A professor at Swansea University (didn't know they had one!) is to waste use the next three years of his life studying the changes in the way political leaders have spoken over the last century. Dr. Finlayson (I thought he was a tweedy, old, Jock medic who used to be on the Telly when the pictures were a restful shade of grey) thinks that there have been changes - golly-gosh, no fool, he! Anyway, he is going to spend the next three years of his life re-reading all the speeches made by Party leaders to their conferences. Crikey, if I'd realised in my youth what a total skive the higher reaches of Academe can be, I would have studied much harder at school. Anyway, I'm half qualified because when I was in the army, I once dragged out the job of ruling lines in a note-book to be used as ledger in the company store for a whole month. I think it worked out at about a page a day but it got me off the work parties who had to go out in the middle of the desert to build new barracks. I suppose old Finlayson must be rubbing his hands with glee and chuckling at the thought that for three years he won't have to teach any of those ghastly, young thickoes they send to 'universities' these days. Mind you, having to read Clem Attlee's speech to the Labour party circa 1948 is a high price to pay!
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