The final act

I've just seen 'When the Wind Blows', an animated film dating from 1986 and I'm feeling very depressed. Why do we sometimes read or watch stories that we know will do this to us? If you don't know of this film or the book, then stop reading this blog now and see the movie or get the book first. OK - are they gone? Good. My thoughts of both the book and the film are identical, they are absolutely brilliant and a damming comment on the Government plans at the time for nuclear defense. I'm not sure if they are any different now. Much in the way of that classic film 'Threads', we are led gently into a world of horror and, ultimately, undignified death. Looking back, we can see how naive and useless plans for civilian survival of the unthinkable were. All-in-all, you would be better off running towards a ground zero position and hoping the bomb took you out rather than trying to survive. Man, now that is depressing - sorry. The author's way of using caricatures of his own parents and their native optimism and British knack of 'muddling through' endears them to us and makes their story even more tragic. To drive home the rather simplistic attitudes of the UK response to nuclear attack, I found this unreleased document 'Download 03_10_08nuclear attack.pdf' that would have been made after an attack. It's almost funny now. On a lighter note, check out Raymond Briggs' absolutely terrific book 'Fungus the Bogeyman' and, if you can, the TV series based on the story. It will lighten your mood and make your day more bearable.