I realise the apparent interchangeability of David and Stephen, and Stephen and David, could raise existential questions about identity and the representation received by the good burghers of Headington -- all of whom, whatever they vote, each of us, with our county colleagues Altaf and Gail, serve to the best of our abilities. If I say we aim to provide a seamless service, you might think I'm intending to set up a rival to Sketchley's. And, anyway, being good liberals, we pride ourselves in sharing principles but differing in idiosyncracies.
So, for those of you who want a shorthand guide to telling the difference between Headington city councillors, he's a ready reckoner:
- if it's spouting Latin, it's not Stephen [nota bene: there may be exceptions to this rule]
- if it's gallantly saving a fainting lady, it's not David (sad to say)
- if it starts talking about the Renaissance in a mesmerising fashion, it's not Stephen
- if it looks as if it could be in a boys band, it's not David
- if it's got a glass of whisky in it's hand, it's not Stephen
- if it's got it's shirt off, it definitely isn't David
From now on, let me assure you, all postings will not only be written by me but posted by me too. But don't let that put you off...
9 comments:
Dear Cllr Rundle,
I can understand the difficulties that trying to find an appropriate translation for the phrase 'Liberal Democrat' has caused, given that neither the Roman world nor the vulgar Latin of the period with which you are more familiar have an exact equivalent of this problematic notion.
'Probus' would be one attempt to convey the sense of the word liberal, hence titling your weblog 'de moribus probitas', though this could also be taken to be a reference to a discussion of upright or decent matters, which is presumably not your intent.
'Liberalibus' is clearly an anachronistic nonsense word which cannot be allowed, so I wondered whether a possible translation which conveys the sense even if not a literal translation would be 'de rebus comitatis Deae' - about the deeds of the companions of Goddard.
Take care
Dan
How thoughtful of you, Dan, to anticipate my next posting in which that esoteric title will be explained. You seem to have overlooked that 'liberalis' is a Latin adjective, derived from 'liber', but I run ahead of myself. As to your suggestion, as we have an elegant sufficiency of Goddards in these parts, we would have to acknowledge the whole Pantheon - 'de gestis comitatis Deorum durorum' would surely capture your intent. In the meantime, I hope this has provided a tantalising trailer for my next posting.
I look forward to the next posting. To raise but one quibble, did not the recent review of Goddards conclude that far from being an elegant sufficiency, the current situation constituted serious overprovision, with a strong case for transferral to a not for profit trust?
If it is gallantly saving young ladies it can hardly be Stpehen either David. Anyway don't put yorself down so. Repeat this 100 times a day.
Ego vadum exsisto a vir quod servo a tener mulier
Dan, are you not taking your monotheism rather seriously? We Liberals can hold two complementary concepts in mind at the same time. Hands off our Goddards!
Hi David,
I'll leave the pair of Goddards in your capable hands. Just one other quick thing. Now that you have joined your colleague in writing about politics on the internet, could one of you get round to updating the Oxford East Lib Dem website? I was looking for the result of the Lye Valley by-election, but much to my disappointment the site doesn't seem to have been updated since August.
I quite understand, Dan, why you might have conveniently forgotten the result in your old ward. As you said on the night, the headlines of 'Paskins' departure gives party boost' aren't really the way to help a fragile ego. So I don't want to rub salt but I think you'll find the result blazoned across the websites of former colleagues of yours. I wish they'd had more respect for your achievements.
For those of us who enjoyed a 'bog standard' education could you put the emphasis on gentle humour at the expense of our favourite blogger of the year rather than discussion of a language that is probably used less frequently than Klingon nowadays;-)
You've obviously already been working on the story about Lye Valley for the Oxford East Lib Dem website:
"Another by-election success for Lib Dems as Nathan Pyle more than doubled the number of votes he received just two months earlier in Hinksey Park and moved up from third to second place. The Tories and Greens saw their share of the vote fall, and the result was a crushing blow for New Labour, with voters overwhelmingly backing the decision of their former councillor to resign."
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