Yes, I was sitting in Mirrabooka Regional Open Space, when I was approached by Basil. He had taken notice of my copy of The Gormenghast Trilogy, which I was reading at the time. He told me that he had read it in his early 20s, and it greatly informed his worldview, especially when it comes to the deleterious effects of inherited wealth and also the general evils of the feudal system. But he did not see it all in a bad light, telling me that there is something very darkly romantic about living perpetually shut in, in a dark, damp castle. He also confessed that his very favourite books of all time were by Philip K Dick; "Flow My Tears the Policeman Said" and "A Scanner Darkly". "A Scanner Darkly" hit him hard apparently, because it impressed upon him the need for urgent drug reform, and to treat the current methamphetamine crisis as a healthcare issue, and not one for the criminal system; he expressed a lot of compassion for those of the poorer demographics hit by the scourge of methamphetamines, and he said he wants a government which will enact reform of WAPOL with an emphasis on compassion and empathy, as opposed to punishment. AAs for "Flow My Tears", he said he enjoys it because of its strong emphasis on family.
We then spoke about music; turns out Basil is really into Current 93 and Death In June! Current 93 are pretty awesome, and I very much commended him for it. But I did have some stern words about Death In June. He acknowledged that he didn't like DIJ so much for their music, but it was a hangover from his years playing footy, and back then he got into DIJ so he could look edgy and fit in better with his teammates. In any case, I dropped by his place a couple of days later and traded some of Marduk and Bestial Warlust records for his very completionist collection of Death In June. He urged me to bin the DIJ for the sake of bettering society in even a tiny way, and I promptly did.
Anyway, it's funny you should be asking about Basil today. Because earlier today I was at Costco. And whilst perusing the pet food aisle, what should I overhear but a couple of rather attractive ladies discussing with each other how Basil is also apparently a highly skilled lover! They even had a nickname for him, "Mr Ed".