The BBC Pandemic: Part Two

Hannah Fry and the Peacock Feather: Secrets and Lies

FULL TRANSCRIPT WITH LINKS TO CRITIQUED MATERIAL AVAILABLE HERE: http://www.pighooey.co.uk/hfpart2.html

In Part 2, I take a detour into the strange world of occult symbolism, inspired by the compelling publicity shot of Hannah Fry obscuring her right eye with a peacock feather. This image became something of an internet meme in 2022, and I can see why. It has an immediacy about it, an arresting quality.

Hannah Fry’s big ol’ day.

I first came across it on Hannah’s Instagram page in the early days of March 2020. The background Pandemic Drumbeat were getting louder and more insistent by the day, and my head was still reeling from the “Haslemere Patient Zero” revelation. On seeing the Peacock Feather image, any lingering thoughts I had that the whole thing might have been “just a coincidence after all” were blown out of the water. My brain’s protective circuit-breaker flipped - I shut down the screen and turned my attention to Other Things. Never had a single image had such a dramatic effect on me...

… and I was blissfully unaware that by the time I saw this image, Hannah Fry and her ever-so-clever Maths Team had already sealed all of our fates with their Covid-19 Worst-Case Scenario Pandemic Modelling.

Secrets and Lies… (especially Lies)

By 2021, curiosity kicked in, and I began to research.

The Peacock Feather photo was taken in December 2019 for the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures entitled "Secrets and Lies: The Hidden Power of Maths”, broadcast on BBC 4 on 26^th, 27^th and 28^th December 2019 at 8pm. The branding for the series – from the title, to the promo-shots, to the stage lighting – gave a mystical, occultish undertone to the show, and Professor Hannah Fry was the perfect choice as presenter.

Hannah as pawn, a play-thing for her masters

At first, I felt a little foolish entertaining the idea that there might have been “teasers” to the Corona Show buried in this kids’ production, it all seemed so far-fetched, but the weight of material uncovered was impossible to ignore. I now realise that this stuff is deliberately waved under our noses all the time.

The ones I didn’t miss… but chose not to mention

One of the hazards of opening your mind to these unholy Easter Eggs is that once you start seeing them, it can be difficult to stop. There are a couple of moments during the “Secrets and Lies” lectures that appeared suspect, but on reflection I decided they were likely not. The first was an audience member dressed in a shirt that had “1984” prominently on display in large print, but the shirt clearly had nothing to do with Orwell, and I felt pretty sure that the kid had not been planted in that seat for the camera.  

The second was during the final “Luckiest Person” demo where the girl who wins “The Crown” is wearing a black-and-white checkerboard top. After mulling this one over, I decided that this too was probably just a coincidence... probably!

Skull and Bones

Aside from the Christmas Lectures, there was one more smart-alecky Easter Egg I noticed but chose not to mention - the number 322. This relates to the date March 22^nd, which is 3/22 to Americans. Both the TV documentary “Contagion! The BBC 4 Pandemic” and the accompanying "Klepac et al" paper “The Model behind the documentary” were released on 3/22. At the time I wasn’t certain, but now I feel sure that the 3/22 date was deliberately selected as a nod to Skull and Bones. It also suggests that the guiding hand behind the whole rotten BBC Pandemic stage-show was American.

Kidults showing off to their mates in the global playground. We see you! It’s not big and it’s not clever.

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