When
we saw it on TV in June, we were all rightly shocked and appalled by
the horrific fire that so rapidly engulfed London's 24-storey
Grenfell Tower, claiming eighty-odd lives. But to see it in the
'flesh' is even more stunning, I feel. For starters, the building
looks considerably bigger and taller. And the sheer brutality of the
fire really hits home.
The
whole area is now sealed off, a crime scene – with human remains
needing to be preserved inside the charred shell of the structure. I
believe efforts have begun to shroud the building in sheeting, though
the scaffolding is barely off the ground.
I
rarely show emotion – but I had a lump in my throat reading the
hundreds of messages pinned to railings, fences and trees for
hundreds of metres around – messages of support, messages of hate
directed to Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, messages of
solidarity from total strangers or fire brigades in others counties.
But most of all, the 'missing' messages – have you seen so-and-so,
or such-and-such is still missing... Heart-rending and disturbing.
A
needless tragedy, these stark photos are for posterity, not for any
sense of anything else. Signs posted everywhere ask visitors not to
photograph, or to do so with respect. Absolutely – insensitive I
may be to many things, this is one disaster that really shook me!
