Is there a bomb in my body zone?

 I'm accused, not for the first time, of harping excessively on the horrors ten years ago of the Millennium Dome.

After all, Tony Blair has admitted in his book (reviewed by me in the TLS last week) that  it 'wasn't brilliant', 'lacked sense' and 'should never have been'. He even admits that Gordon Brown was always against it. Shouldn't we just all forget about it now?

Well, my defence is that the Dome section contains the funniest dialogue in 'A Journey' - and that, although I was certainly motivated in my angst at the time by having to wait for hours at Stratford with other wretched newspaper editors, it is Blair himslf who has devoted so much of his memoir to the dreadful debacle; sorry not a debacle, 'it wasn't dreadful, it just wasn't brilliant'.

He does, however, omit one revelation about the Millennium party that emerged in a BBC reconstruction of the saga a few weeks ago. There was a full-scale bomb-scare at the Dome that night, with warnings of high explosive in the road tunnel that ran underneath the plastic tent; the Blair family members were described by top Dome officials as huddling rather grayly at the news; and for a while the threat by police to start digging in the body zone exceeded even the anxiety about queuing newspaper editors.

Blair describes the awkwardness of having to make a quick decsion about whether or not to link hands with the Queen for Auld Lang Syne. The BBC programme revealed that there had been lengthy negotiations before the compromise of linked arms but not crossed was agreed.

No one apparently told the Queen about the 'bomb'.

Comments

[logo design]

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[truthlord]

Sir Peter Stothard's latest blog here reveals something that is one of the most fascinating things about Britain -something millions think about all over the world even if they never talk about it - something that is most curious and unique to Britain.
I am referring to the quite extraordinary, incredible level of destructive self hate the ’Britisch’ and ’Britisch’ media pour over themselves regarding anything that might raise or enhance the image of Britian in the eyes of the world-and what Stothard is writing about above is a prime example of this.
Since so many things crowd the mind these days I would remind you that what is generally called ’the Dome’ consisted of the tearing down of a huge redundant gasworks –a huge eyesore downriver in London and opening up clearing and developing a huge new area of hundreds of acres of previously totally derelict river frontage that linked the equally derelict Royal Docks and thus opened them up for development . In any other world city this would be praised as imaginative worthwhile.Not in Britain
Everything expected of this vision has come to pass.The Dome itself–now known as O2 is now the worlds most successful entertainment centre selling more tickets than anything in America etcetc while the downriver docklands has been transformed as planned
Yet would you believe it our Pete is back proudly as he admits ’excessively’still harping on the horrors of the Dome’
In his 240 words we read- ’It should never have been-wasnt brilliant-lacked sense-GB was against it-shouldnt we forget about it now-we (poor editors ) had to wait hours (to get in)-dreadful debacle-plastic tent etc etc
But this is only one of the efforts at the medias sabotaging of Britain
There was WembleyStadium-London Airports Fifth terminal- St Pancras International Rail Terminal...
All have been remorselessly ceaselessly trashed by the media using repeatedly the same uniquely Britisch terms – Chaos and Fiasco etcetc and each has gone on to prove,as expected, to be a triumphant success admired throughout the world. Nevertheless ,mud sticks and the creation of a level of British incompetence and stupidity undoubtedly gives sustenance to all those who do not have Britains interests at heart-the IRA for example
Sadly it is not only the media who are to blame .The current internet fashion allows ordinary people to have their say through comments-and what levels of mindless empty imbecilic British hate is revealed with not one word of an idea that might have made the project more successful.
The actual exhibition was certainly fairly miserable-yet putting a Concorde inside- -showing how Rolls Royce aero engines are made- looking at Britains successful Pharmaceutical or international film industry would all have helped
But of course none of these things happened because the people running the show only had a half hearted interest in its success-they were equally as comitted to sabotaging it as the media.

WHY do the Britisch do this? Why do they trash their acheivements so remorselessly ...
I think there are several interesting reasons for this.
The first is is that Britain is essentially a feudal class society .You are fixed in that class at birth and what ever you do you are trapped there for life.
Since few people are born into intellectual or aristocratic/gentry circles the mass of people remain at heart what might be called peasants.
Years ago,despite being exploited and often badly treated these peasants were intensely deferential and in looking up to their betters etc became part of the whole unified society.Today deference has completely vanished.In a truly democratic society this would be a good thing but in Britain the edifices of class still stand secure
The result is that the peasant is now completely isolated and outside society and looks at projects that are intended to enhance the image of Britain as merely enhancing the image of a country he still feels alienated from and does not feel he really belongs to. Thus for example his hatred of London Airports Terminal Five represents to the British masses merely the Lord of the Manor building an extension to his castle-even though the peasant will use it on his own cheap flights
But you ask: surely newspaper editors etc are are at the top of the social tree ,they cannot be regarded as inferior to anyone.Sadly this is not the case in fact if anything they are regarded and know themselves to be regarded as a potentially traitorous scum and often have, as in Stothards case, surprising origins
Another important aspect of this business is that it only goes back as far as the twenties.
Before then the British Empire was still going strong.One could order a boy to bring you a G and T pretty damn quick and your order would be obeyed.The British had an effortless sense of superiority
But by the twenties Britain felt eclipsed by the USA and the British sense of superiority was broken.
This sense of superiority –essentially emotionally sadistic was replaced by its defensive opposite a masochistic humility. As someone who notes these things I am amazed how it is virtually impossible for the British to give an honest,upstanding answer about anything that is positive or image enhancing.
The projects mentioned and the capitalist media attacks on them are part of this process of keeping the boot on Britains neck. Interestingly the coming Olympics has not -.so far produced the usual sabotagers delights.
During the Dome business I wrote a Churchillian speech –even recorded it –I can do his voice reasonably well...It parodied the Blitz....
’The British people are under attack as never before..Night after night they come ,their bombers piloted by an evil alien scum of newspaper editors pouring their thousands of tons of wordshit on our gallant capital ..Yet when the smoke clears we see our great Dome still standing clean and proud .it will last far longer than these sickly newsmen etc etc’
And so it has and will. So shucks to you Stothard and the rest of you....

[Shelley]

I'm speculating that there must be a whole British mental category called into use by such questions as the linking-arm one, a category at once...respectful, humorous, and timorous?

But Americans break those three apart. Link arms as you like.