Tag: mourning

#365daysofbiking Homeward bound:

November 5th – I’d been in Redditch, a place I used to work lots but in recent years, hardly had been to at all.it’s fair to say that following the events of the weekend, my heart wasn’t in life at all.

I didn’t get the camera out all day, until I returned to Shenstone – and there it was shining in the dark like a beacon.

This station is part of my soul and has been for 40 years. Coming back here after a hard day is reassuring, soulful, welcoming. 

Like Paul Simon, I sat on the railway station and reflected for a while. Then I got on my bike and rode, homeward bound.

July 17th – Following the news of the sad loss of fellow blogger and friend The Plastic Hippo, today was difficult, sad and low. He followed this journal avidly.

I fought through it, and carried on. But it was hard.

I never realised that you could feel such loss for someone you knew so little about.

As I climbed the steps from Shenstone station, the sky was dramatic and beautiful. And beneath it, I was hollow.

Goodbye, pal. 

May 18th – Since the sad passing of young cancer patient and charity fundraiser extraordinaire Stephen Sutton, his home town of Burntwood has been spontaneously bedecked in yellow ribbons as a token of mourning and support. I’ve never seen anything quite like this – at least since Diana died – and the floral tributes and book of remembrance at Chase Terrace School, where he was a pupil, are sombre and touching.

It’s worth taking a trip up there to see this, as you can’t capture it in photos. It’s like air air of sadness is perched upon the town. And one of pride, too.

It’s interesting to see how the public have taken to this story, and constructed narratives around it. Propelled by social media and human goodwill, it has been an astounding thing to witness.

You can donate to the Stephen Sutton appeal here.

Cancer is a filthy thing, to be sure.