As fairytales go, this one has all the ingredients for a compelling classic. A foreign prince, king's daughter, swords (guns) drawn, a wicked step-mother, senseless courage and the promise of a wedding.
In order to pass this piece by this paper's usually hawkish editors, I guess I must qualify my opening statement. The Armenian star of this tale is only allegedly related to the Armenian Prime Minister, and the palace has disowned the king's daughter. The wicked step-mother is much loved by most but the rest of it is pretty real, although coming in a period when we are already overloaded with the tragedy on Mt. Elgon and the clamour for minimum constitutional reforms, it is a tad rich.
Tim Norwood, "The chronology may be a little off, there may be a distinct hint of levity, the details may be dodgy and Artur is neither planning a roundtable nor pulling swords out of rocks. Still it sounds like a fairytale, and the only real thing is my wish that it would all go away."
