River Pageant bad commentary ................

[Ann]

Thoroughly agree with this article
http://www.dailymail....coverage-pageant.html
We were annoyed as Matt Baker and Sophie Raworth started interviewing someone at precisely the time the royal barge was going under the opened London Bridge - what bad timing!

[Answerprancer]

You "thoroughly agree" with something from the Daily Mail ...why?

[Ann]

Because we sat there at home watching the pageant on BBC1 saying exactly the same things as in this article!

[ttfn]

Ann - me too. I really did not need to hear/see the historian and former royal correspondent as soon as the Queen arrived. Why did Wesley refer to the Royal Kids, more than once? Goats have kids ... Standards are falling at the BBC :(

[lady-janine]

agree with all of you. i thought the pageant and the organisation was brilliant but the commentary throughout was extremely poor. more knowledge about the craft taking part and a more extensive vocabulary used by the commentators and less concentration by the cameraman on them would have increased enjoyment of the event.

the queen's coronation has been re-shown on television recently and nowhere are the viewers presented by grinning faces of the commentators.

[Ann]

Did anyone hear any commentary or see The Matthew of Bristol? Its such a historic ship, they should have at least have talked about that, its part of our heritage. I missed the last half hour of the Pageant so I apologise if they did .....

[Hopkirk]

I could only listen to it happening, with Richard Bacon on 5 Live.

Now that was truly appalling, and not up to BBC standards.

[lady-janine]

i watched it all and heard very little about any of the craft taking part. imo the standard of the commentary was awful. don't know who they were but they should seriously consider finding another day job and whoever appointed them should do the same.

[emmie]

Matt Baker is a pratt, i cannot stand his whining, mind you we were down there yesterday and apart from the rain you couldn't hear much.

[masma]

We said the same thing - dreadful coverage by the BBC. I'd been looking forward to seeing the tall ships but they only showed a long distant shot of the Matthew moored up.

[emmie]

rather fittingly we did hear Handels water music being played. It was good, but the heavens opened and didn't stop.

[Ann]

I think the BBC will have red faces today - everyone is talking about the bad commentary, in every newspaper and on radio this morning. I thought I liked Matt, but he was truly awful yesterday, not at all how he was on Countryfile.

[FredPuli43]

Did notice that the 'highlights' programme had nothing, or almost nothing, of Baker and Raworth. That may be no coincidence.

[emmie]

he killed the gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics for me, his nasally whining tones had me reaching for the off button. Terrible presenter, can't stand him on the one show, so fond of his own irritating voice.

[jno]

I watched the pagenat live, not on the telly, so I didn't have the privilege of listening to commentary. But those who did will have got much better close-up views, and that's not to be sniffed at.

Not a drop of rain on me, despite what all the papers seem to say. That's what comes of having all the reporters in one place (it did rain around Tower Bridge, but not where I was).

[emmie]

can i ask where you were, as it started raining and didn't stop, got home soaked through.

[Ann]

Gosh - I have just read that Grace Jones is in the line up - Grace Jones???? Surely not the one who smacked Russell Harty in that memorable show?? If so she is a most ridiculous choice, I've hardly heard of her since ....... who on earth chose her, and on what merit?

[Ann]

Sorry got carried away - wrong thread!

[Ann]

We admired the choir on the boat at the end - was it the LSO? They bravely sang on, completely soaked to the skin, hair plastered to their heads belting out "Land of Hope and Glory" - they must have been so cold and wet - what troupers!

[jno]

Battersea Park, em. I left near the end - I think there was just a collection of Thames pleasure craft to come, and I figured I could see them any time.

So from my point of view, it was wonderful how the rain stayed away. And it's a bit depressing that the BBC coverage, which I suppose is what most of the world will see (I am going by their later news reports as I didn't see it live), just went on and on about how miserable British weather is.

[Ann]

So did you see the tall ships go by jno?