I recently read the Boris book..

It's a thick book, but it was a breeze to read, and it was very funny at times. Especially some of the side swipes at Macron.

As ever these books are primarily fascinating as you get a glimpse into the corridors of power. I do love all that stuff. That aside, I'd rather comment on the impression the book made on me. Firstly, it made me really miss the queen. Occasionally I have moments where I miss the queen anyway. Not that I knew her. Just little things where I'm reminded, "Oh yeh, the queen's dead." (To quote Morrissey.) She was there all that time and now she isn't. I never met her, I didn't know her personally, but she was the queen. It's a weird thing. Maybe you just have to be British. Perhaps it's just me. Anyway, reading this book it was that feeling, but times ten. The little anecdotes about her. I don't really have anything insightful to say about it, but it's the overriding impression I'm left with.

I mentioned synchronicities a few posts ago. Towards the end of the book there's an anecdote about magpies. Boris saw a single magpie when out with the queen and lamented the prospect of bad luck. The queen said, it's okay, "you just say, good morning Mr Magpie, today is Monday the 12th of March - or whatever the date is. That sorts it."

I'd literally just seen a single magpie on my way to work before I read that passage. The above picture was taken in the quiet room at work before my shift. Obviously, it's a silly superstition, but these little things fill the world with meaning.

The other overriding impression was just how intelligent Boris is. It's quite a rounded intelligence too. Good for a leader. He has emotional intelligence, but also an eye for the curious. There's a very wide range of interests and references. From James Frazer to cycle lanes and London buses.

From the minute the pandemic began I felt like he was on our side, and the book pretty much confirms this. It's crazy the Tories (with help from Labour and the media) ousted him. There's this sense of brats kicking over other kids' sandcastles. But I guess that's life. He was there long enough to get us through the pandemic and Get Brexit Done. So he was in the right place at the right time.

Highly recommended.