Rainy days

Funerals are never easy. They bring back memories of others we’ve lost and take us back to difficult memories.

The funeral of a child though is unimaginable sad. A life cut short in its prime.

Heartbreaking and the circumstances of this particular death harrowing.

Because Jay was 18yrs old and he was chased down by 4 lads on mopeds in an un provoked, pre planned attack whilst on his way out to a party with friends and stabbed multiple times. 

I didn’t know him that well but I taught his brothers and sister and have known the family for 12 years or so. He was just a couple of years younger than my own son.He used to come along with his mum to pick up his brother and stand awkwardly at the door while mum and I chatted. In later years, all grown up in his high school uniform he used to collect his sister.

The pain on his mums face when she followed his coffin into the rammed church was indescribable. No mother should have to bury their child, it’s the wrong order of things. 

A lot of the congregation were his friends, teenagers. A sea of orange faces, bare legs, dressed up to the nines for his send off as if they were going out clubbing one last time.

I was surrounded by rows of young half men sobbing like little boys. 

The pain was so palpable. These young kids trying to cope and come to terms with such an awful thing.

The weather may have been cold and bleak,  suiting the mood but service was beautiful and fitting. 
The coffin left to a drum n base and suddenly the lads in the back row were smiling and dancing, remembering good times.

The readings were lovely, his sister read beautifully, heartbreakingly and when she ended with “I love you like the big blue sky” everyone fell apart. She is 9yrs old.

The whole family has conducted themselves with such poise and dignity in the most truly awful circumstances.

Jason Isaacs was the 18th teenager in London to die of knife crime last year. 

What a sad statistic of our current society.

There has to be more done to educate kids about knife crime, it is out of control.

There seems to be a proportion of society that has no value for life, yet the service today showed just how very valued Jay’s life was.

Watching how his friends have come together to raise awareness over the last few weeks has been inspiring.
The need to do something, anything to keep his memory alive and change the future so other families won’t have to endure the same tradegy.
Keeping his candles lit at his shrine and coming together at the scene of his death,  The Facebook support page Justice for Jay - Jason Isaacs, The organised fundraisers, The 16 bar MC challenge to raise awareness of knife crime to get the message out there that it is not cool and needs to end brings hope, and after an event like this hope is all you have.

#droptheknifevaluelife