Many people are turning to one of the BBC's greatest achievements to mark a terrible moment in European history tonight.
They are recalling that lump-in-the-throat moment from the first episode of Civilisation where Kenneth Clark said, "What is civilisation? I don't know. I can't define it in abstract terms yet, but I think I can recognise it when I see it, and I'm looking at it now":
They are recalling that lump-in-the-throat moment from the first episode of Civilisation where Kenneth Clark said, "What is civilisation? I don't know. I can't define it in abstract terms yet, but I think I can recognise it when I see it, and I'm looking at it now":
When I first a clip of Notre Dame on fire tonight I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As Tom Holland tweeted, "This is like a vision of apocalypse. Who ever thought to see such a terrible thing?"
Andrew Neil also speaks for me this evening: "I fear only the twin towers of Notre Dame will have survived largely intact. The medieval wooden ceiling and frame has gone. The spire too. The beautiful stained glass windows must also have suffered. Too depressing to continue. Poor France."
