MODERN FAMILY
IT was difficult to answer my youngest son when he looks at me with concern in his eyes and asks why horrible things keep happening.
He is right, in just over a month there has been terrorist attacks in Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park, and the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower that has killed at least 79 people.
It is difficult enough for adults to try and understand, never mind an eight-year-old.
But I tried to make him see that the acts of kindness we have seen in the aftermath of such horror is what we need to hold on to.
That when times are hard, it is important to try and find some positives amidst all the pain and distress.
After the devastation of the Manchester bombings that killed 22, the One Love Manchester concert gave people some hope for the future.
Despite the context of the concert, the intense security around it and another horrendous terrorist attack in London the night before, a policeman was caught on camera skipping in a circle with children seemingly without a care in the world.
It moved people to tears. Some even said it “broke” them. But for many, it was a symbol of a strong, united Britain.
After the London Bridge terror attack, hundreds of people offered up their homes to complete strangers to provide them with shelter - or just a cup of tea.
A man even cycled 34km to the scene to deliver water to police working in the aftermath of the terror attack.
Just like the hundreds of volunteers who came out to support the victims of last week’s Grenfell Tower blaze, one of the greatest modern disasters to hit Britain.
They brought water and clothes, some came clutching fresh fruit and clean towels. They booked hotels for the newly homeless residents and used social media sites to offer car rides and cups of tea.
Even pop star Adele got involved when she turned up unannounced at a fire station in west London with some cake for the firefighters who so bravely tackled the inferno.
Closer to home and this week I have been working on a story about a baby whose body was found on the banks of the River Taff two years ago.
Despite several appeals by the police and an extensive investigation, his family have never been found.
But generous people were not going to see the tiny baby have a public funeral that would mean no service, headstone or mourners and raised enough to pay for a fitting funeral and to give a donation to charity.
It doesn’t end there. A year after the funeral members of the public, complete strangers have been lovingly tending to the grave.
A grieving family even shared their own child’s flowers with baby Sion’s grave.
These are the stories we need to tell our children so they learn that out of something horrible, good can come.