O’Brien held up his left hand, its back towards Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended.

” How many fingers am I holding up, Winston ? “

” Four. “

” And if the party says that it is not four but five – then how many ? “

It’s that time again, the silly season.

A new troop of wannabe Monty Pythons is setting up shop in Belfast and doing a bit of political theater to gather publicity.

Lisburn council voted last night to write to all its grammar and secondary schools encouraging them to teach alternative theories like ‘intelligent design’. The proposal was made by DUP councillor Paul Givan, who is also a member of the Free Presbyterian Church.

Poe’s Law asserts that no parody of creationism can be so absurd that you can be certain it isn’t serious. But what are we to make of this?

Mr Simpson also asked for an assurance that pupils who answer GCSE examination questions outlining creationist or intelligent design explanations for the development of life on Earth, will not be marked lower than pupils who give answers with an evolutionist explanation.

The clowns have the stage. Bring out the comfy chair.