If Music Be

Archive for December, 2008

Well it’s definitely back to work with a bang today. It’s still deathly quiet in the office and I have nothing pressing to deal with so I’m taking up the suggestion of the lovely Wee-h and having a bit of a blog from the office.

Looking Forward

I decided not to make any resolutions this year. I have a plan for the year, things I want to achieve by the end of it, but I’m not resolving to do anything in particular.

Some of my plans include:

Getting the house done; this plan is already underway and I am getting more ideas of how I want to progress with it as well.

Completing 2 more OU courses; the one I am currently doing is my favourite so far and I am starting this one in February. Hopefully if it pans out right I will then start this short course in September which will finish in January leaving me 2 more courses to complete my degree.

Holiday; actually having some this year is a must. The STB and I are already planning a short break in April and I am looking at a family thing to Rome sometime later in the year as well. I need to save some serious cash though if I am going to be able to do that as well as sorting the house out.

Socialise more; 2008 has been spent in my house, not spending enough time making effort to visit friends because I’ve been tired and boring. I’d like 2009 to be better than that.

That book list; I’ll be updating it soon, I got some books for Christmas that need adding to the list already so it will grow and change as my moods do

I really want to get a design going for my blog sites, I’m still looking for a designer so more suggestions, please comment

Looking Back

So how was my 2008 in the end? I suppose up and down is probably the best way of describing it.

It started off fine, but within the first quarter of the year things had fallen down in quite a big way. I have used that as a reason to take stock of who I am and where I want to be so I can move forward but it was really hard work to get there, especially with the reactions of many of the parties involved.

I spent a fair amount of time over the second quarter working myself out, and actually came to find I was happy with who I was and put plans into place to sort out the things I wasn’t happy with.

The start of quarter 3 saw me meeting the STB and realising that relationships should be this laid back and easy all the time. Nothing has ever felt like it’s too hard, or too much and at the time of writing it’s all still going really well.

I think because of that I have spent the rest of the year being able to focus on getting practical things better. I have to take a lot of those plans through to 2009 but I know what I aim to achieve so all is well.

So, here’s to 2009, may all the things that hold you back fall away and allow you to fulfil your true potential. Only you can change your life, so why wait?

This Thursday I will mostly be thinking about giant turkey dinners, pudding, and turkey finger rolls even though i’m still full from lunch.

Happy Holidays x

So this is the deal.

1) Take a picture of yourself right NOW!

2) DON’T change your clothes, DON’T fix your hair… Just take a picture.

3) Post that picture with NO editing.

4) Post these instruction with your picture.

5)Tag 10 people to do this.

And here is my picture:

snuggles to Celtic Buffy for sending this my way and I tag everyone who wants to do it because I’ve done a ton of meme’s recently and I know people will get mad at me soon if I keep tagging them.

From Stephen, Melanie and Owen Jones;

Dear Liverpool,

FROM the day Rhys died the support we have received from the people of Liverpool – and across the world – has been overwhelming. It has helped us to see the good in people in our darkest days and without that we would not have had the strength to carry on and achieve justice for Rhys.
Within a couple of days of Rhys’ death we started to receive sacks of letters, many from strangers across Liverpool and also many from countries as far away as Japan and Canada. We sat down and read every single one and still treasure them all.

Many were from people who had lost a loved one too, offering us advice and guidance on what to expect from our grieving. That helped us to accept that what we were feeling was normal – that going to the shop and buying Rhys’ favourite cereal, forgetting he would never be at home to eat it, was all part of our mourning.

Many letters were simply prayers; brief words of support without a name or address. But every single one of them helped us more than we can ever express and we have tried to answer them all.

We would be in tears reading them, but those words from strangers were a huge comfort. Knowing that people had taken the time to write to us, and had felt our pain, slowly helped to restore our faith in humankind.

Since the verdict came in, we have received lots more letters of support. Again, this means more to us that we can ever express and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

As well as the letters the kind acts of strangers in this city stand out in our minds. We will never forget the lady who knocked on our door with a lasagne big enough to feed our family twice over or the gentleman who came with biscuits and teabags. We’ll also never forget the man who came up to us at Rhys’ grave and told us he often stopped by to talk to our son and tell him the Everton results. It is acts like this that have assured us that we are not alone – and that Rhys will never be alone either.

Although in the future we hope to move away from Croxteth Park we will never leave Liverpool. We have always been happy here and realise, despite everything, that it is only a minority spoiling our communities for the rest of us. The majority of people in this city are good, hardworking and honest and we have felt their warmth and their compassion more than ever since Rhys’ death.

The people of Liverpool have taken Rhys to their hearts and to know they love and care for him too helps us enormously. It is the people in this city that make it special – in our minds there is no other place like it where the people feel your pain and sorrow.

The football fans at Anfield who clapped us when Z Cars was played and put their red arms around us have shown that.

The Liverpool Echo and all the people who have supported the Liverpool Unites campaign in Rhys’ name have shown that too.

And the countless strangers who have approached us on the street with kind words have confirmed it.

Liverpool has embraced us at this darkest time and we will always be grateful for that.

Now, as Christmas approaches, we are bracing ourselves to start the next chapter in our lives. For us, the festive period, even knowing Rhys’ murderer is now behind bars, will not be a time for celebration.

We will spend it quietly, with those closest to us, but without Rhys Christmas will never be the same.

We miss him now more than ever and although he now has justice that pain will never go away. We can only hope that we find the strength to re-build our lives without him – and we are sure the love, goodwill and compassion of the people of Liverpool will help us achieve that.

Once again from the bottom of our hearts we thank you all and urge you to join us in supporting Liverpool Unites in 2009 as we work together to make our city a safer place for our children to grow up in.

Love

Stephen, Melanie and Owen Jones x

This is a summary of key events in the case.

22 August 2007: 1840 BST – Sean Mercer is at the home of Dean Kelly in Sword Walk, Croxteth, when he receives a telephone call from Melvin Coy.

1908 BST – A second call is made to Mercer by Gary Kays. Both calls are to tell him that rival Wayne Brady is outside the Fir Tree pub.

Mercer and Kelly leave Sword Walk, and Mercer goes to get a gun from James Yates, before riding to the Fir Tree pub on his bike, intending to shoot at Wayne Brady or his friends.

Mercer rides out from behind the pub, fires three shots, and rides off.

1928 BST – Rhys, who is crossing the pub’s car park, hears the sound of the first bullet, turns, and is struck by the second.

He falls to the ground, and dies shortly afterwards.

Mercer rides to Boy M’s house in Croxteth.

His bike is left there and later collected by an unnamed youth to nearby fields. It is taken to Mercer’s house and stripped of its wheels. At some point later it is dumped on waste ground in Kirkby.

James Yates and Nathan Quinn arrive at Boy M’s house.

2000 BST – A 17-year-old known as Boy X, who was given immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony, also arrives at the house and Mercer hands him the murder weapon, a Smith and Wesson .455 revolver.

It is then hidden under blankets in a dog kennel at Boy X’s home.

Coy and Kays arrive at Boy M’s house in a people carrier. They pick up Mercer and Quinn and drive to a lock-up in Kirkby.

There they help wash Mercer in petrol, to get rid of gunshot residue, before burning his clothes.

23 August 2007: Mercer’s bike is found – without its wheels – by a member of the public on waste ground in Kirkby.

Leslie Shimmin takes it home, unaware that it is a key part of evidence in the Rhys murder investigation.

When he realises the significance of his find, he hands the bike into police.

24 August 2007: Bugging devices are placed inside the homes of suspects James Yates and boy M.

25 August 2007: Police make several arrests in connection with the inquiry. One of those is Sean Mercer, who is released pending further inquiries.

27 August 2007 – Kelly arrives at the house where the gun has been hidden, removes it from the kennel and hides it in the loft.

Melanie Jones appeals to her son’s killer to “turn yourself in”.

29 August 2007: A week on from the shooting, Merseyside Police stop cars in Croxteth and appeal for the driver of a red car to come forward.

Boy M is arrested and later bailed by police.

4 September: Nathan Quinn is arrested and later released on bail.

6 September: Thousands of mourners attend Rhys’s funeral at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

11 September 2007: An industrial unit in Kirkby, belonging to Melvin Coy, is searched.

Police find two petrol canisters and a white van locked inside the building, which also contains another petrol canister.

26 September: Police release CCTV footage of the suspected killer on a mountain bike.

30 September 2007: Police recover a Smith and Wesson .455 revolver from the loft of Boy X’s house in Croxteth.

6 November: Merseyside Chief constable Bernard Hogan-Howe says he is confident his officers know the identity of the killer.

29 January 2008: Mercer is arrested on separate firearms charges and bailed 48 hours later.

8 February: Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly says he is confident the killer will be brought to justice.

April 2008: Boy X is given immunity from prosecution and gives a statement to police.

15 April 2008: Merseyside Police arrests 11 people in dawn raids in connection with the inquiry.

16 April 2008: Six others are arrested by murder detectives.

Sean Mercer, then 17, is charged with murdering Rhys.

Gary Kayes, 25, and Melvyn Coy, 24, James Yates, 20, all of Croxteth, and three youths, aged 15, 16 and 17, are charged with assisting an offender.

2 October 2008: Rhys Jones murder trial begins at Liverpool Crown Court.

15 December 2008: Mercer found guilty of murder at Liverpool Crown Court.

Things I have learned in 2008

It’s possible to get over the most horrible actions, only when you realise you didn’t care enough in the first place

Happiness is underrated

If you love what you’re studying it doesn’t seem nearly so hard to fit it in

To get what you want from your body you have to work really hard, and to get what you need you have to appreciate it

Folk music is good when it’s not filled with Nonnies

Letting yourself relax is the only way to get through the day

Being responsible is hard

Groups of online friends can help you with anything, even if it’s just to listen when you vent

Girls from Chicago blog A LOT!

Things that are too hard should fall away, keep the things that are never too hard, no matter how tough life gets.

I love my blogging friends and I’m so pleased to be here

Happy Holidays everyone, I’m off to write a story about some hoar-frost.