IT was the tragic widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, who shortly after her husband’s assassination first likened his presidency to the mythical court of King Arthur, Camelot.

In the same way as Arthurian legend portrays Camelot as the ideal society in a permanent state of happiness, the lasting image of JFK’s short administration is one of optimism and hope. Regardless of his now tarnished reputation as a womaniser, who also relied on a cocktail of drugs to overcome serious ailments, Americans still hanker back to those halcyon days.

Around the time the Kennedys moved into the White House, the latest hit musical by Lerner and Loewe, Camelot, was playing to packed houses on Broadway. It won four Tony Awards and the original cast album topped America’s LP charts for 60 weeks.

With the still perfect image of a First Family – handsome husband, glamorous wife and two delightful children – the connection between legends based on high ideals was an obvious one for the grieving widow to make.

The stories that vied for pole position on the front page of last Friday’s JEP reminded me of the notion of Camelot, in particular the title song delivered so wonderfully in the film version by King Arthur himself, played by Richard Harris.

At the top of the page was the first image of Jersey actor Henry Cavill in the role of squeaky clean nice guy Superman, propped up by yet another story telling us that everything is rosy in the rock’s garden. Yes folks, the world may be in crisis but Jersey’s OK!

Harris may not have been able to carry a tune, but notwithstanding the limits to the range of his voice, he was a master of delivery and timing.

Much as Jackie Kennedy used the analogy in a plea for her husband’s administration never to be forgotten, in the song, Arthur muses on the imaginary ‘always-sunny’ viewpoint of his kingdom as he entreats a young boy to pass on the story to future generations.

In the musical version of Camelot, the climate was perfect for all the year because rain was not permitted to fall until after sundown and had to cease by dawn, along with any overnight fog. July and August were never too hot and there was a legal limit on snow, which was also banned from ‘slushing upon a hillside.’

Winter was forbidden to commence till December and had to end on the dot on the second day of March. ‘In short,’ sang the King, ‘there’s simply not, a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than in Camelot.’

Or Jersey come to that, if we are to believe Treasury Minister Phillip Ozouf.

Apparently, while the world’s economies are teetering on the brink of disaster and as political leaders cancel holidays or hurry home to avert national crises, we are in ‘robust health’ and in good enough shape to withstand any fallout. Tell that to the growing number of unemployed, and the alarmingly increasing sections of our community who are finding it very hard to make ends meet while those more fortunate enjoy all the luxuries ‘fat cat’ salaries can buy.

In spite of assurances that our public finances are in ‘incredibly good shape’ and there is no need for concern, the only thing stopping me burying my savings in the garden is that the Jack Russells are likely to dig up the stash and shred it to pieces.

If you are going to tell a story the best advice to follow is to keep it simple and tell it straight. So, can someone explain how little old Jersey can avoid the economic tsunami heading our way across the Atlantic now America’s credit rating has been downgraded from Triple A to double A plus? Or whatever that means in language the ordinary person can understand.

The very nature of a tsunami, crossing such a vast expanse of water, is that it gains momentum before it hits land. Or, as with ideal states of perfection such as Camelot or the fabled Shangri-La, does Jersey have magic powers to protect us for the nasty outside world?

Let’s not kid ourselves; we are as much masters of our own destinies as a fly sunning itself on a nice dry water lily; if the lily gets flooded or the fly falls off into the water it’s curtains. Or, to put it another way, when America sneezes the world catches the cold. As anyone with a passing knowledge of modern history should know, when Americans feel under threat they close ranks and fight back.

The recent stock market falls have hit everyone from multi-billionaire investors to the workingman’s humble pension pot, and the price of food and fuel. All of us will be poorer because of the economic turmoil hitting America and the Eurozone – and you don’t need to be an economist to appreciate that.

Jack Kennedy used to like to unwind after a day averting nuclear catastrophe or quelling racial unrest in America’s deep south by listening to that chart-topping LP of the musical Camelot. We all need a little escapism from the harsh uncertainties of today’s cruel world – even heads of state.

There used to be a time not that long ago when there was simply not, a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than on our own little rock. Sadly, as Jersey becomes a more heavily developed and socio-economically divided society for ever chasing the next lucrative deal, that shining moment has passed.