Rave New World

Interesting to note that the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and the Paralympics both referenced The Tempest By Shakespeare. In the former, it was all about the displaced savage Caliban and his fabulous dreams. He had lost his liberty and been denied the run of his island but no-one, not even the magisterial Prospero could limit his capacity for wonder. Danny Boyle was sending out a note to the fringe-dwellers and political underclass. The dream was not over, and like a patient on one of those mythical NHS beds, it might even be restored to good health.

For the Paralympics, it was Miranda, daughter of Prospero, who carried the show. The daughter of the exiled magician, she sees the new arrivals on the island and her mind is blown. Her tiny horizons are expanded. Her dad's controlling style is overturned. And when she talks about the brave new world she uses the adjective in the way that the Ulster semantic has retained over the centuries. Brave meaning great, worthy of admiration.



Sure, there was a deal of sentimental warbling in the ceremony and perhaps too many people whizzing around on wires. But, blimey, didn't I hear Orbital and Stephen Hawking and some other excited souls performing 'Spasticus Autisticus' by Ian Dury? A song that was first released in 1981 in the International Year of Disabled Persons, but utterly shunned by radio programmers? Changing times, maybe. A braver world, perchance.