Weekly Winedown #6 – Something a little different…

edit: Every Friday I do a tongue in cheek wine review. This weeks took a different turn, I didn’t realise it would until I’d written it but  that’s why it starts with the usual Friday layout.

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you offer a review.
Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro.

The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy

This week has been pretty frickin’ horrible hasn’t it?
What happened in Manchester on Monday was absolutely devastating.

All those beautiful young people out enjoying their wonderful lives and celebrating their youth, targeted by someone with misplaced ideals.
An absolute twat of the highest order (I have stronger words to use but it’s not very PG)

Today Aoife told me they’d spoken about what happened in Manchester at school. I desperately hoped she meant they’d spoken about Hacienda and the rise of the Madchester scene but no, they’d spoken about Monday’s events.

This is obviously entirely OK that they’d spoken about it but still not a conversation I was ready for.

“We spoke about Manchester today Mummy”

“OK, what did you talk about?”

“22 people died, what happened?”

Shit.

“Well, there was this man. He was a bad man who wanted to hurt people. In fact, there’s every chance he was a very poorly man, but he hurt lots of people. But, although he did bad and people got hurt, lots of other wonderful people came out to help. Like people drove from other towns and cities to drive people home and they looked after people and some people let other people stay at their houses. So although this poorly man did a bad thing, lots of other people did good things and helped other people”.

“Oh, OK mummy. Can I have tea in the garden?”

I made the clumsiest attempt at explaining this to a six year old. We shouldn’t be having to explain shit like that at all.

As a mum I found Monday’s events particularly hard, it was an attack on children. No ifs no buts.
It almost seemed more wicked.

Monday saw an atrocity that led to both loss and heartbreak for many families, that much is true but it also led to a kindness and coming together. Strangers helping strangers for no other reason than ‘because we’re all human’.

This week was a terrible week but it was a week that showed the immense strength and courage of people.
A horrible act of devastation that led to an outpouring of love.
It’s never going to bring back the loved ones for those families, no words or actions will make them feel any better, but it is reassuring that the world isn’t entirely evil.

When we hug our children and they ask what happened we can show them the stories of those who helped.
We can show them the video of the minutes silence that spontaneously burst into a rendition of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger‘ and we can say
“Despite what the media tells us, the world isn’t as bad as it seems. The majority love”.

Here is where I’d normally move on to the wine although that doesn’t feel right tonight.

Love is stronger than hate.

Salut Manchester.