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- Sept 2005

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I randomly picked up a book at the charing cross second-hand bookstore some time ago, and bought it on impulse. It looked vaguely interesting, something about the tribulations of a court jester (read: clown) in the medievals. Seemed like a crappy read at the start, but it got quite riveting after a while.

Basically this chap had quite a bit of history. Born into a family of peasants, he worked in socage for his father's lords from young, and developed quite a talent for inducing bouts of hearty laughter at the grand dinners his lords hosted. upon attaining the age of recognition, he was appointed to serve the county lord as the court jester.

He was estastic at that appointment, and immediately set out to do his best. He tried hard, but by some reason or another, always tries too hard and gradually lost his ability to coax out much more than a chortle at the lord's dinings. Eventually, he lost favour with the Lord, and was consigned to menial chores.

Coming from a family of peasants, menial chores were second nature to him, and he wasn't half bad at the tasks tossed into his lap. He helped clean up after his lord's ladies, helped patch the many objects that fell into disrepair, faithfully turned up at the welcome of the many visiting dignitaries as a porter, helped out in the castle kitchen, caught mice, etc. In the absence of other things to do, he always revelled in the opportunity to be useful, and faithfully performed every task the best he could.

But despite the numerous affairs to take up his time, what he really wanted was to be back jestering. He missed the feeling of satisfaction he got when he saw his lords retching and writhing at his performances. But despite his numerous pleas to the lord, in his lord's words, he wasn't good enough.

One day, he awoke to a parchment rolled under his door, summoning him to a lord's dinner, as a jester. He could scarcely believe his eyes as he re-read the words: "as a jester". Was this his lucky break? perhaps it was and he set about preparing himself for the task. He awaited the evening with trembling fingers, and when the time came, opened his trunk and pulled out his dusty jester robes. He could scarcely conceal his excitement as he flicked the dust off his robes.

He preened and primed himself in front of the mirror, looking forward to his big break. confident that he looked the part, he set off for the great hall. Entering the hall, he took his bow and as he looked up, he saw another jester, and yet another... the hall was full of jesters. Surely that wasn't the plan, to have every jester in the lord's lands at the great hall. But it was. Needless to say, it was a miserable evening for him. He went back dejected, confident that he left no impression on the lord.

Now, there was also the small matter of this knight. When they were younger, he and the knight were great friends, or so he thought. But as the two young men grew up, it became apparent that the then knight-to-be was destined for greater things, and the jester knew it. the knight was invited to all the lord's dinings, and he dined with the finest people in the land, the lords who saw him as the king's next great knight, the ladies who saw him as their literal knight in shining armour, and he basked in every moment of glory. The noblemen of the land regaled the audiences with his acts of heroism, his skill with the lance, and he found great favour with many, including the ladies.

Now how they fetted over him, how his suave charm swept them off their feet, and every whim and fancy of them were answered. Many a time, the jester just sat back as he watched his friend charm his way into the hearts of many a lady. He always had a knack for being there, and the ladies always saw nothing but his boyish good looks, his cheerful disposition, his ever-willingness to help, and for that attention, he was happy to push his erstwhile friend aside.

The jester hated it. The jester knew the knight inside out, but no one else seemed to know, but the jester chose to keep silent, the once strong bonds of friendship holding him back. Now, that would normally be quite noble, except, the jester wasn't a nobleman, and no one paid attention to one not of noble blood.

yes, no one...

---------------------------------------------

Halfway through the book now, and i'm already as engrossed in it as I was in every Harry Potter book i've read, well, actually i've read every single one of them. But I quite like this book, way better than the last Colin Forbes book I read, "Blood Storm"

I should really read more fiction, rather than similar leather-bound copies of stuff like "Company Law" or "Conflicts of Law". it's immensely boring, and I detest it.

kelvin was inspired at 12:48 PM