The Thieving Bastards!

I know that I shouldn’t get all wrapped up in gossip magazines like Star, but I do at times. It’s hard not to when they sit in a pile staring at you while you eat your lunch at work. But I was reading Star before I started my shift yesterday at work and I was reading about the funeral of Amy Winehouse. I thought I was over the whole thing, and then I found myself shedding a few tears over things like the eulogy said at her service by her father. It really was a very sweet few lines, especially with how he ended it.

I was reading about how all the fans and well wishes signed the street signs outside her house and Camden officials were going to give them to her parents as a gift and replace them with new ones. But before the council people could do this, some light-fingered fans nicked off with the signs and left her grieving family with nothing. Now, I know that the signs will get replaced and maybe the fans will have the decency to re-sign them so her family can finally have some kind of a touching memento of Amy’s career and the people she touched. But, seriously? I understand that the signs will probably hold some monetary value but that’s ridiculous. You couldn’t exactly put something like that up on eBay because I’m sure that the council are on the lookout for them so they can give them back to the family. The official statement is:

“We are appealing to the good nature and conscience of the person or persons who stole the signs and are asking for them to be returned.

“We are not concerned with who took them, and will not be investigating this if we get them back. The signs can be returned to any police station in Camden and no questions will be asked.”

It just seems so low to me that anyone could even step that far down to steal something like that. The council are talking about putting up some kind of permanent memorial to Amy, so that’s a really nice thing. I wonder what it will be, she touched so many people in so many different ways. I mean, I never knew I would miss her the way I do but I believe that she had a bigger impact on me than I would care to mention. I imagine that it will be something to do with her love of her three favourite things- horses, children and music. I know that her dad set up an Amy Winehouse Foundation too. It’s not entirely clear as to what it entails yet, but I know he’s been campaigning the government quite heavily since her death. He wants to see more help for people with addiction. I’d like to see that too, the laws aren’t strict enough over here to help those in need that can’t help themselves.

Yeah, I’m aware that this is my third post concerning Amy, and I never really wanted to make it this big of a deal but I guess that with myself and Amy having gone through a few of the same issues- I kinda see this as a personal crusade. I believe that she was a truly good person underneath it all. We all know that she was a talented musician, vocalist and lyricist. Addiction is not a choice. It’s a choice to drink or take drugs, but once the chemicals take over then it’s hard to break. That’s why you hear so many stories about quitting being such a bitch. I myself have quit smoking and I’m only a social drinker these days. There was a day though where I couldn’t get out of bed without a drink or I ended every day after work with a pint or ten in the local. Every Saturday night was a chance for me to get dressed up and end up laughing in a gutter somewhere. (For those of you wondering why I got so dressed up for Chinese and one pint of Carling on Friday night, it’s a pure habit. I tend to stick to the people at work that don’t encourage my drinking habits. I was asked out on the lash afterwards, but no thanks. I know how that story ends. I like my job thanks and I’ll take the upper hand.)

Then my daughter came along. Kids are precious and she is very much my guardian angel. I know that’s quite a hefty title to stick on a six year old but she truly is. She made me realize that I was throwing my money away and my life was not going to go on much further if I continued down this path. I’m very lucky that I have a lot of stubborn people around me who refuse to let me throw my life away in such a haphazard fashion. For that, I am extremely blessed ❤