Incidents are the answer and they can come in all sorts of shapes sizes and categories – adverse, local, serious, even marital if you play football Whatever, but at least you can get to define the level of escalation necessary and the size of grey wet blanket necessary. But an incident isn’t sexy, it won’t run over three days and a Fern Britton interview.

But I am fascinated in the power of attonement. It seems that mass murder could be OK, if you get out there and say sorry and even then there are degrees of attonement. Toyoda San bowed but was it low enough, too low or just right. Then comparisons were made between Royal Bank of Scotland crash and Toyota. Toyota by comparison with the bank bailout was insignificant they weren’t is the same billions ball park, but Toyoda San could say sorry, Fred couldn’t so Toyoda San’s rehabilitation has already started and Fred will now be followed to see if he can or does bow when and if he ever speaks in public.

I assume John Terry, tanned and back from Dubai, will sit on a day time couch in two weeks time and have a manly but contrite weep at his weakness, and admit that he is seeking therapy for what is after all a diagnosable disorder, there is an heroic role of sufferers – Clinton, Tiger Woods, Sting. After the world cup I assume he becomes spokesman for Viagra or prostate cancer.

If there is a problem for public relations and those of us who are practitioners it is that there is more excitement, more running round looking busy, seeming to save the world by responding to a crisis’ than dealing with an incident, there’s more value to be demonstrated in the negotiated TV confessional. We, well at least some of the PR world, need the buzz, the energy charge of a crisis and, let’s be honest incidents don’t command the fee premium that a crisis does so there is a vested interest in becoming part of the problem rather than the solution.

I was in a minor riot once and public relations would not have helped….. in a revolution it does ask Lenin or Thatcher.