To Drummer Lee Rigby

In Loving Memory

This blog will ignore the perpetrators of the truly barbaric murder that occurred on Wednesday. It will not even mention their names, they do not deserve an ounce of attention (sadly our media have given them more than enough but I realise its their job.) Instead this post will remember the victim, 25 year old Drummer Lee Rigby of 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Rest easy soldier, tragically cut down way before your time. Your country mourns you and is forever in your debt. One of the most heart breaking tributes I read yesterday was a note left near the spot where he died. It was penned by one of the women who cradled the dying man and read:

"I held you as you died, Im so sorry I couldn't do more for you but you will live with me now for the rest of my life, in my heart Im sorry I couldn't do more and hope you are at peace."

Oh how the tears fell! Imagine the guilt and pain of someone who had no reason to feel guilty of anything? The horror of that situation, a kind soul wanting to give more but was unable because help was beyond the grasp of mortal hands. I still cannot read it without feeling a tear roll down my cheek and as well as sending best wishes to Drummer Rigby and his loved ones, I send the same to those three women who the nation, indeed the world, saw cradling this brave young soldier in his final moments.

Captain Alan Williamson, Adjutant Second Fusiliers said this of his comrade: "Riggers was a cheeky and humorous man, always there with a joke to brighten the mood." And you can clearly see this in the photograph. The sparkle is in his eyes, the 'cheekiness' playing around his mouth as if ready at any moment to crack a joke. One of the good guys, you can tell.

Rest in peace and much respect Drummer Rigby, a nation mourns you.

In Care of a Mortal Thread

Hedd, Perfaith Hedd

This could be an extension to an earlier post about the frailness of life, and however much a heavy heart that is behind the force that wills me to write it, write I must.
Such dreadful news last week when we heard of the mini bus crash on the M62 near Pontefract which killed one girl and seriously injured a dozen others (indeed the bride to be may never walk again.) On their merry way to celebrate a hen party, about as far from the thoughts of death as you could ever hope to be, and in an instant their world is cruelly shattered forever. A sobering jerk back into dreadful reality.
What a foul blow! How mercilessly each and every one of us are shadowed by death; a fragile thread which anchors us to life but at any second could end with less force than a sparrows heartbeat. One breeze less than the flicker of a flame. Such gentle turbulence that carries mortals onward through collared mists, on roads, on seas and valleys of wild woods.
This should serve as a reminder that however bad life may seem, the clockwork of the heart must continue or else be doomed to an even earlier grave, where the cancer of misery cuts down human roots without pity or care. Death is not a solves solver of problems, it simply hides them better while sadness cuts to the quick.
Think on these tragic incidents when the smile fades.

RIP Bethany Jones, may the softest lullabies sing you to your rest.

Everybody Having Fun?

The Silly Season is here, roll out the carols! Fair enough, why not? I enjoy a good Christmas carol as much as the next person but some of the lyrics are enough to send Mormons to the scotch. For instance: "Now here it is Merry Christmas, everynodys having fun." No, just no. There is no 'feelgood' vibe there, not really. If you were to take away the extremely catchy music all you'd be left with is a wet fart of assembled words, empty of anything sincere and promising...well not much.
Its rather like saying, "I like putting baked beans in jacket potatoes, you do too!" Then adding a sappy "groovy" at the end.
Everybodys having fun? Surely not EVERYBODY? Even the homeless? The ones in warzones? Lonely people at their wits end? Pensioners struggling to heat their homes? Those unfortunates who have been made redundant weeks before Christmas? Lost souls crushed by addiction who see dying as a good option? Genuine disabled folks who have had their benefits cut? (And like the addicts see death as a better way.) Abused children who are beaten and raped by real life monsters?
The longer list I trot out, the heavier I feel my fingers hitting the keyboard, angry and saddened by the fact that no, not everyone is having fun at all. Not by a long shot. I realise Christmas carols must be sickly cheerful and sugar coated with dreamy sentiments, and its nice to be able to escape for a bit but lets not ever forget that its ESCAPING we are doing. The jolly-carol-festive-world is Shangria La. Enjoy but dont forget (I know some will have by the end of reading this) that Christmas doesn't give us all a means to hide for a while and it isn't always icing sugar on mince pies (or whatever that sugary stuff is.)
Of course this post is not meant to be taken as some astounding revelation, and neither is it to put a dampner on peoples festivities. Its just here as a simple reminder, this is all. Enjoy and remember your fellow man!