Gone in 120 seconds

THIRTEEN days that gripped the nation and put every other political issue on hold and suspension. Nothing else mattered during that time. It dominated the front pages and the main bulletins.

It gobbled up thousands of words, involved tears, drama, brink-manship, panic stations, a maze of contradictory explanations, fuzziness, confusion, allegations, conspiracies and anger.

And in the space of about two minutes yesterday, it came to an end. Almost as quickly as you’d blow out a candle.