Yes it's not a very nice life skill, although very widely used! I've always been a blusher, which is a bit of a drawback when you're trying to be less than truthful 😳
Glad you enjoyed part one, Sophie. There's some archive footage in part two that I hope you'll find interesting. x
I liked how you set it up around truth, lies, and moral grey areas before getting into the history. What I really liked, though, is how you made this, which could be quite dense just coming off the page. Brilliant read, and I look forward to part 2.
Great read. I think they tried to do us a favour, but we ignored it. We remain in thrall of 'the establishment' in all of its guises. Looking forward to part two! I worked for MI5 for three years running a project for them nearly 20 years ago. I admit to being very disappointed that I passed their security check. My history of political subversion was not nearly as subversive as I'd hoped. Very interesting, though. And the MI5 HQ is not where everyone thinks it is. But I can't tell you where it is, or they'll have me taken out and shot. Always considered Margaret ideal spy material!
This is thrilling! My mind is running riot wondering what job you had! 😃I was a civil servant for many years but nothing so glamorous, sadly. I really enjoyed Stella Rimington's autobiography, but I am always surprised that such books are allowed to be written, and I wonder how the writer decides what to divulge. I've been watching some talks by Annie Machon recently. She was the former MI5 whistleblower who went on the run with her colleague David Shayler in the 1990s. She seems like a principled person and very courageous. The establishment will always protect itself.
Thanks for reading Mike, or should I call you something else? 🤫
Such a fascinating time. I’ve always been interested in MI5 and once did the screening test that they put out to interested parties. Thank goodness I wasn’t a good fit. 😂
Wow! You did the test! Your work shows that you have a real eye for detail - very observant - a useful quality in a spy. I always liked the idea of it but it's obvious that it is an extremely tricky world to navigate with lots of moral quandaries. I'll stick to reading "Slow Horses" I think! 😄
Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed. Part 2 coming up 😃
I think you need to be a very particular type and it was never going to be mine. 😅 I’m still watching Slow Horses and when I’ve finished I’ll start on the books.
I wonder whether some of the characteristics they are looking for are ones you wouldn't necessarily want to have! I haven't seen the show. I have always admired Gary Oldman very much, but the picture I have in my head of Jackson Lamb is more Warren Clarke. Do you remember a series from years ago, "Dalziel and Pasco"? The character played by Clarke was Jackson Lamb without the more extreme behaviour. Some of the passages in the books are priceless. You can't help loving him even though he's vile. I'm dreading him being killed off by Herron!
I keep thinking about Standish. She’s such a great character. Gary Oldman can really do no wrong. I think he’s brilliant. Having not yet read the books I’ll have to hold judgement. It takes me ages to watch stuff so I’ll be here a while.
A great look back, Jules, at a time when, though we thought everything was black and white, ie us and the Yanks good, Commies bad, it absolutely was never as straightforward as that!
Kim Philby’s A Silent War is a terrific read, for he writes so well…and, of course, he was at the centre of it all.
Thanks Mark. Yes, I think ideologies will be the end of us all. I get that these men may have thought they did the right thing. When Blunt was outed he said that though he bitterly regretted what he had done he had not betrayed his conscience. I just wonder how many people died because of their actions. We'll never know.
Thanks for reading, and for the book recommendation. I've read a biography of Philby but not that.
I always loved the film Another Country for its explanation of Guy Burgess. Coincidentally I'm busy doing more research on Labour politician Doug Houghton, and it was Burgess whom he worked for at the BBC during the War.
I don’t think I’ve seen “Another Country” but I enjoyed “An Englishman Abroad” with Alan Bates and Coral Browne, and “Cambridge Spies” with Tom Hollander as Burgess. They showed “A Question of Attribution” on TV recently with Prunella Scales and James Fox - brilliant as the Queen and Blunt. It’s a story that keeps on giving!
Interested to hear about your research. It’s amazing how GB operated in plain sight for so long.
Really sounds like the stuff of fiction, Jules. So wild that these guys thought they were operating on the side of the good by spying for the Russians of all people. Just goes to show how easily snowed even smart people can be. The bit about this crew feeling like they were part of the fringe for being gay is a very interesting revelation. Thanks for this compelling read and I'm very much looking forward to part 2. I actually had that haircut thing happen, only I was on the receiving end. My friend and I used to go to the same hairdresser but he's all the way across town so I went to someone located closer to my house. When my friend saw me and my very short haircut she said, "You need to go back to Takeshi next time." I mean . . . no subtlety there. I definitely would've preferred a lie.
I think that once people have convinced themselves that something is right they can get in so deep that there’s no turning back. I won’t spoil next week’s issue for you by saying too much, but personally I think their actions will have cost lives, and they had the kind of intellectual arrogance that can last a very long time.
Aw that’s cutting - pardon the pun. I'm sure your friend thought she was doing you a good turn, but it doesn't make you feel any better, and if you liked the hairstyle that is all that matters!
I really enjoyed this Jules. Fascinating stuff. I'm on first name terms with the occasional white lie, but my husband finds it impossible - drives me to distraction, especially, as you say, that sometimes you have to be economical with the truth! I am a blusher though, which doesn't help, which is why I'd have made a terrible spy.
Have you seen a recent series on the Binge app, called Ponies? its about 2 American women who become CIA operatives in Moscow in the 70s. It's pretty good.
I am also a blusher. I'm better than I was as a kid - I used to go purple all the time 😄Better now but it still happens occasionally. Perhaps women are more likely to be "people pleasers". I don't suppose men generally feel the same need to tell white lies.
No I haven't seen "Ponies" , it sounds good. I will look into that, thanks!
What a fascinating read Jules ! Gripping and so very interesting too. Luv the intro and how you set up this piece. Not an endearing life skill to have. You wouldn't want one of these to be a friend or relative ! Truthful is my approach, with tact if a difficult subject, or say nothing. Looking forward to part 2 😀
Angie, you've hit the nail on the head: you would not want one of them as a friend, as part 2 will reveal! Thanks for the lovely comment, hoping you like the second part...x
Fascinating, Jules. I’m a terrible liar (which I’m fine with!) but find those who are good at it really interesting. I loved reading about these men.
Yes it's not a very nice life skill, although very widely used! I've always been a blusher, which is a bit of a drawback when you're trying to be less than truthful 😳
Glad you enjoyed part one, Sophie. There's some archive footage in part two that I hope you'll find interesting. x
I liked how you set it up around truth, lies, and moral grey areas before getting into the history. What I really liked, though, is how you made this, which could be quite dense just coming off the page. Brilliant read, and I look forward to part 2.
Thanks Jon! Glad you enjoyed it and didn't find it too heavy.
Great read. I think they tried to do us a favour, but we ignored it. We remain in thrall of 'the establishment' in all of its guises. Looking forward to part two! I worked for MI5 for three years running a project for them nearly 20 years ago. I admit to being very disappointed that I passed their security check. My history of political subversion was not nearly as subversive as I'd hoped. Very interesting, though. And the MI5 HQ is not where everyone thinks it is. But I can't tell you where it is, or they'll have me taken out and shot. Always considered Margaret ideal spy material!
This is thrilling! My mind is running riot wondering what job you had! 😃I was a civil servant for many years but nothing so glamorous, sadly. I really enjoyed Stella Rimington's autobiography, but I am always surprised that such books are allowed to be written, and I wonder how the writer decides what to divulge. I've been watching some talks by Annie Machon recently. She was the former MI5 whistleblower who went on the run with her colleague David Shayler in the 1990s. She seems like a principled person and very courageous. The establishment will always protect itself.
Thanks for reading Mike, or should I call you something else? 🤫
Less thrilling than it probably sounds. No guns or fast cars involved. Well, not many! But fascinating to get some insights into how it works.
Ooh I'll bet! 😃
Such a fascinating time. I’ve always been interested in MI5 and once did the screening test that they put out to interested parties. Thank goodness I wasn’t a good fit. 😂
Very much looking forward to part 2 Jules.
Wow! You did the test! Your work shows that you have a real eye for detail - very observant - a useful quality in a spy. I always liked the idea of it but it's obvious that it is an extremely tricky world to navigate with lots of moral quandaries. I'll stick to reading "Slow Horses" I think! 😄
Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed. Part 2 coming up 😃
I think you need to be a very particular type and it was never going to be mine. 😅 I’m still watching Slow Horses and when I’ve finished I’ll start on the books.
I wonder whether some of the characteristics they are looking for are ones you wouldn't necessarily want to have! I haven't seen the show. I have always admired Gary Oldman very much, but the picture I have in my head of Jackson Lamb is more Warren Clarke. Do you remember a series from years ago, "Dalziel and Pasco"? The character played by Clarke was Jackson Lamb without the more extreme behaviour. Some of the passages in the books are priceless. You can't help loving him even though he's vile. I'm dreading him being killed off by Herron!
I keep thinking about Standish. She’s such a great character. Gary Oldman can really do no wrong. I think he’s brilliant. Having not yet read the books I’ll have to hold judgement. It takes me ages to watch stuff so I’ll be here a while.
She's great. Herron is very good at creating convincing characters. You become really invested in them so it's awful when they get bumped off.
Do try the books. They don't let Gary Oldman say even half the stuff that Jackson Lamb does in the books. Extremely funny.
A great look back, Jules, at a time when, though we thought everything was black and white, ie us and the Yanks good, Commies bad, it absolutely was never as straightforward as that!
Kim Philby’s A Silent War is a terrific read, for he writes so well…and, of course, he was at the centre of it all.
Thanks Mark. Yes, I think ideologies will be the end of us all. I get that these men may have thought they did the right thing. When Blunt was outed he said that though he bitterly regretted what he had done he had not betrayed his conscience. I just wonder how many people died because of their actions. We'll never know.
Thanks for reading, and for the book recommendation. I've read a biography of Philby but not that.
I always loved the film Another Country for its explanation of Guy Burgess. Coincidentally I'm busy doing more research on Labour politician Doug Houghton, and it was Burgess whom he worked for at the BBC during the War.
I don’t think I’ve seen “Another Country” but I enjoyed “An Englishman Abroad” with Alan Bates and Coral Browne, and “Cambridge Spies” with Tom Hollander as Burgess. They showed “A Question of Attribution” on TV recently with Prunella Scales and James Fox - brilliant as the Queen and Blunt. It’s a story that keeps on giving!
Interested to hear about your research. It’s amazing how GB operated in plain sight for so long.
Great film, made Colin Firth and Rupert Everett famous! In 1984.
Both good actors. I will see if I can find that. 👍
Really sounds like the stuff of fiction, Jules. So wild that these guys thought they were operating on the side of the good by spying for the Russians of all people. Just goes to show how easily snowed even smart people can be. The bit about this crew feeling like they were part of the fringe for being gay is a very interesting revelation. Thanks for this compelling read and I'm very much looking forward to part 2. I actually had that haircut thing happen, only I was on the receiving end. My friend and I used to go to the same hairdresser but he's all the way across town so I went to someone located closer to my house. When my friend saw me and my very short haircut she said, "You need to go back to Takeshi next time." I mean . . . no subtlety there. I definitely would've preferred a lie.
I think that once people have convinced themselves that something is right they can get in so deep that there’s no turning back. I won’t spoil next week’s issue for you by saying too much, but personally I think their actions will have cost lives, and they had the kind of intellectual arrogance that can last a very long time.
Aw that’s cutting - pardon the pun. I'm sure your friend thought she was doing you a good turn, but it doesn't make you feel any better, and if you liked the hairstyle that is all that matters!
I really enjoyed this Jules. Fascinating stuff. I'm on first name terms with the occasional white lie, but my husband finds it impossible - drives me to distraction, especially, as you say, that sometimes you have to be economical with the truth! I am a blusher though, which doesn't help, which is why I'd have made a terrible spy.
Have you seen a recent series on the Binge app, called Ponies? its about 2 American women who become CIA operatives in Moscow in the 70s. It's pretty good.
I am also a blusher. I'm better than I was as a kid - I used to go purple all the time 😄Better now but it still happens occasionally. Perhaps women are more likely to be "people pleasers". I don't suppose men generally feel the same need to tell white lies.
No I haven't seen "Ponies" , it sounds good. I will look into that, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed part one. Thanks for reading 😊
What a fascinating read Jules ! Gripping and so very interesting too. Luv the intro and how you set up this piece. Not an endearing life skill to have. You wouldn't want one of these to be a friend or relative ! Truthful is my approach, with tact if a difficult subject, or say nothing. Looking forward to part 2 😀
Angie, you've hit the nail on the head: you would not want one of them as a friend, as part 2 will reveal! Thanks for the lovely comment, hoping you like the second part...x