John Peel and Yasser Arafat

Both were buried today. John Peel after a dignified service in Bury St. Edmunds and Yasser Arafat after an emotional shambles in the West Bank.

John was the more significant in that he gave pleasure to millions, guidance to many and started the careers of a large number of musicians.

I predict that when the history of the twenty-first century is written, then the quiet gentle man from Liverpool will be remembered more than the Palestinian leader who could not transform from terrorist to statesman.

Perhaps only Nelson Mandela was man enough to make that transition.