My grandaughter called over today, the youngest one. She’s doing her thesis on ‘The Fall of the Free World’. I can’t say I envy her, having to learn about Brexit and Trump and yellow vests and all of those other things that were happening. Gah, so many letters! The EU, the US, UKIP, the UN, the WTO, NATO. The BBC. I’m not sure what they stood for any more, not that it matters, they are all long defunct.
She wanted to talk to people who lived through that time so she drove out to the old folks home to interview me and some of the other old cronies here. Not that she’ll learn much, half of the residents have a hard time recalling their own names let alone ancient history like that.
‘Grandad,’ she asks, ‘was there really a time when people were open minded and free? When equal rights for all was the norm rather than a dangerous ideology of extremists?’
‘Perhaps,’ I told her. ‘Maybe it was that way, it was so long ago that it’s hard to remember. Seems like some kinda fairytale the way you say it. Sure didn’t feel that way at the time.’