Somehow, like when these two photographs were taken, I'm suppressing my emotions. No crying - being strong. This was my 29th birthday. St George's day 1989. 8 days earlier I'd climbed out of the Leppings Lane terrace and helped as many others as I could. I'd seen things that are unimaginable.
My mum & dad were so relieved that I came home as were Karen, Kate, Michelle and my brother Garry but 27 years on, even after the results of the inquest, there are still people spouting shit and trying to lay blame on us survivors and the 96 who perished.
I'd ask them to look beyond the smiles in these photographs and look into my eyes. There's so much hidden behind those blackened eyes (not through injury I hasten to add) but trying to come to terms with that day.
The Taylor Report got it right. The Hillsborough Documentary, 20 years ago, got it right. The recently concluded inquests and those amazing jurors who gave service for two years got it right.
The South Yorkshire Police got it badly wrong that day. Sheffield Wednesday had been getting it wrong for years totally disregarding the safety of fans - this disaster could have happened years earlier and on more than one occasion.
The FA even after LFC's brilliant club secretary Peter Robinson had warned them that they were making a mistake got it wrong.
Then the media, who were present on the day and witnessed what actually happened, got it wrong in varying degrees. Fuelled by lies being concocted whilst I was still trying to help fellow supporters out of the crush they published those lies. Most famously The Scum but I can also remember a column by some old fart in the Daily Mail lambasting the Liverpool fans for causing the disaster.
Then of course we come to Thatcher and the establishment. They thought they'd gotten it very right. They thought they were bigger and stronger than the city I was born in. They thought that they could walk all over the families by covering up the truth, hiding away the evidence and trying to turn the nation on THAT city that wouldn't let it go. Piss off and grieve and move on. How wrong could they get it. How wrong are some still getting it?
The City of Liverpool - we got it right. Truth and Justice for the 96 IS RIGHT. That me and my fellow supporters were victims of gross incompetence and then evil lies IS RIGHT.
JUSTICE FOR ALL YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
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