Islington News: Ben Kinsella | Candlelight Vigil

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by RICHARD OSLEY
Published: 11 July 2008

Vigil for Ben one week on from stabbing

Tears as hundreds remember Ben at 2am candlelit vigil

SHE had only met Ben Kinsella once but tears still streamed down her face as she pulled a lighter from her baggy hooded top and used it to ignite one of the tea-lights on the wall at the corner of North Road.
The girl, with make-up running down her cheeks and probably no older than 16 herself, was just another weeping face in a crowd of 500, lighting candles at 2am in Holloway on Sunday – a week on from the moment Ben was stabbed.
But it didn’t seem to matter whether it was Ben’s best friend or a friend of a friend, the tears flowed as a community stood still in shock. The sound of murmuring was not loud enough to mask anguished wails. “Everybody knew somebody who knew Ben and that’s why so many people are here now,” said the girl with the tea-light. “It is truly heartbreaking.”
The vigil, largely organised over the social networking website Facebook, lasted around an hour as each visitor bent down at the shrine and either left more flowers or lit a candle in Ben’s memory.
Dean of Islington Father Jim Kennedy, who has been supporting the Kinsella family, led a minute’s silence. Messages have been written in black ink on paving slabs, others have been inked onto red and white Arsenal shirts. There are even some scrawled on white knickers.
“When you see something like this, it brings it all home to you,” said one of Ben’s former classmates. “This street corner will always be about Ben. It should be a reminder that nothing like this should ever happen again.”

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: