This is the illusionist, in which I, Helen Zoltzman, try to tend to language better than my houseplants.

You were too young to die. I'm sorry for whatever it is I did to you.

In today's episode, we've got cakes for our cause.

Content note, swears, and a few saucy references on with the show.

I'm recording this in March 2021, and this month the police crime sentencing and court bill

is being rushed through the UK Parliament. It seeks to impose heavy restrictions on protest.

Police powers would be expanded to penalise demonstrations that cause, quote, unease or annoyance.

Which are highly subjective things. If you say something causes unease or annoyance,

it's hard to prove that it doesn't. The language of the law being this flexible is somewhat of a problem.

Personally, as a craft enthusiast who has attended a fair number of protests over the years in London,

I'm always excited to see the banners people have made with very impressive a plique on them.

But one person's impressive a plique could be someone else's annoying a plique, right?

Just in case things do take a turn for the draconian, and we're no longer allowed to march past some of London's most iconic landmarks,

chanting the lyrics to pop songs with the keywords changed to something more pointed,

I turn my attention to cake. Not for comfort, but for rebellion.

Back in the olden days, when I went to other countries and to cafes, I went to a cafe in Buenos Aires in Argentina

to eat cakes with two local tour guides, Madi Lang and Juan Palacios.

Because factores, the pastries in Buenos Aires, have unusual names like priests' balls, or friars' balls.

So these are the traditional pastries that we eat in Buenos Aires. The bolada friars' balls are around pastries with cream on the inside.

Yeah, it's like a full donut.

Yeah, it's kind of like a full donut.

Yeah, basically it's him dope. That's fries, and the same thing, it's just a big ball, beautiful ball.

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