Titanic mistakes

There is nothing quite like a good centenary to remind us how surprising it is that anyone got out of the 20th century in one piece. In the space of a few weeks this spring will be the 100th anniversaries of the Titanic and Captain Scott’s death, and from then on it’s going to be pretty much downhill all the way — the Balkans in 2013, Sarajevo in 2014, the Armenian massacre in 2015, Jutland and the Somme in 2016, the Russian Revolution, Spanish flu, Amritsar, civil war in Ireland, the rise of the dictators … until before we know where we are it will be 2080 and — light at the end of the tunnel at last — the centenary of the birth of John Terry.

Not every centenary works out quite as expected — the Howards’ medieval tournament at Arundel to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Magna Carta had to be abandoned midway when Major Frederick Howard was killed in a cavalry charge at Waterloo — but one that is unlikely to disappoint is that of the Titanic.