another early post (possibly to be added to in the morning)

in the morning the broadband went out because the plugs had gone out - this was horsemouth's first task of the day. he brought in some logs (for the new conservatory log basket), brought the recycling bin back up the hill and checked that the sheep weren't vaulting over the fence. 

later he went for a walk (studiously avoiding everybody) and did some litter-picking on his way back. (there are few people on the common so there is very little litter). 

if horsemouth can just make it out of the 2020ies... sometime early in the 2030ies he's through to the bounteous sunny uplands (which will doubtless be a freezing, impoverished hell-hole by the time he gets there). he's pretty confident he will make it - he's already more than a third of the way through. 

the sub-postmaster/ horizon scandal is in many ways the indicative crisis of the era, people required to operate a flawed computer system with inadequate training. people trapped in inequitable contracts. (horsemouth thinks there are parallels with the roll out of smart meters and the great leap forward). 

what was interesting is how neatly the drama avoided this central tension. how quickly scenes involving people in distress were resolved and ameliorated. by the end of episode one the fightback was on. by the end of episode two there was a sympathetic MP and an independent investigation.  by the end of episode three the investigation was stymied. 

anyway last episode this evening.  

the people who survive it best are those who ducked out early - the rest are left with anger, depression, suicide, mental health issues etc. to say nothing of those jailed, fined, charged the costs of their court case or who had their reputations destroyed. the person responsible for (a lot if not all of) this gets a CBE. the MPs get to look like they are doing their job (actual footage of nadhim zadawi from the select committee being used as opposed to the scene being restaged).

in fact the whole thing remains unresolved twenty plus years later with much of the compensation promised not paid and never likely to be paid.

jesus but this country is fucking shit.

the tories get to escape full responsibility for this IT/ privatisation nightmare because they were in coalition with the liberal democrats  for some of the time (so it's all ed davies' fault clearly).  

'doctor faustus may not be such a bad subject. 

leverkuhn is a character one can so well understand'      

- andrey tarkovsky, 10th february 1979

(drawing by tarkovsky also).