing weathermen to their tekky lot
The BBC now scorns the lure of academic Philip Stott
Hallelujah, Global Warming is discovered
The weathermen rejoice, their cage uncovered

Hot under the collar in Tunbridge Wells

Auntie Jayne writes:

Dear Mr Hot,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to criticise your poem. I get so little of this sort of work these days. For a second non poetic opinion you may like to consult www.smugbastardsatthebeeb.org.uk. They were campaigning for the BBC to become a font of good argument and objective discussion. They seem to have run out of steam but probably still worth a look.

Sadly, your second verse shows an unfortunate chip-on-the-shoulder prejudice. Not all academics are purely academic, some of them break free of the constant grind of having to spread one good idea over many publications. This would be particularly true of retired academics, like Professor Stott, a stalwart of the Home Planet programme on Radio 4¹. And I would expect the BBC to continue to take him seriously.

What you should be encouraging, which is what we wish for, is a forum in which not only academics and tekkys but also members of the public can enter an informed debate. Not an easy project to fulfil but desperately needed.

I will try to find out if your contribution can be posted on www.smugbastardsatthebeeb.org.uk. They seemed a pleasant lot, if a bit wacky.

I liked you first verse.

Notes

¹ See Professor Stott's interesting blog EnviroSpin Watch.