Men have joined a public demonstration of support in Leicester for the nationwide Sarah Everard movement.
Victoria Park signs multiply in support of Sarah Everard movement — Leicestershire Press
From my neck of the woods.
Firstly, everyone is incredibly miserable about lockdown, a no-brainer there.
Secondly okay what the fuck there was a would-be SERIAL KILLER trying to murder children this year?! 2020 is so unbelievably goddamn crazy I shouldn’t even be surprised but I am. And everyone survived thank god. This kinda doubles as a good-news story in a way I guess. But HOLY SHIT!
Thirdly, in another very on-brand story for 2020, three-legged robots are currently screaming at people.
So there’s going to be a movie about the finding of Richard III, starring Steve Coogan. I’m curious as to how this will go, not least because it was actually a woman called Philippa Langley who lead the project, and her story is fascinating but the biggest name attached to the film is playing… her husband…?
But I thought with that news fresh in everyone’s minds I could share a few photos/details of what it was like to be in Leicester when all that was going on!
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A couple of days after the news that Richard III’s bones had been found in the car park, I went to check it out! There wasn’t much going on though. I guess because the actual bones had been taken away already?
That was in 2012. Flash forward a year and his reconstructed skull (not the real one) was in the Leicester Guildhall along with a bunch of other Richard III stuff.
It’s all been relocated to the Richard III museum now I think.
Then in 2015 there was the actual reburial ceremony…
I still have that pamphlet. At the uni it was absolutely packed, it’s lucky I was able to see anything at all. Oooh look I took a video as well!
So me/the crowds followed the coffin in the car back to the town center….
…and then I had to leave and go to work. But you get the idea!
In the days after that every business in Leicester was using Richard III to advertise their services. It was great for tourism.
Someone also put flowers on Richard’s statue. (This used to be in the park opposite my halls of residence, I think it was moved to its current spot before the reburial.)
And Richard III’s tomb now chills in Leicester Cathedral. You can drop in and see it anytime!
(Well, maybe not now, but still.)
He put himself forward to support when elders and family were unable to attend due to Covid-19
The young volunteer stepping up to help at Muslim funerals — Leicestershire Live – News
Something a bit good-er (the word ‘nicer’ doesn’t seem right) from my neck of the woods, in an attempt to counteract all the awful things going on today.
After four months of going nowhere but the occasional field I have been to Bradgate Park in Leicester! Oh thank god. It’s so nice to BE OUT.
No-one else was wearing masks… apart from this elf we found in a tree on the way there.
I took a panorama with my phone once we got there. Surprisingly there are no deer in it (they are everywhere)
See, here’s one. This deer has an expression on his face I cannot read.
More deer.
Dave took most of the above photos (only numbers 2 and 6 are mine I think) and he also took these AMAZING ones of a white deer chilling in the ruins of Lady Jane Grey’s estate. There was a wall in the way but he STILL MANAGED IT!
The Romantic/gothy side of me likes to think, maybe that’s Lady Jane’s reincarnated spirit wandering around there.
Meanwhile I took a picture of an interesting wall.
Dave then got this amazing photo of a dragonfly which are very hard to photograph-
AND THEN! WE CLIMBED! ALL THE WAY UP to Old John.
It’s much harder to get to than it looks from here, trust me.
I took this photo halfway up:
It’s worth it for the views, if your legs can take it.
Here’s some pictures I took at the top!
Here’s a couple of slightly more imposing-looking ones I took with my phone.
And then just before we left suddenly a noisy peacock flew overhead! Sadly neither of us got any photos of it in flight, but I WAS able to get close enough to it to take this:
And that was I think everything, and oh my god my legs are killing me.
Some smart person took a video of what Leicester looked like during lockdown, using drones and the like. It makes me sad, but it’s very well done.
The hard-working, straw-stuffed traffic warden has made a huge difference to people at Thornton Reservoir
Scarecrow traffic officer called Jeremy stolen from village — Leicestershire Live – News
See this, this is the sort of news from Leicester I prefer to hear. Low stakes, pun not intended. (No I haven’t seen him.)
Currently there’s a social media campaign going on to celebrate Leicester. I also want to celebrate Leicester because it’s the best, kindest place I’ve ever lived in. I wasn’t born there but I consider it home.
Here’s some of my favourite pictures of the city I’ve taken over the years.
The last one, with all the people? That’s my favourite.
Leicester factory put lives at risk during lockdown, claims garment worker
Anil had also been reluctant to speak, saying he feared for his family’s safety. But he agreed because he was so angered by the treatment of workers. While his wife looks after their two children, he has been working about 40 hours a week for £200, about £5 an hour.
There was no canteen, and rats and mice were visible on the factory floor, Anil claimed. There was no hand sanitiser until last week, and the single men’s toilet had no soap. “They have put us in danger,” he said. “If I feel sick, I make my family sick. I put them in danger too.”
Since the second lockdown began, though, the pattern in Leicester has shifted. If the North Evington area where many of the city’s factories are based was previously beset with risky working practices and almost no scrutiny, this week an abundance of attention has come just as many workshops went dark.
Sigh. This is an awful situation. (And one you most likely already know about if you’ve been reading the news.)
I’m lucky, insanely lucky, because I live just outside of the lockdown zone. I found that out today. I can’t go visit people or go to the city center or visit the next town over, but I’m in an area that has so far had zero deaths.
The mood on Facebook and the other social media hangouts for Leicesterians is a very, very subdued one. Also, because Leicester is known for being so diverse there have been pockets of hate and racism cropping up and Twitter will not do anything about them. That’s awful too.
It’s weird and surreal and really, really not great to be spared when everyone around you is suffering.