Top Gear in Afghanistan

For those of you in North America not in the know, Top Gear is the BBC2 channel's most popular program. And last week its presenters -- Jeremy "Poowerrrrrr!" Clarkson, James "Oh Cock" May and Richard "I have NOT had my teeth whitened!" Hammond -- went to Afghanistan for a USO-type Christmas visit. Hammond writes about it in his column in the Daily Mirror this week.

Hammond makes some important observations about the Brits stationed in the region:

Yes, I met helicopter gunship pilots, convoy guards, flying paramedics and operatives with jobs so secret that learning the truth would cause all my hair to fall out with terror.

But I also met chefs, doctors, mechanics, computer specialists and military postmen.

I spoke to a bloke whose days consist of waking up in his tent, walking to the communal showers, then to the breakfast tent, and then to his office. He works for hours, breaks for lunch, back in the same tent, then back to his desk for more hours before he eventually collapses into his bunk late at night.

It's like any other desk job, except he could, at any time, be killed by a rocket grenade landing in his in-tray. And he's probably paid less than a junior clerk in a City firm.

You're not likely to see any details of this visit on BBC2, save maybe for a few photos and banters in Top Gear's news section should the series resume next summer. But it is reassuring to know that people from all walks of life -- even selfish petrolheads -- care about what's happening over there.