Thursday, July 10, 2014

The Lights Are Going Out

I've just found this report about plans to sitch off lights in public buildings on 4th August to commemorate (rather than celebrate) the outbreak of war in 1914:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/10/lights-out-lamps-mark-first-world-war-start

I think it's an excellent idea, and Sir Edward Grey's comment about the lights going out all over Europe almost always provokes an involuntary shiver.

I also like Alan Bennett's misquotation:

"They're rolling up the maps all over Europe.  We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."

In its own way this has a ring of truth too: it was WW2 that ended with Europe in flames and another redrawing of the map...

 

No comments:

Post a Comment