Dr. Jeremy “Custard Pie” Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson, the journalist who is most famous for hosting the BBC motoring programme Top Gear received an honourary Doctorate in Engineering from Oxford Brookes University today.

Whilst posing for photographs afterwards he was attacked by an environmental protestor, brandishing a rather tasty looking gateaux.

It’s common for people who are the victim of such attacks to show horror and indignation. Not so with Dr. Clarkson, who (in addition to surprise) appeared impressed by the audacity of the strike, and immediately commended the quality of the shot, affirming his praise with a cheery thumbs up gesture.

Jeremy Clarkson, after being hit by a Custard Pie/Gateaux outside Oxford Brookes University in Sept 2005 So well done Jeremy for being a good sport, and furthermore well done to the protesters too; an excellent publicity move that will help keep environmental issues at the fore of people’s minds.

Before I continue I should assuage any opinion you may be about to form that I don’t like Clarkson or Top Gear. Top Gear is about the best program on telly on a Sunday night and Clarkson writes and presents good and interesting pieces; which he should do, because he’s very well paid for it.

Dr. Celebrity

Whilst the environmental protestors have valid concerns with the reasons for the award, their action also illustrates a fundamental problem with honourary degrees: the new universities (such as Oxford Brookes) are now fighting with each other in an annual tussle to assimilate famous alumni; but there are not enough worthy people to go around.

Clarkson for example, was proposed because of his “support for excellence in engineering”, yet fundamentally he just presents a show where they drive cars and say whether they like them or not, which is quite often based on whether the car massages the ego’s of the all-male presenting team. Compare this to the Honourary Degree that was awarded during my first graduation ceremony, which went to Helen Sharman OBE, the first British person in space, and you’ll see what I’m hinting at. My bachelors degree was 10 years ago, and the universities are now running out of folk that have really achieved something remarkable, so they’re turning to the fickle world of celebrity.

If the process continues then I have to wonder who our Universities will look to next. Perhaps we’ll soon be applauding Dr. Jade Goody for her services to education, or maybe Victoria Beckham in recognition of her selfless failure to release another record.

Forgive me, but I’d rather no honourary degrees at my next graduation.

11 Comments

Andrew Milner says:

17/09/2005 at 00:09

“I thought I said no groupies.”

Honourary degrees are a joke, and essentially to ensure publicity for an otherwise dull ceremony. Oxford Brookes with its ten-to-one bar-to-restaurant ratio, falls into the “I would never join a club that would accept me as a member” category. A significant number of Brookes students graduate before realising they weren’t taking the right degree for the career they had in mind. So faculty and student body are hardly the sharpest knives in the drawer.

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Alex Pritchard says:

30/07/2006 at 23:31

You’re right in a way about the new-style honourary graduands that turn up to degree ceremonies these days, but some remain quite valid and I think Clarkson is a better example, given his popularisation of Brunel on the BBC and also his series that examined breakthrough inventions. Along with his Soul book this is the kind of impetus we need to encourage the engineering passion so sadly lacking in Britain at this time.

This is something I don’t think Jade Goody could help us with.

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nick jones says:

09/02/2007 at 15:07

clakson is a legend end of story. who ever placed that custard pie in his face
is a utter loser. environmental scum

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- Really says:
  
  06/08/2009 at 21:40
  
  Germy is two legs short of a legend, more of an ingrowing toenail really.
  
  Reply
Rich says:

09/02/2007 at 15:27

Interesting sentiments there Nick.

Do you have any suggestions on how those people who are concerned about the environmental impact of private transportation should convey their point?

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Lesley says:

10/02/2007 at 12:21

There can be little that is more galling than having worked one’s brain to a frazzle to earn a degree, than to have to sit and clap whilst somebody ‘dresses up and walks on stage’ to be given an honorary degree just for turning up on the day…..in order to get publicity for the university.

Power to the real workers!

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James says:

18/02/2007 at 11:26

Pity that environmentalists don’t understand democracy and the voting system- they’d rather be playing with food like kids. If this were somebody in a hoodie they’d just be seen as an idiot thug, whereas because they have the tag “environmentalist” it’s acceptable?

Luckily, when civilised people disagree with something, they find a civilised way of dealing with it. For example the anti-road charging petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

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Rich says:

18/02/2007 at 12:13

Hello James, do you really think that spamming millions of people with a misleading email is a shining example of democracy? I seems like a rather undemocratic and disingenuous way of drumming up support for the misguided petition which you mention…. more…

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sam says:

18/02/2007 at 23:11

[Edit: swearing removed]

enviromentalists [sic] are twits. there life is poo, so they find intrest [sic] in annoying people and complaining, because they have nothing else to do!

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Rich says:

19/02/2007 at 00:25

Come on sam, tell us why we should listen to you. Insults and vitriol look particularly hollow if you don’t back them up with at least a little substance. What annoys you in particular? How do environmentalists affect your life? Why do you care what they do or say?

RSVP or your comment goes in the bin (all nouns and verbs will be recycled, the swearing will be burned for fuel).

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mr. biggelsworth says:

04/05/2010 at 02:44

jeremy is hilarious and i love his shows but i could see how somebody would want to pie him in the face. i find it funny that he had such great sportsman ship about the “pie attack” done by the sad and offended ecomentalists.

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