Yea, and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Kopite
Amazing how a passage like this, or a beautiful piece of music like Barber's
Adagio, or a smell, or a memory that passes through you consciousness can
invoke time travel. A thought transporting you back to memories past.
What are memories, but simple electrical charges in the brain, and yet they
move us, and make us what we are.
Twelve years ago today, I was a 20 year old kid and like most of that age
still naive, innocent and foolish. However this all changed at 3pm on
Saturday April 15th 1989. After this day I would never see the world through
innocent, childish eyes.
For that day I walked in the valley of the shadow of death, and I did fear
evil.
On this day I saw hell unfolding in front of my eyes in Leppings Lane.
Although not in the crush, I could see the bodies in front of me. An image
that will forever be etched into my consciousness.
Your belief system goes out of the window when you see things like that. It
leaves you hollow, your view of the world ripped to pieces by horror of
biblical magnitude.
96 people went to a football match never to return, not a war, a football
match. Just think about that one, a piece of entertainment, not the Somme.
A day out enjoying a game of football, entertainment, a simple day out, and
it claimed 96 of us.
They let us out of the ground, a rumour spread, 5 were dead, and then 20.
Twenty became 40, and by the time I sat down on the coach it was 70.
Upon hearing 70 I ran off the coach screaming. "I want to wake up, wake up,
this isn't happening" I said to myself, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Sadly it was.
I sat on a wall outside the coach crying, and old man off our bus came to
comfort me.
"I'd better phone home, my mum will be going mad." For at the end of the
week (the Friday) would fall the 14th anniversary of the passing of my
father.
I ran over to the superstore opposite, I think it was B&Q. I offered the
manager a £1 note just to use the phone, he wouldn't accept it and in a
Yorkshire accent he said "You phone home lad, and tell your parents you are
ok."
The relief in my mum's voice was striking, I'll never forget that.
"Colin, you are ok, thank God, you are ok." I could hear the tears, and the
sadness "all those people, dead" she said.
(I wasn't originally entitled to a ticket, my Uncle gave me his for the
North Stand.)
I suddenly thought of my mate Dave (a Geordie Liverpool fan) whom I had
swapped my ticket with so I could go on the Leppings Lane (like the previous
year).
I got back to the bus, and he was there, again the relief was clear.
The trip back was the longest journey of my life, we arrived back in Flint
to reporters from the local newspaper. Still in a state, I was collared by a
reporter:
"What happened?"
"They never checked my ticket, look at this." "Take a picture of my intact
ticket".
"The crush started outside the gates, so they opened them. There was a gap
underneath the stand, we could see the pitch, and the players were out.
Everyone went for the central pen."
Let's say the local newspaper have learned a great deal from it's national
counterparts.
"FANS STORMED THE GATES says Colin Watt aged 20 of Prestatyn."
Needless to say my mum wasn't impressed, I remember the phone call, she went
for the jugular.
"He didn't say that" she said, "well it was in the reporters notebook" came
the reply.
"Oh really, overwhelming evidence that. So your reporters don't make
mistakes when writing things down?"
"He didn't say it, and you know it." The phone was slammed down.
I am so proud of my mum. Unfortunately this would not be the last time the
press told lies about that day.
God bless and rest in peace the victims of Hillsborough, however I fear that
until justice is served, you will never rest in peace.
You'll Never Walk Alone.
Justice for Hillsborough.
Colin.
---
Liverpool FC - Pride of Merseyside.
dope man
>
> Amazing how a passage like this, or a beautiful piece of music like
Barber's
> Adagio, or a smell, or a memory that passes through you consciousness can
> invoke time travel. A thought transporting you back to memories past.
>
> What are memories, but simple electrical charges in the brain, and yet
they
> move us, and make us what we are.
>
> Twelve years ago today, I was a 20 year old kid and like most of that age
> still naive, innocent and foolish. However this all changed at 3pm on
> Saturday April 15th 1989. After this day I would never see the world
through
> innocent, childish eyes.
>
> For that day I walked in the valley of the shadow of death, and I did fear
> evil.
I couldn't express it any better myself. Only difference being that I was
17.
dope man
Stef Walker
Kopite <C.Watt...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:5EkF6.6075$Tv2.8...@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> Psalm 23 a particularly moving piece of the good book.
>
> Amazing how a passage like this, or a beautiful piece of music like
Barber's
> Adagio, or a smell, or a memory that passes through you consciousness can
> invoke time travel. A thought transporting you back to memories past.
>
Beautiful post Colin.
Have you ever heard any music by Gorecki?
Kopite
I love all classical music
Colin.
---
Liverpool FC - Pride of Merseyside.
"Stef Walker" <stef_walker...@usermail.com> wrote in message
news:Z8lF6.134718$HR6.15...@nnrp4.clara.net...
Stef Walker
> Cheers Stef probably.
>
> I love all classical music
>
often used in Films/Documentaries. It was originally written for the
Holocaust..
Truly moving.
dope man
> Cheers Stef probably.
>
> I love all classical music
>
>
dope man
B Gannon
wanted to get in the middle of it all. I was a kop season ticket holder and he
was a kemlyn road so I swapped it for his North Stand ticket.
We started out in two cars across the Pennines. Playing cards talking about
the team etc. My friends dad drove so fast that I was sick in the back of the
car. No one even noticed becasue I threw up into a pillow case and sneakily
dropped it out of the window. Everyone was saying smell that country air.
We got to Sheffield about one and found a place to park. We then went and
bought a load of kentuchy fried chicken, ate it in the car and headed of to
the match.
Sitting there I remeber saying to my mate someone is going to get hurt in the
middle, not realising how serious it was, being used to being squashed tight
in to the middle of the Kop on most matchdays. This was before the gates were
opened it was already full. If I a 16 year old kid used to be squashed in the
crowd could see the problem how come the police with their cameras couldnt.
I remember counting people being carried out on boards, my friend and I
agreeing they had covered their faces to stop the press taking photos not
realising they were dead. We callously counted about 17 people who we thought
were injured.
After 5 minutes we were all over forest Beardsley had hit the woodwork and it
looked like we were going to batter them. Then some fans ran onto the pitch
and I joined the forest fans in booing them. Even when the game was abandoned
I was angry at the fans for the pitch invasion.
HOW NAIVE CAN A PERSON BE, I still did not realise people were dead. Even when
a Liverpool fan ran the length of the pitch up to the kop end to tell the
forest fans people were dead, I booed him. I still feel guilty at being
concerend about us carrying on and winning.
After we left the ground every phonebox we passed was stacked full of change
left by fans or the public for anyone to phone home. Even that thought is
making me cry. It wasnt untill we were driving home across the Pennines that
it sunk in. We had the radio on and they announced the current deathtoll. It
was then we realised what had happened and it changed me forever. Never again
was football a matter of life and death like it had been.
--
B Gannon
http://www.kopnews.com
http://www.kopnews.co.uk
The only online LFC Prediction League
nowhere man
> HOW NAIVE CAN A PERSON BE, I still did not realise people were dead. Even when
> a Liverpool fan ran the length of the pitch up to the kop end to tell the
> forest fans people were dead, I booed him. I still feel guilty at being
> concerend about us carrying on and winning.
>
> After we left the ground every phonebox we passed was stacked full of change
> left by fans or the public for anyone to phone home. Even that thought is
> making me cry. It wasnt untill we were driving home across the Pennines that
> it sunk in. We had the radio on and they announced the current deathtoll. It
> was then we realised what had happened and it changed me forever. Never again
> was football a matter of life and death like it had been.
lovely post. Thanks for sharing.
A lot of people, not just you, were totally unaware of the events that were
unfolding in front of their eyes.
Will
Kopite
What is a proper fan like you doing being associated with Koptalk?
Colin.
---
Liverpool FC - Pride of Merseyside.
"B Gannon" <ad...@kopnews.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9c63qt$q0$2...@news.liv.ac.uk...
POD {铱觹
days of his life at Melwood, just that now he has put it to his advantage,
pity we don't see him in the group any more, but I for one miss the fat ugly
bastard with the good looking wife ;-)
Were you not here when he changed his name to Mr, Manchester United for a
whole season? all for a cancer hospice by where he lives. The man is a
star, and Koptalk was set up with the very best intentions.
"Kopite" <C.Watt...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:plFF6.1731$vJ5.3...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
nowhere man
> Bit unfair Col, Koptalk was set up by our Dunc, a true fan who would waste
> days of his life at Melwood, just that now he has put it to his advantage,
> pity we don't see him in the group any more, but I for one miss the fat ugly
> bastard with the good looking wife ;-)
>
> Were you not here when he changed his name to Mr, Manchester United for a
> whole season? all for a cancer hospice by where he lives. The man is a
> star, and Koptalk was set up with the very best intentions.
can I be so bold and ask what's wrong with Kop Talk?
I only found it a few weeks ago and am sorta lost.
Forgive any intrusion.
Will
Kopite
you know nothing." & "real fans should pay attention". this is pretentious
guff.
I write for a fanzine, the guy there is far closer to LFC than Duncan, but
never would dream of writing something so arrogant.
We all do our bits for charity POD, as Smashie & Nice say "we don't like
talking about our charidee work mate."
Colin.
---
Liverpool FC - Pride of Merseyside.
"nowhere man" <william_m...@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:3AE73E34...@lineone.net...
B Gannon
C.Watt...@ntlworld.com says...
>
>A terrible day mate, a truly terrible day.
>
>What is a proper fan like you doing being associated with Koptalk?
>
Hello I have my own site http://www.kopnews.com independent from koptalk. It
was one of the first Liverpool sites up on the net about 5 years ago.