LIKE buses, major events all seem to come along at once.
The death of a Pope, a royal wedding, and the announcement of a General Election would be enough to fill a year, let alone 7 days.
By any standards Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, was a remarkable man.
He transformed the role of Pope from what some described as being a “virtual prisoner” in the Vatican to a globetrotting world leader.
Whatever the arguments about the positions he took on controversial issues, there is no doubt that the election of a Polish Pope changed the world forever, and sowed the seeds of democracy in Eastern Europe.
His stature can be measured by the fact that the heir to the British throne has had to postpone his wedding to avoid a clash with the Pope’s funeral.
The election of the Pope’s successor will begin on April 18th.
117 Cardinals from across the world will meet to choose a new pope from amongst their number.
Then the famous white smoke will rise from the Vatican.
When it last did so in 1978 some of the crowd were confused by the non-Italian name, and thought that an African pope had been chosen.
This time around that is a distinct possibility.
As for our own General Election, regular readers of this column will know my views as a Labour MP.
But I would make one appeal that all candidates of all parties should be able to support.
Whoever you back do use your vote.
No political system can be perfect, but as Winston Churchill said “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others”.
So use your vote and encourage others to do the same on May 5th.