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July 2005
On the 1st of July I attended the Change of Command ceremony at RAF Lakenheath. A most impressive event full of symbolism and patriotism and pride.
On the 3rd of July the 4th of July celebrations were held early at RAF Feltwell. A most enjoyable event full of laughter and happiness and excitement.
On the 6th July we learnt we had won the 2012 Olympic bid. A most thrilling and wonderful and inspiring occasion.
On the 7th of July some despicable individuals bombed our capital city.
I learned of this from a student who was browsing the internet when he should have been working! I clearly remember saying, "That's awful news but there's nothing we can do about it so just get back to your work." It was only when I was back home in Feltwell and watching the pictures on the television that the horror really struck home. Here in idyllic Feltwell, on the edge of the Fens, it is easy to forget that the rest of the world exists at all. It is easy to become parochial and in parochialism is not only comfort but also danger. We become distanced from the problems of the world and even the rest of the country. We think that 4 cars in a convoy is a traffic jam, that one theft from an allotment shed is a crime wave. But on July 7th our perspective was widened and our problems paled into insignificance in relation to the events that unfolded in London. The prayers of all Feltwell residents and, I trust, of all Feltwellians Around the World go out to not only the victims of this outrage but also to their families and to Londoners in general. There is one thing these terrorists appear to forget, London survived the Blitz, it survived the IRA terror campaign and it will survive this.
