"I shot a bullet of pain into the darkness and it ricocheted and came back as solace."

Rather than hide from questions about her partner’s death, @poppy_damon posted the news on twitter. The response was a remarkable outpouring of love and understanding

thetimes.co.uk/article/my-hus…
"My husband, Pete, was 34 when he died. He took his own life. And I found him. This is the news I have delivered hundreds of times now: three facts — over and over."
"I have told family and friends and colleagues and neighbours. But so many strangers too: the person at the bank, the woman at the supermarket. When someone says, “How are you?”, I cannot fake a smile."
"I’ve always wanted to make sure all the information is there. For me, leaving out how he died is like leaving out that he died at all.
"It was a tragedy I was repeating to everyone over and over already, and sharing on Twitter was my version of putting the truth out into the world.

Plus, it took the pressure off anyone who wasn’t sure how to phrase it in my presence."
“Here you are,” I wanted to say. “He took his own life.” So, on August 15, I tweeted:

"And soon, the replies came in. There were the people who had lost their own spouses, children or friends the same way. Those who had lost their parents. “My dad killed himself this May and I can’t explain how much I miss the way that life was before,” someone tweeted."
"There were those who agreed with me that all feelings change and we must never forget that. You can always escape the dark places in your mind, and suicide can be prevented."
"I’ve had invitations to mosques and churches and support groups. I’ve started corresponding with people all over the world.

I shot a bullet of pain into the darkness and it ricocheted and came back as solace."
"I don’t suggest that I’ve reached the stage of finding meaning in something so meaningless, but I know I’ve started to look for it. Pete didn’t like the limelight but he did always want to help people. I’m trying to work out exactly how I keep that legacy going."
Read the full article here: thetimes.co.uk/article/my-hus…

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More from @thesundaytimes

12 Sep
More than 40 million households have watched Sex Education.

Much of its success comes down to how it has rewritten the rules of on-screen teenage sex. So what exactly makes it so groundbreaking? And how is TV changing to catch up with today’s teenagers? thetimes.co.uk/article/the-se…
Nothing is too much for Sex Education, so long as it’s a teenage problem. A board with “sex story of the week” is set up in the writers’ room, the show’s creator, Laurie Nunn, explains.

Writers are encouraged to chuck in any idea they think is a genuine bedroom issue for teens.
Professional “sex educators” are consulted to make sure the show gets the message right. Wildly misunderstood problems are debunked. Porn is always in the background.

“It’s there in the subtext, as in ‘these are the things that porn is not teaching you well’,” says Nunn.
Read 11 tweets
12 Sep
There is no doubt that using national insurance as the means to raise the social care levy hits working-age people hardest, and that recent generations of young people have had an incredibly tough time economically. So why aren’t they more angry? thetimes.co.uk/article/boomer…
A person of working age with average earnings before the pandemic will now pay 20% of their income in income tax, National Insurance contributions (NICs) and the new levy.
They may be repaying their student loan too.

A pensioner receiving the same amount in pension income will pay almost half that.
Read 9 tweets
12 Sep
When Carla Bruni and Carré Otis last saw each other, it was 1995 and they were two of the most famous models in the world

Now they have reunited, along with other French models, to expose the dark side of an industry at the centre of rape inquiries

thetimes.co.uk/article/models…
On Tuesday, Carré Otis was interviewed for almost five hours by a detective in Paris

She alleges that she was repeatedly raped from the age of 17 by Gérald Marie, now 71, the former European boss of the leading agency Elite

He strenuously denies the allegations
Otis is one of 15 women, almost all former models, who have come forward as part of a criminal investigation opened into Marie in France. Seven, including an ex-BBC journalist, have so far travelled to Paris to speak to the lead detective
Read 7 tweets
12 Sep
Bamiyan held rock festivals, boasted Afghanistan’s first female governor, and the first girls’ cycling team.

Now the hotels are closed and so is the airport. Women are almost nowhere to be seen and behind closed doors families are hiding their daughters. thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ta…
Today, as the Taliban again roam Bamiyan bazaar, cruising through the valley in pickups with white flags on top and taking selfies in front of the Buddha-shaped cavities in the cliffs, it is a place of fear.
“They tried to erase our history and our identity,” said Baryali Amiri, a civil society activist who was 18 when the Taliban destroyed ancient Buddhas in the valley.

“They also tried to erase us.”
Read 8 tweets
12 Sep
Nominations are now open for the 2021 Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards 💫

For the next two weeks you can submit nominations for the seven categories at sportswomenoftheyear.co.uk
This year we've introduced the ‘Changemaker Award’ which will honour those that use their influence and platform to inspire and motivate others
We're also seeking nominations for 'Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year', for individuals who've engaged with people in their community through sport

Last year's winner was @AlemaZainab who works to encourage more black and Muslim women to take up rugby

thetimes.co.uk/article/zainab…
Read 4 tweets
11 Sep
Exclusive: Prince Charles wrote a gushing thank-you letter to a Russian businessman, Dmitry Leus, offering to meet him days after receiving a six-figure donation for his charity
thetimes.co.uk/article/prince…
When the gift was made in May last year, Charles told Leus – a banker seeking British citizenship – that he was “incredibly grateful” for his “immense generosity” to the Prince’s Foundation and that the money had given him “great comfort”
He offered to meet him after lockdown, stating:

“I very much look forward to seeing you.”

Charles also met the paid fixer at the heart of the deal, William Bortrick, at one of his castles shortly after the payment was made
Read 11 tweets

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