Day 59: A deer went to the shop…
A day or so earlier, I’d pointed out the headline: ‘Plan to shoot deer in the forest’, and asked why they’d want to shoot deer in the forest. ‘Because that’s where they are,’ I’d joked. So as we walked down the street Tom spontaneously said ‘I reckon it’s better to shoot them in the forest than on the high street, while they’re buying face-cream’.
The image was delightfully playful. It’s interesting that in the right circumstances, imagined violence can be really ‘fun’ – like in the context of a horror film. The more exaggerated (and I guess therefore beyond realism) the more playful. So the picture of a deer trotting down the street on his hind legs with a shopping bag and then being surprised by a hunter was quite an effective one.

I loved the idea of a deer buying face-cream. ‘Anti-dandruff shampoo,’ I posited. And then it began, spontaneously…:’
“A deer went to the shop and bought… Anti-dandruff shampoo”
There was a moment, and then Tom cottoned on.
“A deer went to the shop and bought anti-dandruff shampoo and a balaclava”
Pretty soon:
“A deer went to the shop and bought:
Anti-dandruff shampoo
Balaclava
Crisp packets
Doughnut holers
Edamame beans
Fibre-glass
Greengages
Heater filament replacements
Indigo Dye
Jars for pickling
Kristalnacht memorabilia
Luftwaffe collectibles
Muslins
Nazi trophies
Other offensive objects
Pinecones
Quink Ink
Racist posters
Stop racism now banners
Thick pen to write ‘don’t’ in front of ‘stop racism now’
Umbrella repair kit
Video games
White supremacist slogans
Xray paper
Yellow ribbon
Zebra costume
Clearly we amused ourselves not just by thinking of ridiculous things that a deer might purchase, but also creating a narrative that he was a Nazi supporter.
Which might help us to sympathise a little more with the hunter!
Surrealism had a great effect on me because then I realised that the imagery in my mind wasn’t insanity. Surrealism to me is reality. – John Lennon
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