as i sat in my office researching what precautions the gallery took during world war II to protect the building and collections for a new learning session next year, i'm struck by sadness. i listen to bbc radio 4 all day when i'm here on my own and today all the news is about continued air strikes in gaza.

at a time of year when peace is the message we constantly hear, why, only two days after christmas (and yes, i know that neither of the religions recognise jesus as christ the saviour), have there been more casualities the palestinian territories since israel's last occupation of the territory in 1967?

i know it's incredibly complex and i'm not pretending to know what the solution is or who is wholly right or wrong (i don't anyone is in this case), but it makes me sad that a message of peace and goodwill to all can so quickly be forgotten.