National Treasures & Sell By Dates

I listened to Saturday Live on Radio 4 this morning. Michael Palin had re-visited Ethiopia & did a piece from Axum which claims to have the Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of stone in an Orthodox church. A monk is the caretaker guardian & he never leaves the building. The Axumite kingdom goes back to 5,000 years BC & became Christian in around 356 AD.

I was really irritated by the banal & patronising questions put to a local guide by Mr Palin. For example he asked if he could become the monk guardian. Would he, I wonder, ask a Catholic senior cleric in the Vatican the same question about becoming the Pope? Or indeed, more possible, ask an English Bishop if he could become the Archbishop of Canterbury? Of course not. So why would he feel that the question and the silly way it was asked be acceptable?

I have been to Ethiopia & to Axum. The one thing that stands out in many wonderful memories of that country & it's people is how devout they are. One has only to see the processions & church ceremonies to realise that they have something which we have largely lost, a real belief which is part of their everyday life. A life, which in Northern Ethiopia where Axum is, is very hard indeed for the majority. People walk miles to go to church.

I do think it is a shame when entertainers spoil their hard won reputations because they don't realise that they have passed their "sell by date". Personally I can't watch Strictly Come Dancing because I am so irritated by Bruce Forsyth. It is sad to see him struggle to remember the joke & get the timing right. Not to mention that comedy has moved on light years from the music hall days.

We all get old. The trick is to do it gracefully without embarrassing ourselves.