Today is the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. I know the grief is not confined to Liverpool, but as a scouser today, I want to share my memories of that day.
My dad is a staunch Liverpool FC supporter. He has held a home season ticket for as long as I can remember, but hardly ever goes to away games. I remember that day was unseasonably warm, I was 11 years old, and my dad was on his way to Sheffield for the game. I was with my mum and my grandparents, going to a market in Prescot as we always did on a Saturday.
We were in the car, and my grandad had the radio on. I remember hearing the reports on the radio, the commentator had total panic and hysteria in his voice, I don't really recall what was said, but I know the atmosphere in the car completely changed, and we headed for home, much earlier than usual. As far as we were aware, my dad was in the Leppings Lane terrace, and my mum must have been completely distraught. I know she held it together for me as I don't remember her weeping or wailing at all.
We got back to my grandparents house, and just as we were about to call the family and friends helpline, my dad rang. He had got a stand ticket about half an hour before the match, from a friend of a friend, and was safe and on his way home.
My mum and I went home, and I stayed outside, waiting for him to come home. When he finally pulled up, I asked him what had happened, and he merely shook his head and went inside the house. I remember he sat down, and didn't speak for about a week. It was awful, the tension was unbearable.
To this day, my dad has never spoken about what he saw, but in his more emotional moments, he has told me how he felt when he pulled up and saw me standing at the top of the road waiting for him to come home. He has never even looked at a copy of The Sun since.
One of my schoolfriends lost her dad, my dad lost one of his friends.
I just wanted to get all that out, and pay tribute to the families of the 96 people that weren't as lucky as we were on 15th April 1989.