I'm sure you're right but would you like the PrimeMinister back?!

You can keep him.... call it payback

Kenny is a step ahead of us -- he said all of the above using a kilt and a lilting tune.

Or penicillin, to abuse to the extent that you create monster germs which are resistant to it.... erm, no that's not quite the way it was supposed to go, was it

To address your five points:

1) Agreed

2) Agreed. And if he'd worn the kilt for a ballroom dance, I think your argument would have carried more weight. But the paso??!! Your argument is also more than a little undermined by the fact that he didn't turn up in a kilt on the night; he announced it beforehand, in the traditional 'plead for votes' section AKA 'the chat with Tess after the dance.

3) You may not have personally met anyone who has fallen for the tactic, but that doesn't mean that it's not a tactic. Today's Sunday Mail makes it clear that he's looking for, and claims to need, 'the Scottish vote'. Compare it to the MacDonald brothers on the X Factor last year. The Sunday Mail's sister paper, the Daily Record, had an editorial piece exhorting Scottish viewers to vote for them, essentially 'to put that sassenach Cowell's gas at a peep'. There is, sadly, a Scottish demographic out there which laps up this kind of thing.

4) Nor should I. Except if they announced it beforehand in a 'keep me in to see me dance with a daffodil up my backside next week' kind of way (actually, there might be a huge, not necessarily Welsh, demographic for that one I wonder if Ola is looking at that thistle, and giving thanks for the fact that you posted this AFTER Kenny had danced? )

5) I haven't seen people complain about his accent, more about his courting 'the Scottish vote'. The former is, I think, unnecessarily personal; the latter is fair comment when discussing the tactics which celebrities are using to gain votes (e.g. Kate on GMTV).

For the record, I'm Scottish. Also for the record, I thought his Viennese Waltz to Flower of Scotland was lovely, and that the presentation of the thistle worked beautifully in context. Had he simply appeared last night, in a kilt, dancing to FoS, without any prior announcement about it, I would have been more likely to take both the kilt and the FoS as expressions of his innate patriotism.

It's the pre-publicity that makes me suspicious of his motives; the press coverage doesn't help allay those suspicions.

Also for the record, I believe that 'bashing' is generally regarded as the most humane way of killing haggis after they have been chased the wrong way around the mountainside and are dizzy and disoriented. It's not pretty, but if you're going to be carnivorous, there's always going to be a method of dispatch. However, like most haggis eaters, I am an 'equal opportunities' basher. I also bash neeps - and indeed champ tatties.

Hope you never get them confused and end up with champed neeps

Drat.


washboard.... I have tears of laughter in my eyes....

Come now, allyfree! As you know, it's the same process under a different name.

'A neep that has been champed will taste just as good...'


(Still sounds like a double entendre, admittedly )

Any thoughts on the parts of my post which were (slightly more) serious responses to the points you made?

I thank you, sarah-flute! :bows:

I think that the whole 'daffodil up the backside' scenario has the potential to draw tears from many an eye.

Other flowers may be seen as even more of a challenge ...

Kenny's courting of the Scottish vote is a masterstroke on his part, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he has in store for us next week.

Caber tossing? Eating a big bowl of porridge? Wearing a tartan cap with a ginger wig attached? Can anyone help me out with any more stereotypical images?

Is Kenny hanging onto Scotland's coat-tails to go further in SCD?

It would be a high-risk strategy - if he fell flat on his face there would be no place in Scotland to hide, but after yesterday's display viewers everywhere have good reason to be proud of this son of Scotland.

Has he pre-announced brand recognition gimmicks to bring out voters? Probably -- but was it for Kenny himself only? I doubt it. Unlike another contestant his kilt flashes were not followed by the launch of a line of underwear, and he is not cutting his own FoS single. He never believed he would outlast Gabby. Nothing wrong with beating the Scottish drum to bring in a larger audience, so long as he puts up a good show on his own merits.

Could Kenny have discovered within himself a flair for showmanship and a knack for improvisation? Every week he assessed the situation and made decisions to play to his strengths, avoiding his weaknesses. In the paso he made no attempt at Spanish rhythms beyond him, doing instead a very impressive Stone Age walk. In the viennese waltz he avoided any attempt at fast lightweight spins, turning his problem into his opportunity.

Well done Kenny, Mr Bell and Mr Baird would be proud of you.

I love haggis, especially when battered.

Sure.... I said somewhere on this forum a few days ago that he originally said in Week 1 that if he got to Week 5 he would wear a kilt..... I'm sure that was said very much tongue-in-cheek as I don't think he had the slightest inkling that he would actually still be in the comp by then.... just bad luck it was Paso week !

I suppose I agree with the tactical thing to an extent.... unfortunately, Kenny is neither a regular tv face nor media whore (albeit by default in having z-list movie star boyfriend or aged rocker hubby). He sees the nationalist card as something that might make people notice him and I'm fine with that.....

He is in competition with some serious players.... I have no problems with anyone raising their profile but I do feel that Kenny & John in particular suffer from being less in the public eye and if gimmicks are what works, then he must be doing something right.

Scottish, little-man syndrome. 'Nuff said.

Ehhhh He's built like a brick s**t-house

Your argument is fair. It would also apply to Kate Garraway, and her way of courting votes, which has also been criticised.

Do you have a view on the Garraway issue?

Not really..... I had no idea who she was as I'm at work during the day and have never seen GMTV. I suppose it's the reverse.... she does have a huge audience to appeal to every day so if she is sweet/nice/funny/whatever on the programme and the judges are horrible to her, then her fans will react by voting in their droves to save her.

In addition, the self-deprecating manner she and Anton have adopted as their coping mechanism will also work to their advantage and when that is combined with votes from all the Anton-lovers, it's no wonder they are scoring well.

I don't take the programme as seriously as a lot of the posters on here. I love it, yes..... but I'd rather watch people like Kenny who are improving, even slowly, than watch a group of Kellys & Aleshas who are already great to start with. The problem is, if you're not great to start with, you never get the chance to develop to your full potential as you are out in week 1

That's called sado-masochism.

Alternatively....:

Well, it's a matter of Record (pardon the pun) that Kenny is courting the Scottish vote, in a Scottish media organ which panders to that approach.

And, while I agree with your assessment of the paso, I think that you are being unfair to the Viennese Waltz (and are writing in terms which contradict your earlier posts about the VW )

Don't think Kenny was playing so much to the Scottish audience as the female audience. I am not Scottish, but everyone knows there is nothing sexier than a man with great legs in a kilt - especially if there is a breeze or he's dancing! Lets face it the Morris Dancer thing just doesn't do for most women! (and if it does there are other web sites they should visit!)

I suggested Kenny's VW was graceful and dignified, but doubt it would have been, had his 16 stone done a fast tempo VW.

Many posters resented the implication they could be roped in to vote by national prejudice. I am guessing both Scots and English would do a double take when Kenny waves the flag of St Andrew. But they will vote on merit.

I agree with you - part of the joy of SCD is watching people improve. And Kenny has definitely improved.

However, I do believe - for the reasons set out before - that Kenny is actively courting 'the Scottish vote'.

I will freely admit that I have a visceral aversion to such behaviour, on both the philosophical/political level, and on the personal level.

On the philosophical/political level, I believe that people should allow themselves to be judged on their merits (not out of synch with the idea of 'the joy of watching people improve'). Because of that belief, I have difficulty with the idea that people don't seek to be judged on their merits, but look for support based on who they know/are linked to/etc. 'Tribal ties', to be provocatively alliterative.

On the personal level, I was horrified by the number of people here who WERE voting for the MacDonald Brothers last year because they were Ayrshire boys, and it would effing show that effing Simon Cowell!

My view was that:

i) the MacDonald Brothers coudn't effing sing; and
ii) HOW (HOW??!!) were they 'showing' Cowell anything by lining his pockets!!

However, I accept that a fool and his money are soon parted, and that it's their choice to make those decisions. And, I was comforted by the fact that the majority shared my view on the duo. hew:

I stand by the philosophical/political point, however.

I don't see what the problem is with trying to appeal to the Scottish vote or the English vote or the Irish or Welsh or any other ethnic or nationalistic vote. Scots are notoriously proud of their Scottish history and heritage and I say good on them. I find it charming.

PMSL!

As a Scot, I once saw a Morris dancing display, and thought that - poncey though it may have looked - it actually required a great deal of stamina.

As a woman, I have no objection to 'a great deal of stamina'

If Kenny was playing to the femlae audience, then he should have taken female advice.

The VW would have offerd far more 'swishing of the kilt' opportunities than the paso. In turn, this would have displayed more leg.

It would also have been in keeping with the music.

AND, if he hadn't announced any of it beforehand... oh now I'm repeating myself...!

I am getting really fed up of this now....... WHAT HAPPENED TO JUST HATING PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSONALITIES? Give me good, old-fashioned, one nationality fits all dislike any day...