A few days ago I was planning to write an entry called 'I Heart Jamie Oliver'. I have long enjoyed his cooking shows, which Food Network broadcasts from the original BBC telecasts. He's very jovial and friendly and unpretentious. And since we've been in London, where I'm writing this from now on vacation, I've read in the papers about how Jamie has successfully revolutionized British school lunches by campaigning and then getting the Labour government to agree on replacing horrible frozen food with fresh meals. Plus I also interviewed Jamie a year or two ago by phone and was quite taken with how genuine and friendly he was.
But then the bubble was burst. Yesterday while on the train in London I read over someone's shoulder an article in the Independent newspaper that Jamie has agreed to stand for a seat in Parliament -- as a Tory! I'm just shattered to learn that someone I admire so much has turned to the Dark Side of the Force.
I have traditionally been good about not villifying people politically right of center, especially because my parents and much of my relatives are Republican. But still. I will never think of Jamie in quite such unequivocally positive terms. He's not a hero of mine. Everyone, apparently, has their downside.
Those nutty Brits! Notice the date that you peeked over to read someone's paper: April Fool's Day! It is apparently a treasured tradition amongst English news outlets to present flimflam news on the first day of April in celebration of silliness. I was flummoxed by the UK Google site on April 1st, which claimed that Google's next beta release would be "Google Gulp," a line of smart drinks with absurd names like "Glutamate Grape," until I realized what the date was.
Posted by: Irene | April 11, 2005 at 06:40 PM