I have a pet hate. Actually it's more than a pet hate. I really hate it. National mourning that is. I just don't get it. To me, mourning is by its very nature a private process, or something shared between close relatives/friends mourning another close relative/friend. Diana started all this of course. I remember virtually being ostracised at my work place for refusing to mourn. How can you genuinely mourn someone you don't know? Sympathy for their death, yes, but proper mourning?

Anyhow, I'm sure plenty don't agree with me, but I couldn't help laughing at the Prime Minister addressing the nation at his funeral, an army of yellow flower carrying, khaki clad men standing in the shape of Steve's catchphrase word "Crickey!" and then forcing the poor little animals below to stand and mourn him.

RIP Mr Irwin, but the attention seeking nonsense of a collective nation in these situations is worrylingly a growing trend. Right, rant over. The forums were a bit quite so thought i'd pipe up.

I had exactly the same experience with the Diana thing - sad, yes, but I DID NOT KNOW THE WOMAN. Two particular incidents stand out for me: some American clients that I was working for at the time ringing up to check that I was OK, and being slightly surprised that I was at work (WTF?), and the day of the funeral itself when it was inescapable. I sat in the garden and read a book. It all felt creepily voyeuristic to me.

In a way, the Steve Irwin thing is even more freaky - there was at least some social/constitutional explanation for the Diana thing (potential future Queen, mother of the third in line, etc, not that I really buy it), but a man who spent his life terrorising wildlife? I don't get it.

I've often heard the phrase "at least he died doing what he loved"

Er... Antagonising dangerous animals?