h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's the 2018 Guess the Effigy contest!

The November 5th Bonfire Night celebrations in Lewes, Sussex are notorious for, among other things, the giant effigies of public figures they parade through the town, before burning them on the surrounding hills. Each is a merciless caricature - recent years have seen Vlad Putin posing with a shot-down airliner, David Cameron with a pig's head, and Trump strapped to a missile with Kim Jung-Un.

The effigies themselves are a closely-guarded secret until the event. I'm inviting you to guess who the five bonfire societies will choose as their subjects for this year, and - importantly - how they will be caricatured. Reply with your guesses, and we'll see on Monday who's right.

To give you some ideas, here's a link to photos from past events:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29915270


Please post your predictions below!

(I'm also running this on Facebook, if that's easier for you)

Trump's a no-brainer.

I'd guess Robert Mueller and that Wohl kid, if we were making the effigies, but the story's too recent, and besides, I doubt if anybody in the UK knows about it, no matter how hard we are laughing over here. 'Surefire Intelligence', snork, snork....

Maybe the Brazilian leader? I'm guessing Brexit will be a big topic. Nigel Farage will probably come in for his share of opprobrium - I saw on Twitter yesterday that he is now wanted for questioning by the FBI. He is probably saying,'Come and get me. Oh, wait, you can't....'

Trump featured many times last year, but he is the gift that keeps on giving.

How would they caricature him?

The red comb-over hair, usually.

I'd go for an umbrella joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avkkdrjDsTA

Philipp Green

Good choice! How would they portray him?

It's not easy being Green.....

Any more takers? Please post your guesses by early afternoon UK time today.

Harry, Meghan and Eugenie would be topical, but there isn't much to satirise there at the moment - they seem to be behaving themselves and enjoying popularity.

Interesting choices. It would probably have to be on a theme of expensive public-funded weddings.

Harry’s quite popular, and he is the Duke of Sussex, so he may get away with it. I’d enjoy seeing a Eugenie effigy, though.

Unconfirmed rumours are now circulating. These include May on a sinking Brexit boat, Rees-Mogg back-seat driving a Brexit bus, and a Southern Rail ghost train. A giant Boris Johnson is also holding up traffic on the A27.

"These include May on a sinking Brexit boat" [Icy North]

This BBC page is collecting photos. You may need to scroll down.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-sussex-46047974

Some of those are just scary if you don't recognise the people, which I don't. Both because of facial agnosia and ignorance of these politicians. The guy with the severed head is super-creepy.

I was going to suggest Boris Johnson apparently hugging Theresa May but really stabbing her in the back – but I suspect it is too late for suggestions now…?

<BB<

That one’s Boris Johnson decapitating Theresa May.

Here’s Jacob Rees-Mogg steering Teresa May’s battle bus:

http://twitter.com/simonbirchmusic/status/1059480524652208128?s=21

From the photos I've seen, there was no Farage, no royals and no Putin.

And no Trump!

The five were:

1. A Southern Rail ghost train
2. Boris decapitating May
3. Boris on his bike
4. Rees-Mogg back-seat driving May’s battle bus
5. May baling out a sinking Brexit boat.

I did see a small Trump on a stick.