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Brown and Me

  • David Grossman
  • 11 Oct 07, 01:02 PM

gbdg_430.jpgNumber Ten say that the Prime Minister will be watching this weekend's the Rugby World Cup semi-final at . As is well known he鈥檚 a keen fan of the game, having played in his youth and lost the sight in one eye after a Rugby injury. I actually sat in front of him during the England V Scotland semi-final of the . In order that I can show off a photo I have of this event I'm going to shamelessly borrow someone else's idea. (Well if Alistair Darling can do it...) Adapting a contest from Newsnight Political Panellist Daniel Finkelstein鈥檚 fantastic , I want to launch a 鈥淏rown and Me鈥 photo competition. Obviously this can鈥檛 be a real competition as we in for the time being. It will have to be a notional competition where everyone wins, even those who don鈥檛 take part. So saying where and when it was taken. The best will appear here*.

*If there are no entries 成人论坛 Newsnight reserves the right to quietly drop the idea and never mention it again and probably blame Daniel Finkelstein for coming up with such a duff idea in the first place.

Comments  Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 03:07 PM on 11 Oct 2007,
  • neil robertson wrote:

Obviously it is Murrayfield on 26 Oct
1991 ... but what is the joke that Gordon is telling to Murray Elder (?) on his left? Possibly this wee cracker from that morning's copy of 'New Scientist' ..... you know,
the one about cosmic string theory,
endogenous growth and David Cameron?

Says Gordon (relying heavily on his notes): "The idea was that loops of the material left over from a Tory
Big Bang in which the universe was
born might act as 'seeds' around which galaxies might grow... But where is this string today I ask?
According to University of Tours.
it disappeared long ago into a big
Tory black hole in Lamont's budget!"
(adapted from New Scientist 26 Oct,
1991)

  • 2.
  • At 01:01 AM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • neil robertson wrote:

The guy on Gordon's left is I think Gus Macdonald - the former World In Action frontman (now Lord Macdonald
of Tradeston)who was then a minister.
Newsnight's man was in The Royal Box?


  • 3.
  • At 01:09 AM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • neil robertson wrote:

The moustache on the Left is Gus Macdonald - former World in Action frontman and then a Scottish Office Minister of State. Exalted company!

Wonder if Brown will be cheering England on and if he will celebrate England's win?!!! I think not...

  • 5.
  • At 04:47 PM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • Steven Pollack wrote:

I think the picture confirms that politicians aren't like the rest of us. In which case how can they claim to represent us and spend our money.
I mean what normal person wears a suit and tie to attend a rugby match?
Even if you are on corporate hospitality, which clearly Brown wasn't on this occasion, you don't need the tie. Odd.

  • 6.
  • At 05:02 PM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • Chris Clark wrote:

Obviously a cut and past job with Photoshop :-)

  • 7.
  • At 05:17 PM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • Steven Pollack wrote:

I think the photo proves that politicians are not like you and me. In which case how can they claim to represent us and spend our money.

I mean, who wears a suit and tie for a rugby match?

Very odd.

  • 8.
  • At 06:29 PM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • neil robertson wrote:

If Gordon is a true Scotsman, he will be supporting France, as we
Scots and French still enjoy dual
nationality as a result of a 1513
edict issued by Louis XII that had this big red line inserted in the same year as the Battle of Flodden:

"Louis, by the Grace of God, King of France, would remind, make known to all living and all eternity (to come) that since most ancient times there has been between the kings of France and Scotland and the princes and subjects of our kingdoms, the closest of friendship, confederation and perpetual alliance ... and that in more recent times, during the reign of our great Lord and relative Charels VII, several princes of that said kingdom of Scotland accompanied by large numbers of people from that said nation did come to our assistance to help us eject and expel from our kingdom the English who were detaining and occupying the greater part of the said kingdom: in the course of which action the Scots did conduct their persons with such virtuous boldness against the English that the latter were driven out .... [Sun readers and Mr Kelvin Mackenzie in particular] ....and because of the great loyalty and boldness which they manifested [on and off the rugby field] Charles took 200 of their number to be his personal bodyguard. All of this being taken into account we have resolved [NB memo to Sarkozy], with due regard to the great loyalty and fidelity which has always and without any alteration been found in that people, to declare and ordain that all those from the Kingdom of Scotland who may live and die from now on in our said kingdom, whatever their degree, shall be permitted to acquire in our land any goods, titles and belongings that they may legitimately acquire as if they were natives of our said kingdom." [see pages 22/22 of 'Knee Deep in Claret:
A Celebration of Wine and Scotland' by Billy Kay and Cailean Maclean (Mainstream Publishing 1985).

Mlle Kirsty Bouleau probably has a spare copy just in case she ever has to flee to Radio France ...........

  • 9.
  • At 06:41 PM on 12 Oct 2007,
  • neil robertson wrote:

Under a General Edict - 'redlined' by the Scots in 1513 - Louis X11 of
France granted Scots citizenship of France in perpetuity. Allez les bleus! Kelvin Mackenzie has been warned .......

(for the full text of this Edict see:
"Knee Deep in Claret: A Celebration of Wine and Scotland" by Billy Kay and Cailean Maclean (Mainstream Pulbishing 1983)

  • 10.
  • At 10:58 PM on 19 Nov 2007,
  • wrote:

Lord Brit Gordon Brown

Buried at the back of John Birt's memoirs. It was 1998, the high tide of devolution, and Scotland wanted its own Six O'Clock News. '成人论坛 executives in Scotland, the Broadcasting Council, the Scottish media and even Scottish civil servants' supported that change. Norman Drummond, the 成人论坛's Scottish Governor, 'led the charge'.

And what does Director-General Birt do? He goes, absolutely explicitly, to Tony Blair. 'Let's fight', says the PM . Blair puts Peter Mandelson on the case alongside the 成人论坛 Secretary, Michael Stevenson. They orchestrate a propaganda campaign (featuring, amongst other things, planted articles from Gordon Brown) which keeps the News from Shepherd's Bush safe for the nation. 成人论坛 London beats 成人论坛 Glasgow with a lot of help from Number Ten.

Does that most special of advisers, Lord Birt, sit in his Downing Street office today, or we may wonder again whether that's quite what we mean by independence. The enemy within, alas, comes without a clear rule book or much common sense and we all thought Gordon Brown was Scottish and the Salford Herring was red.

  • 11.
  • At 07:52 PM on 22 Nov 2007,
  • neil robertson wrote:

Pssst ...... wanna share some data?

Reply from Gus Macdonald: Stick it in the post Gordon, I'm trying to watch the match .......

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