Wednesday 2 May 2012

Lidl's Boys

We call them the Lidl's boys. They congregate in their cars in the Lild's car park that my house happens to back on to. They favour the summer evenings.

They can be annoying at times with their car stereos blasting out monotonous, bass heavy music and their tyres screeching as they wheel spin on the tarmac - but mostly I feel a gentle affection towards them and smile as their particular blend of sounds adds to the rich tapestry of life in a small market town.

Sometimes the police are called and they are asked to disperse. I have never known them to cause any real trouble.

Two of the Lidl's boys are dead.

Their tragically short lives ended in a horrific car crash on a long stretch of road on the edge of town. There has been the inevitable speculation that they were driving too fast - that maybe their driving skills did not quite match their ambition. Whatever the reason, it does not deflect from how desperately sad it is that these two boys are gone, leaving a huge, heart wrenching hole in the lives of their families.

Last night, despite the miserable weather, people gathered in the Lidl's car park to show their respects and express their grief. The police were present but the crowd of upward of 250 was mostly subdued in a moving demonstration of genuine sorrow and disbelief.

Photograph from the Drayton Crier Facebook Page

I don't imagine that this tragedy will dampen the spirits of the young lads who live for their cars for long. No doubt the sound of screeching tyres and car stereos will be the soundtrack to accompany my summer evenings soon enough. It will be hard to listen to those sounds without thinking of this day and remembering the loss and sadness.

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