There was good news coming out of the French capital, Paris, this morning when it was announced that, after a close inspection of the Notre Dame cathedral, it was the general opinion that the structure was nowhere near as badly damaged as was first thought.
First reports last Sunday spoke of a 'possible collapse' of the 850-year-old building, and the loss of its roof and spire, as well as many ancient relics.
Today, however, a spokesman for the cathedral said:
"Well, it was dark, there was a fire, and a lot of smoke about. It was not easy to see, or to assess the damage accurately under those circumstances."
It's now clear that the cathedral's exterior walls and famous windows are intact. Even the interior is in reasonable condition, and needs nothing much more than a lick of paint. The bees, which have a hive on the roof, survived unharmed, possibly by some act of God.
Already, this morning, bricklayers, builders and carpenters had started to converge on the cathedral to get it back into shape in time for the tourist season which starts next month.
