I was in Belgium over the weekend for the Flanders Experience commemorating WW1, and didn't hear about this awful loss till I got back on Sunday. I watched the TV programme about the Armed Forces National Memorial, including the account of the soldier who died in Afghanistan because he wanted to be where the action was, not just training Afghanis to deal with it.

Yesterday I was shopping in Tesco when the fire alarm went off, and the store had to be evacuated until the Fire and Rescue Service had checked and cleared the premises. It's all really brought home the stoicism and heroism of people who must and can switch from the conscientious execution of routine mundane checks to putting their lives on the line.

And it's also made me wonder if there's a national memorial for emergency service personnel who've died in the line of duty?

Kitty