Remarkable deaths

This week has seen three stories in the press concerning three totally separate yet remarkable people who died in circumstances distinct from each other. But all three are worthy of mentioning simply because of the uplifting stories behind their deaths.

Rhys Jones
In the city of Liverpool this week, mourners have been paying their last respects to the boy who was shot dead by a hooded man riding a BMX bike through the area of Croxteth Park. Rhys was a supporter of Everton FC and mad about his football. It has shocked the community of Liverpool and brought about a collective period of inner reflection in the city. In a sign of solidarity, Liverpool FC, the deadly rivals of Rhys's beloved team, invited his parents to Anfield on match day where he received a minute's applause from the crowd, following the playing of the Everton theme tune. An Everton fan getting a minute's applause at Liverpool FC is striking enough, but thousands of people came to his funeral where the parents asked everyone to dress in bright colours. Most put on their football colours to attend the service at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, where members of Everton's first team were also present.

This collective mass of solidarity has made a mockery of those who would turn to crime for their kicks. The far larger amount of decent people come out against violent crime through this type of collective action, yet still those who enjoy criminal lives do not listen. Nevertheless, decent folk will always outnumber the bad eggs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6980996.stm

Jane Tomlinson
Across the Pennines in Leeds, Jane Tomlinson had a seven-year battle with breast cancer. Nothing remarkable so far. Except that seven years earlier, she was given just six months to live. I haven't finished yet though. Jane didn't just sit down awaiting the Big Day: she decided to make the most of her time left on this planet by raising money for charity. By running marathons, half-marathons, triathlons and even the Iron Man, where she became the first cancer patient ever to complete it. She set about doing other such things, like spending 63 days crossing the United States from San Francisco to New York City on a bike. After her second London Marathon, she went back to work as a radiographer. That was only days after cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats. She won some of the highest awards - BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award for outstanding bravery, the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours this year.

Jane always thought she was an ordinary person but the truth is she brought happiness to a lot of people through her charity work. Even near the end, in June of this year, she organised a 10km road race in her home city of Leeds. Such was her appeal, the race was attended by about ten thousand competitors. She was too ill to race herself then, but she came along and started the event, watching from a raised platform. Despite Jane Tomlinson's worry that it would not be successful, the event is set to become a permanent fixture in the city.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2585103.stm

Luciano Pavarotti

Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o Principessa,
Nella tua fredda stanza
Guardi le stelle
Che tremano d'amore e di speranza.
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me,
Il nome mio nessun saprà!
Solo quando la luce splenderà,
Sulla tua bocca lo dirò fremente!
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio
Che ti fa mia!

Il nome suo nessun saprà
E noi dovremo, ahimè, morir!
Il principe ignoto
Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate stelle!
All'alba vincerò!

It is hard to find out that someone who gave you one of the most memorable moments of your life is no longer, but Luciano Pavarotti was indeed a member of that list for me. When I was sixteen and enjoyed the music of the time, I was still drawn to the haunting voice and the larger-than-life personality of Luciano Pavarotti. The summer of the World Cup in Italy in 1990 was one of the longest, which I spent with my visiting uncle and his opera music. The BBC had made Nessun Dorma its theme tune for the tournament and by the end of the first round I was knew the lyrics, as you see above. The BBC's theme tune became the tournament's anthem not just in the UK, so when the Three Tenors (Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras) said they were going to put on a show the night before the final, the whole family tuned in to watch the show. In fact, I think there were just as many viewers for that event as for the final. And what an event it was, in the floodlit ruins of old Rome.

Pavarotti was born in Modena in humble surroundings but his talent for singing meant his future was secure. His father had a talent for singing too, but turned down the chance due to stage fright, something which his son definitely did not have. In his life, he visited all corners of the planet bringing opera to the people. He got his money from the toffee-nosed upper class, but he did not forget ordinary folk. He was involved in humanitarian work in Bosnia, Kosovo, Guatemala, Armenia and Iraq, and even crashed a U2 concert in Dublin to ask the band to play at his annual "Pavarotti and Friends" charity event in his home town. He set up a music centre in Mostar, Bosnia, specifically to bring about peace through music and the United Nations made him a Messenger of Peace, involving tackling child exploitation, poverty and HIV/AIDS.

He had his share of scandals, including leaving his wife of 35 years for another, younger woman, and was in all but name denounced by the Italian people for tax irregularities. However, despite this backdrop he remained a person of the people, a showman and a double world record holder - 165 curtain calls being one (!!!) and the biggest selling classical record of all time. Although the estimated crowd of half a million in New York for a concert in 1993 is probably also a record.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1581651.stm

Three remarkable people, three reasons why the world is a sadder place today.

May they rest in peace.