Today's mantra (to be recited antiphonally): History repeats itself; But in different ways.

It was Karl Marx (above) who famously declared, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
Between 43AD and 410AD, what was later to become England south of Hadrian’s Wall and Wales comprised Roman Britain. Thus giving a certain meaning to the phrase, “Rule Britannia!” Between the Antonine Wall and Hadrian’s Wall – possibly with a capital at Habitancum (Risingham) – lay Valentia (Latin for “Land of Valens”) which was “disputed territory” and was in fact a “buffer zone” between the advanced (for the time) civilisation south of Hardian’s Wall and the “barbarian tribes” north of the Antonine Wall.
Let us be in no doubt – no doubt whatsoever – that living standards, literacy rates, the crime rate, infant mortality rate and life expectancy were in a completely different place to the brutish illiterate tribes in what is now Scotland.
Having said that, do not let us be fooled into deluding ourselves that Britannia was a Shangri-la. It most definitely was not! There was slavery and Roman Justice was harsh and brutal by comparison with modern day standards. It is of course completely naïve to apply present day standards to ancient civilisations. That of course does not stop the politically correct from doing so!
That said, Britannia was a particularly prosperous and stable part of the Roman Empire. It was a truly multi-racial society. Roman citizens of African ethnicity held positions of power and authority in Britain. They had wives drawn from the indigenous Britons. Their children were bi-racial.
British Gazette readers of course will know from the history lessens they attended in school what happened after 410AD. Britannia was attacked by tribes from what is now Denmark and Germany as well as the ancestors of our Scottish kith and kin!
In those school days – for some of us an uncomfortably long time ago – the history teacher will not have spent much time about the precise events. This because there was not a lot written about it at the time!
Looking back however with the dis-passion that is born of a millennia, we can witness from the archaeology the rapid collapse of a powerful, literate and well run complex state to a band of violent murderous cut-throats whose brutal and savage acts would embarrass a present day IS terrorist!
It can dispassionately be said that the collapse of Roman Britain after 410AD was a tragedy for civilisation in these British Isles. One can only speculate what could have been had that civilisation succeeded in fighting off the barbarians. What we can do however is to analyse why such a powerful and organised state could not defend itself from these, to use a modern term, terrorists.
Certainly it was not because there was internal descent. This was not some 1st century version of present day Syria. The terrorists had NO support amongst the populace other than those bands of settlers they brought with them. The reason what Britannia collapsed was that the society had become completely adapted to Roman rule and had long lost the capacity to govern itself.
We now see a frightening parallel today amongst our governing class.
Writing in today’s Daily Mail, (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-4165992/PETER-OBORNE-Madness-demonising-Rolls-Royce.html) Mr Peter Oborne has written an excellent piece which describes so well the nativity of our governing class in relation to Rolls Royce.
Rolls Royce apart, our clearly inadequate rulers are now faced with a monumental challenge, which is very different but every bit as challenging as that faced by the rulers of Britannia in 410AD.
One of the most frightening aspects of the UK’s current situation is that FACT that so many MPs and “politicians” in the political parties not elected to Westminster really do believe that a “Hard Brexit” and “WTO Default” are attractive short term options!
Another truly frightening thing is that so many of them appear to have no cognition of the sheer scale of the complexities facing the UK once Article 50 is served.
They even appear to believe the utter nonsense that once invoked Article 50 can somehow be halted and redirected! Some of them prattle on about “a second referendum” and a “vote in Parliament” to decide upon the results of “the deal” offered!
There is a film called “La La Land.” It is nominated for many Oscars. Well these idiots at Westminster and it’s political environs are living in another form of La La land if they believe their own [expletive deleted].
Allow us to illustrate their stupidity with an analogy. A marksman has a rifle. He is in the Scottish Highlands. He has a deer in his sights. He has been given to understand that “the client” wants him to kill the deer. He pulls the trigger. The bullet leaves the chamber and the barrel and heads towards the deer. He then receives a pat on the shoulder from the gillie who at the same time says “No.” Then “The lady only wanted a photograph!”
Too late. The bullet strikes the deer. It penetrates the animal’s heart. The animal is killed.
In previous articles the British Gazette has assumed, in hopeful optimism, that such as Mrs May are playing a game of political “musical chairs” in which the lady seeks to ensure that it is Labour, the Lib-Dems and the SNP who force her into maintaining the UK’s membership of the EEA by an amendment to that effect in the European Union (Notice of Withdrawal) Act before it receives the Royal Assent.
We remain, against mounting evidence indicating the contrary, like Nellie in the 1958 musical “South Pacific”; a cockeyed optimist hoping that “things will work out in the end”.
Herewith a link to Mizzi Gaynor as Nellie singing that song: https://youtu.be/p0DusO6ipLw
If this does not happen, the UK’s future resembles the image of a cooked goose below:NB: Our apologies to vegans and vegetarians upset by the above image.
Legal Notice: The foregoing sentence discharges our liability in full for any and all (including consequential) losses incurred as a result of the above image.