THERE WAS A TIME..

Went to the local Tesco supermarket this morning for our weekly shop.  As we drifted aimlessly around the aisles a tannoy announcement informed the customers and staff that, at 12.00 noon there would be a two minutes silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower disaster exactly one year ago today.

Now I don`t want to be misunderstood here because I have every sympathy for those who were killed on that dreadful night and for the genuine grief suffered by their relatives and friends, along with those who survived the fire and whose lives have been severely affected by what happened.

And, of course, I didn`t mind my retail progress being interrupted for a moment or two of quiet reflection.   But it did just make me wonder whether, as a nation, we have a tendency to dwell perhaps a little too much on these tragic events, almost to the point of revelling in a kind of national outpouring of collective grief. 

As ever there have been hours of TV, radio and acres of print media devoted to this most poignant anniversary and I begin to wonder whether all of that is really helping the friends and relatives of those who were lost to come to terms with it all - or whether it is perpetuating their misery yet further.

There have been times in the past - and I have lived through some of them - when as a nation  faced with calamity on an enormous scale, we used to dust ourselves off and just get on with it?

I`ll shut up and go away for a while, you`ll be pleased to learn.