Greatest living English person
Discussion
For me Ellen Macarthur, to sail alone around the world alone, non stop, is an amazing achievement. Precious few have ever achieved this. To race whilst doing this brings out the true glory of the British spirit. What she is doing is beyond belief for most mortals. Earlier this week with the wind straight on her bow and mountainous mixed up seas she suffered major systems failiures, yet she toiled to re-engineer these systems whilst hugely sleep deprived. Currently she is well ahead of record pace. I find her website deeply addictive. You can email her direct. There are 4 webcams on the boat. You can see all her navigation information in real time. You can listen to her recordings of the experience. Her boat makes our performance cars look silly. Nearly 80 feet long with a huge sail area it has already been at around 40 mph. As I write this it is running at over 20 knots through the night in conditions that would make us want our mummies. She has already broken the solo time to the equator record. Many more will be hers. But even if it goes totally pear shaped the magnificence of the whole enterprise is trully amazing. Obviously she will get the female equivalent of a knighthood, she deserves this and and far more.
[url]www.teamellen.com/ellen.asp?artid=100#[/url]
[url]www.teamellen.com/ellen.asp?artid=100#[/url]
I would suggest these:
Branson - he is an asset to the country.
Colin Pillinger - for sheer dogged persistance and effort. (The failed Beagle 2 mission that still developed a whole range of new technologies)
James Dyson - for having faith and showing big corporates how stupid they were.
Rice and Webber - for saving the West End Theatre Industry and entertaining millions over the years.
But of course there are many more unsung heroes such as pioneering scientists and charitable workers.
Branson - he is an asset to the country.
Colin Pillinger - for sheer dogged persistance and effort. (The failed Beagle 2 mission that still developed a whole range of new technologies)
James Dyson - for having faith and showing big corporates how stupid they were.
Rice and Webber - for saving the West End Theatre Industry and entertaining millions over the years.
But of course there are many more unsung heroes such as pioneering scientists and charitable workers.
markmullen said:
Boris Johnson
Erm, no.... He may be one day but he has a mountain to climb. This is the problem with these threads someone comes along and puts forward a candidate who simply does not belong. All the others have done their thing, Boris has yet to kick Howards little Lawyer ass out and sort out old GB Ltd. If he does, I will admire him greatly until then he has the same status as PWIG.
wedg1e said:
Richard Branson.
For rising to be chief of a huge empire, without ever having apparently put a foot wrong or said a word out of place*: in short, a likeable geezer.
*And if he did, for managing to keep it absolutely quiet.
If only he was in politics...
i take it you are overlooking his "dodgy" beginnings - and subsequent "claims" he has settled out of court then
mgp1969 said:
Richard Branson.
For rising to be chief of a huge empire, without ever having apparently put a foot wrong or said a word out of place*: in short, a likeable geezer.
*And if he did, for managing to keep it absolutely quiet.
If only he was in politics...
i take it you are overlooking his "dodgy" beginnings - and subsequent "claims" he has settled out of court then
IIRC he went to prison for a short spell and Virgin started by offering cut price mail order records - or in other words Richie and his mates took a transit over to France, loaded it up with tax free records and flogged them back in Blighty. Unfortunately they forgot about paying the Taxman his "tribute".
So many possibles, in no particular order:
Tony Hart and Johnny Ball, for inspiring a generation to develop a passion at an early age for science and the arts.
John Noakes, For inspiring a generation, and showing them that there was more to life than science and the arts.
Steve Redgrave. No one will ever come close to emulating his sporting achievements,
Steven Hawking, For re-inventing the universe, and still having enough of a sense of humour to do the Citroen "Transformer" advert.
Jimmy Saville, Geldof (not english, I know), Maggie, Clive Sinclair, James Dyson, (though blotted his copybook by exporting jobs after promising not to), Max Griggs (Ditto note after James Dyson).
All great in their own fields, and their own way.
I can see this is going to be an interesting thread, nice one!
Tony Hart and Johnny Ball, for inspiring a generation to develop a passion at an early age for science and the arts.
John Noakes, For inspiring a generation, and showing them that there was more to life than science and the arts.
Steve Redgrave. No one will ever come close to emulating his sporting achievements,
Steven Hawking, For re-inventing the universe, and still having enough of a sense of humour to do the Citroen "Transformer" advert.
Jimmy Saville, Geldof (not english, I know), Maggie, Clive Sinclair, James Dyson, (though blotted his copybook by exporting jobs after promising not to), Max Griggs (Ditto note after James Dyson).
All great in their own fields, and their own way.
I can see this is going to be an interesting thread, nice one!
Jeez, people do a lot of self-indulgent shit. Boating related things are personal achievements of great worth, but for the greater good, I recently worked for one of the countries greatest sailors, Sir Blah Blah, self indulgent w*nker. Another one lives up the road
from me. Nice bloke but his MBE and press was a by product of his self indulgence.
Steven Hawking Takes the biscuit. A bloke, crippled and wheelchair bound, one of the greatest minds ever. With a bit of cash and gusto, I could do the same thing. Hawking has given science and the human race a massive amount of insight into why it is here.
Steven Hawking is also one of the baddest rap MC's ever. If you haven't bought the album, I suggest you order it from www.mchawking.com genius with beats and bad language. Top Bloke.
from me. Nice bloke but his MBE and press was a by product of his self indulgence.
Steven Hawking Takes the biscuit. A bloke, crippled and wheelchair bound, one of the greatest minds ever. With a bit of cash and gusto, I could do the same thing. Hawking has given science and the human race a massive amount of insight into why it is here.
Steven Hawking is also one of the baddest rap MC's ever. If you haven't bought the album, I suggest you order it from www.mchawking.com genius with beats and bad language. Top Bloke.
How about any A&E junior doctor battling through a 96 hour straight shift, with little support, recognition or recompense or a squaddy in Iraq risking life and limb for his buddies.
Sailing around the world, because you want to, want the challenge etc whilst no doubt a hard and difficult task hardly justifies 'Greatest Living Person'.
Sailing around the world, because you want to, want the challenge etc whilst no doubt a hard and difficult task hardly justifies 'Greatest Living Person'.
swilly said:
How about any A&E junior doctor battling through a 96 hour straight shift, with little support, recognition or recompense or a squaddy in Iraq risking life and limb for his buddies.
Sailing around the world, because you want to, want the challenge etc whilst no doubt a hard and difficult task hardly justifies 'Greatest Living Person'.
I agree, but then I did say there were many unsung heroes.
I'm amazed I forgot to suggest Hawking - he truly is one of the very greatest.
Roger Penrose, the Chair of Theoretical Physics at Oxford is also incredibly influential and a contemporary of Hawking. I had dinner with him once and he was a nice chap.
Margaret Thatcher - sorted out the British economy and stood up to Europe.
Our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought in the first and second world wars. So many of these are heroes and do not receive much public recognition until their obituaries are published. Example, Frank Carey (obit, Times, Dec 13) joined RAF aged 15 as boy apprentice, worked his way up to Group Captain, fought in battle of france, battle of britain, burma, shot down and wounded twice, shot down over 25 enemy planes, fought six japanese planes single -handed. Died aged 92. It saddens me that we are losing people like him fast now.
Our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought in the first and second world wars. So many of these are heroes and do not receive much public recognition until their obituaries are published. Example, Frank Carey (obit, Times, Dec 13) joined RAF aged 15 as boy apprentice, worked his way up to Group Captain, fought in battle of france, battle of britain, burma, shot down and wounded twice, shot down over 25 enemy planes, fought six japanese planes single -handed. Died aged 92. It saddens me that we are losing people like him fast now.
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