9 thoughts on “Oh Dear.”

1. Having read the story, I thought it very sad, actually, Bravo:

   “Gary Thompson, 33, slipped from the platform in St Peter’s Square in Manchester city centre after a night out with friends, sustaining catastrophic injuries.

   Gary was well known to Metrolink staff after volunteering on the Disabled Users Working Group, advising how to make stations safer for people with blindness and other disabilities.
   At an inquest into his death, coroner Nick Stanage said the way Mr Thompson died was ‘all the sadder’ after contributing so much to improve public transport for other disabled people.”

   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9426084/Blind-health-and-safety-adviser-falls-to-death-under-tram.html

2. Oops, sorry, I’ve just discovered your quote was a link. Just ignore me, Bravo!

3. Araminta :

   Having read the story, I thought it very sad, actually, Bravo:

   Me too, he actually was blind.

   I didn’t see the humour when I read it earlier but didn’t comment thinking I was missing something, is it the fact that he worked in health and safety that makes it funny?

4. Yes, indeed, Soutie, he was blind, he helped others, and it was a rather tragic accident.

5. Not funny.

6. I did say that I know it was the wrong reaction – and I went on to read the story too. It is just another example of sloppy writing, as far as I’m concerned and, for better or worse, it struck me as funny as I read it. I guess it’s something to do with the less than savoury reputation enjoyed by the safety elfs in the UK.

7. By all accounts he was a decent, helpful bloke who was as much a victim of his blindness as the absurdity of the current legislation and public persona of the ‘Elf ‘n’ Safety industry in which he was spotlighted. It was the latter and the headline it provoked that made me (and everyone else in The Cave) giggle, not the poor man’s unfortunate demise.

   OZ

8. Hmm, well, I didn’t giggle, OZ, but I’m notorious for my lack of understanding of this sort of dark humour.

   Yes, I can sort of see it, but not really. Sorry. 😦

9. People are so utterly sick and tired of ‘elf and safety, any mention is a bad joke. Unfortunately the story was sad.
   Rather poor sub editing considering the story, a poor choice of words.
   Yes, I laughed at the headline too (and only the headline!)