SLIDE RULES

As a kid back in the 60s, playground rules, indeed most rules for post-war kids in general, ignored much in the way of safety… Brought up on bomb-sites as the preferred form of recreation, the ‘newly’ built playgrounds happily held much of the same in the way of excitement – disregarding, as they undoubtedly did, all of which has now become standard health and safety concerns given the modern day theme areas for kids today. As if ‘the slide’ down at the local play-park wasn’t big and steep enough however to accommodate the need for a thrill a second, it was often freely smeared with candle wax to help with both speed and the additional buzz of watching who would and who would not survive shooting from the end of the thing onto the awaiting cushion of concrete.

Lubrication to help them on their way however is the last thing the PiS government here needs as they appear to be slipping and sliding on their very own, quite hysterically, towards future political oblivion with a nice slab of concrete at the end of the ride to break their fall too. Their current reactionary ramblings and policies, here, here and here, surely can’t survive essential Polish needs as the populace, despite being subjected to enough ups, downs and letdowns to make any reactionary views of their own understandable, aren’t stupid enough to pass on the opportunity of Poland becoming a grown-up member of the world’s ‘democratic family’ - surely.