The Book of Brexodus, Chapter 8

Continued from Chapter 7.

1. And the children of Bri-tain continued to wait for May-gog to trigger the 50th article, so that the seas could part and they might leave the land of EU-gypt.

Waiting for the seas to part.

2. And the summer ended, and autumn came, but still nothing was done.

3. Although it is said that, behind the scenes, the three wise men, Bo-sis, Li-am the Fox, and David that is called Davis, were discussing trade.

4. However, trade agreements with EU-gypt were hard to arrange, as the people of Canaan-da had learned.

5. For the mighty Walloons (or Belgites) refused to agree about anything with anyone: thus it became uncertain whether essential foodstuffs, such as the sprouts of Brussels and the chocolates of the Belgites, would still be obtainable after the great Brexodus.

Would this food continue to drop from Heaven?

6. However, all this debate was suddenly swept aside, because there spake out three learned judges, led by the mighty Baron Thomas of Cwmdancyn (or, in English, Luton).

7. Saying "May-gog, ye cannot leave the land of EU-gypt without taking a vote among the most wretched and despised people in the land, namely, the House that is known as Common.

8. For without the benefits to be gained from the mighty brain of Lam-my, the morals and virtue of Vaz, and the wisdom of Cor-byn (he that sitteth upon the floor in the temple of the virgins), no decision can be taken.

9. For the people have shewn themselves untrustworthy, since they have voted against the advice of Cam-aaron, he who is now fled into utter obscurity."

Cam-aaron taketh off all his clothes, and disappeareth from sight.

10. And indeed, the unwisdom of the people was already seen in how they elected the members of the House of the Common.

11. For it was written "In this land of demo-cracy, a mere nobody can be elected to the House of the Common, and he may take decisions on behalf of the people."

12. And indeed, the people had responded by electing a multitude of nobodies.

13. Still, the judges had spoken. So May-gog lamented greatly, and sought out some even more important judges.

To be continued.

Celebrities move to Belgium

Belgium has long been an attractive place for tax exiles: for example, in recent years the rock singer Johnny Hallyday and the actor Gérard Depardieu have both applied for Belgian citizenship. And this week, Adolf Hitler, 124, a retired politician, announced that he and some close friends would also be moving to the land of the sprout.

Hitler begins his house-hunting.

Herr Hitler had formerly been a resident of North Korea; however, as he says laughingly, "The political system there is great, but I get a bit tired of hot dogs made from real poodles. With the passing of this new law in Belgium, permitting the euthanasia of children, I feel I am really moving to a country that suits me."

Hitler has long been an admirer of Belgium - indeed, for a few years in the 1940s he owned it - although he never dreamed that his ideas would come back into fashion so soon. However, not all Belgians welcome the new law, and Mlle Lisa Colbert, for one, is planning to set up a resistance movement, or "secret army" to rescue children.

We'll be sending children "down the line" to Spain.

Following concerns expressed by Syria, the United Nations is expected to take some time off Vatican-bashing, to look into the situation. Said a spokesman, "We have received a proposal from the United States, that we should try air strikes on Belgium - according to Barack Obama, dropping bombs on people is the best way to help them - and we are seriously considering the possibility."

"Live long and prosper (unless you're ill)!" says Prime Minister Elio di Rupo.

Suicide, euthanasia, and abortion have long been important parts of Belgian culture. Explained one doctor: "People wake up one day, and say to themselves My God! I'm a Belgian! For many, this is such shocking news that they feel obliged to end it all on the spot."

A traditional welcoming sign at the Belgian border.

Before the new euthanasia law comes into force, it must receive the royal assent from King Philippe of Belgium, who is a devout Catholic and a regular reader of this blog. We advise him to abdicate to avoid putting his signature to this law, as did his uncle, King Baudouin when abortion was legalised, although this will not save Belgium. And where Belgium leads, can the rest of Europe be far behind? Another famous Belgian is on the case (and we don't mean Hercule Poirot).

We're working on a new "euthanasia" directive, to apply to the whole of the EU.

Bad Hymns 27

Aujourd'hui nous are writing ce blogue en Franglais, la langue internationale, car nous avons invité M. Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle to tell us about La Marseillaise. Our own anthem God Save the Queen est un hymne religieux, and a very effectif un, since, spurred on by "Long to Reign Over Us", La Reine has already reigned soixante ans and is in bonne forme for another soixante. La Marseillaise est un peu plus séculaire.

Well, it's O.K., but wouldn't Savez-vous planter les choux be a better anthem?

Curieusement, La Marseillaise n'a pas les silliest lyrics de tous les national anthems. In Delingpoland, ils chantent "Long live the Grand Duke and may his breakfast egg and bacon cause his ears to flourish"; while in West Ed they are moved aux larmes by the mots "Bless the land of West Ed, and its men and women, its dogs and cats, its donkeys and goats, its llamas and possums" (and so on throughout tout le kingdom des animaux); enfin, the Republic of Odone anthem consists of le seul mot "Odone" sung 1728 times, although une version plus courte de 640 repeats is allowed en cas d'urgence.

Patriots singing On les plante avec le nez, à la mode de chez nous!

E: Still here nous sommes, avec M. Rouget de Lisle. Claude, je gather that vous êtes un membre of the sans-culottes?

CJRdL: That's rather une question personnelle, M. Eccles. In fact je porte des "longues-Jeans" knitted by my Tante Fifi. Il fait froid à Paris, mon vieux.

E: Now, your chanson is très bloodthirsty, all to do with des personnes waving blood-stained drapeaux at vous.

CJRdL: La Tyrannie raises son bloody banner, Eccles.

E: Could you donner un exemple?

CJRdL: Well, par exemple, Louis XVI brought in a loi about le mariage bogus, le même-sexe mariage, and his gendarmes used gaz-de-larmes to attack anyone who manifestait pour la famille, dans les rues.

E: Terrible, Claude, and I gather that he decided to sack any maires who refusaient to conduct les même-sexe mariages. Clearly such a personne deserved rien less than the guillotine!

Long-lost cousins? François (L) and Louis (R).

CJRdL: So that's pourquoi we have so many blood-soif sentiments dans ma chanson.

E: Oui, indeed I see that vous voulez remplir some ditches with impure blood?

CJRdL: It's very good for the terre, Eccles. However, by the Commune Agricole Policy, we're no longer allowed to do this. We shall have to rewrite La Marseillaise to make it plus politiquement correct.

E: Ah, les EU bureaucrats, hein? Tous les traditional country ways are disappearing, n'est-ce pas?

CJRdL: I blame the Belges.

E: Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (now that's a nom aristocratique!), merci beaucoup.

David Cameron explains same-sex "marriage" to a Belgian.

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Previous entries for the Eccles Bad Hymn Award:

Lord of the Dance.    Shine, Jesus, shine.    Enemy of apathy.    Walk in the Light.
Kum Ba Yah.    Follow me.    God's Spirit is in my heart.    Imagine.    Alleluia Ch-ch.
It ain't necessarily so.    I, the Lord of sea and sky.    Colours of day.    The red flag.
Go, the Mass is ended.    I watch the sunrise.    Bind us together, Lord.    Our god reigns.
My way.    Ding-Dong! The witch is dead.    If I were a butterfly.
Journeys ended, journeys begun.    The Galilee song.    The perfect face.
Jesus Christ the apple tree.    On eagle's wings.    Moses, I know you're the man.

Happy Birthday, Cardinal

Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium turned 80 this week, on Tuesday, June 4th, and we are happy to celebrate his life and achievements here. H/T to Protect the Pope for some relevant information for our little tribute.

Danneels, in the lions' den, addresses a gay pride.

Godfried Danneels has shown sympathy with the "equal marriage" campaign, and firmly rejects Jesus's views that marriage is something involving a man and a woman of opposite sexes. "How can a man not identify with his orientation?" he says. Cardinal, do you really need basic Christianity explained to you?

Which orientation shall we go for today? Hetero- Homo- Bi- Trans- A- or Pan-?

Danneels also says that the French should stop protesting about "gay marriage," and thinks that "The Church has never objected to the fact that there is a sort of 'marriage' between homosexuals." It is not clear what church he is referring to, but clearly it is not the Catholic Church.

Stop protesting? Mais nous sommes français! C'est notre sport national!

Anyway, the Catholic Church in Belgium is truly grateful to you, Cardinal, for all you have done over the years. It now feels more "God-freed" than ever before, as church attendance and pastoral vocation have almost entirely fallen away.

Brussels sprouts - nearly as unpopular as Brussels priests.

Dr Eccles's casebook

We are pleased to be able to publish some of the casenotes of the learned psycho-analyst, Dr Eccles. Some of the names have been disguised in order to maintain patient confidentiality.

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Stephen F.

Patient S is an alleged intellectual giant, although it is hard to determine a precise area of knowledge on which he is a world authority. In a St Trinians film, playing the part of a quizmaster, he managed to get wrong the formula for the volume of a sphere, so he is clearly not a scientist. Still, I went along with his belief that he is an intellectual, as he will run away to Belgium in a huff if he doesn't get his own way.

S came to see me because he had developed a compulsion for giggling at inappropriate things. He showed me a joke about child abuse (basically a picture of the Pope with a lewd caption added); he had tweeted this to his millions of adoring fans and spambots, simply in order to get a cheap laugh at the expense of the Catholic church.

Now add a clever-clever caption about child abuse.

I am exploring S's other mental deficiencies - for example, he thinks the word "bottoms" is hilariously funny - and trying to work out whether there is a common pattern. Meanwhile, I am advising him to avoid funerals, memorial services, mosques, churches and Liberal Democrat conferences, where unseemly sniggering may get him into trouble.

Doctor's note - do not let this patient pay by credit card.

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Tina B.

Patient T is a real intellectual giant, being a professor, no less, at Roehampton University (formerly the Oona Stannard School of Liturgical Dancing for Young Ladies). She tells me she is a Professor of Catholic Studies, but her enemies say that she is a Catholic in the same way that the Professor of Animal Behaviour is a Cat.

T came to me in a very distressed state, saying that she was now a laughing stock in the Catholic world, because her very exciting lecture on Lumen Gentium - why the Virgin Mary teaches us that gay relationships are the best was cancelled by the Diocese of Clifton for no obvious reason. What is more, her Beattie-platitudes or "Beattietudes" (e.g. Blessed are ye if ye preach against the Pope, because Tina will love you) were not regarded as highly as the original teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

Doctor's note - needs to cut down on the Tablets.

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Will 'the smirk' come to haunt Thompson?

Patient D writes a universally-despised blog for a national newspaper, together with a dumbed-down Saturday column in which he strings together lots of trivial ideas. Currently he is editing the writings of the late Gladys Mills, which will appear next year as The Fit or The Gladys Mills fitness programme.

The quiet dignity of Mrs Mills, one of the greats of piano-playing

D has been mocked many times because of the ancient picture at the head of his blog. It shows a middle-aged character, wearing his old school blazer, whose expression has been variously described as "sneering" or "smirking." This grinning picture is used even on the rare occasions when D decides to treat a serious subject such as terrorism. Although not a compulsive sniggerer like S (q.v.) the patient D lacks that sense of self-awareness which should make him avoid such blunders.

Doctor's note - don't mention religion, it only upsets him.

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This patient believes he is being attacked by a giant bird

Lastly, N came to see me. Claims to be some sort of politician. He is worried that everyone who disagrees with him on any subject at all may be a bigot.

I mentioned Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd George. He had not heard of them, but I told him that they were leaders of the party that he now serves. In order to stop him from biting my carpet, I persuaded him that they were all pioneers in the "gay marriage" movement.

Diagnosis: I believe the patient may have Brown's Syndrome, under which a person gets hysterical if they are disagreed with.

Doctor's note - that's odd, someone seems to have thrown my laser-printer out of the window.