The hope and promise on the wings of Concorde

Last evening Channel 4 showed an hour-long documentary on the rise and fall of the Concorde.

The programme brought you right into the mind set that created this extraordinary flying machine, which travelled at Mach 2.2.

And then at the end we saw it go up in flames on take-off on a runway in Paris.

Many of the pilots were interviewed and they all spoke of their hope and belief in the aircraft. One of the pilots spoke of how it was the greatest piece of engineering in the 20th century and how it began in such hope and promise and then collapsed. He argued that there was no need for it to collapse.

The then UK transport secretary, Tony Benn spoke of the aircraft's grace and speed and how it lifted the spirit of the British and French people. And why they added that famous 'e'.

The programme in many ways could mirror the hopes and promises that Vatican ll offered so many. It began with such promise and so much of it crash landed - just like Concorde.