A peal of bells when the conflict is over . . .
A Great British Belfry
Yesterday I was alluding to a statement of the great British bulldog Sir Winston Churchill in my headline: ‘Jaw, Jaw, not War, War.’ In fact what he said was: “It is always better to jaw-jaw than to war-war.” His exact words are not known but his statement is thought to have been made at a luncheon at the White House in 1954.
More recently Sir Edward Heath, who is perhaps the finest British Prime Minister a grammar school education has ever produced, took himself to Iraq where he negotiated the release of British hostages with the late Saddam Hussein. I have always wondered what he said that was so effective.
After the difficulties in the relationship between Eren and Ayla Gürkan, and Irem and I, which I reported recently, I am pleased to say that we met with them at their home and enjoyed a full and frank exchange. They greeted us with open arms and smiles announcing with typical Turkish exuberance: “We love you so much, we certainly didn’t mean to offend you in any way.”
It was upon hearing these words that I found myself listening to memories of church bells pealing in celebration of matters of great joy across England, and it was then that I realised that the most appropriate response our nation could make once our service personnel are returned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards might be such a peal of bells that England has not heard since the turning of the millennium.
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song,
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, goodwill to men.”
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.
Of course we love Ayla and Eren too. Perhaps we love them too much? They are always in our hearts.
What is clearer following our meeting is not simply that they are doing a difficult job during a critical time in the history of the Co-operative, and that the directorship is a truly thankless task that few of us would undertake. But also, and importantly, that they are determined to be on good terms and deal fairly with all who own property here, whatever their country of origin, class, culture, or political persuasion.
Now I pray that the British hostages in Iran will be released with the same degree of good will that has enabled our relationship to Ayla and Eren to be reaffirmed. It would certainly be nice for a peal of bells to celebrate the end of a bloodless conflict.
