Here in Sarasota our hearts and prayers go out to the wonderful people of Manchester today. My daughter is just a few years younger than the youngest of the victims. My heart breaks for these families. This is a photo of us from 2013 in front of the “Doves of Peace” sculpture in Manchester, UK.

Did you know in 1980 Manchester became the first city in the world to declare itself a nuclear free zone? As part of this the council formed policies on things such as nuclear emergency planning and nuclear transportation. Since 1980 over 4000 cities have now followed Manchester’s example of peace.

The memorial shows a flock of doves rising from the ground and spiralling into the air. They are made of steel, sprayed with zinc and painted with white epoxy paint, and stand on a white concrete plinth. They were designed by Michael Lyons who at the time was MA Course Leader in Fine Art, Manchester Polytechnic. The sculpture was manufactured by Mayflower Engineering works Sheffield and is 2.92 metres high and stands on a pedestal 1.65 metres high.

Inscribed around the edge of the round pedestal is the following statement “DOVES OF PEACE MICHAEL LYONS 1986 THE WORLD’S FIRST NUCLEAR FREE CITY AND SPONSORED BY THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OF MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL”.

Let us all pray for peace.