The PR Blog

Moscow, 1930s. The Devil drops by for a visit. 

I first discovered this book in my youth. I have always had a fondness for old book stores and it was one day, back in the 70's that I was foraging through a load of dusty tomes in a Charlotte Street book shop in Brisbane that I sniffed out a new but strange book. Its title intrigued me. Perhaps as a young and somewhat optimistic young buck, I felt it might be a Russian version of " Lady Chatterley's Lover. "  I sauntered toward the cashier with a casual air and a look of student style indifference.  and paid a modest sum and chortled and sniggered smugly as I went back to my student digs to digest a night of Russian porn and the sensual delights of The Master and Margarita.  Oh, a good night ahead!

Yet what I had purchased for pennies turned out to be a life changing book for me and it had absolutely nothing to do with a gardener pulling weeds while guzzling bundy ginger beer and an older woman swooning at the sight of the gardeners youthful bare chest. I had been duped yet it was the best con I have ever fallen for. 

Mikhail Bulgakov was born in 1891 in Kiev, in present-day Ukraine. He first trained in medicine but gave up his profession as a doctor to pursue writing. He started working on The Master and Margarita in 1928 but due to censorship it was not published until 1966, more than twenty-five years after his death.

The book used crazy parable-like fantasy to jab at tyranny, yet he faced censorship and couldn’t publish freely in his lifetime. Even then, parody had its critics and censors. So what was it about?   How it ended up in a second hand bookstore in Brisbane for my humble self to grab is something I will never really be able to fathom. 

Political parties were meant to serve the people, but in today’s climate, they resemble warring tribes more than democratic institutions. Blind loyalty has replaced independent thought, and dissent is met with hostility, not debate.

Leaders demand absolute obedience, punishing those who stray from the party line.

But history warns us - when a tribe values survival over truth, it eventually turns inward, consuming its own members in a spiral of self-destruction. Are we watching the slow implosion of party politics, and if so, what comes next? 

We humans have always been tribal creatures. There’s even an idea called Dunbar’s Number, which suggests humans can only maintain meaningful relationships with about 150 people. Beyond that, social cohesion starts to break down, and factions form.

Stagecoaches first emerged as a means of transport in Australia during the early 1800s, drawing inspiration from similar transportation systems in Britain and the United States.

The need for reliable land transport arose with the establishment of penal colonies and the gradual expansion of settlements. Initially, most travel was conducted on horseback or by bullock dray, but these methods were slow and impractical for long-distance travel. 

By 1820, rudimentary coach services began to operate between major settlements such as Sydney, Parramatta, and Windsor.

Early stagecoaches were often simple horse-drawn carriages without their later counterparts' robust engineering and comfort. The harsh Australian terrain and climate posed significant challenges, leading to frequent breakdowns and delays.