My love of Narnia is no secret. In fact some might say that it borders on the obsessive... No comment.
But what's not to love? (If one ignores all the religious allegory claptrap that is.) A world of imaginative nonsense names of places and creatures, epic battles, talking animals and turkish delight. A world meticulously realised, where there are no parents, and children can magically escape to distant lands, ready for adventure.

Us Kirklings were brought up on a steady diet of Narnia, firstly with the books (falling apart paperbacks from Pa's youth), then the BBC adaptations on well-worn VHS. The Afghan coat in the dressing-up box, bought from Portobello Market in the seventies, was regularly put to use as a rather brilliant Aslan costume, turned inside-out for the purpose. Hours of fantasy fun. And let us not forget the Professor's surname. Is it coincidence that he's a Kirk also? One could say that the Chronicles are in our blood.

It was not until drunkenly re-watching the BBC version of The Silver Chair however, that I realised that one of us Kirklings actually is a Narnian character. A fellow wine-swigging Narnia enthusiast pointed it out, and I snorted in recognition of the fact that Eustace Scrubb is the spitting image of someone I know extremely well. Albeit a slightly blonder, more cuddly image, but an uncanny resemblance nonetheless. Especially in profile. How had I never clocked this before? Even the petulant, adolescent, yet ultimately kind-hearted characterisation is in place. I'm not sure if my brother actually turned into a dragon at any point however, despite sometimes breathing fire. Though I'm not ruling it out.

Anyway, the whole thing made me laugh muchly.



The only thing is, many people say I look a great deal like the sibling in question. Does this mean that I also resemble Scrubb? This male, 13 year-old child actor (if one can call dramatically pausing, opening one's mouth and eyes wide in awe and wonder, and breathily ejaculating the name '...Aslan' reverently about once every five minutes 'acting')? Oh dear. No wonder I'm so au fait with dragons.