It's been almost 48 hours since the devastating suicide attack at the Manchester MEN arena which sadly took the lives of 22 people and injured over 100 more. Its an event that has unsettled and appauled people far beyond these shores. Poor innocent children and young people attending a pop concert in the city cruelly killed and maimed in the name of Islamic state.
For me it has been a rather unsettling experience due to the fact that the Manchester arena is only a few miles away from Aphoristic HQ. A little too close for comfort and on my own doorstep. It was surreal, unbelievable and took a while to sink in.
Sure, Manchester has always been a prime target for terrorism and the UK had been on a heightened state of alert for the last few years but it's always a shock when something does actually happen. I don't think anyone is really prepared for it in the end.
I'd say that this suicide attack has completely knocked the wind out of every single Mancunian.
It's always heartbreaking to hear that innocent people have been hurt in these terrorist attacks but when it's young children that are the deliberate targets then you have to seriously start asking questions.
The dust had hardly settled on the recent Westminster terror attack in London (only two months ago) when on Monday evening at 10:30pm some local lunatic decided he would pack a bag full of nails and explosives and detonate himself in the foyer of the Manchester arena complex taking 22 innocents with him and leaving over 100 injured, some critically.
Its amazing how people come together after such a terrible event and this was particularly visible here in Manchester.
Only an hour after the bomb went off the locals were offering medical assistance, food, shelter, transport and above all else love.
Local hotels offered to be the meeting points for lost children, local taxi drivers were offering free lifts home (however far away that was) and local homeless people were helping the injured on the ground. Even the local off duty bus drivers were going back to work and demanding their bosses hand over keys to the buses so they could help to get people safely home. It was a horrifically sad but proud moment for the city. Everyone wanted to do something to help.
The city has really pulled together since the attack two days ago. It was heartwarming and reassuring to know that there are so many kind people living among us.
I'm proud of my Manchester, we won't be beaten by anyone.
