explorers or boys messing about

para 1

p - Stephen Morris emphasises that the men’s ignorance has led to a complete waste of time and taxpayer money

e - ‘explorers or boys’ in a sarcastic tone

a - he sees their activities as a waste of time and he views them as both immature and childish - morris would be more critical of this because he is a left wing writer in the guardian

e - ‘probably have their bottoms kicked and be sent home the long way’

a - This emphasises the resources that were expended on their foolish adventure, and reference to the quote from Ms Vestey further reinforces the idea that they are childlike and need someone senior to watch over them.

para 2

p - Morris presents the boys, and perhaps the capitalist system of excessive and unchecked consumption, as childish; as if they were not truly advancing the scientific cause but were instead playing at being actors.

e - ‘drama’ … ‘40 and 42’

a - suggests men are carefree and unaware of the consequences. perhaps as a humorous allusion to portray the age doesn't necessarily suggest maturity, and the connotations of maturity asserted by these ages is juxtaposed by the stupidity of the capitalist men's actions.

e - ‘trusty’… ‘trusty’

a - humorous as it follows the factual and engineering jargon which illustrates the helicopter is in-fact, not trustworthy - the phrase 'trusty' is again, mostly used within fairy-tales again suggesting the men are childish, as they associate themselves with children's fairytales, and are naïve to the weaknesses of their helicopter, something which again is juxtaposed by their level of experience they poses.

para 3

p - Morris, as a Guardian reporter, a newspaper that seeks to expose excessive corruption and consumption

e - ‘a wedding present’

a - The irony when referring to the item which their life depends on again reinforces the idea of the men's idiocy and thus, their irony but of course also links to the men's consumption, and the flaws in capitalist society as people become reliant on gadgets unfit for function.

e - ‘emergency people’

a - The colloquial language when referring to the people their lives are hands in, again suggests the men's arrogance as they ignore correct terminology when referring to professionals, perhaps again containing a humorous aspect as these are the very reasons the men are in trouble due to the overestimation of their helicopter’s strength. The men's arrogance

para 4

p - Morris juxtaposes the ignorance of the men with the expertise of the trained, perhaps to suggest the real heroes are not the wealthy but those who work to support our country, reflective of his paper’s left wing ideology

e - "I’m surprised they used the R44. I wouldn’t use a helicopter like that to go so far over the sea. It sounds as if they were pushing it to the maximum,"

a - jargon shows the juxtaposition between the experienced experts and the foolish boys. The expert speaks in jargon, emphasising his knowledge, and he uses the verb ‘surprised’ to suggest that the boy’s decision was clear idiocy to a man with expertise

e - "Their last expedition ended in farce"

a - the hyperbolic ‘farce’ shows Morris emphasizing their pattern of recklessness and inability to learn from past mistakes due to their lack of knowledge