Is the Guardian worse than it used to be?

Adolf Hitler himself could have written that

I find her a bit blousy and if she didn't keep mentioning Oxbridge you'd never guess that she went beyond remedial ed.

He had become beautiful: half-Irish, half-black

This reminds me, last night I was drinking with some pals next to the canal in Victoria Park, as you do, when this guy stopped and said in full Cockney "Is vat a Dub accent?". He then proceeded to tell us he had moved to London from County Meath in 1970, and he'd lost his accent completely because in those days you'd be beaten up for having an Irish accent. He was v angry about British oppression of the Irish.

Then he introduced himself. "I'm Desmond. IT'S NOT A BLACK NAME. My whole faaakin life people say 'that's a black name'"

I really wanted to reply "My name's Malcome Exe, it's not a black name!"

should have said to him "there is an old African saying..."

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/10/11/desmond460.jpg

did he mean 'Black Irish'?

Coupla weeks back, a black guy started talking to me on the bus 'cos he thought I was Irish then when I got off the bus this really small and angry Irishman came over to me and said, "Was he hassling you? Those bastards fucking hate us. Don't they know we're the blacks of Europe?"

I don't really know, we said Desmond is an Irish name. Then he began discussing Montserrat, where many black people are called "Paddy O'Reilly" etc due to slaves being sent there. He had some angry point about Irish slaves being worth less than black slaves which I tried to salvage with a "Oh I'd say they were alright!! Too fond of this stuff *points at can of beer*" but he was like "no they didn't have time for beer, they were working 20 hours a day!"

x-post that's robbed from Roddy Doyle, "The Irish are the ni***ers of Europe, and Dubliners are the n***ers of Ireland"

I didn't really feel the urge to discuss his literary references with him, to be honest

I tried to salvage with a "Oh I'd say they were alright!! Too fond of this stuff *points at can of beer*" but he was like "no they didn't have time for beer, they were working 20 hours a day!"

I hate it when people do this

"Was he hassling you? Those bastards fucking hate us. Don't they know we're the blacks of Europe?"

If you were feeling literal-minded, you could have responded with "no, the blacks of Europe are the blacks of Europe".

That 'blacks of Europe' line always makes me think "Why are you beating us up? Don't you know you're supposed to be patronising us about how we all like the singing and the dancing?"

so the small angry Irishman thought Tom was Irish as well ha ha

really Tom you must stop carrying that pig under your arm on the bus

it's always funny when you meet fervently "Irish" people who have lived in another country for the majority of their lives. if you met this bloke last night you'd reckon he was about as Irish as a decent transport system.

It must have been the Stephen Hunt-style cravat and cap that did it

Sort of overdressing a pig that, eh?

the cravat does impair the flavour tbh

fervently "Irish" people who've lived in another country for their entire lives are the worst

fuckin racist

Noel Gallagher tho yes

ah come on now

steady on

was mostly thinking of the Americans

you do get it with second generation English kids whose parents have raised them in a bubble of intense Irishness though

Was thinking about this a while ago after a) discovering that a local Irish-accented DJ/promoter who usually gets described - including by himself - as "that Irish guy" was born and bred in London b) listening to some Northern Irish people ranting about Shane MacGowan for similar reasons, but then I felt all funny, cz obviously I wouldn't want to catch myself thinking "how dare these second-generation immigrants still have an accent and play in bands influenced by traditional music" regarding other nationalities

(spelling out the obvious, sorry)

what's 'that irish guy's name', out of interest?

desmond

Stevie's link to TG upthread is indeed astonishing. What a wastrel, what a wanton, what a wretch.

That's why I was excited to read two excellently acerbic columns by a writer I'd previously never heard of

desmond's not a fucking irish name

it's not a black name either. what race of name is it at all?

Origin of the name Desmond:

A borrowing from the Irish, Desmond originated as a surname from the Irish place-name Deas-Mhumhna (South Munster) in the form of O'Deasmhumhnaigh (descendant of the Desmond man).

Not Irish my arse.

The original Earldom of Desmond, based on land holdings in Munster belonged the Anglo-Norman FitzGerald family hem hem.

sadly i have never met an Irishman named Porkpie

it alctually originates from the french des mondes, meaning "of the world"- irish equivalent "leis an domhain"- modernised- lesley anderson

you're talking out yer arse.

http://assets.gearlive.com/tvenvy/blogimages/desmond.png

That Gold piece is gold. The pic of her reading on her bed!

It says on the Guardian website that she’s freelance, and maybe that’s a personal choice which allows her to write for loads of different publications and cover a wider range of subjects. But regardless, the Guardian should snap her up while they can and commission her to write about all sorts of things in her inimitable style.

Truly, she has displaced the Nazis as history's greatest monster.

Petridis, you prick:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/24/bob-dylan-together-review

seriously, what the fuck is he on about

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/contributor/2007/09/26/alexis_petridis_140x140.jpg

the implication seemed to be that the White House might consider putting everything on hold until President Obama worked out the vital message Dylan had to impart regarding American foreign policy.

*puts little finger to corner of mouth*

bwahaha, that's just given me Petri Dish as Dr. Evil visions...

Gold's Nazi rant has way more comments than any other CiF article this week which could well prove the point to some extent

no need to compete with the independent

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/apr/25/israel-gaza-play-caryl-churchill-website

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/may/05/bartons-britain-coventry?page=2

This city was immortalised in song 28 years ago by local band the Specials. They portrayed the sense of defeat in Britain during the early 1980s, when the country was in the throes of recession and the Conservative government began its programme of privatisation. The manufacturing heartland of the Midlands was especially hard-hit; in Coventry, unemployment stood at 20%, one of the highest rates in the UK. "This town," sang the Specials, "is coming like a ghost town."

Next week the band is set to return. Having re-formed and enjoyed a successful reunion tour, they will play a sold-out homecoming gig at the Ricoh Arena. "I'm going!" nods a woman in the tourist office. "I kept phoning and phoning the ticket hotline until I got through!" There seems something timely about the Specials' return to this city as Britain finds itself once more in recession. "No job to be found in this country," they sang in 1981. "Can't go on no more/ The people getting angry."

Time has brought other changes, too. The nightclub Locarno - referenced in Ghost Town's lyrics "Bands won't play no more/too much fighting on the dancefloor"- is now the Central City Library. In the space where people once danced, kissed and watched bands, there are cookery books, biographies and teen romances.

All across the city linger memories of the Specials: the new plaque by the canal that commemorates the 2-Tone trail relating to the band's record label; the couple who own the nearby tattoo parlour, he telling of the customers who come in wanting Specials tattoos, she with her recollections of the band member who was once her babysitter.