tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post7911736547160225309..comments2024-03-19T04:14:57.476+00:00Comments on 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?': Panorama - The Cumbria Shootings: reviewMartin Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-20026971699786171342010-06-10T23:24:10.058+01:002010-06-10T23:24:10.058+01:00I'm very grateful for these comments.
Paul, I ...I'm very grateful for these comments.<br />Paul, I do hope that Whitehaven isn't linked permanently in people's minds with the shootings. It's a town I like - with a great second hand bookshop! - and a pleasing harbour area. But I can understand that there is a mood of melancholy there at present.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-8050629863893525952010-06-10T13:29:45.835+01:002010-06-10T13:29:45.835+01:00Martin – I missed the Panorama programme unfortuna...Martin – I missed the Panorama programme unfortunately but have had contact not only with my father’s care home in Cumbria but with my sister who lives locally too. <br /><br />She was in work on the day of the shootings, following events as they unfolded via regular police bulletins. She was worried about a friend in Whitehaven and unable to reach her by mobile as the network was down. Colleagues were beside themselves over loved ones caught up in it all.<br /><br />Speaking to people who were in the area at the time you really feel the shockwaves – the incredulity, horror and grief engendered by this most senseless outrage. <br /><br />I haven’t heard Chief Constable Mackey’s comments but certainly have every sympathy with his officers having to deal with a rapidly escalating and no doubt confusing situation, seeing things that must have sickened even the most experienced. Horrendous for the paramedics, doctors and witnesses too, of course – they all deserve our sympathy.<br /><br />I doubt we’ll ever know exactly what went on in Bird’s mind as he isn’t around to tell us. One obvious difference between fictional murder mysteries and the real thing is that authors are in the privileged position of viewing events from the killer’s perspective whereas in life, no matter how close a relationship, no matter how expertly conducted an interview, we can never completely enter another’s mind, feeling what they feel, seeing what they see.<br /><br />West Cumbria is in mourning and it’ll be a long, long time before the community can come to terms with the tragedy, the name Whitehaven now linked with Hungerford and Dunblane in the public consciousness as synonymous with senseless massacre – so sad.<br /><br />PaulPaul Beechnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-14783472284732141912010-06-09T17:12:02.481+01:002010-06-09T17:12:02.481+01:00Sometimes I think that in books we have to provide...Sometimes I think that in books we have to provide more motive than there actually IS in real life. Frequently, crime is senseless, but in our books it's usually motivated by something.Elizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-60782251156024667012010-06-09T03:44:40.834+01:002010-06-09T03:44:40.834+01:00What a shocking tale. I know as mystery writers, w...What a shocking tale. I know as mystery writers, we are required by our readers to not just write the horror but give reasons behind it, the readers want the motives as they do in real life. Sadly, real life doesn't always give us the answers we seek.<br /><br />CDAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12160669603997465454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-69963047730836969702010-06-09T01:12:14.649+01:002010-06-09T01:12:14.649+01:00Martin - Sometimes I think there is no really sati...Martin - Sometimes I think there is no really satisfactory explanation for why people such as Bird snap, and others, who also suffer a great deal of misfortune, do not. That is part of what makes shootings such as these so horrifying; we want answers, and they are not always easy (if there really are answers). <br /><br />I, too, sympathise with Mackey (although I confess I didn't see this program). He's got a thankless task, and even if the Cumbria police can be shown to have made mistakes, that doesn't diminish the horrible task they have in finding answers and pursuing this investigation. <br /><br />I continue to wish everyone well as they try to cope with this tragedy...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com