051 How does the phrase “Britain’s finest talent!” grab you?

Convener: Tim Taylor

Participants: Tim Taylor

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:


Questions to ask:

• How do you know if you’re the finest?
• Who says?
• What’s it like being the finest?
• What if you’re not?
• Why does it matter?
• When will you know?

You know…when others say you are, using criteria they think contribute to such an assessment. You might know when you feel that what you do has reached a standard of excellence that is apparent – to you.

Who will tell you? Other fine people who know what it means to be the finest, fans of you’re work and many and various ‘finest’ watchers.

What’s it like being the finest? It’s like winning a prize, glowing, validating, rewarding and empowering.

What if you’re not? Then you keep doing what you do and somewhere, somehow, for someone what you do will produce a response, a connection that encapsulates a sense of fineness. Alternatively, accept your place on the continuum running between excellence (with or without the reward of glory/obscurity) and badness (again with the various attendant responses it might produce).

Britain’s finest…it’s great to be it because then you know that you’re loved, that what you’ve done has made a difference to people’s lives, that you and what you do are valued and that, at least for now, you’re secure.

The possibility that you’ll not always be the finest unless you keep working very hard hovers, but that’s OK because you’ll keep working for as long as inclination, energy and inspiration last. If external notions of finery become more elusive then it may be time to take a more sanguine approach to the whole bally thing.

If you’re in a bolshie mood and notions of meritocratic hierarchy cloy like a big pot of bubbling goop, then have a good old grumble, see the funny side and turn it to good use, e.g. write a sketch or a poem, perhaps called Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for…