'Quel dommage - The Story so far ...... '
Some of the Young ‘Uns asked me, “Boxer, you are old and wise and have been around a long time. Can you explain to us about all the changes that have been happening here on the Farm over the last few weeks? What has happened to the alliance between Napoleon and his gang and Snowball and his followers? What has happened to Ed, the leader of the ‘Workers’ group? No-one has seen or heard from him since what they are calling it now, ‘The Night of the Long Knives’. And why does Harriet seem to be running that group now? And why is Nigel, the rooster, banished to the boundaries of the farm fences these days? Why have the ‘words’ written on The Old Barn Wall been painted out?
I told them it was all due to the process called ‘POLITICKS’, a remnant left over from the days of the Revolution, when we animals took over the running of the Farm. Not being ‘educated’ I didn’t really understand about such things, but that I would try and explain to them the best I could.
I started by telling them about the importance of the words that were usually to be found on The Old Barn Wall. How they were called ‘The Constitution’ and were the Rules by which the Farm was run. I told them how again as a remnant of the Revolution, It was decided the Farm would be run as a ‘Democracy’ with the consensus of the ideas of the majority of the animals being the rules by which the animals would live their daily lives. And every five human years there would be an ‘Election’ when all the animals would choose their favourite group’s ideas to follow for the next five human years. But since there are very few Farmyard animals whose longevity of Life for their breed lasts that long in human years, many generations of animals live and eventually go to ‘meet their Maker’ knowing only one set of rules during the span of their lifetimes. Most of them end out their final days at the ‘ABATTOIR’ Rest Home for Tired Animals.
This was an idea first thought of by Napoleon’s ‘Management’ group as a reward for the long service and hard manual toiling work provided by the animals in the production of foodstuffs in order for the animals on the Farm to live. Initially all the produce was used to directly benefit the animals here, but then Napoleon came up with the idea that we could use the surplus food we produced to trade with other entities, like the Humans.
The work is VERY hard, and I have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with great strength in my younger years to be able to assist many of the other animals in their daily tasks. As I have got so much older, even my great strength and vigour has waned greatly and I really do not think it will be very much longer before I am looking forward myself to getting into that big blue lorry with ABATTOIR painted on its side in large letters in order to end out my days on this earth. Napoleon says that it is a nice place and has received many good reports from the management team of that establishment!
As I explained to the Young ‘Uns, last time we had an ‘Election’, it couldn’t quite be decided which was to be the outright ruling group. So it was decided that Napoleon and Snowball would jointly make the rules for the Constitution. And a mix of the both group’s ideas were put up on The Old Barn Wall. Sadly, this alliance has not really worked well together; their ideas are too different basically. So it was always going to be a race between the two groups as to who would get overall control.
Now we come to the situation concerning Nigel, the Rooster. Over the last five years, there have been many reports of just how nice a place the Farm is today. There have been large migrant groups of both Crows and Starlings turning up and just eating our food supplies, roosting and even eventually nesting in prime areas. With not a single thought to helping in the production of this food or the maintenance of these prime areas of residence.
Nigel has been very vocal in his disagreement with situation. He believes that the Farm should be only for the benefit of those animals that lived here originally and that the migrant flocks of both Crows and Starlings and some other minor groups of animals should be forced to return to whence they originally came, and that it should be in the rules that such groups should not be allowed to automatically be given access to food supplies and places of residence in the future. It is fair to say that he was gaining increasing support for such a plan and it was being rumoured that his group could even become the dominant ideology.
Ed ‘s group, the ‘Workers’ party were known to be in favour of continuing to let the migrant birds to stay and even were prepared to allow friends and relatives currently residing elsewhere to join those already here on the same conditions that exist at the present.
Many members of all the other groups, both Napoleon and Snowball’s followers did not agree with the idea of allowing non-productive animals free range to the supplies produced and the beneficial living arrangements. And as I have mentioned Nigel’s group were totally against it.
So when the ‘Election’ did actually take place the other week, the situation was that Nigel’s followers finally appreciated that they did not have sufficient numbers to create a outright ruling group, so they threw in the lots with Napoleon’s group. It has turned out that many of Snowball’s original followers now feel that Napoleon does have the better ideas of the two previous joint leaders and have also thrown in their fortunes with his style of leadership for the next term of ruling.
As for Ed, I think he has finally appreciated that ‘Politicks’ are not really his forte, and has stepped down as the Leader of the ‘Workers’ group, leaving Harriet to be the group’s spokesperson until maybe someone else emerges with some serious ideas for the Farm’s natural inhabitants.
Hence the current result of the situation today. As I said earlier, the words of the ‘New Constitution’ will be eventually displayed on The Old Barn Wall when we have all heard them be read to us by Liz the Lawgiver (Queenie) tomorrow (Wednesday) which is why Napoleon has had it freshly coated with Whitewash. I fully expect that any opinions held by Snowball and his diminished band of followers will be ignored and will certainly not be part of the Constitution.
It will be interesting to see how the fortunes of the new breakaway group, the Scots Party, fare in the future proceedings. Whilst they do not have sufficient support at this moment to make drastic changes, they will be very vocal in their agreement terms of any decisions that Napoleon wishes to make.”
*****************
*As people are aware, since the time of writing this piece originally, situations have changed even more; with new players taking centre stage ....*
***********
'An observation ...... '
"If, as we are led to believe, the people in Scotland, Ireland and Wales voted to STAY in the E.U. Then a VERY proportionally large amount of people in England actually voted to Leave."
********************
'Under the Byline of Boxer'
"It's Raining in my Heart"
*FIRST DRAFT* - 'On hearing the news'
While we were deliberating
Whether the cover of the Pocket Reads
Should be blue or red.
In Manchester, close on seventy
Are lying bleeding or dead
At a concert for kids.
Is it the act of an ISIS terrorist?
Or just another ‘madman’
Who should be in a secure mental health unit
But has been let out to ‘care in the community’
Too early, caused by the cuts in the NHS?
The politicians are remaining,
Understandably quiet at this point in time!
They have even stopped
Their election campaigning,
‘Out of respect’
*My arse!*
(* Written in response to hearing about the bombing at a concert in Manchester, UK. 22.05.17 *)
*****************
"May ask a silly question? ...."
"It looks like the Americans will finally vote for TRUMP, who may well be the lesser of two evils; but was that necessary given the options that were originally on the table at the outset? ...."
*****************
'ANIMAL FARM / MANOR FARM'
* Under the byline of Boxer *
Let us make no bones about it,
I really do think we are
Talking treason and sedition here.
They have now been in charge,
For but just two months.
I know it seems so
So much longer.
But that is all.
Cameron and Clegg,
Or Napoleon and Snowball,
As we, the farm animals,
Know them.
And Clover says,
Already really ominous writings
Have taken to suddenly appearing
On what was once just
The Old Barn wall.
************
(This poem was first written some many years ago now,... and a lot has happened since ... not necessarily for the better, many think!)
***************
*Another offering from - Under the Byline of Boxer*
'Robbin Hood'
He said he was a Spy.
He said he would be keeping
A watchful eye
On all the happenings
At the Palace of Westminster.
But his blog entries seem more
Like cases of arse - (L)icking,
Than arse – (K)icking;
And I wonder why?
Has he really sold out on his principles?
Or has he got off-shore shares as well?
*****************
"I think that this page might be described as 'my political wing' "
'BREXIT' - A Pithy Comment ..'
*All it takes for Evil to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing ...*
“Britain’s fate will be decided not by those who went to the ballot box, but by those who didn’t. The ‘silent majority’, who will proceed to ‘gut-ache’ about the daily current situation that will inevitably arise and exist, in every four-ale bar, street corner shop, and every social media platform you care to name.
***************