The first paragraph of a novel I began writing in 1998.

The System, Chapter 1.

1999… in Britain, more specifically Greenwich, it felt like the world was waiting for a moment. The dome completed, filled with all manner of art and technology on show to the public. Blair’s new Labour Britain was booming, all kinds of reforms implemented but terrible poverty still existed, a legacy passed onto his government and one which he would hand onto his successors. The fireworks lit the sky, the music drowned out the crowds cheers, speeches by international leaders of a new age dawning, world peace, commitments to the environment and new cooperation. It felt like the human race had come of age but like all party’s, the next day amid hangovers, reality remained.