Thought For The Day -Tuesday 3^rd June 2025

Community Solidarity And Support

With a dedicated, determined and dynamic perfect performance, Paris Saint-Germain won their first men’s European Champions League on Saturday evening, just as Arsenal had won the Women’s Champions League the Saturday before (to be featured in this message tomorrow).

The Eiffel Tower was illuminated in the Paris team’s colours.

It was an emotional and very personal evening for Paris’ Spanish manager, and former Barcelona player and manager, Luis Enrique. In the moment of victory, Mr. Enrique thought of his daughter, Xana. Xana died of osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, six years ago, when Xana was nine. Luis feels blessed to have shared this life with Xana. Luis who always feels Xana is with him, in his heart, put on a black t-shirt depicting the moment, in 2015, pictured above, when Luis planted a flag alongside Xana after Barcelona, with Luis Enrique as Manager, won the Champions League in 2015. At full-time on Saturday, pictured above, the Paris supporters unveiled a tifo (a large banner) depicting this iconic moment ten years ago.

Remembering Xana showed community support in such challenging and traumatic times. No doubt it meant so much to Luis, and his family, pictured above. Love from the city of love.

Even deeper and wider community support was also seen in Liverpool, another beautiful and loving city, last Monday in both the most triumphant times and then the most traumatic of times. Earlier in the afternoon, Liverpool Football Club had paraded their 2025 Premier League trophy in scenes of such adoration, celebration, love and positivity. After 6 p.m. that day, when crowds were hit by a vehicle, the driver of which has been charged with multiple crimes with justice and a trial to follow and police investigations on-going. After over 100 people were injured, including children, and many more psychologically traumatized, in the incident, “The Scouse Spirit” was demonstrated once again as everyone helped each other in the most challenging times. People gave lifts to others and offered their homes and places of work to look after the stranded and the injured. In solidarity with those suffering, Liverpool’s men’s manager Arne Slot did not attend an Awards Ceremony on the Tuesday where he had won two awards.

Jordan Chamberlain, a former student of T.B.S.H.S., now a journalist covering the team with “Empire of the Kop”, wrote this characteristically poignant piece, titled “Tragedy Brings Unity, Especially In Liverpool”, from the city last Monday: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c17rx7qd19wo

Amongst many examples of outstanding Citizenship demonstrated, the “BBC Sport” website featured Charlotte Hennessey. Ms. Hennessey’s father, James, was among the 97 killed in the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. Though Charlotte was back at her home a number of miles away when the incident occurred, Charlotte offered to collect fans stuck in Liverpool. Charlotte Hennessy described “The Scouse Way” being demonstrated, as people wanted to help others, saying: “It’s just the way we are. People were offering to help strangers – sharing hotel rooms, offering to pick them up and offering them money,”

A day before the trophy parade, in their final match of a wonderful season, Liverpool Football Club had showed their humility and respect by giving men’s F.A. Cup winners Crystal Palace a “guard of honour”, before a rendition of their anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Words that are not just sung but lived by the community: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7pciN69n9o

Our compassion, empathy, thoughts, prayers, solidary support and actions, locally, nationally and internationally, are always with those who suffer and those who are in need.

We greatly treasure the precious community, people and environment around us.