Finally... The Truth

Today is the day many, including myself, hoped for but feared would never come. An independent report of evidence of the Hillsborough Disaster has shown that police and emergency services had made "strenuous attempts" to deflect the blame for the disaster on to fans. 164 statements made by South Yorkshire police officers were altered; 116 of them had been "amended to remove or alter comments unfavourable to South Yorkshire Police". 

The original Coroner's decision that all victims were dead by 3:15pm has also been called onto question.

The medical advisor on the review panel, Dr Bill Kirkup, said up to 41 of the 96 who died could have potentially been saved if they had received treatment earlier.

"In total, 41 people ... had potential to survive after the period of 3:15. What I can't say is how many of those could have been saved," he said.

It's late and I'm not 100% today, so I really can't do this momentous occasion justice, but detailed news reports are available on www.bbc.co.uk . Perhaps now, Sarah and Vicky and the other 94 victims can finally rest in peace.

Spitting Feathers

It's nearly a week since the GCSE results and I'm still not sure I can write a reasoned and well thought-out response. I'm not a great believer in conspiracy theories but I can absolutely believe that the results would be altered to become a stick to beat schools by. It's pretty obvious to me working inside a school that this Government does not value teachers and loathes the current system. Believe me, it's not perfect and I do think GCSEs don't cover the same content as the old O-levels, resulting in a knock on effect on A-levels and the degrees, but changing the goalposts partway through the year is not fair on the students, before you even consider how the overall drop in results may be used as a stick to beat schools with.

Two Years On...

I was excited by the idea of the Coalition Government - after all, it was the only realistic way that the Liberal Democrats would be able to influence policies in the current system. The catalogue of disparaging comments aimed towards Nick Clegg was phenomenal, some with just cause.

I don't know enough about the inner workings of what goes on at Local or National Government to comment with any authority, but that seldom seems to stop anyone else, so maybe I should cough up my two pennyworth anyway. I can't see a way forward here - whilst Opposition and Conservative  backbenchers merrily berate Cameron and Osborne as "two posh boys who, when something goes wrong, sack the servants" where is Clegg? What is he doing to distance himself from the posh boy image?

At the risk of sounding like someone from my mother's generation, we appear to be going to hell in a hand basket.

One Day

One day.
One day that ripped apart so many families.
One day that ended 96 lives.
One day that left an indelible mark.
One day.
One day.
The truth will be revealed.
One day.

Hello?

Er.. hello. Hello? Anyone out there?

This poor blog has been very negleted of late. Too much time playing on Twitter, Ravelry, Flickr and the podcast.

Can't get the time back though, so no use wailing about it. I really don't have time for that hair shirt.

So what's happening in my world?

Well, I'm still working at the same place, still playing with yarn, still sharing my life with A and a cat. We have a conservatory now, where I am sitting as I type this (oh the joy of a wireless network) and it's fast becoming my favourite place. Much as I love it in the sun (oh the light!) I think I love it even more in the rain. It's like camping, but about a zillion times more comfortable.

So no promises, but I hope to start blogging a bit more about non-yarny stuff (do I do anything non-yarny? Can't remember) If any of you are still out there, come along for the ride. :)