<![CDATA[Why England Isn’t Russia]]>Orwell once famously observed that the goose-step could never be adopted by British soldiers because, if they marched in the streets, the English would just burst out laughing. I wonder if he thought a solemn picture of a prime minister on the phone with an American president would one day do the same thing:

I’ve been speaking to @BarackObama about the situation in Ukraine. We are united in condemnation of Russia’s actions. pic.twitter.com/7Rk2k8iOIK

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 5, 2014

At which point, it was off to the races … :

.@robdelaney @David_Cameron @BarackObama I’m now patched in as well. Sorry for the delay. pic.twitter.com/elLQcKcV3w

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) March 5, 2014

… and it gets progressively very, very silly:

@SirPatStew

@robdelaney

@David_Cameron

@BarackObama Ok, guys, thanks for holding. pic.twitter.com/ih36KWU3Tb

— Michael Moreno (@MacMoreno) March 5, 2014

Then this:

@Glinner Just trying to complain about the funny smell emanating from my phone… #davecalls pic.twitter.com/gk5h2wNYUQ

— Official Tim Wood (@OfficialTimWood) March 5, 2014

Till the dogs take over:

Yes, Dave, this is Dog pic.twitter.com/pbElW856BO

— Jon Bounds (@bounder) March 6, 2014

And so reassured that English democracy is still alive and well, I carry on with my day.

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