Neighbourhood Watch

When I looked at the photo of the Manchester Arena bomber this morning, I thought I could see a humorous face. He looked like the sort of lad who would be the likeable school clown. He also looked very impressionable, which - as it turns out - he must have been.

After the police raided his Manchester house in force yesterday, they interviewed a neighbour. The neighbour said that there had been nothing particularly different about this household, other than that they kept themselves to themselves - not an unusual thing in today's society, even in the North.

Then they asked if he had noticed anything strange going on at the house since he had been living in the street.

"No, not really, but a couple of years ago they put a big black flag on the roof with white Arabic writing on it."

On the roof.