To not give a flying fart about Gordon Brown's banquet.

[lucyellensmum]

Who CARES, really, about what they ate, its normal practice i daresay and i think its absolutely fine actually. What were they supposed to eat, a bowl of rice?? Is that how un-intelligent that our media is? There are food shortages and we waste LOADS, food prices are rocketing and that is going to affect the poorer people in the world the hardest. I am sure there are much more important WASTES going on through government than some poxy banquet. Billions of pounds on wars that we shouldn't be fighting (no disrespect to our wonderful armed forces btw) etc etc. Im no politician and i actually understand very little about it. But it was such an obvious thing to jump on, its pathetic.

Our local radio station this morning tried to show how bad it was, but sitting some guy down to an 8 course breakfast - its hardly the same.

Regardless of what i think about Gordon Brown (cough-tosser) i think there are far more important things to worry about than their eating arrangements during a major conference.

[bruxeur]

It's a fair point. The Guardian in particular was most Dave Spart about it this morning, which was amusing. I'm not sure what people expect a bunch of senior politicians to do at a conference - book an allotment a year beforehand and grow some tatties and beans to chew on? It's not like this was some kind of full-on Tudor banquet either - including amuse-bouches as a course is stretching a bit too far.

[wannaBe]

mmmm 8 courses.

I think the media have better things to report on.

that being said, I think it is slightly ironic that on the day after GB tells us all to stop wasting food, he sits down to an 8 course banquet. w

[ScottishMummy]

i think it is most relevent and pertinent to report their gluttony and hypocrisy at a time they are deriding waste and over consumption , and urging families to consume less. then sit down to a calorific many course banquet

dont forget we are paying for them to fill their fat faces -all comes from your taxes/ni etc

[bruxeur]

SM - what would you consider an appropriate menu for the G8 conference?

[lucyellensmum]

i don't begrude world leaders this to be honest. They might not all do a brilliant job, but they are surely only fighting for what they think is right, even God help us, george bush (ok well maybe some exceptions). I certainly wouldnt want their job. I went to a conference when I did my PhD, it was on the neurobiology of fruitflies. We had to pay out of our budget that we are provided by our sponsors, they are either charities or in my case, government bodies set up to fund research. I Stayed in a lovely hotel, had my eurostar and train fair paid to switzerland and some very nice food provided. This was because that learning and presenting research is how things move forward and this needs recognising. Again, were we supposed to pay for our own accomodation and take a pack lunch? I imagine that world leaders work a tad harder than I did.

[bruxeur]

And given your nationality, how do you feel about the new Holyrood coming in at ten times the original budget?

[bruxeur]

To ScottishMummy, natch...

[artichokes]

I agree with OP.
Senior polticians have a fancy meal! Wow! So unlike other spheres of business then?
Its cheap and lazy reporting my the papers. Much easier to make a fuss over that than go and investigate some real stories or try and acutally explain in detail the importance (or otherwise) of the G8.

[bruxeur]

Malory - what are they supposed to eat? This is an international conference with some of the most powerful people in the world making some momentous decisions - a bargain bucket from KFC? Some Finest* sandwiches and some tapwater?

[waffletrees]

TBH - they don't need to jet round the world and have big banquets at all. It is just a knees up for them.

Gordon Brown has been in politics along time and he should have seen that his message would be perceived as being hypercritical.

Whilst telling us to stop being such greedy wasteful pigs they are chomping down caviar and champagne. Oh, and the G8 has decided to halve our countries carbon emissions. They could have agreed all this by video conferencing and slashed their own personal carbon emissions. Guess that is only for the little people!

[bruxeur]

It's not like this is daily fare for any of them, Berlusconi probably excluded - it would be more hypocritical to overtly pick at a few carrot-sticks on the day that food shortages are discussed.

You might as well say that anyone who's been out for a nice meal can't have an opinion on poverty - if they really cared they'd have given the cost of the meal to Shelter.

[bruxeur]

What's a snadwich?

[bruxeur]

Malory I'm a Tory ffs - this does not mean that I share some kind of American view that anything they do is wrong, and everything that we do is right...

[bruxeur]

Malory - are you saying that if DC was in GB's place

1. He should eat snadwiches
   
   
2. His meal choice should not be a news item
   
   
3. He would be hypocritical
   
   or do you think that he would have taken himself off to the snadwich shop on his own?

[bruxeur]

Or

4) he would not be concerned enough about international food shortages to make the juxtaposition an issue?

[bruxeur]

Do you get a prize for 3 posts in a row?

[ScottishMummy]

bruxeur, care to elaborate upon "natch...
What are you on about?

[bruxeur]

Common shorthand for "naturally".

Erm. Och aye the noo!

*reaches across borders, hand of friendship to our northern sistren, etc...

In reference to the fact that you can't quote on this prehistoric board, so it wasn't obvious at whom my question was directed.

[ScottishMummy]

lol bruxeur, didnae get the jist o whit ye wir on aboot anyhow your well manicured hand only need stretch to London?