Hello Earthlings,
I woke up on Tuesday morning last week and my heart sank, I will never understand the thought process that someone goes through to be able to commit such an awful offence. I had hope that everyone who was declared missing would turn up and be okay with some minor injuries at a push, I checked the news at every point I could in the hope that all this news would go away and someone somewhere would have got it horribly wrong. But then they started to name those who had sadly lost their lives and it became even more real, this wasn't some horrible mistake this was very much real and has affected so many people.
I had plans to go to Manchester this Saturday, the first Saturday after the horrible devastation, like many others to go and see The Courteeners at their homecoming gig at Old Trafford Cricket Ground to 50,000 being supported by The Charlatans, Blossoms and Cabbage. I had seen many people tweet that they weren't going to go and I understood the apprehension but I was mad because there were people who had just lost their lives in this attack, there were families missing a loved one, people had been to a gig to have a good time and been separated from the people they were with not knowing whether they were dead or alive. So yes, I understood the nerves and I have to say I did think it too but I wasn't going to let someone instil fear into me and convince me not to go to something I have been looking forward to for months.
Personally, I feel like I made the best choice. Being stood in solidarity with 50,000 others against terrorism, that felt special. The Courteeners' front man Liam Fray did an acoustic cover of the Oasis anthem 'Don't Look Back in Anger', belting out the lyrics with so many people who all had so much passion was something I will never forget. I have seen so many videos on social media of this tribute and I can safely say that I have got goosebumps everytime I watched it. For me, not being able to find the right words is something I rarely struggle with as I can quite easily talk the hind legs off a donkey but I can't quite find the words to describe how special the entire day was. From Liam Fray reading And the Bees Still Buzz (a poem by Ryan Williams) to Don't Look Back in Anger to a tram full of people on the way singing the national anthem, this day was something that definitely proved to me that hate will never tear us apart.
Which leads me on to the title, I'm sure many of you will have seen bees being posted around various social media sites in tribute and solidarity and I wanted to do a bit of research as to why it is bees. You see, the worker bee is one of the most well-known symbols of Manchester, it was adopted as a motif during the Industrial Revolution and was used to represent the hard work of Mancunians during this era and how Manchester was a hive of activity. I've also seen many tattoo artists doing the Manchester bee in order to raise money for the victims and their families. So naturally when I saw a local tattoo shop doing a walk in day for the cause I had to go along considering I'm 18, I've also wanted a tattoo and I genuinely feel like I've learnt the true meaning of solidarity recently I thought I'd go along and get one. For anyone nearby who is reading this and thinking of getting a tattoo I would definitely recommend Aquiline TattooShops , I personally didn't think it hurt as much as I was expecting it too but they were very good at calming nerves! This tattoo is special to me because of the reasons listed above but also because my Dad got the same one done, so we now have matching tattoos and I'd say that my Dad has probably been the biggest influence in my life for tattoos as he has always had several as I've grown up so I'm a happy human.
Lia x
I woke up on Tuesday morning last week and my heart sank, I will never understand the thought process that someone goes through to be able to commit such an awful offence. I had hope that everyone who was declared missing would turn up and be okay with some minor injuries at a push, I checked the news at every point I could in the hope that all this news would go away and someone somewhere would have got it horribly wrong. But then they started to name those who had sadly lost their lives and it became even more real, this wasn't some horrible mistake this was very much real and has affected so many people.
I had plans to go to Manchester this Saturday, the first Saturday after the horrible devastation, like many others to go and see The Courteeners at their homecoming gig at Old Trafford Cricket Ground to 50,000 being supported by The Charlatans, Blossoms and Cabbage. I had seen many people tweet that they weren't going to go and I understood the apprehension but I was mad because there were people who had just lost their lives in this attack, there were families missing a loved one, people had been to a gig to have a good time and been separated from the people they were with not knowing whether they were dead or alive. So yes, I understood the nerves and I have to say I did think it too but I wasn't going to let someone instil fear into me and convince me not to go to something I have been looking forward to for months.
Personally, I feel like I made the best choice. Being stood in solidarity with 50,000 others against terrorism, that felt special. The Courteeners' front man Liam Fray did an acoustic cover of the Oasis anthem 'Don't Look Back in Anger', belting out the lyrics with so many people who all had so much passion was something I will never forget. I have seen so many videos on social media of this tribute and I can safely say that I have got goosebumps everytime I watched it. For me, not being able to find the right words is something I rarely struggle with as I can quite easily talk the hind legs off a donkey but I can't quite find the words to describe how special the entire day was. From Liam Fray reading And the Bees Still Buzz (a poem by Ryan Williams) to Don't Look Back in Anger to a tram full of people on the way singing the national anthem, this day was something that definitely proved to me that hate will never tear us apart.
Which leads me on to the title, I'm sure many of you will have seen bees being posted around various social media sites in tribute and solidarity and I wanted to do a bit of research as to why it is bees. You see, the worker bee is one of the most well-known symbols of Manchester, it was adopted as a motif during the Industrial Revolution and was used to represent the hard work of Mancunians during this era and how Manchester was a hive of activity. I've also seen many tattoo artists doing the Manchester bee in order to raise money for the victims and their families. So naturally when I saw a local tattoo shop doing a walk in day for the cause I had to go along considering I'm 18, I've also wanted a tattoo and I genuinely feel like I've learnt the true meaning of solidarity recently I thought I'd go along and get one. For anyone nearby who is reading this and thinking of getting a tattoo I would definitely recommend Aquiline TattooShops , I personally didn't think it hurt as much as I was expecting it too but they were very good at calming nerves! This tattoo is special to me because of the reasons listed above but also because my Dad got the same one done, so we now have matching tattoos and I'd say that my Dad has probably been the biggest influence in my life for tattoos as he has always had several as I've grown up so I'm a happy human.
Lia x
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