Saturday 14 November 2009

The Realms of Possibility


According to the ever racy Times Educational Supplement,

It is not beyond the realms of possibility for schools on very tight budgets to make really significant changes themselves

I love the idea of the realms of possibility. In my mind's eye I see a verdant and expansive kingdom ruled by a plump, benign queen. I don't know why Possibility should be female, but she is. And imagine what the border checkpoints are like! Imagine the customs officers! All those bootleggers trying to smuggle in four-sided triangles, Labour election victories and good D.H. Lawrence novels from the cloudy lands beyond.

Incidentally, realm derives from royal or real as in Real [Royal] Madrid, which was granted its royal title by the football-loving King Alfonso XIII.



A good poem by Sylvia Plath

P.S. According to this page here there are equivalent phrases in many other languages including the French domaine du possible. I've asked our indentured linguist Everet Lapel to check up on this.

P.P.S. Everet says it's all true, but he doesn't know why.

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