Snippets

I've been writing too many mini-essays recently, so this is just a few snippets of news that have caught my eye in the past day or so. Should probably develop them, but can't for some reason at the moment... nothing to do with the nice sunny weather and the urge to be somewhere else, including shopping for summer clothes, of course...


Shrine's 'got to go'.
The shrine set up by supporters of Jean Charles de Menezes, accidentally shot dead by police after the July '05 London bombings, looks like it's finally had it's day and will be dismantled soon, according to an ITN news report (6/4/07). The shrine, as with many other roadside memorials created spontaneously at the scene of a sudden death, appeared at Stockwell Tube station after his death. Rather unusually, this one has taken on a semi-permanent life of its own, by growing to the size of a shop widow and having its own postal address. His supporters want to keep it going, in their quest to 'keep the issue alive', while others see it as a 'memorial to paranoia' (Spiked). Take your pick...


Plague of human locusts descend on shop in Oxford Street.
Newsnight's description actually, covering the riot at the opening of the new Primark store, by shoppers intent on being first through the doors and getting their hands on its fashionable, amazingly cheap clothing. They broke the door down and needed a police presence to maintain order. Scary, this mad quest for a bargain. Still queueing round the block at the end of the day, kept in line by crush barriers and police. An interesting sight. Me? I'll check it out when the school holidays are over.