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News Guardian, Thursday, September 8, 2011
Far from an impossibility, ending bloodshed could be a piece of cake, believes campaigner ON July 7, 2005, Lisa French was sitting on a bus when Hasib Hussain detonated a bomb in London’s Tavistock Square, ripping the vehicle apart and killing 13 people. Desperate to get to a business meeting, the 36-year-old, of Longbenton, had boarded the bus after being turned away from two Tube stations. As she followed a teenager up the stairs, she chose not to sit next to him because of the size of the rucksack he was carrying, opting instead for a seat in the middle of the bus a few rows in front of him. It was a decision that ultimately saved her life as the 18-yearold was Hussain and the bag she feared wouldn’t leave her with enough room to fit on the seat was full of explosives. Lisa broke nearly all of her teeth in the blast and suffered perforated eardrums, as well as cuts and bruises, but she considers herself lucky to be alive rather than unlucky to have been injured. “The last thing I remember was talking to a couple behind me, and then I woke up in the brace position,” said the 36-yearold. “I saw the woman next to me wake up, and I just knew it was the best thing I would ever see, this woman waking up. “It took me a while to work out where I was, and I could see a park in the background with a statue in it. Ironically, the statue was of Gandhi.” It would have been easy for Lisa to feel angry about the lives
Give peace a chance, urges terror bomb blast survivor Lisa It would be easy for survivors of the 2005 London bombings to feel angry or bitter, but North Tyneside’s Lisa French believes something positive can come out of the tragedy, as Tegan Chapman finds out. claimed and others ruined all around her by Hussain, but instead Lisa is focusing her energies on campaigning for an end to bloodshed. She is launching Peace of Cake, a campaign to encourage people to think peaceful thoughts in the hope that those ideas will generate peaceful actions. “People think that peace is something that just happens, but I think if we all just sat down and had a piece of cake and started to think about peace, we would start actually doing peace,” said Lisa, a human resources manager for BT. Earlier this year, she gave out free cupcakes to shoppers in Newcastle in exchange for peaceful thoughts. “There are 11 days of peace
from September 11 ending with the United Nations day of peace on September 21,” said Lisa. “A lot of people say ‘what is the point in having a day of peace?’ but if conflicted countries can be at peace for one day, it’s long enough to get much-needed vaccines and so on to people who have been deprived of them. “It may be one day, but it is an important day, and hopefully it will become 11 days.” Lisa will be holding a tea party for peace on Saturday, September 17, at the Mixer in Jesmond. “I will be doing a speech and encouraging people to make peace pledges,” she said. “Everyone wants peace, but rarely do we think that we can contribute to the peace process. “We think peace is something
that happens or doesn’t happen, but if you talk about peace, then peaceful thoughts become peaceful actions. Although her experience six years ago will haunt Lisa for the rest of her life, she has been conquering her fears. In 2009, she travelled to Cambodia with MAG (Mines Advisory Group) to symbolically detonate a landmine, and help to build a new house for a man left without legs after standing on a mine. Lisa is already planning to overcome another fear by making a train journey from Newcastle to Durham after her sister Sharleen has done this month’s Great North Run for MAG. “The train to Durham takes 11 minutes. I was on the No 30 bus for 11 minutes, so I am determined to do it,” she said. After that, Lisa hopes to raise money to fund a trip to Borneo next year to help build a school.
Peace campaigner Lisa French.
Win
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Disney On Ice turns up the va-va vroom! Disney On Ice is revving up for non-stop fun for all the family with a brand new ice spectacular, Worlds of Fantasy, which kicks off the UK tour this October at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena. Rev up for non-stop fun with four of your favourite Disney stories! Thrill to highspeed stunts as Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney/Pixar’s CARS race across the ice. Dive into The Little Mermaid’s enchanting undersea kingdom and enter the mystical world of Pixie Hollow with Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies as they reveal the magic that lies within! The toys are back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from the unruly tots of Sunnyside Daycare, in their most daring adventure ever!
Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, from 4th - 9th October 2011. Tickets from 0844 493 6666. www.metroradioarena.co.uk www.disneyonice.co.uk To be in with a chance of winning a family ticket to see this brand new ice spectacular, all you have to do is answer the following question: Which well-known cartoon character is the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company?
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HOW TO ENTER: Text NEP ICE along with answer (a, b or c) plus yo and address (max.160 ch and send to 61500. For example, NEP (space (space) a,b or c, name an send to 61500.
Texts cost £1 plus standard network r charged to your mobile phone bill. Lines 15th September 2011. Entries received date will not be counted but may still terms and conditions, plus details about your information for marketing and how see our Fair Collection Notice printed on JP Competition terms and conditions ap
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