James May: Gin and tonic FTW

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Not his exact words, but I'm paraphrasing.

From his Telegraph column:
James May said:
There's nothing quite like a nice warm gin and tonic

Recently, you will no doubt have seen that there has been a bit of a stink in some of the papers about my drive to the North Pole with Jeremy Clarkson. So I would like to use this week's column not to offer an unreserved apology.

The question everyone is asking is this: is it right for two grown men to be seen on television - on a public service channel at that - drinking gin and tonic while in charge of a powerful four-wheel-drive vehicle? The answer is obviously yes. Yes it is.

Jeremy Clarkson and James May on their North Pole expedition
Cold comfort: James May says he deserved a gin and tonic after his expedition with Jeremy Clarkson

I'm not suggesting you should do this sort of thing on a public thoroughfare. That would be worse than stupid. But we were at least 400 miles from the nearest road, so what, exactly, was the problem? That we might have caused an accident? That we were setting a bad example to other people driving to the North Pole in a Toyota pickup?

I have been vilified for asking Clarkson to "slow down while I cut the lemon", but what was this if not due consideration for health and safety? Had he kept going at that speed I might have been flung across the cabin and stabbed him through the throat with the carefully honed expedition instrument I bought from John Lewis the day before we left.

The flaw in the argument of some of these so-called reporters is that, while they might be familiar with Gin Lane, none of them has driven to the North Pole with Clarkson. Only I have, so only I have a valid opinion on the matter, and my opinion is that it's pretty bloody awful.

We didn't wash for 10 days. It never got dark but I had to attempt to sleep in a frozen tent with an exploding paraffin cooker and another man, who cocooned himself completely in his sleeping bag and then writhed around all "night" like a blasphemous maggot. We ate food made from rehydrated Guardian social services job adverts out of dog bowls, and had to arm ourselves before going to the lavatory in case we were caught with our rancid pants down by a polar bear. Tell me we weren't entitled to seek brief respite in the juniper berry.
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To be honest, I not only condone this sort of thing, I wholeheartedly recommend it, should you find yourself driving to the North Pole in a Toyota pickup. There is something satisfyingly surreal about huddling inside eight layers of arctic clothing at an ambient temperature of minus 30, then chipping a tiny piece from the frozen wasteland, dropping it into your drink and then allowing the lot to course, terrifying in its coldness, down your throat in defiance of the lethally low thermometer reading. Gin and tonic is seen as a hot-weather drink but believe me, it tastes best when it's the warmest thing on offer.

What's more, serving a decent gin and tonic - quite a skill in itself - throws up unique challenges at those latitudes, and my efforts should rightly be seen as pioneering work in the quest to establish it as a truly global drink. Normally, a G&T served at a wedding reception or a poncy garden party is too warm. Near the North Pole, it tends to be too cold, ie frozen.

You probably keep your tins of tonic water in the fridge. I was forced to store them in a large Thermos flask half full of water at about three degrees, itself procured only after a scary session with a saucepan and the suicidal paraffin heater. In the open (and that included the inside of the car, where the heater was never used) their contents froze and burst the tins. At least three servings of tonic are still there, locked for eternity in the instant of effervescence, relics as poignant as Captain Oates's boots.

But still some people - people no doubt enjoying the privileges of a comfy chair and a loose-fitting shirt - see fit to condemn our actions from a position of ignorance. I do not have a view on how people should behave on the field of battle, because I've never been there. People who have not driven to the North Pole with Clarkson are likewise not entitled to a view on how best to endure its horrors.

When we had completed our expedition I was asked, by a reporter, if my life would be better or worse for the experience. I decided it would be worse, because occasionally I would remember it.

I take some solace, however, in the thought that I remember slightly less of it than I might have done. Thanks to Gordon's.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/07/12/mrmay112.xml
 
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Just read that myself. Gotta love Captain Slow.
 
Some people have clearly decided that life was not meant to be fun. Fortunately those people do not include people like James May!

Steve
 
Some people have clearly decided that life was not meant to be fun

Amen to that. Most of them seem to be picking on me and my Hottie Spotting thread!!!!!!
 
I nominate James for the Ministry of Common Sense.
 
And this is why James May is the classiest man around, and deserves to be considered "my hero". :clap:
 
<3 May
 
So refreshing to have an iota of common sense in this world of stupifying political correctness...


Yeah. By the common sense people trying to tolerate and be polite to these common sense impaired people, we have created monsters.

You know there is talk in the us to lower the national speed limit back to 55 to force people to save gas.
But, Having a dirty car lowers gas milage. Having too much junk in your car. Not having your car tuned up. And on and on. But the common sense impaired people think the speed limit is the only answer.

I think the speed limit should be the LAST option.
 
Well done James! That should put them trolls in their place.

Some people have clearly decided that life was not meant to be fun.

I know, and it's a shame because simple things like that can make something like driving to the north pole much more bearable, I imagine

I nominate James for the Ministry of Common Sense.

:+1:

James May for PM?

It would be great to have him as our PM but I think he wouldn't want all the hassle of it, and I don't blame him.
 
I nominate James for the Ministry of Common Sense.

As one of the Colonels my Dad knew used to say, "You can't legislate common sense."
 
As one of the Colonels my Dad knew used to say, "You can't legislate common sense."


You can't legislate a lot of stuff, but that doesn't stop them from trying to.

That must be a common saying in the army. My friend is a Lt Col and he says the same thing.
 
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