Another week spent looking through rearview mirrors and nary a living saint in sight – apparently they’re all in China – just a Roman fête des morts. We Greeks understand the concept of All Souls rather more easily. Indentured labourers are another matter. They seem to have had rather more guts than their flag-carrier descendants. Mind you, there’s too much talk about our ancestors, a troublesome term excluding large chunks of the population. There’s nothing to stop celebrations taking place without the country grinding to a halt so perhaps public holidays should be limited to festivals that embrace everyone – although that idea may take a few decades to percolate through society. Too often they’re symbols of division, with other communities wondering what all the fuss is about. Many of the speeches are pure blah-blahblah, talking about national unity and hardly a soul believing a word that’s said.

Wisdom, thoughtfulness and prudence are having a tough time. Even Menoetes is giving me grief. To unite everyone, he wants me to post a video on YouTube, Al-Baghdadi-style, summoning everyone to bow to Mount Olympos. He was known for his impetuosity and arrogance – although he was a daemon, not a politician – but we’d look ridiculous.

Which makes me think of the turbulence the white-tailed tropicbird is experiencing. Whatever the rights or wrongs of the mega decision, the way it was done was improper and all involved are now damaged goods. Hopefully, all this has wiped the fixed grin off the Cheshire Cat’s face. True, one of the yes-men has bowed out but only having stuck to his seat for as long as he could. It’s depressing how politicos harbour dubious or spineless companions. As I used to say to the Blessed Margaret, you judge a woman by the company she keeps.

Zeus is so fed up, he’s despatched Hermes with a note verbale for the Sage – which will not be expressly leaked. That’s after he’d tried hurling thunderbolts from Mount Olympos. Unfortunately, Hephaistos must have obtained a job lot from North Korea as they seem to have been designed for earthquakes – and gone in the wrong direction – with the poor Italians suffering collateral damage. Greek gods, like mortals, are notorious for their imperfections but what can you expect? Gods are only approximate human explanations of what’s beyond mortal experience. At least, unlike politicos and others, I know that I’m not a real god. Just a wee spirit demi-god, with little political backing.

By the way, as you’ve already said it’s incompatible with good governance, isn’t it time for a new law that would ban asking for or giving backing? Not that it’d be easy when a street survey suggests many would sell their votes – and their souls – for a public-sector post. Mind you, you’ve still got some explaining to do yourself about your Gulf ventures. Before it was just Baby Doc who had a finger in every pie; it’s affreux how the disease has spread and it’s not doing anyone any favours.

Anyway, isn’t it time, in the immortal words of Prince Philip, to pull your own finger out?

Apart from all the governance legislation that’s awaiting action or introduction, someone has to tackle the issue of who sits on parastatal and state company boards – and not just talk about it. If things go on like this, Mount Olympos intends to ask Mme La Présidente to recirculate Lepep’s manifesto, if necessary in a braille version.

Yours sincerely Epi Phron