The twists and turns of the expenses scandal continue. Alan and Ann Keen have now found out that squatters have moved in to their derelict "first house", which was allegedly being refurbished - while the Keens claim on their "second" home in Westminster.
I did begin a reading for the Keens during the week but I lost it when my computer decided to refresh the screen without warning. I will just pull a single card for this, as Owlie and Deep Throat suggest it is a mere sideshow rather than a rolling news topic. The Keens are apparently the Labour equivalent of Nicholas and Ann Winterton, but the article concentrates on the No Borders movement, and Owlperson remarks that although he is as a Conservative pro-immigration controls, he nevertheless is not sorry that the people involved have invoked their legal right to move in to the empty property and shafted two of the most audacious expenses claimaints at Westminster. Poetic justice.
Pulling a card for The Keens, we get Farrel's Zealot (White - Human Townsfolk): "Farrel, a former priest, believed Icatia was far too complacent towards the Order of the Ebon Hand". But our Farrel in this case has seen what goes around, comes around - the zealous claims on expenses have come back to haunt the couple and symbolise not only the largesse expended on frivolities but the power of the people to reclaim their property from greedy MPs.
For the squatters, I get Thallid (Green - Fungus), the iconic card which symbolises the encroachment of natural forces on those trying to hold them back; the active and wholly appropriate reclamation of follies by the people ruled from their discredited rulers.
For the future of the situation, I get Icatian Phalanx (White - Human Solider): "Even after the wall was breached in half a dozen places, the Phalanxes fought on, standing solidly against the onrushing raiders. Disciplined and dedicated, they held their ranks to the end, even in the face of tremendous losses." The Keens will assert their property rights on the squatters, though the card here suggests defence rather than offence. Looking at the image on the card, the youth and femininity of the soldiers does suggest to me, however, that the initiative lies with the young people involved in this situation - the squatters who are taking direct action - though apparently unaware of the wider British political issues involved; they sound like the descendants of the old Euro-communist movement, and have an international flavour - and their understanding of the law will prevail over those who are manipulating it for their own greed.
