I ventured forth into the magnificent shopping mall…resplendent and festooned with glittering Xmas lights , ice rink, and seasonally atmospheric purchase cheer.

The reason for my journey…. 

I wanted to view the latest film version of Charles Dickens "Great Expectations", presented on the top floor, on a nice screen with accessible parking ..etc…

I could have been gently suckered into an £11 purchase of two bottles of water, with an accompanying carton of popcorn….only at that kind of price it ceased to appeal.
It’s not a question of whether or not you can afford it…It’s more a question of whether or not you feel blatently suckered in and seduced.
Two plastic bottles of water amounts to two containers of non biodegradable landfill, preserving a clear liquid.
A carton of popcorn results to less than a handful of exploded sweetcorn kernels.
Total monetary value?….A good deal less than a couple of dimes or pennies.
Baaaaah Humbug…!!!
I refuse to feel fleeced!
Oh, but Mr Orwell’s vision veered some way far afield from this.
He failed to see the future beyond the way it’s actually played out.
He failed to envisage the glitteringly/ appealing/seductive and overwhelmingly alluring.."Must have" factor.
None of that Gulag/Stalag/totalitarian scary stuff has actually triumphed in the end.
What we seem to have inherited is a kind of corporate dreamfest, where everything is accessible, appealing, controllable, and totally dumbed down.
Poor old Santa…