No need for a booming headline - the picture above says it all really.   And in company with the vast majority of the rest of the world, I am saddened by the passing of Nelson Mandela, as I am saddened by the passing of anyone else.   And of course it`s right that his leaving after 95 memorable years is marked by tributes not only from the great and the good but also from countless millions of `ordinary` people.  

It`s right too that the media - the press, radio, television and the insatiable `social media` - have been fulsome in their coverage devoted to this pivotal event.   But am I alone in thinking that maybe, just maybe, all this media attention has been a little more than absolutely necessary and that, as a result, a little of the dignity of the moment is being compromised?

And so, in a feeble attempt to redress yet another imbalance, and without in any way diminishing my respect for the passing of a great man, these pages will now refrain from adding further to the almost suffocating  coverage.