Screen Shots

In the "what fun" category of revisiting, revising, re-examining the course of history the BBC this week is giving us Lucy Worsley once again. She is to change our minds about King Richard III; now is the winter of our discontent to his mates; then The Glorious Revolution of 1688; King Billy rules OK, or rather his missus did; and lastly the Creation of the Raj, or how we got hooked onto the caffeine in the tea with the odd shot of opium and needed the gold to maintain our financial liquidity as well.

Another more delicate matter is a look at the KKK, the variants of the Ku Klux Klan, and its Scottish origins. Secret societies; they were with about as much real secrecy as a railway timetable. Yes indeed they will have some Scottish input. Almost anything in the USA from way back has a Scottish connection because there were a lot of Scots there and very active.

I now confess that I am the leader of a secret society. This one has the advantage of having only one member, me, so as long as I keep quiet nobody will realise that I rule the world; up to a point. So far the mission has not been entirely successful, but something may turn up in the National Lottery. Also, I can skip the kit, fiery crosses and bits of business usually needed.

Going back down the ages humanity, mainly males for some reason, seem to have had a yearning to get together in groups bent on the control of others, rule by force and scratching each other's backs to ensure they have the big share of whatever pot is going. This has often needed obscure rules, contests, ceremonies and the whole bag. It might even explain Grand Opera.

Roman emperors were good at this, with the difference that a lot of them liked their own versions. Caligula was a case in point. His did not last because of the basic rule that if anybody forgot the rules or got the words wrong they were executed. Eventually, the few members that were left got rid of him and went their own ways.

Yes, I have my own angle on all this. All these secret societies etc. and some of the not so secret give rise to all the many and various conspiracy theories of history. These are false. The BBC should ignore them and start some real history into the cock-ups that made the modern world. There is a rich choice to be had.

One is the government decision to create a BBC.