Anne

This Sunday at 9pm on ITV a four part factual drama begins simply called Anne. 

Please watch it.  I will be even though I expect it will be difficult viewing for some us.

Maxine Peake as Anne Williams

I’ve written before that Anne Williams, the subject of the programme, should not be known to most of us and I’m pretty sure that she’d have preferred it that way.  As things transpired, on a bright & cold spring morning in April 1989 her son Kevin, like myself and thousands of others, set off to watch a football match at Hillsborough. Sadly he didn’t come home as he was unlawfully killed that afternoon. 

What has followed since that day has been the weight of the establishment rewriting history and the facts versus THE TRUTH which is known to many of us as we were there. 

My match ticket and wristband

There have been many people battling for the truth since that day but the stand out campaigner for me was Anne Williams.  How she fought to find truth and justice for her son was beyond compare and although rightly holding a torch for her son she never forgot the other victims including those like me who somehow escaped the carnage.  Some survivors from the Leppings Lane pens suffered physical injuries while most live with the mental trauma and guilt of being there and somehow surviving the disaster, a disaster that they were wrongfully accused of causing. 

A memorial plaque, commissioned on behalf of Anne by her family, was unveiled in Liverpool’s Central Station as she always wanted to honour the survivors. It reads:-

"This is a tribute to our Hillsborough Survivors to recognize the effort they made to help save others, the suffering they have endured for many years and their courage in supporting the families in the fight for justice. On behalf of the families of lost loved ones, the people of this great city and the late Anne Williams. 

Thank you 

You will never be forgotten"

Mural by artist Paul Curtis

Anne Williams was an inspirational woman and it's fitting that the nation should learn about how she fought for justice despite the repeated set backs that would have weakened the resolve of most.  

The importance of this piece of work can't be underestimated and this amazing woman and all she stood for should be remembered by us all forever and passed down through the generations to prevent the likes of Hillsborough and its aftermath happening again. 

Anne Williams YNWA 

JUSTICE FOR THE 97

A Beautiful Night - Katherine Priddy at Leaf Liverpool

When you’re having a difficult time music can be a wonderful therapy.  Last night at Leaf in Liverpool the prescription was for a couple of hours with Katherine Priddy supported by George Boomsma. 

George opened the night and then accompanied Katherine for her set and what a set. Katherine sang a number of songs from her new album The Eternal Rocks Beneath as well as older songs and a brand new as yet unnamed track.  

I’ve been listening to the album since its release back in June and was anticipating a special night. It was better than that as Katherine performed to a packed but intimate house and mesmerised the audience who listened in adoring silence.

Wolf 

The performance, both vocally and musically, was stunning and will live long in my memory and the background to the writing of the tracks will make listening to the album a different experience in the future. 

Jim Croce sang a wonderful song called Time in a Bottle and if you could save a gig in a bottle this would be it and it would be a beautiful elixir, good for both the mind and the soul. 

Make sure you listen to Katherine Priddy and if you get the opportunity to get to see her live GO!