Mainstream

 There was a time when I could identify all the major figures in world politics and rather looked down on anyone who couldn't but since I stopped mainlining mainstream media my ability to put names and identities to faces has declined. This morning I was scanning a cartoon by the Guardian's Martin Rowson- who I used to like a lot- and I could identify the US president and little Bibi and took a punt on a third character being Pete Hegseth but there were two other people in the frame- both female- and I hadn't the foggiest who either of them were. Also there was a dog. Now what the fuck was the dog supposed to represent?

Talking about mainstream media I see the Telegraph- my parents' pablum of choice- has been bought by a German. There was a time when this would have mattered- and the retired colonels of Tunbridge Wells would have been fulminating- but who cares about the Telegraph now?

Or, indeed, cares about any of the newspapers that were once so powerful? Maybe the Mail still has some heft. Maybe.....