People fight back after the horrors of gun massacre

THE Chronicle’s amateur soccer writer John Gilder found himself in the aftermath of gunman Derrick Bird’s killing spree.

John was in Cumbria to launch his new book and he described how local people are putting a brave face on their sadness.

A shopkeeper in West Cumbria told him: “Derrick Bird has rewritten the history of Whitehaven, that’s for sure.”

He was referring to the unforeseen and catastrophic actions of Derrick Bird which led to the deaths of 12 people, before he turned the gun on himself, last week.

John said: “I was in Whitehaven on Saturday, and this was a town both desperate and determined to get back to a normal way of life.

“One clergyman at a memorial services referred to Cumbrians being as tough as steel, he also said that they were as gentle as lambs. Both statements are very true, but either way, it will be a long time before the shock and horror of the gun rampage subsides.”

John was in Ravenglass to promote his new 48-page book, “Fractured Hearts — A Lake District Village in Poems and Pictures” which has more than 40 colour photographs from John’s own collection.

It is an area he fell in love with as a teenager, and as part of his annual weekend holiday there he always visits busy coastal Whitehaven and the tranquil village of Boot, both terrorised by Bird’s massacre.

John added: “Another shopkeeper I spoke to hoped that the media attention would soon fade away.

“What is likely to be a long-lasting reminder, however, is the bank of flowers at the taxi rank where Bird killed driver Darren Rewcastle.

“Everywhere I turned, people were talking about the tragedy, each with their own opinion.

“It was the same at the tiny village of Boot, in Eskdale, where Bird eventually took his own life.

“The overwhelming feeling is shock — there is no anger because the person who has done this has died. But there can never be justice for the people who died. That shock translates into pain which is very tangible.”