I am seriously considering starting a campaign: if Alex James appears once more on the BBC between now and when my TV license runs out, I think I might withhold my renewal fee in protest.
I have nothing against him either as a musician or cheesemaker. In fact, a friend of mine knows the man who owns James's local pub in the Cotswolds and says he's a nice guy across the bar. So I have nothing against him as a private citizen either.
But as a socio-political pundit, he makes me very cross indeed. Am I alone?
There he was last Thursday on Question Time. One of the annoying things about this appearance, though by no means the worst, was his absurd haircut. Specially styled, it was, to flop in a special annoying way. And he couldn't stop playing with it. But it was when he opened his mouth that I really resented the BBC for booking him. He was barely eloquent, very dull, and lacking in anything verging on a sensible opinion most of the time. He also didn't really bother joining in, which was just stupid because he could at least have looked keen.
Then, this morning, he was on the Today programme, talking - I think - about drugs. Considering his contribution to Question Time on the subject was something like 'Yeah, dangerous, definitely' [slump backwards in chair. Studio falls into awkward silence] - why did they ask him again? Which bright spark thought - oh yes, we know just the man to get onto the radio...?
Why is James doing this? Is he cleverly trying to promote his cheese and one day, will we wake up to discover it's everywhere?
Or is he desperate for the limelight?
It's very hard to believe that he thinks he can have much of interest to add to the national debate on anything, not because he's stupid but because he doesn't bother thinking of an opinion before accepting invitations to give it.
I know he crops up in the pages of the Observer reasonably often, but he is at least always writing about something he knows.
