7.7: One Day In London Page #9

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you are going to drop the bomb

which is the biggest conversation

stopper when you say...

Everybody is on holiday.

We've stopped... We don't say,

"No, we've only got a daughter."

We can't say that. "So you've got

a son. What do they do?"

"Well, actually...

"he was killed."

I mean,

that's a beautiful photograph of her.

Those two are just absolutely lovely.

She had the most beautiful eyes.

The most sparkly, laughy eyes.

And a very dirty laugh.

Where did she get that from?

I'm not sure,

but not my side of the family.

And I always keep a rose on the desk

for her because she was Emily Rose.

Christian was five years older

than me, so a nice age.

Everything I've learned from him.

It was nice,

he tried to avoid me at school.

He didn't want to mess up

his reputation.

But at the same time, he tried

to protect you. Yes, he always did.

Warning off all the boys. Yeah.

Nanette was born to be a dancer.

She had a dancer's long neck,

expressive face,

eloquent hands

and abundant vitality.

He was really not practical,

he wasn't a practical person.

He found it quite difficult to apply

himself to practical things, really.

That is serious attempt

at putting on sun cream.

In fact, I had to teach and how

to shave on that holiday. Pardon?

Don't even go there!

This is the first time we've ever

spoken to anybody about it,

because it was always too raw

and I just feel like...

Stan was such a lovely man that

I wanted to just tell people

how it's affected us

and how it still does affect us.

I hate the expression "to move on".

People say, "Have you moved on?"

What does that mean?

You can't, I mean, you don't move on,

you learn to live with this enormous

hole in your heart that...

that just you know

is never going to get better

and it becomes part of you

and you get absorbed by...

by your grief.

But you do operate

and you get on with your own life.

But there is always

a hole in your heart.

Tonight, in every country

in the world,

young men and women

and boys and girls

will go to sleep dreaming

that in seven years

they will come to this city

to run faster and jump higher

and throw farther

than anyone has done before.

There are those...

there are those...

who tell the world that we face

a clash of civilisations.

I say to them, "Come to London

and see the world gathered

"in one city, living in harmony

and as an example to all."

I always go to Russell Square

station

and I stand in front

of the plaque.

I take my flowers and I pay

my respects, I pay my respects.

Last year, I was standing in front

of the plaque and I was sobbing.

There was this businessman

and I was sobbing,

and this businessman

was just walking past

and he just put his briefcase down

and he said, "You need a hug."

And we just embraced,

it was just a nice hug.

10 seconds, it could have been,

I don't even know how long it was.

He just said, "Are you all right?"

And I just said to him, "Thank you."

And he picked up his case

and off he went.

And that was amazing

because I've never had that since.

Every time I've gone to the station.

So, if he's ever watching this,

I'd like to say thank you.

You know, when I think about Laura,

a young lady who unfortunately died

who was very, very close to me at

the time, she was the same age as me,

she was in the same profession as me,

and just because of

where she was stood and where I was

sat, I survived and she didn't.

And I find that quite hard

to come to terms with.

But after I had spoken

at the inquest,

Laura's brother spoke to me.

And I...

I think he really helped me

to pile all those feelings aside

that I had about Laura

and about the fact that

I had survived and she hadn't.

And he basically said to me that

Laura was such a fun-loving girl

who really made the most of life

and, you know, did so much

with her life,

she would want you to get on

with your life and to really make...

really make the most of it.

And that really helped a lot

because for a long time I'd been

carrying that around,

you know, feeling guilty

on one side for...

be...

being here and getting on.

And the fact that, you know, other

people hadn't been able to do that.

But it just felt that it was...

it just felt so good to know

that if she had been in my place,

that's what she would have done.

She would have really

got on with her life as well.

So I'm really grateful that he had

that conversation with me.

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