From time to time there’s a story so big on the news that it dominates everything else in the western world. Something you’ll remember in decades to come, and tell your offspring exactly where you were when you heard the news. For me it’s been the death of John Lennon (on the telly when I got home from school), the Julian Knight (on the telly after watching some late-night show) and Martin Bryant (watching from Seattle, USA) massacres, the outbreak of the Gulf War (at part time job in a shop), and… well, that’s about it.
And today’s death of Princess Diana – that was definitely one of those. We were waiting at a tram stop in Richmond, listening to a radio on outside a shop. You just don’t know what to think, except Wow. Shit. Eek.
A few minutes later we were with or near other people, who didn’t know yet. I felt almost compelled to mention it. "By the way…" But you don’t want to say anything – you don’t want to be the person to break the bad news. TV has trained professionals who do that.
