{"footnote":"  \u003Cp class=\u0022leftranged halfline\u0022\u003E    A marginal improvement on \u0026lsquo;pansy\u0026rsquo;, Orwell\u0026rsquo;s usual epithet for Spender. As to the remark about Robeson, we all know that Orwell loathed racial distinctions. William Empson, who in the wartime BBC    occupied a cubicle next to Eric Blair, overheard him say to an Indian visitor, in his formalised Cockney accent: \u0026lsquo;The FACK that you\u0026rsquo;re black and that I\u0026rsquo;m white, has    \u003Cem class=\u0022emphasisClass\u0022\u003Enudding whatever to do wiv it\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026rsquo; Empson was surprised that the Indian did not reply: \u0026lsquo;But I\u0026rsquo;m not black.\u0026rsquo;  \u003C\/p\u003E\n","audio":[],"video":[]}