There was a story in Metro the other day about a group of three men who are planning to do a charity rickshaw ride across India. Starting in early April, the Rickshaw Run will be a massive 3600km trip across India. Sounds standard enough...until you take in to account that they will be wearing Morphsuits in temperatures of up to 40C...which is no doubt why they caught the attention of the media!
However, it wasn’t this which caught my eye. I was interested to read that their training involves ‘eating curry’ and that their team name is, wait for it...... Dysentery Dodgers. At first glance, this made me laugh; it really is typical British laddish humour at play. Then it got me thinking about the backlash against Top Gear at Christmas and the uproar Jeremy caused by implanting a loo seat on to his bonnet. I’m a Brit living in India so I like to think I can see this argument from both sides of the coin...and I find this sentiment funny, regardless of whether it’s coming from Clarkson or the fundraising team.
What these men are doing is the exact same; there’s no difference in ‘dysentery dodging’ and experiencing ‘gut rot’. What is different is that one of these sentiments came from Jeremy Clarkson who the majority of the British media just love to hate at the moment. Albeit he is contentious but he can’t do anything right and it’s a shame that the perception of Clarkson has overtaken the show itself.
All they’re highlighting what happens to Brits when visiting India – the rich food can be a lot for their stomachs and it can lead to “gut rot”; it’s not insulting or racist, it’s a fact! And it’s something I even experience when travelling back to the UK as I’m no longer used to British food. However, it’s still very interesting how the UK can latch on to a figure to hate..and it seems Clarkson is it.
However, it wasn’t this which caught my eye. I was interested to read that their training involves ‘eating curry’ and that their team name is, wait for it...... Dysentery Dodgers. At first glance, this made me laugh; it really is typical British laddish humour at play. Then it got me thinking about the backlash against Top Gear at Christmas and the uproar Jeremy caused by implanting a loo seat on to his bonnet. I’m a Brit living in India so I like to think I can see this argument from both sides of the coin...and I find this sentiment funny, regardless of whether it’s coming from Clarkson or the fundraising team.
What these men are doing is the exact same; there’s no difference in ‘dysentery dodging’ and experiencing ‘gut rot’. What is different is that one of these sentiments came from Jeremy Clarkson who the majority of the British media just love to hate at the moment. Albeit he is contentious but he can’t do anything right and it’s a shame that the perception of Clarkson has overtaken the show itself.
All they’re highlighting what happens to Brits when visiting India – the rich food can be a lot for their stomachs and it can lead to “gut rot”; it’s not insulting or racist, it’s a fact! And it’s something I even experience when travelling back to the UK as I’m no longer used to British food. However, it’s still very interesting how the UK can latch on to a figure to hate..and it seems Clarkson is it.
No comments:
Post a Comment