Discontent Provider

Huddled together in their somewhat chilly autumnal Happy Place, the chaps - who have never exchanged a cross word or bark - find themselves pondering how cats and kittens who are ostensibly on the same page can be at odds. It's probably for the best - the alternative is being a mindless zombie - but at the same time, it's a bit rough on those who believe in a Universal Consciousness. 

A chill that's sharper and more penetrating than anything Autumn can normally provide permeates the Happy Place this week as the chaps realise (with suitable horror) that they are - to some extent and for a moment only - in agreement with a reviled political figure. It shook them, cats and kittens - so much so that reflecting on the casual idiocy and hypocrisy of Humanity was like drinking from a pure mountain spring...

News of moles and questionable decisions by the CPS have the chaps pondering the murky world of espionage this week: is it wot it used to be? Does it matter? Would a blind folkie and a stone-deaf Lurcher make effective secret agents? These (and other questions) are answered this week - and you don't even have to hold bird-shit smeared paper over a candle to find out what's what. 

Foxy unearths a childhood memory courtesy of a President who appears to have trouble recalling what day it is this week. Consequently, the chaps find themselves considering a much-maligned pachyderm, drawing some questionable comparisons, and realising only now - in this very instant - that they missed a chance to make an Ionescu allusion that would have made them look terribly clever and well-read.

The chaps attempt to retain their much vaunted stiff upper lippery in the face of yet another end of the world that didn't happen - although take some solace in the fact that even the wildest passages in Revelation are by far from being the least believable noises being made this week. Better luck next time, eh, cats and kittens?

The chaps try their hands/paws at the Scientific Method this week by attempting to determine whether or not ignoring reality really can make it go away. It appears that it can't - but sadly, that doesn't seem to matter.

In an episode rendered unfashionably late by Foxy's pretty face requiring medical treatment, the chaps ponder the timeless cycle of Nature and the equally eternal treadmill-like grind of Human frailty and beastliness with particular reference to how quickly awful people will jump to the defence of awful people.

As the baking heat of Summer begins to retreat, the chaps retire to their Happy Place to review the season. TL:DR - they've seen better. They've seen worse too - but what kind of pessimistic scrotes would they be if they lead with that? All in all, it's been no Summer of Love - and small wonder, eh what?

As the chaps settle into the sun-dappled, grassy splendour of their Happy Place, they are comforted to no end to learn that the obvious fiction of geographical boundaries is still widely-respected. Perhaps their little nook will one day earn Internationally-recognised Statehood? If so; get ready for unregulated gambling and a blanket ban on poetry (or any other metaphor-driven art-form). 

With the shells, cluster F-bombs of the Culture War getting dangerously close to home, the chaps - like the despicable conchie cowards they are - decline to participate in the hostilities; instead, they repair to their Happy Place to consider the remarkable prospect of a Donald Trump interview wherein the POTUS seems to be making a genuine effort to come across as only around 20% as much of a dick as usual.

With the crew being once more up to full strength, perhaps it's not to be wondered at that the chaps are feeling a mite cocky. Certainly their attitude towards the Established Order of Things could get them into a spot of trouble at Asda - but isn't that all for the best? 

Due to an injury, Discontent Provider is only about half the podcast it normally is - but one presses on, do one not? No use crying over ... Well; no use crying altogether, really - at least not in some circles. Anyway; all that aside, the Happy Place is the place to be if you're looking for a scholarly appraisal of Labour's First Year in Government.

This week presents something of a challenge for you, Podcast Pals - to wit, can you ignore the apparent irony of a strangely-garbed man with a sweet-looking dog who regularly invites people to join them in a secluded sylvan oasis discussing degenerate sexual practices? In fairness, the chaps are discussing more public attitudes to paedophile enormities - but even so, on some level, they have to know what they look like, surely?

Unnerved and unsettled by their unwonted translation from Friday to Monday (even though they have nobody to blame but themselves - and to some extent, the world), the chaps nevertheless manage to - by dint of sheer professionalism and inner strength - remain as soigné and debonair as you'd expect. This week is all about reactions to worsening vibes overseas, and some tentative plans for the future (should there be one).

In a week where all sorts of people seem to be suddenly and unwontedly realising all sorts of things, The Silver Fox has his own moment of stunning clarity - but refuses to talk about it.  NB: Podcast historians and music scholars alike should note that this is the first episode of "Discontent Provider" to feature the Gm chord - so there's that...

Was there something in the air this week? Even before the appalling incident in Liverpool on Monday, Foxy and Arkham were already giving thought to the nation's Mental Health Crisis (although to be fair; it's a global malady is what it is). Perhaps that's why they haven't come up with any tasteless and crass jokes about it? Fortunately, a true Hero of Comedy has them covered - has us all covered, if you think about it...