Surprisingly, there were only twenty two of us at the St Catherine's Eucharist this morning. Presentation bunches of daffodils for mothers were available on a takeaway table in the church grounds after. As the congregation are encouraged to clear out of the church as quickly as possible and not bunch around the main door, nobody hangs around on church grounds, but sensibly now, clergy hang around on the grass at a distance, where they can see and greet people departing. It's better than clergy hiding in the sacristy until the faithful have departed, but it still feels surreal, unnatural.
After preparing lunch, I went out for a circuit of Llandaff Fields before switching everything on to cook. For once, I got the timing right and we ate at the usual time, which was quite satisfying. Having had a good night's sleep, eight and a half hours, I didn't expect to fall sleep for an hour after the meal as well. I don't feel especially tired at any time and have no trouble falling asleep at night, but I sit down and doze off easily. Perhaps it's my age. The wind and the weather turned around midday, and it rained while I walked again later in the afternoon. There weren't as many people out in the park as is usual on a Sunday morning, but in the afternoon it was deserted, the car park by Cafe Castan was empty. The cafe closes at four these days and was already shuttered. Few takeaway consumers in the rain!
A Metropolitan police officer has been charged with the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard who vanished a week ago while walking home alone across Clapham Common. The whole story has not been told yet, and is of necessity sub-judice, but the vital role played by CCTV and residents' internet doorbell camera streams to track her movements, and alert investigators to the presence of the accused is already mentioned. The whole police force is naturally shaken and distressed by the betrayal of trust implied.
Women's groups then tried to organise a vigil on Clapham Common to protest about the persistence of violence against women. Covid safety rules banning mass assemblies were invoked, despite an assembly safety plan presented by organisers that would ensure social distancing, masks. The high court dismissed an appeal. The vigil was publicly cancelled, but this didn't stop a thousand or so women turning up with flowers and hanging around on the Common to pay their respects. A few started speech-making, people bunched together to listen in the absence of a public address system, the police deemed this was a public health risk, and started dispersing the crowd, meeting resistance, leading to some forceful arrests. Now there's a storm of media and political indignation and criticism of the police.
At various times over the past year, the police stood by when large crowds flocked to the beaches, and when people partied in Soho streets after the pubs shut, drawing criticism from the Home Secretary for not acting. The Home Secretary has endorsed last night's police action. I don't understand why no thought was given to a contingency plan to manage a spontaneous gathering if one should arise. There's been such strength of feeling all over the country, women and men needing and wanting to express grave concern about the persistence of violence against them. Did nobody think of this possibility?
The police are good at erecting cordons (all that tape flapping in the breeze), cordoning the Common with supervised entrance points where people could register their presence with track and trace. Then a socially distanced entry and time slot for laying tributes, and leaving. It was reported people had taken flowers to the Common bandstand during the day. This could have stimulated 'What if?' thinking about handling affairs if numbers continued to grow and compromise public safety. Policing works by consent and trust. If these break down, from lack of information or poverty of imagination, things fall apart.
Fear of covid is a persistent element of life nowadays. The insecurity it generates leads some to comply with safety measures while others deny and ignore them. And there's inevitably a confused grey area, where working out what is the right thing to do. It's complex and difficult. Police and other public servants, despite roles being specified in black and white terms, are trusted to occupy and act in the grey areas, and often without advice and support when they most need it. It's an unenviable position to be in. In the next week or so, debate about this sad breakdown of police - public relations is bound to be thought provoking.
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