Gerrymandering, Sleaze and Corruption?

You ain't seen nothing yet, innit.

I watched the final episode of "The Amazing Mrs Pritchard" last night. I hadn't realised it was so close to its conclusion the last time I watched it. As usual I'm kicking myself for not paying more attention to the TV guides. I've only seen two full episodes, and now I've got to wait for the reruns. This series has to be the best political satire since the Comic Strip lampooned Major and Kinnock all those years ago. I can only hope that seen in hindsight it will be every bit as good again.

Last night's session almost struck an 'Animal Farm' note, half jaded-cynicsym against half accurately-observed human nature. The best-intentioned MP is surely going to be faced with some sort of Faustian question at least once in their career. I was impressed by the presentation of the outcome of making such a choice, distinctly black, not as grey as you might like to think; one fateful seed blossoming into an endless field of implications. Bring on the Grim Reaper, it's time for the harvest festival.

I was cheered to see Catherine, (my favourite character in the series), steered well away from that time-worn cliche of 'career woman gives it all up for the man she loves to have his babies'. And the script writer was right to give her the walkaway at the end of Ben's attempt to bend her to his will; demanding a kiss in public is both childish and demeaning.

Another excellent line from Miranda about the ability of a journalist to never forget a story has me wondering how much of this series might be payback time for a few of the journalists who have felt themselves wounded by the cutting edge of Labour's well-honed 'communication strategy' over the past few years.

But what really prompted me to tell you all that I still slob out in front of the box when I'm supposed to be re-training myself in 3D modelling and Virtual Reality was a little news item I saw today, about aircraft safety. The last full episode of TAMP I watched had a plane crashing onto Walthamstow, not because of terrorist activity, but because a relaxation of safety rules. An had EEC 'harmonisation' had allowed the more recent entrants to the greatest club of all to fly their less-maintained aircraft in and out of the other member states' airspace.

This (actual) news item reports that 'The new European Aviation Safety Agency is an "accident waiting to happen", MPs have said.', and is so frighteningly resonant with the satirical episode that I have decided not only to never accept another contract in London, but to try and persuade my relatives who live there, (there are more like me, you know), to move out to somewhere that hasn't been mentioned by the satirist's keyboards.

Once again, life is taking a cue from art.