What sets tragedies apart from almost every other aspect of life is their ability to unify on a mass scale. Times of grief, such as the awful events we have seen in our city of Nottingham this week, bring us together in a way that even periods of mass celebration can often struggle to match.
Following the abhorrent deaths of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates this week, the greatest example of the way in which it has unified Nottingham came in the form of the Old Market Square vigil on Thursday night. Leaders from all faiths, people of all occupations, students from both universities - everybody came together to show support for the three families who so bravely and movingly spoke about their fallen loved ones.
As the family, friends and colleagues of Barnaby, Grace and Ian continue to reel from their loss, many of us across Nottinghamshire are struggling to grapple with how such horror could have unfolded in our home city. It's this feeling, coupled with the unbearable loss suffered by those who knew and loved the three victims, that sparks a desire for any possible lessons to be quickly learned.
