The Road to Purgatory? No! More like “The Road to Syracuse” or “Sitting under the sword of Damocles!”

Above, Richard Westall’s Sword of Damocles (1812) NB: the boys of Cicero’s anecdote have been changed to maidens for the client, Thomas Hope (the neoclassical patron of the arts).
British Gazette readers will very likely smile at the mention of “The Road to” films of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. There were seven made released between 1940 and 1962. Of the seven, six (Singapore (1940) Zanzibar (1941) Morocco (1942) Utopia (1946) Rio [de Janeiro] (1947) Bali (1952) and Hong Kong (1962)) appear to have real places in their titles. One (Utopia) however appeared not to. However, there is a Utopia – in Ontario, Canada.
GOTO: http://www.utopia.on.ca/
In the 1946 movie, “Utopia” was a secret gold mine in Alaska. Of course, were it no so serious one could draw comedic parallels between Sal and Chester Hooton (Lamour and Hope) and Duke Johnson (Crosby) with Madame Mayhem, Boris the Buffoon and Dimwit Davis as they too are seeking their own Utopia. Of course, it is far more likely to turn out to be The Road to Purgatory!
And lo and behold, there is indeed a Purgatory! It is Purgatory, La Plata County, Colorado USA!
Purgatory is a ski resort located in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, 25 miles north of the town of Durango.
GOTO: https://www.purgatoryresort.com/
Interesting, in today’s blog-post, (http://eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=86965) the excellent Doctor North suggests that, faced with a crash Brexit, the EU – in order to protect it’s own interests (not the UK’s) may declare “….a unilateral extension of the treaties to the UK, treating it as a Member State for the purposes of trade and related matters. The agreement of the UK is not necessary and need not be sought….”
Now it is very important to note that when Doctor North makes such a suggestion, it is based on much research and factual information and not the powdered unicorn horn and the fairy dust that is the stock in trade of such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and his merry band.
For those foolish enough to relax and say, “Oh! Good! That’s all-right then!” – we would counsel against such optimism. This is because the UK would be entirely at the mercy of the EU! For what the EU can extend by fiat, it can also withdraw by fiat!
It would indeed be negotiating under the sword of Damocles!