Today my husband took me to see the Knife Angel in Derby. I have wanted pay my respects to all the victims of knife crime and see this sculpture ever since it arrived in Derby but haven't been well enough. Today, wearing all my splits/supports and utilising my smart crutches for support I made it, thankfully the blue badge parking bay is literally only a few feet away and so I didn't have to hobble far.
I am so happy to have actually seen the Angel in person, even though the photos other people have taken on social media were awesome, nothing compares to seeing it standing there before you. It's much bigger than I thought too.
So, some facts about the Knife Angel for you, The Knife Angel is the National Monument Against Violence and Aggression and symbolises how bad both knife crime and violence is within the United Kingdom right now and that serious strategies need putting in place to try and do something to reduce and ultimately stop these crimes.
The project involved the dedication and hard work of 43 police forces within the UK, along with the families who have been directly affected by violence and knife crime along with knife crime charities and support groups. If you visit the British Ironwork Centre website you can click on links to support the Knife Angel Campaign and also see where the Knife Angel will be next.
The idea of the Knife Angel was a collaboration between the sculptor Alfie Bradley and the British Ironwork Centre, which is based in Shropshire. Together they approached the Home Office to seek permission and the “Save a Life, Surrender Your Knife” knife amnesty campaign was born. The British Ironwork Centre gave police forces around the country special bins to collect the knives in during amnesty period. The knives collected were used to create the Knife Angel.
The sculptor Alfie, started the sculpture by making a steel frame for the knives to be welded to. He then disinfected and blunted each weapon before then putting them aside so that families who had lost someone to violence and knife crime were able to engrave a message to honour the loved one they had lost before it was incorporated into the structure of the sculpture.
Interesting the messages which are on the blades in the wings, aren't only from the families who lost someone to knife crime but also from those who committed the crimes and are genuinely sorry for what they did and are now working alongside those fighting to prevent and stop it in the future.
There are approximately 100,000 blades, although the actual total isn't known, making up the sculpture. These knifes were all welded to the frame of the sculpture and only the blades making up the feathers of the wings. It stands at an impressive 27 feet in height and is very beautiful and poignant to view.
The purpose of the sculpture is to raise awareness and keep the conversation going and put pressure on the both the government and education system to put systems into place to reduce and hopefully stop knife crime which is at epidemic levels within the country right now.
The project involved the dedication and hard work of 43 police forces within the UK, along with the families who have been directly affected by violence and knife crime along with knife crime charities and support groups. If you visit the British Ironwork Centre website you can click on links to support the Knife Angel Campaign and also see where the Knife Angel will be next.
The idea of the Knife Angel was a collaboration between the sculptor Alfie Bradley and the British Ironwork Centre, which is based in Shropshire. Together they approached the Home Office to seek permission and the “Save a Life, Surrender Your Knife” knife amnesty campaign was born. The British Ironwork Centre gave police forces around the country special bins to collect the knives in during amnesty period. The knives collected were used to create the Knife Angel.
The sculptor Alfie, started the sculpture by making a steel frame for the knives to be welded to. He then disinfected and blunted each weapon before then putting them aside so that families who had lost someone to violence and knife crime were able to engrave a message to honour the loved one they had lost before it was incorporated into the structure of the sculpture.
Interesting the messages which are on the blades in the wings, aren't only from the families who lost someone to knife crime but also from those who committed the crimes and are genuinely sorry for what they did and are now working alongside those fighting to prevent and stop it in the future.
There are approximately 100,000 blades, although the actual total isn't known, making up the sculpture. These knifes were all welded to the frame of the sculpture and only the blades making up the feathers of the wings. It stands at an impressive 27 feet in height and is very beautiful and poignant to view.
The purpose of the sculpture is to raise awareness and keep the conversation going and put pressure on the both the government and education system to put systems into place to reduce and hopefully stop knife crime which is at epidemic levels within the country right now.
Here are a few of my photos of the sculpture from today;
We had the dogs with us and so after visiting the sculpture we popped across town to Markeaton Park where, supported by my aids and crutches, I could hobble a little behind Dave as he walked the dogs, my job was to just get some fresh air and watch the world go by whilst Dave went off to exercise the dogs.
There was a dog with a very big stick which made me laugh, a sassy dog in a pink body coat and some lovely Autumnal trees with a couple of sculptures too, I didn't get very far down the path and so this is a tiny little corner of the park, perhaps one day if I get a mobility scooter or persuade someone to push me in a wheelchair I could venture further afield.
I can honestly say I recommend compression ankle splints with additional cross over straps for extra support, plus the hand and wrist splints and hip compression belt but my ultimate best buy for anyone suffering with joint issues, especially Hypermobility Ehlers~Danlos Syndrome, would be smart crutches. I absolutely love mine, I have them in purple, naturally, and they make a big difference in taking pressure off my shoulders, wrists, hips and ankles.
If you are interested in these crutches this video will give you a little idea of how they work;
If you are interested in these crutches this video will give you a little idea of how they work;
~ Brightest 🖤 Blessings
~ x~X~x
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