BY JAMIE FOSTER

We have reached a moment in history where it remains a mystery whether going to extremes is a voluntary action or an inevitable, equal and opposite reaction. It would appear clear that when the waves are crashing under our feet the best we can do is have faith in the Captain and the Boson. If one can’t tell one’s sparrows from one’s starlings and one’s swallows it may be time to raise our eye line. None of which makes any sense to any but the initiated and the very, very bright.

I was introduced to the concept of meta-language at University. Essentially the take-home was that professionals speak to each other in ways that are efficient and useful to themselves but can be alienating to their clients and the wider world. I appreciate that is not a definition, more of a possible inference. There has been a move in the Law to eradicate Latin and replace it with clear English to ensure access to Justice. Maybe it is time for an audit. Was King James or the Holy Father right on this score, or is it a score draw? Zeus Pater plays Jupiter.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that Tom Cross et al have done a stunning job of writing a precise and beautiful argument. They have taken on the glamour and the panic that getting high can sometimes instil. If you don’t believe me watch Carol Vorderman on the top of a sky scraper on her way to the jungle. I would have been screaming ‘I’m not him; let me out of here…’

I’ve been criticised, quite properly, for both long windedness and an old fashioned world view so I will leave you with a new thought. The opening salvos have been fired. We now await the word from eleven far brighter than I as to which way to jump. If you are having trouble deciding by all means ask everyone and no one. One tip from a well-wisher, Lord Nigel de Sailing-Perfect is to put on a little night music and crank it up to 11. Either that or rely on cake and ale.