Four days later, the Mail's regular BBC-basher Paul Revoir found fault:
So what 'tradition' are they referring to?
For generations, making the iconic Blue Peter advent crown has been an eagerly awaited part of the Christmas celebration.
This year, the BBC decided to do something a bit different – they burnt it.
As evidence of this 'burning', the Mail has published two pictures. One of the advent crown:
And one of the 'advent crown' meeting a 'flaming end on the studio floor':
You don't really need to be an expert in advent crowns to see that what is pictured in the first photo clearly isn't what is on fire in the second.
And this screenshot proves the crown wasn't burning:
The 'sacrilege' quote, incidentally, comes not from angry viewers (none are mentioned) but from former Blue Peter presenter Anthea Turner, who is wheeled out to say:
'The advent crown is part of the bricks and mortar of what makes Blue Peter so special. To burn it is sacrilege. It was a wonderful tradition and both children and adults loved making it. What are they trying to prove?'
Since they didn't burn it, it isn't 'sacrilege' and they aren't trying to 'prove' anything. It seems fairly obvious she hadn't seen the show and nor had another former presenter:
Konnie Huq, the show’s longest-serving presenter, said she had not seen the footage, but added: 'I am very fond of the advent crown – it is cult.'
One comment on the article sums it up perfectly:
(Hat-tip to Jim Hawkins)
Posts
Even if they had burnt an advent crown it wouldn't be sacrilige, that's like saying smashing an Easter egg is sacrilige, they're pagon symbols that have been subsumed into Christian symbolism, its not like they let the dog take a shit in a baptismal font ffs!!
ReplyDeleteYou can watch the footage on iPlayer: they just lower the crown to trigger a switch - without setting it on fire. The stuff on the floor is steel wool, which is part of the fuse that starts the second stage of the machine.
ReplyDeleteBanging head repeatedly into my desk - can nothing be done to stop these fools (the Mail not Blue Peter) this is mind numbing, brain damaging stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnthea Turner wouldn't have a clue what sacrilege really means, and even then one suspects she didn't mean it in the literal sense that the Mail pounce upon. Nor are they capable of light heartedly writing up an "incident" (one wonders how they would have written about the baby elephant defecating in the studio) without treating it to the usual anti-BBC rant. Looking forward to their 10-page pull-out in support of Jeremy "Spooner" Hunt's latest dull attack on alleged left-wing bias within the BBC.
Anthea's right, it's nothing short of sacrilegeous to treat such a treasured symbol with so little respect.
ReplyDeleteWhereas turning your wedding into a product-launch for a new chocolate bar is of course fine and dandy.
(Thanks for the iPlayer link by the way, that machine was awesome! Loved the bit when he had to give it a kick...)
(Oh, and huzzah for hot female Blue Peter presenters. It's a good time to be a dad)
It's a pity no one has set fire to the hate mail. anyone got any matches?
ReplyDeleteI've just sent a complaint to the PCC this morning. I'm sick of DM stories just being blatant lies. Quite frankly I'm so sick this I am I just use my Christmas holiday to inundate the PCC with complaints for every little lie in every little story.
ReplyDeleteThe Daily Mail is the BBC's mad stalker, isn't it? 'How could you do this terrible thing?' Imagine if the X Factor had been a BBC show - what would the fuss about soft porn during kiddie time have been like? A veritable tabloid Hiroshima. But it's ITV, free market, carries advertising, doesn't do evil lefty propaganda (i.e. proper news or current affairs), so give 'em a gentle slap on the wrist.
ReplyDeletePaul Revoir: "Right, Minion, what's the BBC been up to this week?"
ReplyDeleteMinion:"Not much, really. Blue Peter put thier Christmas lights on with a chain reaction machine."
Paul: "HAHAHA. Did it fail miserably?"
Minion:"No, worked pretty well actually, nice bit of fire and sparks, they also had the advent crown there, kids must have enjoyed it."
Paul:"What, fire, sparks, kids and the advent crown?!!?"
Minion:"Yeah, here's the clip"
Paul:"No time to watch that, the nation has to know about this blasphemy!"
Minion:"Well, actually, it's..."
Paul: *storms out, foaming at the mouth*