The country began to feel like a semi-failed state, the image of a warm, welcoming, wholesome place gone for ever, in its place a land ruled by corruption, cruelty and deep hypocrisy. Even though I vaguely remember a lot of this happening at the time – being sent out of the room notwithstanding – it was still surprising to group it together and realise how turbulent these years must have been, centuries of religious dogma swept away in less than a decade.
