There’s such an overwhelming sense of patriotism hitting the UK these days. And not the good kind. The very unhelpful kind. It feels like every time something happens, people on the right are bringing up the blitz spirit. When we were in the midst of the pandemic, Tory MPs and their supporters proudly announced that people didn’t hide away in WW2. What they failed to mention is that that’s exactly what they did during air raids. There’s nothing like the overconfidence of a rich guy talking about a war that ended before they were born.
What happens when you take a book written by Ian Fleming, add a script co-written by Roald Dahl, and finish it off with Dick van Dyke? One of the greatest children’s films of all time that’s what. The film version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an absolute classic that everyone will remember from their youth. The very concept is an exciting one. A flying car will always be an exciting creation but add the ghoulish child catcher into the mix and you have a great story. I do enjoy the film but I’ve never read the book before. I can’t say I’m the biggest Ian Fleming fan. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Bond films but I’ve never got on with the books. I’ve got a bit of a fascination with them but it’s hard to forget how inherently sexist and troubling they are. Still, I was sure that his children’s book wouldn’t suffer from quite the same issues as his spy novels.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 