Did ‘God’s own county’ cringe as the professional Yorkshireman picked up a knighthood?
There is nothing wrong with being proud of your roots. I was born in Sheffield and people I know regularly get bored with me going on about and talking-up my home city (as you can see I decided to start writing a blog instead.)
This post isn’t strictly Sheffield-related, but I am sure that Sheffielders get as annoyed as I do when Yorkshire folk in the public eye take it upon themselves to be official ambassadors for the county, over-egging their roots at every opportunity.
Former cricketer and now commentator Jeffrey Boycott has been accused of this in the past, but for me the biggest culprit of them all is Cudworth-born Michael Parkinson, who was knighted this week.
I wasn’t old enough to remember his TV show when it began in the 1970s, but in the programme’s final years on the BBC and then ITV it became almost unwatchable.
I have nothing personal against the host, but watching him cosying up to celebrities was painful viewing and left you crying out for him to dust down his journalism skills and ask just one probing question. Unfortunately this was a rare occurrence and his show became just another stop-off on the promotional treadmill for the stars.
Throw into the mix at this point the professional Yorkshireman routine and I would soon be reaching for the remote.
Sir Michael is now retired…and living in Berkshire.
Think you are being unfair about Parky.He was one of the best columnists Yorkshire has ever produced.Admittedly his TV show was an embarrassment -like most celebrity chat shows.
The guy who really makes me cringe is Dickie (sob sob)Bird.He only has to appear on tv for a minute and starts roaring except when his “Charity” is mentioned which seems to have “lost” a few thousand quid of late thanks to a
colourful employee.