Lady Dannatt joined people of Norfolk to light a candle 

The Lady Dannatt MBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk,  endorsed the call of the Bishop of Norwich to light candles last Sunday evening as a symbol of hope in this time of global crisis. Here is an extract of her message.

This coronavirus pandemic is truly a global, national and local challenge to us all. Every one of us, as individuals, has to work out how we rise to that challenge – the challenge of our generation.

From watching the news and reading our local papers, I am already in awe when I see and hear about the wonderful response of people across Norfolk. We remain incredibly grateful for the selfless commitment of our NHS staff in hospitals, surgeries, pharmacies and call centres alike. All our emergency services, ambulance, fire and rescue and the police continue to provide an extraordinary service across the county, and now our armed forces might be involved too.

But it isn’t just all those I have mentioned above who deserve the plaudits. It is the wonderful lady in the supermarket who never fails to greet a customer with a smile and ‘how are you today?’ It is the young in our communities who are knocking on every door, fetching shopping, prescriptions and checking up on their older neighbours over the fence. It is the unknown shopper, who overheard a gentleman asking for a pack of mince. There was none left on the shelves, so she followed him out of the shop, insisting he took one of hers, at no cost... 

Among the gloom, there must be hope – hope of better times to come back. 

You can read the full message on EDP24