The word "diplomacy" has been making frequent appearances on newspaper pages in recent days and unless you have been in hibernation there is no need to explain why.
It's hard to pinpoint an all-embracing definition of diplomacy although of course many have tried. I particularly like the explanation of American journalist Isaac Goldberg who expressed it as "diplomacy is to do or say, the nastiest thing in the nicest way". Perhaps a more pragmatic approach is the wise observation by former British prime minister Edward Heath who observed: "A diplomat is a man who thinks twice before he says nothing".
British wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill was involved in his fair share of diplomacy over the years and sometimes it required him to adopt a hard-nosed approach. As he once commented: "Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to Hell in such a way they ask for directions".
The main thing in favour of diplomacy is that the alternative is not appealing at all. Just look at any random list of antonyms for "diplomacy" and you are likely to come across the following words: rudeness; disrespect; insolence; impoliteness; impertinence; discourtesy; incivility; thoughtlessness; boorishness… and so on.
By any stretch of the imagination, these are not nice words. So hopefully diplomacy will always prevail.
Of course diplomacy does not have to be about politics or conflict. It can be equally effective at a much more personal level. American poet Robert Frost got it right when he observed: "A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age".
The wall
Earlier this week it was reported that Thailand is considering a feasibility study for building a wall along part of the Cambodian border to stop illegal crossings. Can't say I'm a great fan of walls of this nature although occasionally they might be necessary. They tend to be ineffective, costly and invariably look very ugly.
Someone who would disagree with me would be a certain gentleman in the United States responsible for what he calls a "big, beautiful wall". However, he's got a few other things on his mind at the moment.
The garden
My first wall was in our back garden, a setting for many "over the garden wall" discussions between my mum and the lady next door. The conversations became a key source of news of what was going on down our street in the 1950s. It was a scene played out in back gardens throughout Britain and an important ingredient of British culture. Alas times have changed. A recent survey revealed neighbours no longer gossip over garden walls. What is the world coming to?
The wall in our garden proved very useful when as a kid I played football against myself on the small garden lawn. I would pass the ball to the wall which would send it back perfectly into my path for me to crack home a brilliant winner past the apple tree masquerading as a goalpost. Unfortunately there was usually some collateral damage, as wayward shots decapitated the flowers, which did not go down well with my dad.
The song
Walls also feature in the musical world, especially Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall, in this case the wall being metaphorical, inspired by Roger Waters' schooldays. It also featured a children's choir from a London school. Although the song was a massive hit, the satirical lyrics sparked considerable controversy.
It was particularly unpopular amongst veteran teachers in some of the rougher schools where pupils took a delight at menacingly chanting in class such lyrics as "we don't need no education" and "teachers, leave them kids alone". London authorities called the lyrics "scandalous'' while prime minister Margaret Thatcher was reportedly more concerned by the poor grammar.
More songs
Pink Floyd's Wall featured in a PostScript column a few years ago about misheard song lyrics, otherwise known as aural malapropisms or "mondegreens". A reader wrote in to say that when he first heard the song he thought the third line went: "the dogs suck acid in the classroom" which admittedly does sound a bit Pink Floyd-ish. The real lyrics are "no dark sarcasm in the classroom".
On the same topic another reader liked the Waters song It's a Miracle which he thought went: "She said she'd meet me in the garden, I've got salmon in my ear". This was actually a bit more interesting than the correct lyrics: "She said meet me in the garden of Gethsemane my dear".
Most of us can probably only remember a few lines of a song, and even then might not get the lyrics right. I was reminded of that this week while listening to Elton John's Bennie and the Jets. It still sounds to my ears that Elton is singing "she's got electric boobs" when in fact it's the less fanciful "electric boots".
Lisa's moment
When Lalisa Manobal was growing up in the northeastern province of Buri Ram few would have thought that one day she would be performing at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles. A member of the hugely successful Korean group Blackpink, last weekend Lisa, 27, took part in a tribute to the James Bond films singing Paul McCartney's Live and Let Die. Congratulations to her. From Buriram to the Oscars. It just shows what can be achieved.
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