"Europorridge..............the description, inter alia that I have used over the years since writing a v negative pamphlet on the matter in 1996. I am in fact a very firm Europhile, in the literal sense. I love the place-and my family is more European than Brit.

"A common currency is like a car. You need 3 controls. In the car it is brakes, accelerator and steering. A CC needs a common monetary arrangement-which the euro has. But also a common fiscal government and, above all, full democratic acceptance of the major loss of national sovereignty that is perforce involved, in pursuit of the common good. These 2 controls were not fitted by the dreamer hyper-educated (but not re real life matters) de haut en bas elite who cobbled this mess together.

"These people will fight tooth and nail to avoid admitting a mistake-regardless of any economic carnage reigning down on lower forms of life-like the people.

"I, following my comments (last bulletin midyear) on the forced perversion of politics in the cradle of democracy, am delighted the Greeks have decided to ask themselves whether they want, so to speak, tanks on their lawn. I certainly did not buy into the manic market euphoria as the 14th hole (whoops, meeting) was completed without yet a single par let alone the eagles needed to fix this probably unfixable problem.

"Wm Buiter is arguably an ace economist/macro brain. If indeed we have to indulge in the smoke and mirrors he described (can you understand what he's saying) on p 30 of today's FT plus again sweeping reality under the carpet I would have thought letting financial nature take its course.

"There is these days a delusional view that pols and central bankers can make a silk purse out of endless sow's ears. They can't. To my horror it looks as if the eurocrats last stand will involve what I suggested several bulletins ago - subprime brought to European central banking. Wild off balance sheet derivative leveraged speculation with what exactly underneath it in REAL money.

"Interesting times indeed (Chinese style)."

David Fuller's view Thank you for this droll and sagacious email.

There is a nobility to the original thinking behind the euro which I will summarise as - having slaughtered each other for centuries, let us now draw a line under all that and peacefully combine our diverse cultures in a single currency.

However, if this episode in European history was turned into a film, the prologue would include a brew similar to that cooked by Macbeth's witches, plus an element of farce requiring Margaret Rutherford (with a German accent) in the role of Angela Merkel, Peter Sellers as Jean-Claude Trichet and Austin Powers as Nicolas Sarkozy.

Like-minded readers may wish to suggest alternatives or fill in the rest of the cast.