Oh come on this is television. Springwatch set stuff up as much as any other TV program. One example is when they ‘found’ some grass snakes in a compost heap. What actually happened is they searched lots of heaps until they found some grass snakes, take the snakes out, put them in the fridge to slow them down a bit, get all the cameras, lighting, sound people in place, then put the dopey snakes back in place so that Chris and co. can ‘find’ them.

Did that actually happen or is it what you think happened??

Good programme.

Did that actually happen or is it what you think happened??

I wasn’t actually there so I can’t swear that it happened but it was widelely reported and discussed amongst the UK herptology community at the time. To be fair to Springwatch it is a widely used technique amongst photographers who will set up an ‘environment’ in a studio where they can control lighting etc and then place the dopey reptile in the poses that they want. Not really ‘wildlife’ photography as you’d imagine it, but it’s what happens………

But did you see Chris P ‘Anal rubbing’ Michaela at the end of last nights Autumn Watch 😯 😯

Black Cock LOL!

Packham up
Packham in
let me begin

– Chris Packham having sex

^

Likes.

I didn’t tune in for the black cock line, but I remember his immortal statement in a previous series:

“And now to a man who’s spent 30 years studying chuffs.”

Your point being…..?

Earlier in the thread Nick said:

I’d much rather watch the honesty of Packham than the fakery and anthropomorphism of Attenborough

I was making that point that CP and Springwatch indulge in as much fakery……….

I am still fuming with Chris Packham when he said I could win a hand held Game Boy (his exact words). Early 90s, so I was VERY excited. Whitbread Hop farm in Kent, I took part in a kids nature game he fronted, I went and bloody won…. rock up to collect my Game Boy, it was a hand held puzzle with ‘Whitbread Hop farm’ printed on it. . Never forgiven him.

Mrwhyte – I feel your pain…

he said I could win a hand held Game: Boy!

FTFY. Hope it eases your suffering.

Watched 30 minutes, got the jist, after that it just seemed a bit “look at me”.

I’ll watch the rest when he watches a program about me.

I have just copied the response Chris put on his site saying thanks for all the positive responses. Anybody thinking that it is “All about me” should read the last paragraph. He knows he just goes on about things (that is part of the Aspergers) and why it is shown.
——————————–
Thank you.

The response has been both phenomenal and overwhelming. I wish I had the time to answer each and every tweet and posting but it’s Autumnwatch season so please accept this message as that personal reply.

I think that if you have been afforded a voice, however small, then you should use it to instigate positive change. It’s not an option – it’s a duty, and to forfeit that duty, to keep life easy, to not rock the boat, to play safe, is simply unforgivable, immoral, untenable. Thus I really didn’t have a choice but to speak up about autism, for autistic people.

Talking frankly about the negative aspects, past and present, was not as difficult as many imagine. It’s what I, we, do. We like and need the truth and we don’t shy away from saying it. Sometimes this gets us into trouble, personally . . . and professionally. But for this unique opportunity to work, to open my world to others so they could try to see, hear, smell and feel it, absolute honesty was obligatory. Some of it hurt, revisiting the grave of my Kestrel wasn’t easy, it opened doors that I try to keep shut, but to fully expose the gravity of that love, its loss and its lifelong impact . . . Well, many, many people have kindly voiced their respect for this honesty – thank you.

What was more difficult was positioning myself to represent the autistic community. Because it’s impossible. I am not a typical autistic person – because there isn’t a typical autistic person. Amongst this community I am probably in a better position than others, those with more extreme or debilitating aspects of the condition. Whilst we may share traits, we have very different needs so I wanted to be clear and candid about this too. The acceptance of this sensitive dilemma by healthcare professionals and the autistic tribe was very reassuring – thank you.

What I also needed to display was our vulnerability. Not just my own, but that of most autistic people and their families. When things get dark we get desperate for solutions and interventions that have not yet been clinically proven to work, are obviously there and may be tempting. Understandably there are enormous pressures to try and fix things and trying to somehow ‘normalise’ ourselves or get ‘normalised’ can seem like the best solution. From my personal perspective I think this is wrong, and that at this point in time it’s impossible. Of course there are therapies that can help – but none that can cure autism. And that was the big question I chose to ask myself and the world . . . if we could, should we ‘cure’ autism.

(It won’t surprise you know that I have absolutely no time at all for hypothetical questions, but for the purpose of stimulating debate we tabled this one.) Postulating such a solution produced some shocking results and an important concluding message . . . No. Emphatically – no.

And that’s the message that I wanted to land to parents, friends, colleagues and a large number of isolated, unhappy, confused children, teenagers and adults. We don’t need a cure, there is nothing wrong with us – we are different. And that difference has enormous biological and social importance. Many of us have skills to invent solutions, produce art and science to benefit all and to receive these gifts all we need in return is understanding, tolerance and acceptance. For all autistic people it mustn’t any longer be about what we can’t do, it’s got to be about what we can do. And it appears from your thousands of responses that I hit the mark – thank you. Thank you a lot.

Now, one last and very important thing. The above is all me and I. And I don’t like that because it’s not all about me at all. This programme was made by Charlie Russell and he is brilliant. It was produced by Lizzie Kempton, equally superb. RAW TV did a great job and none of it would have happened without the vision and faith of Tom MacDonald and Abigail Priddle at the BBC. These people deserve more praise than I do . . . all I did was go on, and on, and on about birds, battles, art, cars . . . more birds . . . aeroplanes . . . books . . .

Chris

PS I’m very pleased to now be acting as a patron for the National Autistic Society.

PPS Scratchy is well. His treatment for liver disease is working.

PPPS Megan has yet to graduate. I have taken on board your comments and the University of Liverpool are trying to tempt me with poodles and pangolins. But . . . it’s just a piece of paper . . .

The program is still all about him and after getting an understanding of the condition I have no interest in him.

Thats not a critism btw just why would I watch a programme about someone who’s not me?

Thats not a critism btw just why would I watch a programme about someone who’s not me?

Because it can create greater awareness and promote dialogue…

Thats not a critism btw just why would I watch a programme about someone who’s not me?

Guess you don’t watch much tv then?

About as much as Packham I suspect and also mostly about things not people.

Thats the irony here, he’s made a programme that appeals to people people about him not being a people person.

Wilburt – have you been to see your doctor about your complete lack of empathy?

Wilburt – have you been to see your doctor about your complete lack of empathy?

A lack of empathy is a documented trait of some autistic conditions. Are you suggesting Wilburt could be ‘cured’ by a doctor?

And if people with a lack of empathy had to go to a doctor the waiting rooms in all GP surgeries around the land would be filled with tories.

Assuming you’re not trolling….
Cured? No
Diagnosed with being on the spectrum? Maybe. A lack of insight and a total failure to grasp that most other people think differently to you is also a “trait”.

Thats not a critism btw just why would I watch a programme about someone who’s not me?

A programme about me would be rubbish as it would be full of spoilers. A programme about someone who isn’t me, such as Sophia Loren, appeals much more.

Nice one manton69.
I’m particularly happy about the ppps. 🙂

Assuming you’re not trolling….

Yeah, funny. Remember, you are the person asking if someone has been to the doctor about their lack of empathy.

GP surgeries around the land would be filled with tories.

Unlikely and a bit of diservice to everyone on on the spectrum.
Allegiance to a political party is largely a normals thing, decisions made logically based on evidence would be a preference and likely to span all party policy.

Made me think though perhaps thats what we need, a party of clear thinkers not differing muddlers. 😀

Unlikely and a bit of diservice to everyone on the spectrum

Not at all – I have not suggested autistic people are tories and I have not suggested tories are autistic.

I have simply suggested that Tories lack empathy therefore if people with a lack of empathy should go to the GP etc,.

And we’re off…Dicks gonna dick

Actually its a big mistake to assume autistic people lack empathy. The “problem” is the lack of an innate ability to understand other people’s emotional signals and cues (a kind of social GPS in the brain) and NOT the inability to relate to or share their emotions. E.g. in the program Chris showed empathy towards the mother and son receiving treatment. Many autistic people show profound, sometimes debilitating, empathy for situations that neurotypical people don’t, e.g. Chris and his dogs.

In fact, it is psychopaths that lack empathy, but are able to understand and manipulate others emotions for their own purposes without any impact on themselves.

*waits for a programme about Wilbert*

& waits
& waits
& waits…….

TV programmes about things not people.. brilliant. Gotta love STWorld. Out there on its own.

Is a person a “thing“?
🙄

Its wilburt, not Wilbert.

I do wish you normals would pay attention.

wilburt – Member
I do wish you normals would pay attention.

wilburt, trust me, nobody is normal on here

Its wilburt, not Wilbert.

Sorry.

*waits for a programme about wilburt*

& waits.
& waits. Etc etc etc. 😉

Can we leave this thread to be what it started out as? It didn’t begin as another excuse for shitty bickering.

In fact, it is psychopaths that lack empathy, but are able to understand and manipulate others emotions for their own purposes without any impact on themselves.

Agree, and like I said – tories

Here, here, jamj!

+jamj

Watched it last night. Changed my opinion of him in a positive way. The American school reminded me a bit on a Louis Therouix documentary, did Louis go to a similar place at some point?

He’s obviously very passionate about important stuff* which like he says, society needs to adapt to rather than forcing adaption on, to appreciate what it does do rather than what it doesn’t. A bit like bicycles/motorists.

*ie wildlife/autism.