Monday 15 December 2008

Torbay, Mentioned on Prime Time TV

Gerry Springer mentions Torbay on prime time BBC tv. One up for our publicity department here in the Town Hall. No, actually it was all down to the local police station. Thanks boys.

A couple of weeks ago the local paper ran a story about the police here in Torquay handing out Flip-flops to homeward bound female revellers. A fellow blogger, Lord Hutton of Seaside Notes mentioned after the story broke that the police could really do with a press officer. The story stated that the cost of the flip-flops was being met from a £30 000 grant the police had received, giving the impression that the flip-flops were gold plated, or even solid gold. There were several items in nationwide papers wondering what was going on in Torbay if £30 000 could be spent this way. After a few days the police got round to pointing out that the actual cost of the flip-flops was less than £200 and the remaining £29 800 of the grant was going elsewhere. Maybe on a Press Officer? Anyway, this evening I was watching the BBC program, "Have I got News For You." which is a humorous look at the week’s news. This evening’s program was hosted by Gerry Springer who should need no introduction. One of the items was ‘an odd one out’ quiz. Four photos showing West Ham fans, a slightly drunk young man, the Tardis and a beluga whale. The odd one out was the Tardis. The beluga whale blows bubbles,(click here to watch), the West Ham fans sing the song, "I'm forever blowing bubbles" when their team wins, not often these days and the clubbers in Bolton are given bubble blowers as they leave the club as it appears to make them less aggressive. Well would you feel aggressive if you were busy blowing bubbles? Seems a better idea than flip-flops which can do a lot of damage if thrown at a handy US President. Once the contestants had worked out the answer Gerry then went on to mention how the flip-flops had been given away in beautiful Torbay.

If you are an avid Doctor Who fan you might know that the original idea for the Tardis wasn’t a Blue Box but a bubble. Just thought I’d mention that.

If you are the senior police officer in Torbay and are looking for a Press Officer I would like to point out that I am available for the post, if you aren't looking, why not?

2 comments:

Dave said...

Pity those shoes missed their target! Good on Torquay for getting some publicity too.

Lord Hutton said...

Thanks for the ref, matey. In another misuse of the press, the waste gold dust story from Dobles got the recycling officer some vicious hatemail. That was another example of national press agencies failing to check their facts. Le plus change, le plus la meme chose....