The Great British Bake Off - 2015

Oh fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

*Paul and Mary AND Sue and Mel are back.

Did Paul father Marcela's latest offspring? Are they still an item?

I'm so depressed I can't watch this is America right now. This is possibly the best show in the world.

Hey R3, I'm in the US and I watch on a streaming site several hours after it airs in the UK. Do some Googling and I bet you'll find something. Oh, last episode was biscuits (or cookies, to us).

Latest episode was BREAD.

Hipster bit the dust thankfully early. The Bread episode was good, but *nothing* will ever compare to Dianagate and the Baked Alaska Debacle. That was *magnificent*.

I hate the fact I find Paul so hot.

the Mary Berry look of gentle disapproval is something i gotta master

I found that firefighter guy Mat awfully cute despite his weird looking nose

here is Mat's photo, and he is much cuter on tv

Matt is a walking Wallace and Gromit character.

r3, here ya go:

The "Extra Slice" aftershows are fun.

My PBS has been showing the show on Saturday nights. Two episodes every Saturday.

They crowned the winner this past Saturday.

Is this a new season you are discussing?

Who was the winner? The latest season shown right now in the UK is season 6 and is on it's fourth or fifth episode

Dears, we don't call them "seasons" here in the UK, not in the telly-box sense. The word you're looking for is "series". Do keep up.

I'm waiting for this years Diana-moment. And yes, I did cackle when that forgettable berk didn't win star baker this time around.

That show is a damn good example of nonfiction media. It's a reality show, but more refined than we see in the States. And the production values are good too.

Plus it's educational!

r16, leave Ian alone...

Tamal is cute as hell.

But the burka'd chick did make some nice ice cream rolls. And the colored batter trick was sweet.

Agreed, R20, Tamal is the most attractive guy on the set, and he's got a great personality as well. I've got a bit of a crush.

I love this show but I always wonder at the arbitrary number of items the contestants are told to make per challenge: 24 scones, 36 pitas, 12 eclairs. Why so many and does anyone eat them or do they all get dumped? I kinda hate the wasting of food on a lot of these cooking shows.

I've heard that the crew wolf down the munchies. And yeah, Tamal is *hot*

OH NO!!! the awfully cute Mat was eliminated last night, this came right after he won the star baker last week. This is so sad, I need a cake now!

I hate reality shows and contests - okay that world wide scavenger hunt one was kinda enjoyable at times - but this show is fabulous. No one tries to humiliate anyone or be mean. It's just a lovely outing and as someone said it is educational. I stopped baking a long time ago when I got a tiny kitchen, I still cook a lot but baking takes so much it's just easier to buy baked goods. And great baked goods are everywhere now unlike back in the day. This show is inspiring me to start baking again - just in time for the holidays.

I watch it on both PBS and its companion channel PBS-UK.

The only disappointing thing about this series is that it is pretty much obvious who is getting kicked off each week. It has never really been a tight decision, yet, so it robs the end of each episode of any real tension.

R27 well I think the "suspense" is who will win the star baker, not the one who is let go, like yesterday's episode, Ian made a fantastic show-stopper and I thought he would win with that crown piece, but in the end the star baker is Tamal because of his overall performance in all three challenges.

I have to agree. I loathe most reality tv. I only catch this show occasionally, but when I do I'm smitten. Interesting contestants from all walks of life, funny and engaging hosts, smart, articulate, tough, but compassionate judges. I'm kind of amazed at the variety of things that people can bake out of a collection of very similar ingredients. Though, must admit, the show is TORTURE if you're counting carbs.

r25, NOOOOOOOOOOOO......

I repeat - more than half the fun for me is the Extra Slice aftershow. The tone and Jo Brand's sense of humor is just as delightful as the show itself.

Love this show. I've never eaten boar, rabbit, pigeon or venison but those pies looked tasty. During the contestant visits, Mary's mentioned "jelly" with the Game pies. Being a dumb American, I wondered how (grape) jelly paired with meat. Ian(?) made a side dish of tan goo with his pie. Is that still served in modern times in England - savory pie with a side dish of savory gelatine?

I like Nadiya - she is just so exotic, pretty, and sincere. I still don't understand why the judges are shooed out of the tent when the hosts describe what they have to make during the Technical challenge. Even though one of the judges chose the bake item, them being in the room has no bearing on how the proceedings go.

R32 - the jelly is usually poured *into* the pie to set as it cools. Because of the time-limits on the pies, they didn't have that opportunity. It would have definitely made some of the drier pies more succulent and juicy. And yes, here in the UK, we do still eat pies with jelly in 'em - look up the Melton Mowbray pork pie. It's a delight.

I'm going to be honest I was glad that Ian didn't win Star Baker this week. He's a bit smug and a bit "well, look at what I can do!" If you take away the crown on that bloody dessert he made last night (Charlotte russe is actually quite easy to make, despite what the show claims), his effort was quite mediocre compared to, say, Tamal or Nadiya's. Tamal's was impressive - Charlotte russe traditionally has a sponge base, but he thickened the jelly with enough gelatin (my mother chirped "He likes it stiff and hard, doesn't he?") so that it *didn't* need the sponge base. Ian's was....meh.

The one thing I'm loving about this years Bake Off right now is the spluttering rage of the commenters on the Daily Mail - not just one token Asian, but TWO? AND ONE OF THEM IS A FUCKING MUSLIM!? Rather mirth-inducing, wot.

By the way - if you're new to GBBO, I thoroughly recommend waiting for the Patisserie episode. That's when you see the smugness fade (yes, Flora, I'm looking at *you*, girl)...

Why did I find Mat so attractive? But I did, I was so sad to see him go. I don't care who wins now. I'll watch, but it won't be the same without Mat. It's a good year, maybe not as good as 2012, maybe on par with 2013, much better than last year though.

I can see Nadiya having a career on TV, if like Jon, she gets some professional training.

My favorite cooking reality show is Masterchef Australia. It goes on for like sixty episodes per season. Cute Aussies, weird ingredients, tasty food, and everybody is so darned nice and friendly.

isn't Tamal also a Muslim? they have two Muslims on the show this year.

[quote]The one thing I'm loving about this years Bake Off right now is the spluttering rage of the commenters on the Daily Mail - not just one token Asian, but TWO? AND ONE OF THEM IS A FUCKING MUSLIM!? Rather mirth-inducing, wot.

The Daily Mail comments are always filled to the brim with bigoted insanity.

Mat's post-exit interview with The Guardian:

Mat became the seventh baker to leave the tent on Wednesday – and the second person to do so the week after being named star baker in the Great British Bake Off’s sixth series.

The firefighter’s his and hers vol-au-vents and pina colada frangipane tart impressed the judges last week. But his efforts this week were less well received.

Tamal, who felt he had jinxed himself last week by saying he wanted the top spot, was much luckier on Wednesday. He was named star baker for the first time.

Mat said he was proud of having made it to the seventh week, having expected to go out in week one. But, he said, he had felt out of his depth at times.

“I felt from the beginning that I was surrounded by better bakers, my knowledge was nowhere near their level. I had probably baked 20 different things in my life at that stage, and when I was talking to some of the other bakers – their breadth of knowledge was very daunting.

“I knew I was out of my depth in Victorian week with the techniques and the bakes involved. Some of the recipes we were given in advance but I never practised because I didn’t ever expect to get to week seven.”

Mat began baking because he was working four days on, four days off “and it was a way of filling your day”. He said he used to take his bakes in to work for his colleagues at the fire station.

“It was always good to feed 10 or 12 hungry blokes and the guys have given really good support, I was expecting a bit of ribbing but it hasn’t happened so far.

“Since Bake Off I have absolutely become a better baker, there are things that I would never have tried, for example the Spanische Windtorte, so it has made me a more confident baker.”

He described himself as a secret baker, saying that some of his family only knew he was into it when they saw him on the show.

He said: “I shall be proudly watching my fellow bakers complete the series with a cold beer and a smile on my face, knowing I am not in the tent. Every bit of the show was such a brilliant experience, working with the crew, meeting Mel and Sue and getting great comments from Mary and Paul’s judging was exciting and unexpected. It’s like getting a good report at school, and I felt I might try harder next time.

“I am a pretty happy go lucky bloke, and I had nothing to take from the show, I just entered for a laugh but then once you get into it you imagine you are half decent. I never took myself too seriously as you then lose the fun of it. I always reminded myself that I am on a programme that people love to watch, and if you are not enjoying it then go home.”

I love the things I learn on this show - a lot of the items sound so exotic like frangipane, bavarois, madeira cake, hot water crust, etc. I had to look up vol-en-vents last week; I had never heard this word before but I recognized the pastry item when I saw it.

I also love Masterchef Australia for the reasons the other commenter stated. Civility and inventiveness to the extreme. The only downside is twitchy George Columbaris and his annoying catch phrase "boom boom, shake the room".

[quote] Being a dumb American, I wondered how (grape) jelly paired with meat. Ian(?) made a side dish of tan goo with his pie. Is that still served in modern times in England - savory pie with a side dish of savory gelatine?

Language is a bit of a problem here. Jelly in the UK refers to what Americans call Jello as a dessert or, in this case, the aspic that accompanies traditional meat pies. It is nothing like grape jelly in the US, which is something of a thin, watery sieved jam.

Tamal's surname is Ray, which suggests a Hindu or a Xian, not a Muslim.

I liked Jo Brand's bit about the most menacing offer of help ever seen on the Bake Off, it was Warden Paul to, I think, Alvin. That stare was deadly but he meant well.

It was nice to see Tamal win after he did so well in the game pie challenge and then said, "Well we know where this goes, don't we?"

That Tennis Cake was weird but I love a good Charlotte Russe. I want Nadiya's teacher's Italian meringue bavoir recipe. That went over very well with Paul and Mary.

The Jo Brand Warden Paul stare bit was either last week or the week before. I haven't seen this week's Extra Slice yet.

I thought the tennis cake was silly. It was just a fruit cake with those tennis courts on top, and they were loose as well, so not even really part of the cake. You could put anything on top a fruit cake and call it a whatever cake.

Yay Nadiya again for Star Baker!!!

Why does Nadiya always have that wide eyed terrified like "I am about to be duct taped and thrown into a pool and drowned for an honor killing" look? She gives this look like the kitchen is run under Sharia Law. Full face fucking close ups like she is about to be murdered. I have gotten so used to seeing them that I bust out laughing. Who knows, maybe Mr. Hollywood is holding a relative of hers captive?

I love her facial expressions. She's completely adorable, to be honest (I cracked up when she said she was prepared to streak down the river this week). I will say it - her face when Paul was trying to fill his creamy horn - don't ask!! - was EPIC.

Again, she always looks like she's about to be tasered.

R46, I've had the same thoughts. She always scrunches up her nose like she's anticipating a slap. However, she's got more variety of expression than Flora's omnipresent chewing-of-lip.

Tamal is kind, cute, bakes, and he's training to be anaesthetist. There must be something wrong with him, no one is that perfect.

R50, you forgot funny. His comment about the judges being lions hungry for bakers cracked me up.

I wish someone would smack Flora for that lip-chewing shit. Fuck off back to Perth, you wannabe-frau. Twat.

[quote] Tamal is kind, cute, bakes, and he's training to be anaesthetist. There must be something wrong with him, no one is that perfect.

He's also gay! He just came out.

Oh my! Tamal just got even more perfect, lol

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Well, I'd definitely bang him until he squirts his creme patissiere.

Yesssss!

A real life Koothrappali!

Ruby and Sue and Tamal. Is this the gayest Brit series or what?

And Hollywood looks like he'd raise the ankles...

Mary Berry's milking this to the full.

Sainsbury's is full of Mary Berry Kitchenware.

& let's not forget all her stuff like salad dressings.

I say good on Mary Berry. She's a bit of a gem (yes, met her before Bake Off and she's absolutely lovely) I think she deserves it.

Thank Christ that lip-chewer Flora's naffed off back up to Perth. Shame that Ian survived. Tamal lives to serve up another slice of hotness for another day (just bend over more when you're getting stuff out of the oven, will you?) and yay Nadiya! Bet the Daily Wail's getting their shitty Spanx in a twist...

[quote]Thank Christ that lip-chewer Flora's naffed off back up to Perth.

I take it that that means that Flora was voted out of the kitchen this week?

I didn't mind her or her lip chewing but she was a bit of a chancer. Don't really mind who wins but Nadiya lost points for me this week after her flop souffle. Can't abide weepers. Stiff upper lip, woman!

Is dentistry banned in England? Worst teeth in the world.

I liked Flora. She's somebody you'd like to have in your circle of friends.

Circle of friends? What is this, a Maeve Binchy novel? She chewed her lip and was obsessed with style over substance. Get rid of her!

So Tamal is single

I love Nadiya and hope she wins - she's hilarious!

I agree with R61. R60, unless I can order that shit online, I'm bringing some Mary Berry baking gear home in my luggage this year. I worship her and her tea cakes. Tasteful friends, Mary's an excellent example of how a woman of a certain age (70's) can put herself together appropriately without having one foot in the grave. It's not always exactly what I would buy for my Grandma but it's still a good look.

I didn't hate Flora but I'm not sorry to see the back of her. She was always saying "Sorry" in that pathetic way after she'd massively fucked up. They kept telling her to concentrate on the bake not the embellishment but she just would not listen. I suppose I wasn't much different at 19 but still, she was annoying.

Lovely Tamal, Sweet Nadiya and Absentminded Professor Ian are a good trio for the finals.

They were far too tough on poor Ian this week. He built them a working well made out of chocolate that was full of liquid chocolate and it worked, for fuck's sake.

Poor Mary Berry always bites into something from the side of her mouth as if her choppers are unable to use the front teeth. I love it when she goes in for a chomp with the canines and ends up saying something like "it has a lovely crunch" or "what a lovely crumb". She would probably say that porridge has a lovely crumb.

And Hollywood has just a bit too much of himself. I cant wait till we get to the "master classes" and see what they whip up (without a time limit, the dodgy blaggers.)

R71 - Bake Off's not like Masterchef (thank god) in that there's no "master classes". Probably the reason why GBBO is so well loved. The point about Bake Off is that it's about amateur bakers, not trained professionals.

Then what are all these Master Classes from The Great British Bake Off r72 (Season 6 hasn't ended)?:

Season 2

The Great British Bake Off Season 2 Episode 9 – Masterclass

The Great British Bake Off Season 2 Episode 10 – Masterclass (2)

The Great British Bake Off Season 2 Episode 11 – Masterclass (3)

Season 3

The Great British Bake Off Season 3 Episode 11 – Masterclass

The Great British Bake Off Season 3 Episode 12 – The Great British Bake Off Revisited

The Great British Bake Off Season 3 Episode 13 – Masterclass (2)

The Great British Bake Off Season 3 Episode 14 – Masterclass (3)

The Great British Bake Off Season 3 Episode 15 – Christmas Masterclass

Season 4

The Great British Bake Off Season 4 Episode 11 – Masterclass - 1

The Great British Bake Off Season 4 Episode 12 – Masterclass - 2

The Great British Bake Off Season 4 Episode 13 – Masterclass - 3

The Great British Bake Off Season 4 Episode 14 – Masterclass - 4

Season 5

The Great British Bake Off Season 5 Episode 11 – Masterclass - 1

The Great British Bake Off Season 5 Episode 12 – Masterclass - 2

The Great British Bake Off Season 5 Episode 13 – Masterclass - 3

The Great British Bake Off Season 5 Episode 14 – Masterclass 4

The Masterclasses feature only Paul and Mary. They normally do the technical challenges from the previous season. I remember one year Paul made an amazing feta and spinach roll thing which I tried and utterly failed at.

The Comic Relief spin-off is worth looking out for. The episode with Dame Edna still makes me laugh.

R69, me too. "A Jekyll and Hyde moment"

I've only just found this thread and am AGHAST that there is no speculation about poor angst-ridden Alvin's clear case of closet. The poor guy. Seriously, did no one else here think that he is as gay as a diamante dachshund? When he started talking about his father the general and gulping "Failure is not an option" with dead eyes, my heart broke a little for him.

Who cares about Alvin when there is sweet, lovely Tamal.

I'm a lesbian who loves to bake and even I have a little crush on him.

Well, I do, R77, obviously.

Paul's death stare at Tamal and then talking about everyone's 'preferences' last week pretty much gave me a boner. I could've sworn that was flirting from Hollywood.

I didn't mind Flora. She's probably been one of the few teen girls in the show I've liked. To those who don't know GBBO has fairly strict typecasting rules and this year she filled the teen girl with wet pussy for Paul Hollywood spot. I probably liked her because she didn't flirt with Paul unlike most of the former teen girls who many times looked like they had pussy fluids running down their thighs every time they talked with him. Flora was already 19 so she wasn't a kid anymore as well.

Mat was the clumsy straight dude. A year or two ago we had a tall and lanky slightly ginger Irish(?) guy in that spot and man was he hot. He made me try find porn with tall gingers.

BTW I was suprised Sue making a joke about having a hot guy trapped in her basement few weeks back sinse she's pretty much been out forever. And more surprised to just now find out she revealed last month she's had a benign brain tumor for the last 8 years and can't have children because of it.

[quote]The Comic Relief spin-off is worth looking out for. The episode with Dame Edna still makes me laugh.

74, Team Tamal, do you have links?

It's just a clip but here's Dame Edna in the Comic Relief Bake Off.

[quote] I've only just found this thread and am AGHAST that there is no speculation about poor angst-ridden Alvin's clear case of closet. The poor guy. Seriously, did no one else here think that he is as gay as a diamante dachshund? When he started talking about his father the general and gulping "Failure is not an option" with dead eyes, my heart broke a little for him.

I agree, that was one of the saddest things I've seen on Bake Off (and elsewhere). Poor Alvin, he's so tormented.

—Anonymous

reply 76

What the fuck season was Alvin on, r76?

Plus the Lulu, Dame Edna, Edina and Pats episode.

R83, Alvin was the Filipino guy with wife and kids that was eliminated on week 6 this year. I just noticed from Wikipedia that he's a nurse.

PS- it's a British show, ergo we don't "do" the whole concept of "seasons". Good grief.

*sips strong tea*

Yes you do but you call them series, ya Brit git.

Alvin was so...forgettable. Just like his vol-aux-vents.

I love the fact that the final line-up of Guardian-Reader, Smiling Muslim and Gay Asian could have been invented to give the Daily Mail a heart attack.

R88 - Me too!

R88 - it makes me feel moister than a Mary Berry gateaux!

Not quite, R86. A season lasts for 272 shows involving a whole cast of writers whereas a series rarely exceeds six episodes from the pen of only one or two leading to the inevitable incredulous complaint from the US of "We wait a whole year for this and it's over before it has even got going. WTF??"

Teen girls gushing over Paul Hollywood? Which version of the show have you been watching?! As far as I recall, the daily mail was the only rag that accused a contestant (Ruby) of that and she turned out to be gay....

R92, it's not that hard to see the teen girl of the year blushing and and being flustered when talking with Paul. I don't remember each and every one of them, though, but there's certainly been some flirting between some of them and Hollywood. His recent messy love life might've make the production steer clear of it this year.

this is a baking show! I like the early posts in this thread, we talk about the flours, cakes and fancy names then the cute lads got eliminated, you guys turned into a gossip rag, pathetic!

R94, GBBO is a reality show that follows strict guide rules to make it what it is. If you watch the foreign versions you can see the same versions of contestants there as well. The clumsy blue collar straight guy, the house mom, the teen girl, older gay guys, younger gay guys. There is some variation but the end result is usually the same kind of group of different people.

GBBO also constantly has cheekiness and slightly dirty jokes with Paul Hollywood many times showing a vpl in his too tight jeans. The show has sexy elements in it and I can guarantee they are not accidental. Not sure about Hollywood's bulge, though.

The Hollywood bulge is never accidental.

In the US, Pillsbury owns the trademark on Bake-off. That is why the British show is renamed The Great British Kitchen Masturbation in the US for PBS. Fuck the innuendos of the soggy bottom, in America we shoot our cream right into your sticky buns. And fill them up right proper.

[quote]Ruby and Sue and Tamal. Is this the gayest Brit series or what?

Two of the former winners of the GBBO were open homosexualists. What do you expect when baked cookies are there to be smelt?

I got blocked by that Thwaite prat. All because I questioned his ganache.

[quote]I love the fact that the final line-up of Guardian-Reader, Smiling Muslim and Gay Asian could have been invented to give the Daily Mail a heart attack.

If only that would happen when the new season for the U.S. version comes around. A heavily accented gay Mexican, a university scholar, and a single mother who once relied on food stamps and got her primary health care though Planned Parenthood.

R100, wasn't the US version cancelled? None of the foreign versions I've seen have captured the charm of the original British version. Sue, Mel, Mary and Paul together are dynamite. Contestants are just props.

GBBO is peculiarly British. One thing that we seem to have in the UK series is the friendship-angle - there's none of the manufactured tension between contestants that you see on US imports.

In the UK, nice people do finish first. That shit don't roll in the US.

I don't know, r101, but it wouldn't surprise me. The Food Network already has a number of baking competition shows.

R104, if I remember correctly Paul Hollywood was also hosting the US version but accidentally let his baguette slip into the hot oven of her co-host Marcela Valladolid. The show had bad ratings and on top of that Hollywood cheating his wife made the whole thing even worse. I doubt the show is ever coming back as an American version. No idea how long it will last in the GB either. Every year there seems to be articles asking aren't we bored with this yet.

They had Jeff Foxworthy as the sole host of the US version. That's what killed it.

r105 Clickbait articles asking if we're bored yet. Well, obviously not, as the ratings have increased each series.

A scandal!

"The Great British Bake Off has been hit by a betting scandal ahead of the final - with allegations of “insider trading” from show workers that already know who wins.

A source at bookmakers Ladbrokes has revealed that they suspect a handful of people with links to the BBC show are responsible for a flood of Bake Off bets that forced them to the close the market on who would win the 2015 series.

There were 42 accounts opened in 48 hours all backing the same Bake Off winner."

They're always asked to bake 12 identical whatever-it-ises. What happens to the other 10 after the judges taste them? Or maybe it's really only 8 leftover since Sue and Mel are always grabbing a taste.

[quote]I got blocked by that Thwaite prat. All because I questioned his ganache.

I feel your pain. Nothing worse than a cook blocker.

Enjoy the final! Go Tamal and Nadiya! Just hope Ian doesn't win.

I'm guessing we're not doing spoilers?

I'm so sad this means the end of the season, and we will have a whole year without TGBBO.

R112 - Just check Google news if you wanna know who won.

IMO it was the right person.

When Mary cried I cried.

R155 - surely you mean when MARY! cried...

(I did too)

This week was a retro of 2014.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand, it's Nadiya. Loved her, hated her hajab.

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Yeah, Nadiya's husband was rather delicious. Rawr. As for you, R118, take your racist arse somewhere else, sugar.

Aww, such a cool final. Nadiya definitely deserved the win although I've had a soft spot for lovely Tamal all season. I like Ian too and sometimes I felt sorry for him. He lost his mojo after those first three wins and never got it back, really.

Nadiya's husband is hot, her kids are cute. Mary wiping her tears and tearing up herself was the show-stopper of the night.

r120, I also hate seeing women wear crosses. I scorn all visible displays of religion. Not racist.

Well get over yourself, R122. She can wear what she wants, people can wear crosses if they want, you can not wear any of it if you want. Nadiya's choice of headwear is her own business.

They need to have a nun in a wimple.

R123, she can wear what she wants and I can call it a visible symbol of the disgusting systematic repression of women by a barbaric religion if I want.

Yes, you can, and she will continue to live a nice life in London.

Here, here, r125!

Self loathing submissiveness.

Nadiya appears to be a lovely person with a lovely family. I have no idea why you are belittling her like this. She is not living an oppressed, submissive life in Bangladesh, she's in England winning a television baking contest.

I love it when people win on GBBO who have low self-esteem and thought they couldn't do much. They are always genuinely surprised by the praise and get teary when someone compliments their skills. Jo was the same.

r129, you would have creamed yourself had Flora won.

No, didn't like her really. She does know that she is good and is a bit spoiled. Not genuine enough

Flora has also porked up quite a bit, judging from her appearance on "Extra Slice."

Flora's sheepish, "Sorry" when she'd fuck up massively got old in a hurry. She stayed in too long.

Nadiya seems like a very nice person and she looks good in her headgear. If she was a really strict Muslim shouldn't even shake hands with a man.

I'm not surprised about Tamal. Poor Alvin seems like a major closet case.

They usually have at least one young woman who seems like she's going to have a nervous breakdown.

Unlike US reality shows, it appears that they don't get any felons, tax cheats, or people who've done porn.

I did porn in postcard form before the War, does that count?

Aieeee! Diana! HIDE YOUR BAKED ALASKAS, BITCHES!!!

Laurie Penny has a great summation over American v British attitudes about baking.

With Tamal and Naj, even in her submissive head gear, it is very reminiscent of the British Empire.

Great article, R138. Thanks for the link. And I agree with everything in it.

r138, "submissive" headgear? There's nothing submissive about females covering to protect themselves from the male gaze. Paul the Perv didn't dare flirt with Nadiya the way he did with the other young female contestants. It was great to see him intimidated for once.

That picture of Mary in R138's link is hilarious.

r140, Jewish women cover their hair, Moslem women cover their hair because MEN say that women EXPOSING their hair inflames men's desires. Religious modesty mandates force women to be submissive. This time it's submissive headgear. Religious hogwash. Flirting is not rape. Flirting is not inflamed passion. Is she allowed to drive?

Allya be praised that Naj did not offend Is-lame or she would have ended up duct-taped and flung into a pond, the honor of her husband intact. Who do that wudu that you do so well?

Mythologies are so last millennium.

R142, it's true that women are not treated well in some cultures and the bee-keepers suit (as Bill Maher calls it) is part of their oppression. There is no excuse for it and no defending it.

If Nadiya were truly living that sort of submissive life, kept at home, not allowed to drive and so on, I doubt she would be appearing in Britain's most popular television program.

r143, there's nothing wrong with a beekeepers suit, it protects the beekeeper from the bees, just like a hijab protects females from the predatory male gaze.

It is just as repellent as a woman wearing a lace doily in church because of original sin.

The predatory male gaze is Is-lame for controlling women.

Fix the fucking males, why not.

r145, your incessant use of the term "Is-lame" is reminiscent of Sarah Palin moaning about the "lamestream" media. You must be her gay obese basement-dwelling cousin.

People who use terms like "Is-lame" don't actually give a fuck about women. They are, however, more than happy to use women in order to attack Muslims.

You're a bore, go away.

[quote]People who use terms like "Is-lame" don't actually give a fuck about women.

No, just the opposite. And I used a X-tian reference and a Mosian reference. It's just anti religious women oppression. It is institutionalized patriarchal bullshit.

I am not a bore. I won't go away. Please block me so your jaded opinions are not offended.

And I have a multi storied home that is on-slab construction: no basement r146.

r148, it's so telling that you didn't take offence at being called Sarah Palin's obese cousin, but you did take offence at being called a basement-dweller. You vulgar bourgeois KKKween.

r149, I may be coarse, I may be bourgeois, I am overweight, I am an Elder Gay, I take no offense at a desperate Palin comparison, but I am a very liberal not very KKKween or the like.

Just against other peoples mythology paraded out for public consumption.

Religion belongs in the home, behind closed doors.

Go wash your feet.

Nadia's got a taste for adventure and the wider world (she's said so), so I think the chances are good she'll ditch the garb at some point.

R147 Get a life.