Be the hero and beat your fears
WHEN is a pie not a pie? That was the question on the nation’ s lips after Mary Berry’s latest TV outing. Our beloved bakery queen knocked up her classic leek and potato pie – WITHOUT A PASTRY BOTTOM!! Outraged viewers took to Twitter to decry the baseless abomination as “a casserole with a lid” or “a stew with a hat”. Simply disgraceful. And I was shocked too. A pound of spuds, butter and two types of grated cheese topped with flaky pastry made with butter and lard? That’s not a pie, Mary! That’s a heart attack. I CROSSED Westminster Bridge several times on Monday.
The pavements were buzzing with tourists snapping shots of Big Ben and buying gifts at the souvenir stall.
Just like they were doing on Wednesday when a so-called “soldier” of Islamic State turned the happy tourist scene into one of terror.
That cowardly, armed thugug was no soldier.
PC Keith Palmer was a soldier – a bombardier in the Royal Artillery before he became a cop and a braveave guardian of our democracy.y.
Tobias Ellwood was a soldier,ldier an officer in the Royal Green Jackets before he became an MP and the hero who fought for PC Palmer’s life.
They are the personification of courage and they inspire us in our own resolve never to be cowed by terror. But that doesn’t mean any of us should feel ashamed of being scared – or feel we have to deny our very natural fear. Because thousands of people up and down the country are very, very scared indeed. Like the terrified young Muslim woman in a hijab pictured on Wes Westminster Bridge moments aft after the attack who was c r uelly t r ol l ed f or supposedly “walking past” an injured victim. She’d already offered ass assistance and was calling her fam family before she helped a woman get to Waterloo station. But her fear was used against her by “brave” bigots. And I have friends outside London who are now too scared to let their children come into the capital. So I’m uncomfortable with the logo of defiance we’ve adopted – the London Underground sign reading “We Are Not Afraid.”
Terrorists set out to provoke fear and unfortunately they succeed.
But that does NOT mean they win or that we are uncourageous.
Fear is instinctive – we can’t stop it but we CAN use it. To make us stronger. Nelson Mandela knew that. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it,” he said.
“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Like a party of school children from Somerset trapped inside Parliament on Wednesday with chaos and panic all around.
They were very scared – so they started singing.
And they weren’t afraid any more.