Once

upon a time, boys and girls, there was a man with a neat goatee beard who promised that the Means of Production would be placed in the Hands of the Workers. Unfortunately it all ended in tears and the rise of the oligarchs - and the USSR didn't turn out all that great either.

Now the Soviet posters may be seen just off the Turbine Hall (remember power stations ?) at Tate Modern. A pleasant stroll along the South Bank from my morning tutorial and a good place for lunch with an old friend whose operations went well and whose daughter is a rising star of human rights law.

A good day.