Barry Scott

I idly noticed a new (I think) advert for Cillit Bang on the television the other day. It featured "Barry Scott" once again. Presumably most readers will be familiar with the old round of adverts, in which "Barry Scott" confidently introduced himself then extolled the virtues of the product in a booming voice.

This new advert seems to have taken the man and cranked up his voice even louder such that he is almost shouting unreasonably at us when describing what Cillit Bang can do.

A brief glance at Wikipedia confirms that the actor who plays "Barry Scott" is in fact called Neil Burgess and once played an axe murderer in The Bill.

The line of enquiry is as follows: why fabricate a celebrity endorser in the first place, given that such a non-existent celebrity can by his very non-existence carry no weight with consumers? Was it intended that the confidence of his self-introduction would actually subconsciously lead people to believe that he was a famous person?

And - more philosophically - is he now a bona fide celebrity through his non-existence?

Public stereos

I apologise for the absence of Abstracts of late, and further apologise that this one is a little uninspired and straight forward. The truth is, my Abstract radar is not working as well now as it was previously. I intend to make real efforts to rectify that, however.

Anyway, this Abstract focuses on the phenomenon I have witnessed over the last year or so, mainly on the bus or simply walking around my manor in East London. I refer to the practice of playing music (mp3 files?) through the loud speaker of one's mobile phone.

I can see the general reasoning behind personal stereos, whereby one can listen to loud-ish music without (a) using much juice or (b) disturbing others much.

However, this new practice seems to fall down on all counts! The music quality is hopeless through the puny loudspeakers (crackles, no bass), many onlookers are driven to distraction, and presumably the battery runs flat very quick.

So the motivation for this practice seems to be called into question. Is it a fad, against which no rational reasoning can be set? Is the main reason precisely
because it drives others to distraction? Or perhaps an innate desire in us all to share our musical taste with everyone?

Quotation marks

Exiting the local pub on Sunday evening, I noted a hand-written sign affixed to the wall next to the door.

It read (and I paraphrase):

Please show some "courtesy" to our neighbours and leave the pub "quietly"

The quotation marks were quite showy, in a 66 - 99 style.

This brings this Abstract directly to the main point - what are the different applications / interpretations for the quotation marks as used by Urban society these days?

My prima facie reading of those quotation marks is that the sign-writer is being sarcastic in the extreme, i.e. 'Show some so-called courtesy to our neighbours and leave quietly - by your own (possibly outrageous) definition of the word quiet', and is written in defiant response to some recent complaints about the noise.

However, it seems more likely that the landlord is actually asking for some courtesy and quietness of departure by the normal everyday definitions of those words. In which case: why the showy quotation marks???

I daren't ask the landlord (just like in the end I didn't dare to ask the 'Unlock Unlocking' shop man - I was honestly going to, but bottled it after waiting too long for him when he was on the telephone), therefore I must appeal to Urban interpreters in the wider world to provide explanations.

I await your comments with relish.