Tribute

And so it now looks certain that Dinah McNicol has been found (see BBC News article here) at the end of what has been an emotionally up-and-down week. I've felt a mixture of extreme sadness, relief, anger - and of course when the first body they found turned out not to be Dinah, I didn't know whether to feel glad about that (as it re-ignited the vague hope that maybe she was still alive) or disappointed that it was not the closure to the situation that it had first seemed. Of course, my sympathies go out to the family and friends of Vicky Hamilton, who it transpired was the identity of the first body discovered on the site.

I hate to think what Dinah's last moments alive must have been like, it makes me sick thinking about it. Nobody deserves to die like that, it's just awful that there are people in this world who do these sorts of things. I would like to think she didn't suffer too much at the hands of her killer, but unfortunately my gut feeling says otherwise.

But that's not what I want to focus on here.

I just want to take this opportunity to remember Dinah as she was - a lovely person. She was a good friend to me. I always enjoyed our twice-daily chats on the school bus and I remember with fondness the good times we had, particularly in the 1989/90 era, like sitting in Central Park Chelmsford listening to Muddy Waters on a small cassette player, and the time when Dinah, Claire, Tim and I went to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show at that little cinema in Chelmsford ('The Select') and were the only ones there who were all dressed up and joining in with all the audience participation.

There's more I could say about her (see for example this page I wrote last Summer) but I guess everyone that knew her has their own particular memories, and we should keep those alive in our hearts. Dinah was a unique individual, a kind person, a deep person, and a lot of fun to be with.

My thoughts are with her family - I hope that they can now grieve properly and at last move on in their lives. This is not the ending that anyone would have hoped for, but at least it is an ending.