Miriam Hyman Memorial Trust Bike Ride

Miriam Hyman z”l was a member of Alyth.  She was killed in the bus bombing in Tavistock Square ten years ago on 7th July 2005.  The Miriam Hyman Memorial Trust was set up in her name and raises funds for clinics to restore the sight of some of the poorest children in India together with Miriam’s Vision, a theatre in education project to teach teenagers about the dangers of extremism.  http://www.miriam-hyman.com/

On 5th July  Alyth members Philip Brodie, Jonathan and Janice Friend, Laurance Mendoza, Neil Morris and Rabbi Mark Goldsmith joined 43 cyclists to cycle the 69 miles from Oxford to Tavistock Square to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 bombings and to support the MHMT.   Among the riders were Tim Coulson, the Angel of Edgware Road who saved many lives in the attack, and Gill Hicks who lost both legs in the Kings Cross attack.  Gill joined the ride from Alyth using a hand cycle.  The photo shows her with Neil Morris cycling up Corringham Road.

Before the final approach to Tavistock Square the riders stopped at Alyth for tea catered by Irit Burkeman, Anne Towse and Brenda Freedman.   Together with Miriam’s mother Mavis and sister Esther, they met with a group,  led by their Imam Qari Mohammed Asim from the Leeds Makkah Mosque, which had been the worship place of the bombers.  They had come from Leeds with young people of many faiths on a mission to lay a wreath at Kings Cross Station and to build reconciliation and peace.  This group, organised by Citizens UK, were hosted by Alyth for their reflections on their morning’s mission and to plan the actions which they will take when they return to Leeds.

At the end of the ride all those who made it to Tavistock Square were hosted by the British Medical Association for a reception commemorating the role of the BMA as an impromptu casualty centre on 7/7.