D May 3rd 2002

Up at 6.30 and the sun is shining. I'm looking forward to the day. I
switch on the BBC national news. A man with his arm raised in triumph
fills the screen. Tall. Blonde. Aryan. The BNP have won two seats in
Burnley. The local news reports on the desecration of a Synagogue in
north London. The sunshine doesn't feel quite so warm, and I'm forced
to reflect that 70 years on from the days of Moseley in the East End,
we still have much to learn.

At 10.00am I visit my physiotherapist, who is Jewish. We normally spend
the half hour session trying to outdo each other in Pope and Rabbi
jokes while she tries to remove my head from my shoulders. Today I feel
uneasy about such banter, my own little slice of collective
guilt.

After leaving I resolve that next week it's going to be jokes as usual;
otherwise they've won another little victory. It may have happened in
Burnley, but it's not going to happen in me.