Very interesting and jolly day today. I continued my conversation with Eyvor about Anna K - we were at the launch for Stewart Ross's YA book The Soterian Mission, with Jane Clarke and we were actually talking about books - she was explaining why she didn't like AK - or Levin... so my statement "we all like Levin" is untrue. She said she always got stuck at the point when they got off the couch together... clearly it was over before it started. I must admit I had somehow missed this obviously significant sign of distaste - I had thought they were clearly destined to split not long after - they were clearly bored with each other. But it is a good day when you can have 2 conversations about AK - I had one earlier with Kirstie - she loves the book. I was waxing lyrical about how about 20 pages before the end AK is dead, Vronsky's scampered off to Montenegro or wherever - and you wonder "how is it going to end now?" - and then he has that absolute genius of Levin's epiphany - his understanding of how everything fits together, how the world continues and everyone is part of one another etc. And somehow that works brilliantly - especially since it is a casual comment by a peasant that sets him off.
I also met some people who have a conspiracy theory about Common Purpose... and well they might, except that the "sinister force" that seemed to be super-governmental etc. was, I felt, probably market capitalism rather than a band of EU trained bureaucrats who will take over in a "post-democratic Europe" (as one of the websites I found about it claimed). CP look to me like a band of vaguely Tory conformists... but the fact that their initials are CP suggests that they are actually crypto Marxist (according to another website..). I hasten to add that these people are not terribly worldly or knowledgeable... of course there may well be a sort of bureaucratic Illuminati just waiting to seize control of the UK as soon as the electorate have become too disillusioned to vote any more. The idea that these uber-bureaucrats are (a) EU trained (b) marxist and are (c) putting billions of taxpayers money into the pockets of their wealthy chums the bankers and privatisers er, does not compute...
The fact that Robert Peston is one of their alumni does give me pause for thought, but best not mention this to A in case he goes off on another BBC-related rant. RP is exactly the sort of person you would expect to have gone on one of their courses, and I can guess a couple of other people I know who may have done this too. .
I also met some people who have a conspiracy theory about Common Purpose... and well they might, except that the "sinister force" that seemed to be super-governmental etc. was, I felt, probably market capitalism rather than a band of EU trained bureaucrats who will take over in a "post-democratic Europe" (as one of the websites I found about it claimed). CP look to me like a band of vaguely Tory conformists... but the fact that their initials are CP suggests that they are actually crypto Marxist (according to another website..). I hasten to add that these people are not terribly worldly or knowledgeable... of course there may well be a sort of bureaucratic Illuminati just waiting to seize control of the UK as soon as the electorate have become too disillusioned to vote any more. The idea that these uber-bureaucrats are (a) EU trained (b) marxist and are (c) putting billions of taxpayers money into the pockets of their wealthy chums the bankers and privatisers er, does not compute...
The fact that Robert Peston is one of their alumni does give me pause for thought, but best not mention this to A in case he goes off on another BBC-related rant. RP is exactly the sort of person you would expect to have gone on one of their courses, and I can guess a couple of other people I know who may have done this too. .
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