ANOTHER WAR FOR WASHINGTON!

Poor, beleagured Washington, DC - it has another war to cope with! Over Marmite!

John Kelly (see: Post About The Post) has really put a M-splattered, extremely sharp, wounding knife into the hands of the faithful. His first column (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/29/AR2009112902361.html) triggered such an avalanche of protests and complaints, he was obliged to do a follow-up column (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120203660.html)

When I decided to write a book about Marmite I had an instinct that it would strike a chord. But I had absolutely no idea that people feel so passionately about the stuff. And have to say, that after all this time with my head in a Marmite-jar, I still don't get it. Just amazed how people can get stirred and shaken by the mere mention of it. In this case the reaction to John Kelly's column was nothing short of  a true testament of devotion to the black magic. Talk about people coming out of the woodwork to defend their must-have-spread.

The next round in this battle was fought the following day. John bravely 'chatted' - in an online forum - to those who had massacred him for massacring Marmite. He invited me to join him. It would have been cowardly of me to decline. Though have to admit I was somewhat nervous. But it wasn't so much an  an onslaught of little squat brown jars, with sunny yellow lids drawn - as good natured banter, that really pin-pointedt, love it or hate it, Marmite is fun to mess with! To read what went down in this spirited, fast-moving exchange to to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/11/25/DI2009112502982.html

But that was not the end of it. The same day the Marmite issue amazingly spilled over into the Letters to the Editor of the Washington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/feedback/Archive_1.html)  How wonderful that in these days of gloom and woe (between the real wars, the economy and health-care) this august publication has such a good persepective on the whacky world we live in.