“I feel sorry for the old horse,” my son stated, ingesting his Coke within the interval.
“We all feel sorry for the horse,” I replied.
“He’s going to die, isn’t he?’’
“Er, well… it rarely ends well for the loyal, hard-working and exhausted masses under the yoke of a totalitarian dictator’s regime. But don’t worry. Pringles?”
We had been halfway via at an excellent new stage adaptation of Animal Farm at Stratford East, and the destiny of poor Boxer was already turning into clear.
It’s 80 years since George Orwell printed Animal Farm. He wrote it after coming back from the Spanish civil battle the place he had been horrified by leftist factional combating. His makes an attempt to get the guide printed had been thwarted by an unwillingness among the many institution to so clearly assault Stalin’s Russia at a time the international locations had been allies.
A response from Jonathan Cape publishers urged that if the fable had been addressed “more generally to dictators and dictatorships at large, then publication would be all right”, however it was too clearly telling the historical past of post-revolution Russia. Jonathan Cape needn’t have apprehensive. Watching final week, few within the viewers had been considering of Stalin and Trotsky.
All should have been interested by proper now and the way, little by little, a pacesetter goes from saying, “I am with you” to “I am the chosen one”. How he harnesses minds into paranoia about saboteurs and “enemies of the people”. How he tears up the principles and makes his personal. And the way energy and wealth develop into ever extra managed by a small group of already highly effective individuals – leaving abnormal individuals lugging boulders up hills.
It might be that after a few months of whirlwind motion Donald Trump can be content material to retire to the golf course, the constitutional guardrails will kick in and issues will relax. If Elon (or Squealer?) permits it. However for now, none of this bodes effectively for the hard-working American individuals who put a lot religion in Trump. It doesn’t look good for Boxer.
Bare ankles
Of all of the issues that appear to be disappearing from trendy life – pubs, libraries, politeness and fundamental fact – the one most worrying me recently has been… socks. It’s been a chilly week. Bitter. With icy blasts gouging the pores and skin. So the place have all of the socks gone? On draughty station platforms, buffeted bus stops and icy excessive streets, increasingly persons are leaving their ankles to courageous the chilly. There they’re wrapped in a bobble hat, quilted jacket and scarf – however with a gaping hole between the place their trousers finish and their trainers start. Any socks which might be on present are these foolish ones that don’t fairly hit the ankle bone. It’s all an excessive amount of. Or actually not sufficient for this time of yr.
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Phlegm brulée
Disagreeable second of the week goes to Adrián Simancas, the younger kayaker who discovered himself contained in the mouth of a humpback whale. Adrián had been out together with his father, Dell, within the Strait of Magellan, Chile, when a humpback surfaced and snapped up the kayak.
Jonah famously survived three days contained in the whale earlier than being spat out; for Adrián it was simply moments. Apparently the humpback can solely swallow objects no larger than a watermelon. Adrián’s best danger would have been asphyxiation contained in the whale’s mouth, which has no breathable air. We will solely think about the stench of rotting fish. And the pitch black darkness. Adrián significantly observed the slime that hit his face. Eeeuw.
