BRITAIN: The Diana Memorial Fountain is said to be a 'victim of its own success' as it reopens after refurbishment, writes Michael Parsons.
As Britain prepares to mark the seventh anniversary of her death, Diana, Princess of Wales, continues to fascinate and embarrass the millions who mourned her passing. But her official memorial has become a public relations disaster while many of "her people" still refuse to accept the official version of events which led to the fatal car crash in Paris.
When he was woken early on August 31st, 1997, to be told the news, Alastair Campbell reportedly said: "F***ing hell! What do we do with this? It's just too big. It's just too big a story". A few hours later, his boss, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, knew exactly what to do. In one of the most memorable speeches of his premiership, he declared: "She was the people's princess and that is how she will stay . . . in our hearts and in our memories forever."
Stirring words, but the people also wanted a permanent memorial. Following years of public debate, a committee established by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, agreed that a fountain would be the most appropriate tribute.
Other options, including renaming Heathrow airport, a statue in Trafalgar Square or building a children's hospital, were all rejected. After a hotly-contested international competition, a design by the American architect Kathryn Gustafson was selected in 2002.
The winning proposal certainly stretched the traditional concept of a fountain. It consists of an oval stone trough, about 660 feet in circumference, filled with water. It was built in central London's Hyde Park close to the princess's home at Kensington Palace. The flowing water is powered by a pump and is shallow enough for children to paddle and play in it.
Costing £3.6 million, the Diana Memorial Fountain was opened by Queen Elizabeth on July 6th in a ceremony which saw both the Windsor and Spencer families appear together in public for the first time since the princess's funeral. In a moving speech, the British monarch praised Diana's legacy and her comments were greeted as evidence of a long overdue reconciliation.
For a woman renowned for wry understatement, she was unusually effusive: "Creating a memorial to Diana has been no easy task. To . . . capture her spirit has been the challenge. I congratulate those who have created the memorial before us. I thank both the design team for the imagination which they have brought to this project and those who have realised their concept with such care and craftsmanship".
Not to be outdone, Britain's Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, gushed: "Like the princess herself, the fountain is open and approachable. In some areas it offers a welcoming space for families and paddling children, in others a shady spot for quiet contemplation. I hope that it will be enjoyed by the millions of different people who come to visit it in the future and will be embraced by all as a permanent celebration of Diana, Princess of Wales."
Within just 24 hours, the fountain flooded when its draining system became clogged by leaves. Maintenance workers moved quickly to rectify the problem.
A week later there was a new blockage. A Royal Parks spokesman said: "Something had got stuck in the pump. It looks like a rogue leaf got through."
A baffled public was beginning to wonder, if leaves could cause so much trouble in July, how would the fountain's systems cope with autumn? But the problem was resolved and the water flowed once more.
Week three saw farce turn to fiasco. On July 22nd, three visitors were taken to hospital after slipping on the granite surface while paddling. The authorities turned off the water. Ms Jowell claimed the monument was a "victim of its own success".
The fountain was drained, the whole area fenced off and workmen with stone cutters were summoned to roughen the surface of the granite to make it less slippery.
Over the past few weeks, health and safety experts and engineers were consulted by the Royal Parks management and the fountain was finally reopened yesterday. Fences have been erected to control public access and six staff trained in crowd control and first aid will supervise the site.
People will be allowed to dip their feet and hands in the water but not paddle or walk in the fountain. Dogs will be banned.
A memorial, which the government promised would be "a special place of relaxation and remembrance", is in danger of becoming a tawdry tourist attraction with queues and uniformed guards.
The sceptics remain unimpressed. Brian Sewell, one of London's leading art critics wrote: "This artless installation is so ill-conceived that we should hoick it up, returf the ground and save ourselves the fortune that its maintenance will cost in perpetuity".
Rory Coonan, who designed Birmingham's Victoria Square Fountain, said: "This is one slippery fountain and I predict it will shut permanently in six months."
If the fountain is not operating properly on August 31st, the queen won't be the only one in Britain not amused.
French authorities meanwhile have ordered yet another investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Paris car crash. The parents of chauffeur Henri Paul do not accept the results of the original post-mortem which found he was over the drink-driving limit and had taken medication. They want the courts to re-examine the tests on their son's body which they believe were falsified.