Norris McWhirter RIP

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Actually, I don't mean that. Goodbye then, y'old fascist git.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Is that the world record guy?

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Deadication, ah ah yeah..

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, and noted, um, rightwinger, OK, fascist...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

That was his more famous sideline. Less well known was his involvement in the Freedom Association

He once gave a political talk at lancaster Uni, and after expuinding on the evils of the European Union, asked for questions, where a well-known campus leftie asked him what the biggest tree in the world was.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

.. and you just know he answered "The canadian redwood" without a hint of a smile or frown...

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Blimey - looking at the council members of the Freedom Association, there's a Tony Woodcock listed. Surely not _the_ Tony Woodcock.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know what he did wrong, I must have missed it, but RIP anyway for brightening up teatime and because of his brother. There was a Roy Castle flexidisc or something in Record Collector last month.

Was the well-known campus leftie Tim H?

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

You know why the IRA killed his brother? He knew too much.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Tim H was not the well-known campus leftie. I wasn't there at the time, nor was Tim.

He was advocating a military coup in 1975 to overthrow the Labour Party and put a strongman in charge of the UK. Cunt.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

If you look at the cover of old editions of the Guinness Book of Records, Hitler's fascist salute points to his name.

Not a coincidence.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:07 (twenty-two years ago)

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:09 (twenty-two years ago)

He was somewhat to the right of Paulo di Canio.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

ha ha!

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:13 (twenty-two years ago)

di Canio should totally take over on Record Breakers

(post in which I display touching ignorance of the march of time.)

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Surely there should be a recruitment process based on the person's ability to carry out the role?

Fascist.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

is record breakers still on? i do hope so. although hopefully without DRUQS CH34T LINFORD CHRISTIE any more...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I am not mourning Norris' passing.

― badger Kitten (badger Kitten), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Some 20 years ago, I recall a terrific Castle-McWhirter 'sketch' involving Roy with his new hifi (piles of huge boxes) and smug Norris with his (a walkman he could carry on a shoulder strap).

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Record Breakers needs a strongman.

Geoff Capes to thread.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:15 (twenty-two years ago)

No mention of Record Breakers in this week's Radio Times.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

RIP

I always remember the episode of RB where this kid got into an argument with Norris over a world record. I think the kid even said "well my dad says..."

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Isn't it called 'Linf0rd's R3c0rd Breakers'?

(Coming soon - Linf0rd's Dru9 Regulation Breakers. This week - Linford gets a mate to provide untainted piss)

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I fear that Record Breakers is still going, but that its deterioration has mirrored that of the Guinness Book of Records.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to get a GBoR every year, but then it stopped, like it ceased to be something of note. I think it's heyday was the same as a world in which people could be based on the idea (as they did in the Sun Soccer Annual 1977) that continental countries have teams which have players who are quite good and this is a nay revolutionary thought.

I think it works best then in a world where the idea of a world record takes on an impressive imp0ortance because the concetp of the world is soemthing that is equally difficult to get your head around. TVs, much greater foreign travel and stuff break that down. We also realise that most of these records don't change much (cheetah's still fastest animal - how 'bout that!) and the only ones that do relate to men in Gateshead spending even longer in a bath of baked beans and other things that don't appear to conform to that evolutionary ideal underlying the concept of the world record.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:41 (twenty-two years ago)

as small mark s, i found all the "human dimensions" champs supercreepy for some reason, and actually had a nightmare abt "m.seurat the living skeleton" coming to say hullo to me in my room

however i liked that the world's shortest poem was this:

blod

and vowed to do better myself when i was grown-up (except i forgot)

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:55 (twenty-two years ago)

it's not too late mark!

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to almost memorize the Guinness Book of World Records every year when I was in grade school -- I don't remember why I was so fascinated by it.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember the Boy Who Argued With McWhirter. I think they caved in the following week and said they were going to give him the pen anyway. THE PEN! The pen is what you get for beating McWhirter! What a prize. Why has nobody mentioned Kris Akabusi yet?

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought "Adam had 'em" was the world's shortest poem, but if '"blod" counts then my new entry is "O!".

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

The world's shortest poem:

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Kris Akabusi looks like this guy who works at my work.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

the world's shortest poem:

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:01 (twenty-two years ago)

if that guy can get away with 4'33 then I can get away with blank text, and I'll sure anyone who copies me, okay?

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Bring it on, poet-boy.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:03 (twenty-two years ago)

the edition i own = 17th (1970), which was i think the year it became a big thing and all small boys and girls got it for xmas, possibly (like me) more than once

(hmm was this the same year i got given no less than 12 dictionaries as b'day presents from my unimaginative relatives?)

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I meant sue, not sure, see you in court Johney.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Like Dave B and El Diablo, I used to have a fascination with the book, and owned some copies year by year in the late seventies. I remember the skeleton!

Up until the 1990s, I didn't realize that the Guinness folks were more famous for their drink than the world records.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I had the 1984 edition, it was the kinda book you looked at in the book shop or library and were always a bit disappointed when you actually owned a copy.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Does punctuation have "length", or could you have

(And then by extension could you have

:;;;;''';
::;;;:..,.
;;("::::")
,,'.:::;!!!

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Blod is by the "contemporary concretist" poet Aram Saroyan btw

haha i have a copy of the book by the youngest recorded commercially published author (the pirate's tale by janet aitchison) (she wz 5 and a half)

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

here is the final sad chapter of the pirate's tale:

One day the pirates found a ship.
The ship had some gold and silver.
The pirates stole the gold and silver.
The gold was magic.
The pirates died.
The cat died.

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I was the same, Ned. I had loads of different editions, and read it loads - my knowledge of world records at one point matched that of McWhirter himself. I browsed through the current one just before Xmas - they've turned it into some kinda yucky edutainment thing, rather than the drier, in it's way more fun, version that I had when a kid.

I remember entering the competition for desiging the cover of it one year. It was better than the purple mess that actually covered the book that year,

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

isn't that piartes of the caribean, except with the cat replaced by a monkey?

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

does pirates of the caribbean also feature an army of dwarfs, a volcano, some magic cheese and the pirates all getting mumps?

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

YES!!!!!

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 16:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I kind of mourn his passing... the whole being insanely rightwing thing was like part of his amusing eccentricity, the same way you had to make allowances for uncle Podger's wandering hands because he was a CHARACTER.

I am old enough to remember how there used to be two McWhirters and then one week there was only one.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I had the 1977 edition. It had a strongman holding up the whole world on the cover.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

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