Idiot of the Day #1.

Today's idiot is John Loughery. Here's a picture of the fool:



Why is he an idiot, you might ask? And I'll refer you straight back to the above photo. But there are other reasons as well, according to the profile on the BBC:

He gave up his job to attend every day and is the only member of the public who has. He got up at 5am every morning and even slept outside the Royal Courts of Justice for three days to secure a seat on the first day.

Now, we all have interests and hobbies. Some struggle to keep those hobbies and interests in perspective. Loughery is one of those. His "interest" has cost him his job, his flat, his life and, from the sounds of things, his sanity. Keeping things in perspective seems to be an alien phrase to Loughery.

But it is not just the level of his obsession, it is the content of it that gets to me as well. He is obsessed with a dead woman. Not only is that unhealthy, but it also doesn't sound like much fun. At least most people derive some sort of pleasure from their obsessions.

Still, Loughery has a reason for wasting six months of his life:

"I'm going down in history for this. It wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't a portrait of me hanging in Kensington Palace in 100 years time."

It would surprise me, Mr Loughery, if there is a portrait of you hanging in the palace in 100 year's time. In fact it would surprise and disappoint me. Although I concede that the man might go down in history.

Perhaps not in the way he wants, though...