For a man who wrote a seminal book on the shadowy nature of public relations entitled The Death of Spin, there is something rather ironic about the fact that George Pitcher ”“ the Archbishop of Canterbury’s public affairs secretary ”“ has been dismissed for what appears to have been a spin too far.
Mr Pitcher, a former industrial correspondent turned Anglican priest who styles himself as the vicar of Fleet Street, is to leave his post as Rowan Williams’ chief spin doctor after just nine months in the job.
The official reason given by Lambeth Palace is the termination of what was only ever a year-long contract. But sources within the Church of England and Westminster say Mr Pitcher’s departure was the endgame of a political fallout that began with Archbishop Williams’ damning critique of the Government’s cuts and ended with an offhand joke about canapés
[blockquote] In a diary piece published last month in The Telegraph, he was reported to have joked that Archbishop Williams had taken the religious commentator Cristina Odone “roughly over the canapés” when she met him and criticised his New Statesman editorial. [/blockquote]
Can anyone explain what this even means??
I think I’ll let the Britons commenting here explain their own hilarious subtlety. 🙂
“Tory MPs and many Church insiders will be glad to see the back of the Archbishop’s spin doctor”.
Well, there’s someone else in that picture that I’d love to see the back of, too.
#1 To take someone roughly, in this context – is a sexual double entendre – heard in one way it means that they had a firm exchange of views, heard otherwise it might mean that they engaged in intimate activity ‘roughly”.
IMO many CEOs are going to consider it deeply unhelpful that one of your PR guys is reported on a national newspaper commenting about you in such a manner.
Thanks Driver8. There was a prolonged silence while nobody wanted to answer #1’s question!
Well, who knows what this all means? I was really surprised at the way ABC was baying at the government – one would think he needs all the friends there he could get. Maybe it was all just due to an overzealous PR man and we will now see a wiser and more circumspect Lambeth.
Thanks. I got the sex part but it just didn’t make sense. (“He had rough sex with her while they were eating canapes???” — and that’s a metaphor for a stern talking to???) I don’t think 99% of Americans would have been able to make head or tails of this. But obviously it wasn’t said for an American audience.
Catholic Mom, I also had trouble with “over the canapes.” I had visions of actual intimate contact with the canapes, which made the whole image nonsensical. Who was it that said Britain and America are separated by a common language?
Well, I thought it implied they got into an argument over the canapes whereupon he threw her to the floor and had his way with her. In any event, I couldn’t figure what in heck it had to do with his dissatisfaction with some comments she made. Still can’t but I’ll have to assume the Brits can.
Well, thank you (I think). I didn’t get the “joke” either. The Reverend George Pitcher always seemed a rather vain, self-regarding man to me, and I can’t imagine Williams is at a loss for the loss.