Freedom of swear

[Gob]

A man with 176 convictions for repeated foul-mouthed outbursts risks spending the rest of his life in prison.



George Lancelot, 61, was jailed for 20 months on Thursday at Exeter Crown Court for breaching an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) banning him from swearing and drinking in public.

His latest offence was committed hours after he was released from prison.

As Lancelot was led from the dock on Thursday he shouted: "I'd get less for burglary." He then swore at the court.

Judge Phillip Wassall told Lancelot, of Higher Warberry Road, Torquay: "I am told there is unlikely to be any psychiatric disposition to help you.

"Unless you deal with this you could spend the rest of your life in prison."

Kevin Hopper, defending, said the court should order mental health treatment.

"He (Lancelot) cannot comply with the ASBO because he is mentally ill," said Mr Hopper.

"He faces a life term but I don't know what to suggest."

Andrew Neilson, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "We should not be filling our jails with people who have mental health needs, let alone someone who appears to pose no actual threat to the public."

[MajGenl.Meade]

As Lancelot was led from the dock on Thursday he shouted: "I'd get less for burglary."

... or a word similar to that one.

[wesw]

that (italics) , was funny. sad story tho.

[rubato]

Poor Gob! If he was foreign you could just deport him!

If he was Welsh you could just put a nice bottle in front of him and say "if you can not drink this for ten whole minutes we'll let you go".


yrs,
rubato

[wesw]

where do they lock people up for life for cussin' and drinkin' ? Saudi Arabia?

[MajGenl.Meade]

rubato, you do realize that Gob lives in Australia and the story is from England - Exeter Crown Court? So what does deporting him (from Australia) have to do with anything and the bottle thing.... whatup wid dat?

[Gob]

Poor Gob! If he was foreign you could just deport him!

If he was Welsh you could just put a nice bottle in front of him and say "if you can not drink this for ten whole minutes we'll let you go".


yrs,
rubato

Just wanted to capture that quintessence of stupidity from rubato.

No mater how many times you think he's reached the apogee of dumbassery, he steps up to the plate and takes it to the next plane.

[rubato]

rubato, you do realize that Gob lives in Australia and the story is from England - Exeter Crown Court? So what does deporting him (from Australia) have to do with anything and the bottle thing.... whatup wid dat?

I realize that Gob is a Welshman emigrated to Aus. who posts incessantly about how he would like to see more people deported from the UK.

You have forgotten these things already? Really?

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

This is what happens when rubato tries to commit humour, unfortunately, the poor soul gets all confused.

[oldr_n_wsr]

The guy might have some kind of turetts syndrome. Or he's an alcoholic. Either way, treatment is better than jail.
I would like to know who complained about his foul language to the point of having to be arrested?

[MajGenl.Meade]

rubato, you do realize that Gob lives in Australia and the story is from England - Exeter Crown Court? So what does deporting him (from Australia) have to do with anything and the bottle thing.... whatup wid dat?

I realize that Gob is a Welshman emigrated to Aus. who posts incessantly about how he would like to see more people deported from the UK.

You have forgotten these things already? Really?

yrs,
rubato

No, not at all - although you might use a little less editorial hyperbole. You've evaded the extremely interesting and important questions.

What has any of that to do with Australia deporting Gob? It would make "funny" (ha ha) sense if it were an Australian court that had banged up the other chap for swearing. Then your "joke" would be that if they caught Gob (who does enjoy using vulgar language to no useful purpose), they should deport him instead of jailing him. Not particularly amusing but I'd get it.

The other question sought to find any rational humorous intent in If he was Welsh you could just put a nice bottle in front of him and say "if you can not drink this for ten whole minutes we'll let you go". I'd guess that would be almost impossible for anyone - just holding it up to the lips for ten minutes would be tiring to the arm, let alone slowly dribbling it down the gullet to make the act of drinking last 10 whole minutes.

My guess is that you were trying to indicate that the liquid in the bottle would last for ten whole minutes before it was drained - indicating not drinking it for 9 minutes and 59 seconds rather than drinking it for 10.

However poorly worded, the real question is why on earth would anyone think a Welsh person incapable of making a bottle (of beer? of gin? of Corton Charlemagne?) last for 10 minutes. Have the Welsh a particular reputation for excessively fast alcohol consumption - that's the Scots is it not? BTW my record for a pint of bitter is 5.6 seconds - rather slow I thought.

No, that really is a fail on all levels. If you'd written about "sheep" instead of a bottle then it would be more like a joke.

[Lord Jim]

My guess is that you were trying to indicate that the liquid in the bottle would last for ten whole minutes before it was drained - indicating not drinking it for 9 minutes and 59 seconds rather than drinking it for 10.

However poorly worded, the real question is why on earth would anyone think a Welsh person incapable of making a bottle (of beer? of gin? of Corton Charlemagne?) last for 10 minutes. Have the Welsh a particular reputation for excessively fast alcohol consumption - that's the Scots is it not? BTW my record for a pint of bitter is 5.6 seconds - rather slow I thought.

I actually think I do know what he was trying to say there, (albeit as usual, poorly worded)

I believe the point is that the Welshman is being challenged to avoid the temptation of starting to drink the booze for 10 minutes. The intended "joke" here being that since it is so difficult for a Welshman to avoid the temptation of drinking, if he could just manage to do it for 10 minutes, that would be the punishment, and he would be let go.

Not going to have them rolling in the aisles at The Improv, but I believe that's what he was driving at...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh I see your point. rubato thinks that the Welsh are known for being given a bottle of beer and then, like every other person in the world given a bottle of beer, they actually drink it and don't wait ten minutes for it to get warm? That is a knee-slapper all right! Not.

But why would staring at a bottle for ten minutes induce the Australian police to let Gob stay in Oz? Why ten minutes and not fifteen? And why are they deporting him anyway? Because he's Welsh?

It really is a most disastrous effort to make a "joke". No, I think it's simply that he didn't know where Exeter is (although there's bound to be one in Australia I suppose). Oh - am I wrong and it's not the UK court?

[wesw]

I thought you limeys drank your beer fast because you didn t want it to get cold...

[MajGenl.Meade]

See rubato (comma) that was (italics) a joke (full stop) you don(apostrophe)t have to be original to be funny (exclamation point)

BTW wesw (comma) who(apostrophe)s a limey around here(question mark)

[wesw]

lemonies?????

[Guinevere]

See rubato (comma) that was (italics) a joke (full stop) you don(apostrophe)t have to be original to be funny (exclamation point)

BTW wesw (comma) who(apostrophe)s a limey around here(question mark)

You and Gob have given up your British citizenship?





I didn't think so…...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Guin! Guin! Never enter a crime scene. Now the results are contaminated.

[Guinevere]

I was wearing shoe covers and gloves. You're fine.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh yeah - I see now. wesw didn't get it.