A day of Remembrance and of Celebration
Today is a day of mixed emotions.
It is my cousin's 34th Birthday today and I wish her a day full of laughter with her little girl and her husband. Oh, and cake, lots of cake. :) Happy Birthday cuz. xxx
Today is also the 20th Anniversary of the death of 96 Liverpool football supporters who went up to the Hillsborough Football ground in Sheffield to watch our beloved team play, and never made it home. This has taken me all day to write.
I didn't see any of the news during the day. We had been out playing all day so the news kind of trickled through to us. There was a usual Saturday Disco (5pm - 8pm) run at the local Church hall by one of our Aunties so we had run in, got changed and all glammed up (I was 13 and my cousin had just become 14) and raced out again to highjack said disco and carry on celebrating my cousin's birthday.
I'm not sure exactly when the news reached the majority of us. The first I knew of it was one of my cousins friends crying and hyperventalating in the corner of the room at the disco. Her boyfriend had gone to the match and she couldn't get hold of him. There was no answer at his home number and this was the time before everyone owned a mobile phone.
I do remember him walking in with a massive bunch of roses to give to her. In body he was fine, but he refused to talk about the day. He stayed long enough to let her know he was ok and then had to get outside.
I remember the tabloid stories. (To this day my dad will not have the Sun newspaper in the house) I remember the images. I wish I didn't, but I do. I can only imagine (and probably never come close to the actuality)the images that the people who were there are trying to forget.
From a St John Ambulance point of view, I read an account of one of the people who was on duty that day. 25 adult members were on duty and 5 cadets. They were not equipped for a disaster of that scale. They were first aiders. The most they were expecting were maybe some alcohol related dehydration. Maybe to patch someone up from a fight. At the very worst, someone having a heart attack. There was no emergency plan for a disaster of that scale. The police certainly didn't have one so it's not exactly reasonable to think that the first aiders would have one. (Not a viable excuse not to have one, I acknowledge that).
Liverpool, as a club and as a city grieved. Red and Blue, as they have many times before, stood side by side and mourned the losses. Everyday on the way to and from school for nearly a year, I saw spray painted on a wall "God Bless the 96. May they rest in Peace. EFC - LFC" Many people still are grieving. Many can't as they have no resolution. No body has been officially brought to account and they will keep fighting until they feel justice has been served.
I wish them well and to those they lost, May they Rest In Peace.
You'll never walk alone.
It is my cousin's 34th Birthday today and I wish her a day full of laughter with her little girl and her husband. Oh, and cake, lots of cake. :) Happy Birthday cuz. xxx
Today is also the 20th Anniversary of the death of 96 Liverpool football supporters who went up to the Hillsborough Football ground in Sheffield to watch our beloved team play, and never made it home. This has taken me all day to write.
I didn't see any of the news during the day. We had been out playing all day so the news kind of trickled through to us. There was a usual Saturday Disco (5pm - 8pm) run at the local Church hall by one of our Aunties so we had run in, got changed and all glammed up (I was 13 and my cousin had just become 14) and raced out again to highjack said disco and carry on celebrating my cousin's birthday.
I'm not sure exactly when the news reached the majority of us. The first I knew of it was one of my cousins friends crying and hyperventalating in the corner of the room at the disco. Her boyfriend had gone to the match and she couldn't get hold of him. There was no answer at his home number and this was the time before everyone owned a mobile phone.
I do remember him walking in with a massive bunch of roses to give to her. In body he was fine, but he refused to talk about the day. He stayed long enough to let her know he was ok and then had to get outside.
I remember the tabloid stories. (To this day my dad will not have the Sun newspaper in the house) I remember the images. I wish I didn't, but I do. I can only imagine (and probably never come close to the actuality)the images that the people who were there are trying to forget.
From a St John Ambulance point of view, I read an account of one of the people who was on duty that day. 25 adult members were on duty and 5 cadets. They were not equipped for a disaster of that scale. They were first aiders. The most they were expecting were maybe some alcohol related dehydration. Maybe to patch someone up from a fight. At the very worst, someone having a heart attack. There was no emergency plan for a disaster of that scale. The police certainly didn't have one so it's not exactly reasonable to think that the first aiders would have one. (Not a viable excuse not to have one, I acknowledge that).
Liverpool, as a club and as a city grieved. Red and Blue, as they have many times before, stood side by side and mourned the losses. Everyday on the way to and from school for nearly a year, I saw spray painted on a wall "God Bless the 96. May they rest in Peace. EFC - LFC" Many people still are grieving. Many can't as they have no resolution. No body has been officially brought to account and they will keep fighting until they feel justice has been served.
I wish them well and to those they lost, May they Rest In Peace.
You'll never walk alone.