Big Brother Bullying

Has the world gone mad? Are people really complaining to Ofcom about racist bullying in Big Brother? Have these people actually watching the programme?

For those of you, which I sadly suspect is the majority, who have not been watching the show, Shilpa (a Bollywood actress) is being picked on by Jo (from S Club 7), Danielle (a model) and - to a far lesser extent - by Jade (former Big Brother contestant). It's been your typical bitchy bickering that happens when people are bored and can't think straight, and they've given her a bit of a hard time. But Shilpa will live. We're talking about arguments over how long to cook a chicken for, not the systematic bullying of an eternal victim.

And as for racism, where has that come from? Yes, they laughed at how she pronounces Dirk's name, but equally Shilpa, Dirk and Jermaine constantly laugh at those in the house with English accents. Yes, Jackiey asked if Shilpa lives in a shack, but I'm guessing that she doesn't know too much about India and looked genuinely embarassed when Shilpa described her glamorous lifestyle. As far as I can see, there's no evidence of racism in the house at all, only ignorance. And a perfect example of that is Jade's ponderings on eskimos last night:

"How is it that they don't turn into icy-cubes? Because they don't have electricity or heating and their homes are made of ice. Why is it that when they close their eyes their eyes don't get stuck together? You know how dolphins talk? Do they talk like that? Will eskimos ever become extinct? Where do they go when they die? Because they can't bury them under the grass like we do....if there are any eskimos watching who would like to come and meet me and tell me about themselves, that would be really good."

Fantastic. Now that's telly.

Why have I been forsaken?

I didn't take any time off this Christmas because the last two Christmases at work have been jolly affairs involving playing silly games and eating mince pies. But this year the team deserted me en masse, leaving just me and the boss at work last week. This actually turned out not to be too bad because it gave me a chance to do all the things I've been intending to do since Christmas 2005.

Having spent last week working like mad, I was really looking forward to seeing everyone back at work this week. But where are they? They're all still on annual leave the bastards.

I'm so lonely I might have to siddle up to the canteen staff and ask "whatcha doin...?" Maybe I'll make some new friends.