June 24, 2011
In Brussels, eurozone countries were agreeing to a third bailout, worth €120bn. David Cameron was keeping UK money out of it, except for our contribution to the IMF, while trying not to whistle jingoistic triumphalism – which is not all that easy when you have "two world wars and one World Cup" going round your head.
Mervyn King's report for the financial policy committee was warning that the collapse of the eurozone was the biggest threat to the British economy (the extent of the banks' exposure to sovereign debt may be small, but a crisis of confidence would screw us all). And the streets of Athens looked like Glastonbury – minus the mud; plus the teargas …
Standing in London's Greek heartland, I feel a curious detachment, a curious out-of-body nonchalance that people also describe when they're remembering a car crash. Rather than post-traumatic stress, this is mid- or even pre-traumatic stress. In the seconds before the end of money, all the colours look mesmerising. Moscow Road is home to St Sophia, the oldest Greek church in London and a fabled hangout for the Greek diaspora, since with the church came a number of restaurants and cafes.
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