The sprawling behemoth of 21st century communication has brought footage of catastrophe across the world straight into our living rooms. Graphic images of cities ablaze are all too familiar, but through our televisions they seem thousands of miles away, and normally are. How strange it is, therefore, to step from my front door, look west, and see a huge pall of black smoke snaking high into the sky.

A small town I visit regularly making international headline news is pretty surreal, and there was something farcical and faintly comic about the caption ‘Live from Hemel Hempstead’. Dramatic footage, complete with breathless and over excited reporter, all from just down the road. The unfolding drama is brought even closer to home since anyone ringing the emergency information line tomorrow afternoon could well speak to my Mum. She works for the local council and volunteered to man the phones for a while, since many of the official ‘Emergencies Committee’ have been working round the clock since early Sunday morning.

I presume the events have made headlines the world over, so I wont bother with any details. The extent of the coverage was demonstrated earlier this evening when my parents received an email from a concerned friend in Mauritius. The last newsworthy event that I mentioned in my blog was probably the July 7th attacks in London, and thank goodness this one isn’t the same order of magnitude. Thus far there hasn’t been a single fatality, and it allows the pyromaniac in me to slightly appreciate the majesty of such a huge blaze. Reports are that the explosion measured 2.4 on the Richter scale, and was audible over a hundred miles away. At the time I was nearly 200 miles north, but knowing me would have slept straight through it anyway…