There were so many images and statements, most of them political, flashing at us from our TV screens last week, it was enough to bruise your eyes and ears. Some made me fearful, some made my teeth grind, some made me think of dropping my TV set from the bedroom window.
On the world stage, President Joe Biden came to Britain on Air Force One (CNN). Air Force One is a very big plane so it has an awful lot of steps you have to walk up if you want to board It, and walk down if you want to leave it. Joe Biden and his wife descended them at an American Air Force base in Folkestone, and my heart was in my mouth that Joe would mis-step – it’s been known to happen, Virginia – and go crashing down the steps, ending a bloody and crumpled figure at the bottom. But he didn’t. The same applied to his speech to the US troops (CNN). Talking to and about troops is a funny thing. What in ordinary life would be atrocious – reminding people that they’ve killed other people, that they’ve dropped tens of thousands of explosives on the cities of other people – when applied to gung-ho military becomes a cause for clapping and cheering. Joe’s speech mangled one great Irish poet (if Yeats had wanted to say “A terrible beauty has been born”, Joe, he’d have written it that way; in fact he opted for “A terrible beauty is born”). Then he attributed the famous line “They also serve who only stand and wait” to “another great Irish poet”. Fact-check, Joe: the line was written by the English poet John Milton, who arranged for thousands of Irish to be transported into plantation slavery in the West Indies and was a cheerleader for Cromwell’s practice of hanging, burning and killing thousands of Irish who would not renounce their Catholic faith. Maybe dump that particular speech-writer, Joe.
Then there was that Spotlight programme on the BBC, looking at Edwin Poots. Let’s be fair to this man: he’s handling a hot-potato situation. It’s hard to believe that Arlene Foster could ever attract a swell of sympathy but that’s just what’s happened. Her chief assassin sat at a table being quizzed on the hand-to-hand fighting currently going on in the DUP. Edwin spoke vaguely of strong personalities and bruises and giving time to heal the wounds. He also said how appalling the Protocol was, but he seemed not to be aware that his party were crucial in getting Brexit over the line and that, if you took the protocol away, you’d need border checks somewhere else. He murmured at one point about checks on goods headed for NEI to be done at British ports, which actually was more or less what EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič was suggesting. But having shown that he’s capable of being pragmatic and accepting what his government agreed, Edwin then says the Protocol Must Go. How will it ‘go’ and who will agree to make it ‘go’?
Come back, Arlene. We’re missing you already.*
- All of this was written before today’s outbreak of fist-boot-and-knuckleduster…
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