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| Didn’t Fiona Bruce do well! Amazing what a professional can pull off | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Phew. Let’s be thankful that Fiona Bruce didn’t mess up during her first outing as host on Question Time. | Phew. Let’s be thankful that Fiona Bruce didn’t mess up during her first outing as host on Question Time. |
| By Bruce messing up, I mean, by crying, becoming hysterical, fiddling with her bra strap, that kind of thing. After all, she is a mere woman and I was concerned that she would do something stupid or feminine. (Same thing?) Instead, armed with only decades of professional experience, Bruce skilfully did the job that she was asked to do, asking questions, being firm with panellists, steering the debate, without once talking about her feelings. It’s just amazing what women can do these days – serious television gigs aren’t so easy when you haven’t got the right male body parts to command instant respect... | By Bruce messing up, I mean, by crying, becoming hysterical, fiddling with her bra strap, that kind of thing. After all, she is a mere woman and I was concerned that she would do something stupid or feminine. (Same thing?) Instead, armed with only decades of professional experience, Bruce skilfully did the job that she was asked to do, asking questions, being firm with panellists, steering the debate, without once talking about her feelings. It’s just amazing what women can do these days – serious television gigs aren’t so easy when you haven’t got the right male body parts to command instant respect... |
| That’s quite enough snark. I had some thoughts about Bruce’s previous stint on Antiques Roadshow but I’ll leave that to whoever covers the Question Time where Jeremy Corbyn appears in that adorable dusty Breton mariner’s cap. (“What’s that worthless relic you’ve got dangling beneath your hat?”). I’m more minded to talk about sexism, specifically, the kind of thinly veiled sexism that tends to dart about in the shadows, in the manner of a media-cum-Twitter Nosferatu whenever a woman takes over a man’s job. | That’s quite enough snark. I had some thoughts about Bruce’s previous stint on Antiques Roadshow but I’ll leave that to whoever covers the Question Time where Jeremy Corbyn appears in that adorable dusty Breton mariner’s cap. (“What’s that worthless relic you’ve got dangling beneath your hat?”). I’m more minded to talk about sexism, specifically, the kind of thinly veiled sexism that tends to dart about in the shadows, in the manner of a media-cum-Twitter Nosferatu whenever a woman takes over a man’s job. |
| Fiona Bruce acclaimed for cool, calm Question Time debut | Fiona Bruce acclaimed for cool, calm Question Time debut |
| Admittedly, David Dimbleby was the Question Time anchor for a quarter of a century, so anyone taking over, male or female, would have felt the heat. Arguably though, Bruce, the first permanent female host in the show’s 40-year history, received rather more scrutiny. The fuss was at once funny and deeply tiring and not just because, beforehand, we had to endure what was frequently (and doubtless falsely) portrayed as some kind of TV lady catfight between other female presenters in the running for the role. | Admittedly, David Dimbleby was the Question Time anchor for a quarter of a century, so anyone taking over, male or female, would have felt the heat. Arguably though, Bruce, the first permanent female host in the show’s 40-year history, received rather more scrutiny. The fuss was at once funny and deeply tiring and not just because, beforehand, we had to endure what was frequently (and doubtless falsely) portrayed as some kind of TV lady catfight between other female presenters in the running for the role. |
| When Bruce took over, it was genuinely interesting to see how she’d play it, but that should have been it, so far as suspense went. It wasn’t her first presenting gig and she has a news background – it wasn’t as though she’d been drafted in from CBeebies or Hollyoaks. In the event, she reaped praise, with many observing that she could singlehandedly revitalise an increasingly bad-tempered and flagging format. | When Bruce took over, it was genuinely interesting to see how she’d play it, but that should have been it, so far as suspense went. It wasn’t her first presenting gig and she has a news background – it wasn’t as though she’d been drafted in from CBeebies or Hollyoaks. In the event, she reaped praise, with many observing that she could singlehandedly revitalise an increasingly bad-tempered and flagging format. |
| However, among the genuine, deserved accolades, was there the occasional malodorous whiff of “didn’t the little lady do well?”. As though, for some, a gender-themed sword of Damocles had been hovering over Bruce’s debut – with her not just representing herself, but all females who have the audacity to take a man’s place? | However, among the genuine, deserved accolades, was there the occasional malodorous whiff of “didn’t the little lady do well?”. As though, for some, a gender-themed sword of Damocles had been hovering over Bruce’s debut – with her not just representing herself, but all females who have the audacity to take a man’s place? |
| Back on Planet Sane, even if Bruce hadn’t done well, even if she’d done horribly, it would have had nothing to do with her sex. So bravo, Ms Bruce, the first female presenter of Question Time – it should only take certain people another 40 years to get over the novelty. | Back on Planet Sane, even if Bruce hadn’t done well, even if she’d done horribly, it would have had nothing to do with her sex. So bravo, Ms Bruce, the first female presenter of Question Time – it should only take certain people another 40 years to get over the novelty. |
| Breaking up is never easy to do... but the megabucks help | Breaking up is never easy to do... but the megabucks help |
| Admit it, the super-rich split up better than the rest of us. They “play nice”, at least in public. The very thing you’d think that would cause all the trouble – the mega-dosh – somehow calms everything down. | Admit it, the super-rich split up better than the rest of us. They “play nice”, at least in public. The very thing you’d think that would cause all the trouble – the mega-dosh – somehow calms everything down. |
| Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, the novelist MacKenzie Bezos, (combined wealth $137bn, some of which probably should have been paid to the UK in taxes) released a joint statement about parting after 25 years: following “a long period of loving exploration and trial separation”. Does this mean that, before splitting, Jeff was sent on a camping trip to think about his adul… (sorry, lawyers!), I mean his behaviour, perchance using one of the many spacious, reasonably priced tents that Amazon has to offer – or something more spiritual entirely? | Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, the novelist MacKenzie Bezos, (combined wealth $137bn, some of which probably should have been paid to the UK in taxes) released a joint statement about parting after 25 years: following “a long period of loving exploration and trial separation”. Does this mean that, before splitting, Jeff was sent on a camping trip to think about his adul… (sorry, lawyers!), I mean his behaviour, perchance using one of the many spacious, reasonably priced tents that Amazon has to offer – or something more spiritual entirely? |
| The couple go on to say that they are “deeply grateful for every one of the years that we’ve been married to each other”. Really? Wasn’t 2018 a tad tricky? The statement concludes: “If we had known that we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.” Sadly, in real life, this priceless gift of prophecy might have caused rows, perhaps leading to an earlier, uglier breakup: “What’s the point if we’re going to split anyway! And, yeah, I do think you killed the independent bookstore!” | The couple go on to say that they are “deeply grateful for every one of the years that we’ve been married to each other”. Really? Wasn’t 2018 a tad tricky? The statement concludes: “If we had known that we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.” Sadly, in real life, this priceless gift of prophecy might have caused rows, perhaps leading to an earlier, uglier breakup: “What’s the point if we’re going to split anyway! And, yeah, I do think you killed the independent bookstore!” |
| But the Bezoses deserve praise for ending their marriage with dignity. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin set the “conscious uncoupling” benchmark of the cloyingly harmonious passive-aggressive kind that makes ordinary folk wish their actual relationships were as warm and wonderful as other people’s irreconcilable differences. As F Scott Fitzgerald almost observed, the rich are different, even, it seems, when they’re telling each other to “do one!”. No arguments, no bitterness and, here, not even one of the biggest modern rows of all – who’s been ordering too much stuff from Amazon? | But the Bezoses deserve praise for ending their marriage with dignity. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin set the “conscious uncoupling” benchmark of the cloyingly harmonious passive-aggressive kind that makes ordinary folk wish their actual relationships were as warm and wonderful as other people’s irreconcilable differences. As F Scott Fitzgerald almost observed, the rich are different, even, it seems, when they’re telling each other to “do one!”. No arguments, no bitterness and, here, not even one of the biggest modern rows of all – who’s been ordering too much stuff from Amazon? |
| • Barbara Ellen is an Observer columnist | • Barbara Ellen is an Observer columnist |
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