Taking an extreme view of things!

I spotted a headline in today’s newspaper: Playing it straight. Should gay roles be reserved for gay actors?

Oh boy!

The article didn’t come to any kind of definite conclusion. It just gave a whole lot of opinions and attitudes. And it gave me a new bit of terminology: a straight actor playing a gay role is “gayfacing”, just as a white actor might do “blackfacing”!

Okay, I draw the line at accepting putting on make-up to play the role of a black person but otherwise we should not forget that what we are talking about is ACTING. The clue is in the word!

Other similar questions spring to mind:-

Should detectives only be played by actors who have experience in CID?

Should Liverpudlian roles be reserved for actors from Liverpool?

And Cockney roles for actors born within the sound of Bow Bells?

To play criminals do actors have to have committed actual crimes? 

We seem currently to live in a world of extremes!

Here’s another example: vegan compost, made without manure, no animal products involved.

A group of Greek and Cypriot organic farmers I read about have been using wasted olive branches, olive leaves, olive cale (the dry residue left after olives have been pressed), and grape pomace (the leftovers from vineyards) to produce compost. In that compost they found they were able to grow huge vegetables. They export the compost to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, all places where there is a high demand for vegan fruit and veg.

Okay! Just how vegan does your fruit and veg need to be? Is it okay that cherry blossom, for example, is pollinated by insects? Should it not perhaps be done without insect intervention?

I fully expect Helen and Tom Archer to start campaigning for this stuff on their organic farm. After all, Tom has already had a go at kefir and has started talking about planting quinoa.

Apparently the compost needs to “ripen” into humus soil (I am not really very well up on the science of soil) and as it takes four years for this ripening to occur, this makes it a bit expensive for large scale use. However, producers foresee a demand for mature humus soil from urban growers, cultivating veg in rooftop soil bags. They also hope that conventional organic farmers (come on Helen and Tom!) will buy it as cheaper compost and ripen it on their own land, meanwhile growing huge veg in it.

Hmm! Will Brexit allow us to import such stuff? It is European, after all!

Mind you, we might all be down to a bit of urban vegetable cultivation if the foreseen post-Brexit food shortages come to pass. Dig up your roses beds and plant potatoes and carrots. Make a nice hedge of blackcurrant bushes and raspberry canes.

So-called Brexit survival kits costing almost £300 are already being sold ahead of the UK leaving the EU. A Leeds company has been producing packs which include enough freeze-dried food to last 30 days, a water filter and fire starting gel.

One interviewee said she bought a box to supplement her stocks of tinned food and toilet roll as she feared there may be "chaos" in the months after Brexit.

A government spokesperson, on the other hand, said there was "no need" to stockpile any of the items in the box.

A number of Brexit-themed products have appeared for sale and several online discussion groups have been set up. More than 3,500 people have joined the Facebook group 48% Preppers which says it discusses "the practical preparations people are making for life after Brexit". Meanwhile a "Prepping for Brexit" page on Mumsnet has more than 250 posts with members saying they plan to stock up on everything from medication, toiletries and nappies to hair dye and tobacco.

And tomorrow the much talked about vote takes place.

I am a little sceptical about all the news reports I have read and heard over the last few days which tell me that Theresa May is going to lose the vote. It hasn’t taken place yet. Assuming it is already lost might put a kind of hex on it.

The Maybot might yet pull a rabbit out of her hat!