The New Murrey and Blue blog

Well, according to this site here we have “The Top 10 hinge moments in history”.

As five of the ten concern 20^th-century politics, you will forgive me for being somewhat mystified that such matters count as pivotal moments. For whom, pray? How on earth can Michael Portillo losing out to Iain Duncan Smith by one vote count as pivotal in the world? Or the 1981 deputy leadership struggle of the Labour Party be a moment when the entire world held its breath? For heaven’s sake, let’s have some sense. And if British Parliamentary matters are the point, then what about the little squabble between Charles I and Oliver Cromwell? Far more pivotal, methinks.

As you will have gathered, I think this list can’t really be serious. Oh, but Richard III gets a look-in. He’s at number two. Behind the Battle of Zama, 202 BC. I’m afraid that little contretemps doesn’t exactly roll readily from my tongue….

To be fair, the list was prompted by the 2010 Labour Party clash of the two Miliband brothers. Yet another moment when the hearts of the entire world missed a beat! I should imagine there were even gasps on Mars….