After the successful TV show on the formation of the previous government, Coalition, Channel 4 is now going to screen a five-episode series, Ballot Monkeys. It will be a humorous take on the elections, because let’s face it, many of us already have a problem deciding whether the present election process is a comedy or a farce! (And it is likely to turn into a tragedy for some, but that will be another serial…)
Perhaps watching a TV series put together by the same team that produced the hilarious Drop the Dead Donkey might remind us that right now most of the main political leaders on TV are behaving like actors with well-rehearsed lines.
With all the unnecessary emphasis on the TV debates, the other commonly asked question is whether the election of the next leader has been reduced to a beauty parade, or a reality show? The last debate on BBC which saw Nigel Farage, the United Kingdom Independence Party leader being booed, and the three women leaders of the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Greens, cuddle in a group hug at the end, appeared almost scripted.
The challenge for the cast of Ballot Monkeys is that they will have a written script only up to a point. Then there will be deliberate gaps, to be filled on the day of the telecast, with lines based on real events and the news of the day. Except, of course, you will have actors playing members of different political parties who will react to the situation in their own unique fashion, as they careen around the countryside in their campaign buses.
According to reports, Channel 4 has said: “On each bus, we follow the fortunes of a rich collection of characters; press officers, line managers, empathy consultants... social media monitors, political analysts, interns and even bus drivers — as they crisis manage the latest dramas and developments, the very same ones that viewers will be well aware of, having only recently read about them or seen the breaking news via social media.”
Empathy consultants? I assume the empathy consultants tell you when to kiss babies and hug a hoody? Oh well, the series will take us behind the scenes with main “political” characters from the Conservative, Labour, the Ukip and the Liberal- Democrat parties. I cannot wait to see... it is the sort of parody that is really required in India, where, unfortunately, politicians take themselves far too seriously as does the public! We need to strip the hypocrisy and laugh at netas much more. Any takers?
Meanwhile, can a “London Diary” be complete without a mention about the royals, especially since the newest royal should appear any day now? (Was this the bump in the polls that David Cameron was hoping for?) But taking full advantage of the royal baby, one author has actually come up with a book that traces the “romantic journey” of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
William and Kate’s Britain: A Unique Guide to the Haunts of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge by Claudia Joseph painfully records all the trivia you never wanted to know about the royal couple.
Right from which school to which pub to which bed the couple prefers has been documented. It’s the sort of stuff that makes one realise why the royalty are such a huge industry in the UK. It’s not on my recommended list of essential summer reads, but if you want to know how to hook a prince, then you might find it riveting.
There has been a lot of debate on the increasing number of food banks in the UK. But now there are restaurants coming up which are based on “intercepted ingredients”, i.e., groceries and food that supermarkets and wholesalers had thrown out.
And these restaurants do not price the items on the menu... they actually request the diners to “contribute” whatever they think the meal was worth. Going by interesting names such the Real Junk Food Project, the restaurants allow those who cannot pay and those who pay very little, to eat there as well. It’s an interesting and innovative idea, but it will only work in a society that appreciates philanthropy. And obviously where large quantities of groceries and other edibles are thrown out. Understandably, as the UK comes out of recession, we are all slowly learning how not to waste and also learning to consume what we wanted to waste.
Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author
