Tag Archives: history

The twentieth century: a pantomime

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I have just been commissioned by Surrey County Council to write the 2011 Guildford pantomime. I have decided to write a light hearted look at the twentieth century. There will be one minute for every year.

The characters:

  • The dame – capitalism
  • The villain – totalitarianism
  • The hero – democracy
  • The love interest – socialism

Plot summary:

The show will consist of ten scenes, one for each decade. For each new decade the dame will get a new dress. The final scene will be a cocktail party on the roof of the twin towers.

News flash – Surrey County Council has just cancelled the contract.

Mappa Mundi

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This is my attempt to schematically layout everything that is the case. Inspired (slightly embarrassingly) by the recent BBC4 documentary about maps. You might say it is slightly ambitious to try to summarise the lot of it. You should see my graphical representation of what is not the case!

The middle represents our current position in space and time. Below that goes further into the past and above it goes further away in space. Raph’s projection!

Oh dear,