Ok, it’s true, Greg and I love to watch The Great British Baking Show, TGBBS for short. And would you like to know the overriding reason why? It’s all about the niceness. We don’t watch many reality shows, but the ones we do watch involve cooking. What a shock!
Manners are key to our enjoyment of TGBBS. The US version of Master Chef, the only one I’ve seen, has the coaches often humiliating the cooks. Top Chef, my old favorite, has contestants who wouldn’t say a word if they saw you accidentally using salt instead of sugar; they are all about the bravado. TGBBS has neighbors offering help and ingredients and an extra hand if needed. Even the judges on TGBBS, both the original judges and the new judges, offer honest assessments in a positive manner. And yet in all three shows, the contestants are in it to win it.
Is it the money? The winner of Master Chef wins $250K. The winner of Top Chef wins $125K. The winner of TGBBS gets a cake plate. It’s a nice cake plate, but still only a cake plate. Do manners only prevail when there’s no money involved?
Neither of us can watch TGBBS without commenting on their manners. Is it because they are British? We truly do not know. Is it because of the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity? Britain has become the melting pot the US always professed to be. There is a great range in age. Does that factor in? There’s usually a scripted quality to the sarcasm on both the American shows we’ve seen. It’s hard to imagine the snarky quality being right there on the tip of their tongues.
I’ve become obsessed with representations of women supporting women, of men supporting men, of all members of the LBGTQ community automatically having a place at the table, and an old fart like me still being seen. There are so many people with no one to watch their back. I want everyone to have what I have, a support system. I really need one too, considering the way I constantly digress.
So, say please, say thank you, ask if they need help, ask again even if they say no. Nurture, protect, practice niceness. The world needs it now more than ever. Thanks for reading.
and remember what Pink said: Pretty, pretty please, don’t you ever, ever feel like you’re less than fucking perfect. Big kiss, Lynn
From the Recipe Box 