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| Grenfell House before the fire |
Here we are holidaying in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. I could tell you about the funicular railway or our walk along the old Victorian pier. Perhaps I could tell you about the Indian meal we had in "Spices" or quiz night in the "Back Alex" public house. Perhaps I could tell you about our walk up to the Captain Cook Monument on Easby Moor or the lovely sandwiches we ate in the sunshine on the green in Great Ayton.
Yes I could tell you all about those things but it wouldn't seem right. Not now.
All I can think of is Grenfell Tower in West London. At first one was declared dead then six, then twelve. By lunchtime today the number will no doubt have risen. They just don't know. There could be so many.
I think of those people trapped in their flats. Faces at windows. The heat. The screaming. The confusion and of course I think of the mistakes that underpinned this horror. It's a Hollywood terror film forged in reality. It's a living nightmare.
Let us bow our heads in silence for all the lost ones and all the injured, for their friends and families and for the firefighters too. What more can we say? What more?
Very sad, and I too thought of a disaster movie (Towering Inferno) and how it didn't need to happen.
ReplyDeleteBut please do tell us of the good parts of your trip if you come to feel like it. The world needs more good things.
Yes I shall Jenny. Perhaps tomorrow.
DeleteThings like this aren't supposed to happen with modern building technology. It's really sad when trusting people lose their lives in this situation.
ReplyDeleteThere are many questions to answer. Like you say Red - things like this should not happen.
DeleteA dark cloud of sadness has descended heavily upon us all, everywhere, I think. What has occurred in West London is horrific...heart-wrenching.
ReplyDeleteWe really are going through a time of constant sorrow....it's never-ending.
A dark cloud of burning building material and a dark cloud of sorrow.
DeleteSo tragic. I watched the news last night in utter horror. Those poor lost souls.
ReplyDeleteThank heavens that you and I sleep close to the earth and not in a concrete high rise building.
DeleteSad and heartbreaking. No words will express the total and profound sadness.
ReplyDeleteNo words could do it.
DeleteIt seems like all we ever hear are horror stories in the news. The sadness & tragedy - so heartbreaking. If only as much GOOD news was reported as there is bad.....
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have shown a lot of kindness and generosity down in West London but you are right Hillary. We are overwhelmed by bad stuff.
DeleteHorrific and so very, very tragic.
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteUsually, we here this kind of news - burning or collapsed buildings - from Third World Countries. This one seems to be more prominently in our news, as it is closer to home somehow.
ReplyDeleteI understand that and why you did not feel like doing a cheerful holiday post. But it would still be nice reading about your time in Saltburn, and seeing some pictures. Not writing about the good things that happen in your life sadly won't make a difference to the people directly affected by the Grenfell tragedy.
(By the way, the news reader on our main TV news last night pronounced it "Greenfell"...)
That newscaster needs sacking. You could do a much more accurate job and the viewers would like looking at you. OK would be forever glued to his TV set. Tomorrow I shall show you a little of this area.
DeleteI have never liked the idea of living in a tower block and I hate big hotel blocks.
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised that Mrs May did not visit the situation at Grenfell if only to morally boost the survivors, fire fighters and victims families because Mr Churchill would have done so and did so frequently during the blitz.
ReplyDeleteMrs May does not have the common touch. She would be better off as the headmistress of a girls' boarding school somewhere deep in the heart of Surrey or Hampshire.
DeleteAn unbelievable tragedy in this day and age. Our hearts go out to all those injured or have lost their lives.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Our hearts do go out to our fellow citizens. It wasn't their fault.
DeleteUnusually for me I had the television on the news all morning yesterday although I confess that I did not have the sound on all the time.The horror of what that must've been like affected me far more than I could have imagined. Even now I just cannot imagine how awful it must have been been trapped on the upper floors.
ReplyDeleteAll of us who live close to the ground must be immensely grateful.
DeleteThe whole episode is horrific beyond words but denying us the beauty of the places that you are visiting is denying us the opportunity to take our mind off of such horror. As for Mrs. Mat visiting the site as some kind of token visit, what difference would that make.
ReplyDeleteEmpathy!
DeleteDo you have to stand at the site to feel that.
DeleteRead YP's reply to my first comment Derek and please comprehend!
DeleteYP got it dead right but I see that she did attend and no doubt everybody suddenly felt better. I notice that the Queen couldn't be bothered to pop down.
DeleteThe Queen has sent a heartfelt message and of course she did visit Manchester Arena victims. I am sure she will visit some of the injured in hospital. She's a better human being than Theresa May.
DeleteProtective fire alarm systems should be legally mandatory. I heard this group of buildings recently underwent an expensive remodel. Yet no alarms were working??
ReplyDeleteSounds like there were big issues with the new cladding which may have encouraged the fire.
DeleteThe news just seems to go from bad to worse these days and I am almost terrified to put the TV on in case there's another disaster. Like you, I cannot imagine the feelings going through people's minds as they realised escape was not possible. Someone's head is for the chop over this, but it will not bring back all those unnecessary lost lives. With 600 living in that block, I can only imagine the small number of dead so far is attributable to those who jumped. They will doubtless find hundreds more inside the charred remains. Chilling.
ReplyDeleteHow could the elderly and the disabled get out? Awful.
DeleteIt was good to read about the young Muslim lads who were awake because it is Ramadan, and they were back from their Mosque and were waiting until their early meal. They were able to wake many families on their floor who would probably otherwise have perished.
ReplyDeleteIt was also reported here about a baby being thrown from a window - and caught safely! Possibly more than one.
Such a terrible event.
That awful night will live with the survivors forever.
DeleteIt's an unbelievable, appalling situation.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you knew this tower when you lived at Notting Hill must make it all the more appalling.
DeleteNothing more to be said YP - just thinking about the victims and trying to get over the next few days and weeks is all that we can hope for.
ReplyDeleteIs there some other horror just round the corner?
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