Michael Portillo Railway Journeys - his jackets?
Discussion
Gentlemen, as I watch this discussion with great interest, I have to say that MP is a top bloke. I expect to see him at some point over the next couple of days to put the finishing touches to a couple of new jackets for further series of the railway journeys. Letting the cat out of the bag, they will be a pistachio green and a strawberry red.
The Daily Mail described MP's outfits as garish! With a flourish as colourful as said jackets, I felt duty bound to respond.
Dear Sir,
I read with interest your missive regarding the attire of Michael Portillo.
Garish is not a word I would use lightly.
As his tailor we spend a great deal of time discussing the impact that his colourful combinations may have on the audience and the lens of the camera. The colours may be more marmalade than marmite, and the reaction on social media may be as polarized as the enduring flavour of marmite, but garish, never!
Great care is taken to produce outfits which lift the mood of his audience and often designed to match the surroundings. I draw your attention to the afore mentioned journey from Sofia to Istanbul, and if you look carefully the colour of the domes of the buildings have been carefully co-ordinated to tone with his jacket.
Such are the limits we travel to, in order to satisfy the needs of our clientele and general public alike.
If you look around your esteemed office, there will be others around you I know who will be wearing our suits, which again are tailored to match their surroundings.
Michael is a rare beast in this dull age. Celebrate the colour, embrace the hues, it is after all a very grey day!
Kind regards,
Adrian Holdsworth
The Daily Mail described MP's outfits as garish! With a flourish as colourful as said jackets, I felt duty bound to respond.
Dear Sir,
I read with interest your missive regarding the attire of Michael Portillo.
Garish is not a word I would use lightly.
As his tailor we spend a great deal of time discussing the impact that his colourful combinations may have on the audience and the lens of the camera. The colours may be more marmalade than marmite, and the reaction on social media may be as polarized as the enduring flavour of marmite, but garish, never!
Great care is taken to produce outfits which lift the mood of his audience and often designed to match the surroundings. I draw your attention to the afore mentioned journey from Sofia to Istanbul, and if you look carefully the colour of the domes of the buildings have been carefully co-ordinated to tone with his jacket.
Such are the limits we travel to, in order to satisfy the needs of our clientele and general public alike.
If you look around your esteemed office, there will be others around you I know who will be wearing our suits, which again are tailored to match their surroundings.
Michael is a rare beast in this dull age. Celebrate the colour, embrace the hues, it is after all a very grey day!
Kind regards,
Adrian Holdsworth
K12beano said:
Eric Mc said:
His jackets are ace.
Eric, I've always pictured you as being attired in something of similar "dapper-ness" as you go about your abacus-duties........
I have to say I thought he was a utter tosser in politics, but I've come round to thinking he's ok in these programs & I like the jackets too (not that I'd ever wear them).
Hooli said:
K12beano said:
Eric Mc said:
His jackets are ace.
Eric, I've always pictured you as being attired in something of similar "dapper-ness" as you go about your abacus-duties........I have to say I thought he was a utter tosser in politics, but I've come round to thinking he's ok in these programs & I like the jackets too (not that I'd ever wear them).
At the time I felt it couldn't have happened to a more deserving, smug, arrogant prat (remember, he was widely considered a future PM), but I've become a big fan of his TV style.
As others have said, he exhibits a genuine (seeming, at least) interest in those he speaks to and a willingness to get involved without any regard for his self-image. Maybe I'm wrong, but he seems much more comfortable on TV than he did as a politician, so maybe that smug arrogance was all an act.
I really enjoy his programmes and think that he makes a much better TV presenter than politician!
M
Eric Mc said:
He was a TV performer decades before he ever went into politics.
He first stood for parliament at the age of 30 (in 1983), having previously worked in political research 1 year after graduating when he was 22. He first appeared on the TV as a broadcaster in 1998, after becoming an MP in 1984, so 14 years after he went fully into politics.But apart from those small anomalies in your argument that he was a TV performer decades before he ever went into politics, you are absolutely spot on !
snuffy said:
Eric Mc said:
He was a TV performer decades before he ever went into politics.
He first stood for parliament at the age of 30 (in 1983), having previously worked in political research 1 year after graduating when he was 22. He first appeared on the TV as a broadcaster in 1998, after becoming an MP in 1984, so 14 years after he went fully into politics.But apart from those small anomalies in your argument that he was a TV performer decades before he ever went into politics, you are absolutely spot on !
He appeared in a series of Ribena TV commercials in the early 1960s - which I am just about old enough to remember.
As a youngster he did consider a career as an actor but as he got older developed a keener interest in politics.
At heart, like a lot of politicians, he is a performer who likes being in the public eye.
Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 16th January 07:36
I am correct 
Early in his political career, current affairs programmes often ran clips from the old ads - just so that people might be able to answer the question they might have been asking themselves "Haven't I seen that face before?".
His father was a Socialist Spanish political performance poet - who was exiled from Spain in the Franco era.
Being theatrical and being political is in the Portillo genes.
Early in his political career, current affairs programmes often ran clips from the old ads - just so that people might be able to answer the question they might have been asking themselves "Haven't I seen that face before?".
His father was a Socialist Spanish political performance poet - who was exiled from Spain in the Franco era.
Being theatrical and being political is in the Portillo genes.
Indeed you are. He's here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMYXuaxOCsc
I think he's the chap in the white coat (20 seconds in). It looks like him to me, especially when he smiles at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMYXuaxOCsc
I think he's the chap in the white coat (20 seconds in). It looks like him to me, especially when he smiles at the end.
No - that's not him. He was only a kid in the ads. He was born in 1953 - so he would have only been 9 or 10 at the most when he appeared in these ads.
From memory, I seem to remember the ad featuring either his mum or his gran taking a bottle of Ribena out of a cupboard and pouring him a drink.
From memory, I seem to remember the ad featuring either his mum or his gran taking a bottle of Ribena out of a cupboard and pouring him a drink.
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