It's struck twelve noon on Big Ben, and the voice of actor Timothy Spall resounded as he reread a brief excerpt from one of Winston Churchill's most famous speeches. Thus began the British commemorations of the 80th anniversary of VE Day (VE Day) in the Second World War this Monday. "This is not a victory of one party or one class. It is a victory of the great British nation as a whole," thundered over the PA system on Whitehall Avenue, where this columnist is located, and also from other corners of the city center, from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.