BBC R4 - Will Self's Great British Bus Journey

[Lat-Literal]

I quite enjoyed this:

Will Self makes a 1,000 mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05w5zkw/episodes/player

[DracoM]

For me, yawn.

[gradus]

The ones that I've heard have been entertaining. I suppose it greatly depends on whether or not you like WS.

[Braunschlag]

Tend to agree. I’ve had it on whilst decorating and he seemed more interested in his own tedious identity. In this case it really was more fascinating to watch paint dry.

[DracoM]

[Lat-Literal]

The programme was actually about the exploration of British identity with various people he conversed with in unfashionable towns. There was also a strong flavour of the nature of long distance bus and coach travel with all of its stops and starts, the bleakness of walks to the outer parts of town alongside dual carriageways and the age old variation in the quality of bed and breakfast accommodation. Those aspects of the environment, with all of their certainties, were static while attitudes have significantly changed to reflect modern day uncertainties.

I didn't agree with all of his conclusions and his examples were a bit selective but then he only had fifteen minutes for each programme. What, of course, you also get with Will Self is a dry humour and a good opportunity to expand your vocabulary with a dictionary alongside. I can't see how it could be interpreted as having been mainly about him and his own identity.