‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word.....’
25th January 2006 is not a day Nick Flynn
wants to remember; while enjoying an
apparently innocent visit to the
Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, he
tripped over his shoelace, was
catapulted down a staircase and
crashed into three extremely expensive
300 year old Qing Dynasty vases from
China, some of the museum’s most
prized assets. The vases shaƩered into
hundreds of pieces and Mr Flynn was
leŌ with a bruised leg and a red face.
The museum were leŌ with a very tricky
repair job, and a huge bill, as well as
barely concealed wrath against what
they thought was a clumsy fool who
couldn’t keep his balance.
What was interesƟng about this story,
which gained worldwide media
coverage, was Mr Flynn’s unashamed
denial that he had done anything
wrong, and his flat refusal to apologise,
although he admiƩed the incident was
regreƩable. In ensuing interviews he
blamed everyone else apart from
himself. Asked if he was a clumsy
person, Mr Flynn said: “Well, I've been
driving for a considerable amount of
Ɵme and not had any serious accidents,
and I seem to have most of my faculƟes.
I have a few household accidents,
maybe drop a cup or two, smash a
plate, but nothing like this has ever
happened to me before.” The Museum
however, when asked to comment,
merely said: “The museum director has
wriƩen to Mr Flynn asking him not to
visit again in the near future”.
Nick Flynn is an example of the
senƟment expressed in a song by Elton
John: “sorry seems to be the hardest
word.” But in order to re-establish
broken relaƟonships sorry is one the
words that needs to be said first,
whether it be for Nick Flynn, or a
poliƟcian, a church leader, a husband or
wife, a friend or colleague’ and yet
sorry seems to be the hard