London calling - Ten years later
Brace yourself for the Summer of Di
Doesn't it seem crazy to think that in a couple of months it'll be 10 years since the world stopped in its tracks at the news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales? It seems like only yesterday that we were all caught up in a wave of hysteria at the news - when in fact a decade has passed, and the world has changed considerably since then! Think about it: Only a few of us had mobile phones, or access to the internet; Tony Blair looked a lot younger and fresher than he does now at the end of his tenure, and somehow we all felt a bit more hopeful and optimistic. The fact that, for example, Manhattan's skyline would lose two of its main buildings - or that Prince Charles would marry Camilla Parker Bowles, and lobby to make her queen should he ever get to the throne if his mother ever pops - was then unthinkable. Today, they are one of the realities of our lives.
A whole summer of events commemorating the event is set to take place. There will be rainforest-loads of books celebrating her life and her style, a tribute concert on her birthday, July 1, and a number of TV tributes and documentaries, the first of which was aired on Channel 4 last night (Wednesday) to much furore.
The papers have talked of nothing but her this week, stirring up a right royal controversy which even resulted in Diana's sons, the princes, issuing a statement requesting that the programme - which was supposed to contain shocking pictures taken on the site of the accident on that fateful night - be taken off air. Channel 4 - claiming that it was in the public's interest - went ahead with the programme, which featured interviews with some of the photographers who were on the scene of the crash (who were arrested and then vilified and accused of causing the accident) and witnesses, as well as a reconstruction of the events of the night.
To be honest, there was little in it that I found disturbing - the images shown were blurred, and the face of the injured princess was blacked out every time. I personally find the news - announced in Hello magazine this week (yes, I admit to it, although I have the excuse that it's part of my job to go through as many magazines as possible!) that the Emanuels, the designers responsible for that famous wedding dress, are issuing a limited edition book (1,000 copies) containing a scrap of the material used to make the wedding dress -and charging £1,000 for it - a lot more offensive
£400,000! Yes, that's how much Lord Coe and the rest of the Olympic Committee paid - out of public funds (mainly paid for by us Londoners, I might add) - for what has got to be one of the most - deservedly - criticised logos in history. How anyone could stand there and show enthusiasm for what one commentator has called "Fred Flintstone's attempt at sculpting a Swastika" is completely baffling. I'm sure even a two-year-old playing with a box of crayons could do better! And then Lord Coe has the chutzpah to justify it by praising it's "edginess" and "flexibility"! Puhlease! Who do they think they're kidding?
The closer we get to these blessed games, the more we're getting to realise that it could all go horribly wrong. And the organisers themselves aren't helping!
A whole summer of events commemorating the event is set to take place. There will be rainforest-loads of books celebrating her life and her style, a tribute concert on her birthday, July 1, and a number of TV tributes and documentaries, the first of which was aired on Channel 4 last night (Wednesday) to much furore.
The papers have talked of nothing but her this week, stirring up a right royal controversy which even resulted in Diana's sons, the princes, issuing a statement requesting that the programme - which was supposed to contain shocking pictures taken on the site of the accident on that fateful night - be taken off air. Channel 4 - claiming that it was in the public's interest - went ahead with the programme, which featured interviews with some of the photographers who were on the scene of the crash (who were arrested and then vilified and accused of causing the accident) and witnesses, as well as a reconstruction of the events of the night.
To be honest, there was little in it that I found disturbing - the images shown were blurred, and the face of the injured princess was blacked out every time. I personally find the news - announced in Hello magazine this week (yes, I admit to it, although I have the excuse that it's part of my job to go through as many magazines as possible!) that the Emanuels, the designers responsible for that famous wedding dress, are issuing a limited edition book (1,000 copies) containing a scrap of the material used to make the wedding dress -and charging £1,000 for it - a lot more offensive
£400,000! Yes, that's how much Lord Coe and the rest of the Olympic Committee paid - out of public funds (mainly paid for by us Londoners, I might add) - for what has got to be one of the most - deservedly - criticised logos in history. How anyone could stand there and show enthusiasm for what one commentator has called "Fred Flintstone's attempt at sculpting a Swastika" is completely baffling. I'm sure even a two-year-old playing with a box of crayons could do better! And then Lord Coe has the chutzpah to justify it by praising it's "edginess" and "flexibility"! Puhlease! Who do they think they're kidding?
The closer we get to these blessed games, the more we're getting to realise that it could all go horribly wrong. And the organisers themselves aren't helping!