IT'S just a year ago that the joy of Christmas and the new year was overshadowed by the Asian tsunami. The utter horror of the deadly tidal wave that claimed thousands of lives became imprinted on our consciousness as amateur footage of the moment when catastrophe struck was run and re-run across our television screens.

Whenever a natural disaster of this kind occurs, aid agencies immediately swing into action and an appeal for monetary assistance soon follows. This is as it should be - on this shrinking planet of ours, everyone is a neighbour.

In fact, Worcester people would appear to be more neighbourly than others - for it transpires that this city's inhabitants donated an incredibly generous £1.6m to help the millions of survivors across the seven affected countries. Not for the first time, this newspaper salutes the men and women of this so-aptly-named Faithful City. Truly, you have fired a beacon of compassion that casts its light into the furthest dark recess of human despair.

Worcester people have taken quite a hammering in recent times, as economic problems add to the stresses of everyday living. The crisis surrounding Shop Direct is an example of this uncertainty, yet our citizens still feel able to dig deep in their pockets when the need arises.

There is much talk these days about so-called compassion fatigue. We have been led to understand that there is little room left in our hearts for our fellow human beings. However, poet John Donne famously said that no man is an island - words that still ring true today.