Charlatanry

I'm quite a lucky fellow. Not in the sense that particularly marvellous things happen to me. More in the sense that not too many bad things happen - and I think I'd take that any day.

One particular way in which I've been fortunate is that I've never been seriously exploited by anyone I trusted. Of course, when it comes to it this could be down to the fact that I don't have any friends and don't trust anyone, but statistics are statistics and I've not been taken to the cleaners by a mate. Except that time that one of them showed me to the local launderette when I couldn't find it.

The fact that calling the absence of bad luck does not really equate with good luck has occured to me, but I'm in a positive mood so don't spoil it. And the other day I was out to dinner with some old compadres from my University Students Union, and was reminiscing about the particularly loathsome behaviour of a former Social Secretary, who went out with a mutual friend, borrowed her life savings for a "business idea" and promptly disappeared. Hopefully wherever he goes this story follows him around and fucks his life up - if Michael Henchard couldn't escape his past, neither should this little toad.

That was a bit serious. When I first got given charlatanry I nearly wrote about early 1990s music. But that would have been a terrible joke, and as you know I wouldn't dream of making one of those.