Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended by the BBC from Top Gear following a “fracas” with one of the show’s producers. Allegedly Clarkson had been involved in a row over catering while filming on location in Hawes, North Yorkshire.
Many people may well be asking what exactly is a ‘fracas’. Well it has various meanings:
Altercation, Brawl, Brouhaha, Feud, Flap, Melee, Quarrel, Riot, Scuffle, Squabble, Tumult, Uproar, Affray, Battle, Broil, Dispute, Hassle, Row, Ruction, Ruffle, Rumpus, Run-in, Scrimmage, Set-to, Stew, Trouble, Battle-royal
As you can see a ‘fracas’ ranges from an attack with a small but significant weapon of mass destruction down to a finger wagging telling off. So poor old Jeremy will have to wait and see whether he gets 6 months in the Clink or 60 minutes on the Naughty Step.
However all may not be lost for Jezza. A Change.org petition, aiming to reverse the BBC Top Gear decision, was started on 10 March by blogger Guido Fawkes. The petition had been signed by over 800,000 people by the 13th March and looks like hitting a million votes at least, by the weekend.
Its interesting to conjecture though that if Jennifer (yes that’s another of his monikers) had been a Tory MP (he thought about it) or a Banker (he’s rich enough) or a Baron (JC is a member of the Chipping Norton Set) then there may not have been so much sympathy from the general public with headlines such as:
‘MP Pummels Researcher’
‘Banker Wallops Intern’
‘Baron Bashes Servant’
So what can we all learn from this:
Its widely alleged that Jeremy Clarkson is a self-centered, thoughtless, arrogant bully but with a twinkle in his eye and a penchant for speaking to the heart of the common man. These are all very useful traits if you seek riches and power. We can learn many a lesson from the PetrolHeadMeister and this blog will follow his continuing career after the BBC Top Gear Fracas blows over, with great interest as he gets to the top without working too hard.
Breaking News……
Jeremy will hopefully be a guest speaker at the Institute of Mediocre Management later this year. His topic will be:
There are more important things to worry about than what some balding and irrelevant middle-aged man might have said on a crappy BBC2 motoring show.” (Jezza –Sunday Times 2008)