The Importance of Being Earnest

The National Theatre's latest production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" was shown in the Connaught Theatre.

It is very appropriate for Worthing because the main character is called "Worthing" for reasons which become apparent and indeed the play was written by Oscar Wilde in Worthing.

It is remarkable that Wilde was able to persuade Victorians to flock to a play which ridicules the predominant values in Victorian society and in particular the class system. This is still relevant today when the privileged one percent consider themselves superior to the 99 percent.

The way Wilde did this was with wicked humour and this production makes the most of it.

Sharon D Clarke's Lady Bracknell was a brilliant example of snobbery - a snobbery which was ameliorated by the chance for her nephew "to marry 130,000 pounds."

Ncuti Gatwa was possibly the most camp Algernon Moncrieff in history but the character was true to the intentions of the play to produce "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People".

Hugh Skinner's Jack Worthing was equally outrageous.

In fact, the whole cast kept the audience in stitches.

This is well worth a visit and a lot cheaper than visiting a theatre in London.

Comedians

Trump has derided Zelensky as a "comedian turned politician". Is that better than a politician turned comedian, Mr Trump?"

"Idioter and idioter" said Alice

Flash Essay on Flash Fiction

"Idioter" is a portmanteau word combining "editor" and "idiot". I can reveal that my editor is sensitive and intelligent but there are some idioters out there.

A totalising narrative used by many editors is the idea that a story should "show and not tell". This is a good description of a certain type of writing. Writers use direct speech and action sequences to tell the story. To apply this to all writing is the action of a jackass.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Editors would reject Jane Austen

"It was a bright cold day in April and the clock was just striking thirteen" They wouldn't have Orwell either.

"“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” And as for Dickens..

Mr McMillan, Thank you for the opportunity to read your work. Our Editorial Policy is that stories should "show" and not "tell" so your story has been rejected at this time.

Dear Editor, Have you considered sticking your Editorial Policy up where the sun doesn't shine? I can "show" you. #flashfiction #fiction #editor

This has been submitted to the Dribble Drabble Review.

Safe nuclear power

The new Labour plan for green nuclear power which overrides any local objections to a Windscale on your doorstep is very interesting. I wonder how many nuclear power stations will actually be built in Keir Starmer's constituency.

Nuclear power stations produce the elements necessary for nuclear weapons. Thank heavens Chernobyl proved how safe they are. 

Trump's plan to Seize the Gaza strip

The Guardian coverage of this statement is here.

Trump justified this madcap scheme by saying, "“The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative,” the president told a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House on Tuesday evening. “It’s right now a demolition site. This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down.”

He was sitting next to Netanyahu, the person responsible for this state of affairs but he does not do irony.

It is as though Trump's advisers told him the worst thing he could possibly say and he went and said it. Most commentators draw attention to the fact that the details are vague which suggests Trump did not mean this but that it was a negotiating position.
"Tobogganing with eyes closed towards catastrophe," is the phrase Trotsky used and it seems apt.

Quis Custodet

The new Ofsted scheme of assessment raises the obvious question, who inspects the inspectors?

I would suggest that teachers would be best placed.

As a former teacher, I could contribute a few comments about the clowns who inspected my lessons!

Only one OFSTED inspector gained any respect. She had the chutzpah to teach a lesson with members of staff observing her work. None of the others had the courage. 

Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer claimed he was a victim of "nominal determinism". Lehrer means "teacher" and for many years he was a teacher of 'applications of mathematics to the social sciences" and other topics.

 
However, he had another talent, in the 1960s and 1970s he produced a number of quirky or satirical songs. Initially, he self-published but gradually won a mass audience.

His songs are a crash course in irony. This was underscored by his use of "Gilbertian" rhymes. In other words, he tortured words in order to make them fit the song whether they liked it or not.

Tom Lehrer was a white liberal rather than a Socialist but Socialists will enjoy many of his songs.

An example is his hymn to "universal bereavement".

"When you attend a funeral
It is sad to think that sooner or l-
ater those you love will do the same for you.

And you may have thought it tragic
Not to mention other adjec-
tives to think of all the weeping they will do

But don't you worry,
No more ashes
No more sackcloth
And an armband made of black cloth
will someday never more adorn a sleeve

For if the bomb that drops on you
Gets your friends and neighbours too,
There'll be nobody left behind to grieve

And we will all go together when we go
All suffused with an incandescent glow
Universal bereavement
An inspiring achievement
Yes, we all will go together when we go.

He followed this up with "So long mom, I'm off to drop the bomb" and a song about Werner Von Braun, the Nazi employed by American imperialism to develop nuclear missiles. 

Another song is about America's number one instrument of diplomacy

When someone makes a move
Of which we don't approve
Who is it who always intervenes?
UN and OAS
They have their place I guess
But first
Send the Marines
For might makes right
Until they've seen the light
They've got to be protected
All their rights respected
Till somebody we like can be elected!

His song about vivisection, based on a true story, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" was released as a popular single in the UK and the flip side was a parody of the passionate or fiery variety of  love song "The Masochism Tango".

He never claimed that his songs would change minds about the bomb or cruelty to animals but they bolstered the beliefs of those who were already opposed. 

And they were great fun, albeit the humour was rather dark as I have attempted to show. 

Australia Quiz Answers

Australia Quiz Answers

1 Mr James was a famous comedian. What was his first name?
a Canberra b Sydney c Melbourne

2 What is the capital of Australia?

a Canberra b Sydney c Melbourne

3 What is the capital of Victoria?
a Canberra b Sydney c Melbourne

4 Tasmania is a country?
True or False

5 New Zealand is a country?
True or False

6 How many islands are there in New Zealand?
a 2 b 60 c 600

7 How many kangaroos are there in Australia?
a a million b 100 million c 50 million

8 Which city hosted the Summer Olympics in 1956?
a Melbourne b Brisbane c Perth

9 Australia means?
a Southern Land b God's Own Country c Prison

10 Which animal carries its young in a pouch?
a kangaroo b bush baby c sheep

11 Which uniquely Australian animal lays eggs?
a Platypus b bush baby c sheep

12 The capital of the Northern Territory is?
a Darwin b Spencer c Alice Springs

13 What is a dingo?
a a wild dog b a pudding c a state

14 Who was Waltzing in the song?
a James b Charlie c Matilda

15 Where did the swagman drown in the same song?
a Tasman Sea b Pacific Ocean c a billabong

16 What is another name for Australia?
a Over There b Down Under c Southern Paradise

17 Which animal is not a native of Australia?
a platypus b lion c Koala

18 In which Australian city would you find the Opera House?
a Canberra b Sydney c Melbourne

19 If it's Christmas in Australia, what season is it?
a Summer b Autumn c Winter

20 What does a koala like to eat?
a eucalyptus leaves b other koalas c insects