Key to references in case any are needed : 1/ The minotaur is Trump who has just paid a State Visit to the UK. 2/ The Maybot is Theresa May (I didn’t coin that one, of course) who seems to have resigned as UK Prime Minister recently, at the kind request of her Party, the Tories. 3/ Jez is Jeremy… continue reading
Tag democracy.
The Parrot Brings us Up to Date
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… Maybot’s Standing
This stanza was written on a Monday morning, after “The Guardian” quoted a speech Theresa May is due to make today. It includes this sentence : “I ask MPs to consider the consequences of their actions on the faith of the British people in our democracy.” Tomorrow her “deal” is expected to be voted down in the Commons.… continue reading
Westminster is empty
It is thought that the poet John Skelton wrote his satirical poem “Speak, Parrot” while living in the sanctuary of Westminster. For the medieval laws of sanctuary still operated in England at that time, leaving certain delegated areas under church jurisdiction. It meant that a significant number of people were able to live beyond the reach of state powers, and… continue reading
Parrot Peers at Democracy
Michael Heseltine for Prime Minister – and Leader of the Opposition at the same time – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/08/britains-youth-will-never-forgive-us-for-brexit-says-lord-heseltine… continue reading
The Bird of Paradise Danced Last Night
The poet John Skelton lived in the reign of Henry 8th. He apparently wrote his satirical poem “Speak, Parrot” in the precincts of Westminster, from the sanctuary still precariously available in the minster there. In the poem, Galathea is a lady in waiting who plies the parrot with almonds and dates, as she tries to persuade him to speak from… continue reading
… The Parrot, the Cage and the Pulpit
The tower pictured above is of the Tyndale Monument. This is situated north of Bristol, on the Cotswolds escarpment, above the village of North Nibley. The tower was built in Victorian times, for it was only then that people realised the extent of Tyndale’s influence over, and contribution to, the English of the King James’s Bible. At that time, North… continue reading
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