A slate grey sky above Nottingham, a trace of rain and, at the city’s ice rink this week, a reminder that grief is a long, drawn-out business, remorselessly bleak when time has elapsed and the rest of the world is busy getting on with life.
It’s 100 days since Adam Johnson, a member of the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team, died of injuries sustained in an incident on the rink against Sheffield Steelers and a floral shrine created in the immediate aftermath has given way to a more modest, permanent reminder. It’s a smart plaque, fixed to the rink’s exterior wall last week, bearing the young American’s name and shirt number.