Day of days.

So, the short version.....you'd look across here and think that nothing had happened. Just people out enjoying the sun.
People of all ages, different backgrounds, just going on with life.

But this is how we carry on.
There's not really any other option, is there? They cannot win.

The long version....just before I went to bed, got a message to say that "something" had happened at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Couldn't ignore it - my sister-in-law was at the concert with her daughters and one of their friends.
Tried ringing, no answer. Rang my brother (who'd planned on working in London this week) and he confirmed they were all okay, on their way back to Sheffield and physically unharmed.

The thing is, although Manchester is a big city, it's still not *that* big. So something horrible happening at a concert at the Manchester Arena means that there's a good chance that many Mancunians will directly or indirectly know someone who was there.

I got in work to find out that the woman who sits opposite me had gone to the same concert to chauffeur her daughter and pal home, had been caught up in what happened, and currently has a bolt embedded in her leg; the bolt will be removed tomorrow. Those she collected are doing okay, all things considered.

The thing is, as I said above, it's a city with a sense of community, so unfortunately what I'm saying will probably be similar for others in the city.

It also made me come to terms a bit more with the loss of my mum in January this year.
My mum died very suddenly and unexpectedly in January at the age of seventy one; I saw her the day before and although she was a bit poorly, there wasn't too much to concern me with her health that day.

Here we are, months later, and I'm still working through it all, in the process of selling her house, and bit by bit emptying her house.

This morning I thought "I'm so glad she's not here to see what's happened today" because I knew she'd have been beside herself with all this horror.

But Manchester, we will prevail.
We'll rise above the hatred.

Peace and love.