Thursday 27th August

Hands Up !!!  That’s right, almost all of you, or should I say all of us.  We are like enthusiastic and proud parents who claim that their quiet moody child who just sits watching telly is “really clever for his age.”  None of us, or actually only a very clever few, likes to think we are stupid, despite maybe a lifetime of being so designated by parents and teachers alike.  And as we listen to some old bore spouting on we nod inwardly to ourselves, knowing that indeed we are far cleverer than this old duffer.  In fact we almost to a person consider ourselves quite clever, when for example the fact that we are in possession of valuable property is nothing to do with our financial acumen or cleverness but the sheer luck of the market (or a husband conveniently dying early – lots of rich widows here in Eymet).  Most of us, I would say think we are cleverer than we really are.  There is almost a sliding scale, or a slide rule (remember them) and the cleverer you think you are, the further you slide the inner ruler the stupider you actually are; how many times do you find the slide rule in two pieces and you are frantically trying to slide the inner bit back in as stupidities dunces cap descends on your pretty little head?

And I am one of the above, in fact maybe the chief culprit.  Oh yes, I can answer questions on Mastermind and sometimes even University Challenge, I purport to dispense wisdom via this very blog and I know without a dadow of a shout that I am far cleverer than all these M.A and B.A. wielding dolts who parade their University credentials before them, as if this makes them superior to moi, who left school before his “A” levels and descended into a spiral of chaos I am only just extracting myself from.  So, next time you inwardly smirk and think to yourself that you are clever, think again, you are probably far less clever than you think you are.  Welcome to the stupid world, you may find it quite familiar….hahaha