AA Gill Quote – 27 October 2002

“A framed certificate arrived, telling me that a blameless star in the constellation Hydra – right ascension 10h27m51s, declination -23 deg 52min 20sec, visual mag 8.5 – had been named “AA Gill” (in honour, it tautologically pointed out, of AA Gill). What’s more, it had been registered for eternity in the Cosmic Yellow Pages.

“Now, how truly horrible is that? How tackily, embarrassingly Cheshire guest loo or Florida golden-wedding anniversary is a personalised star? It encapsulates in one small universe everything that is hubristic, self-aggrandising, bogus, useless, degrading, cheap, ostentatious and crapulous about PR.

“On yet another level, it’s a piece of vile armchair colonialism: to name anything is to make it yours. I have always felt a sort of posthumous liberal guilt for the blameless Indians on the eastern seaboard of the United States who found some pillock in baggy knickers and a mad hat on their beach one morning, and were told that, happily, they now lived in Virginia.

“”What’s a Virginia when it’s at our home?” they undoubtedly inquired.
“”It’s the unbroken hymen of our pure Queen.”
“”We’ve got to live in that? Does she have any other names?”
“”Yes, Regina.”
“”Okay, well, we’ll stick with Virginia then.”"

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One Response to AA Gill Quote – 27 October 2002

  1. btezra says:

    xlnt post, and thnx to excess memory for leaving teh door open to drop in
    ~thnx/gr8 stuff

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