'English People...? So Boring, Dahling...'

Over on the Social Work Blog, the caring sharing types are getting revved up for a new series of Big Brother, which promises a diverse experience this time around:

This year there are two refugees: 21-year old student Sylvia from Sierra Leone and Mohamed, a toy demonstrator from Somalia, as well as Darnell, a black albino man raised in America, Michael, a blind Scottish radio producer and Kathreya a massage therapist from Thailand who eats a lot of biscuits.

Gosh, what fun! A truly representative sample.

I'm particularly interested in how Sylvia, who fled civil war with her family when she was aged 11, and Mohamed, who moved here as a teenager after having to leave his homeland and the six other countries they tried to settle in because of war, are received. They and their families have lived through some dreadful experiences; the sort of thing most British folk will never - thankfully - have to endure on the streets of their villages, towns and cities.

I'm not sure what sticks in my throat the most - the fact that this dumb woman is watching a ratings-garnering, lowest common denominator freakshow on Channel 4 in the belief that it's a true social experiment, or the contempt for the norm that shines through in her evident delight to have these vibrant, uniquely diverse people to watch...