Mum whose daughter survived Grenfell fire sews 220ft quilt to honour 72 victims
"Mum, Grenfell is on fire." Those were the words Tuesday Greenidge remembers hearing when her daughter came frantically running down the small alley towards her flat in North Kensington on June 14, 2017.
Charlie Manning, then 33, had been visiting friends in the tower block on the night of the blaze, and fled the fifth floor out of the main entrance after it caught alight, with hundreds of people trapped inside.
They watched the flames in horror, knowing dozens of friends and neighbours living in Grenfell Tower; including Tony Disson, 65, who was in the lift with Charlie moments before, but heartbreakingly didn't survive.
Charlie Manning survived the Grenfell Tower fire and escaped on the fifth floor (Tuesday Greenidge)
Tuesday and Charlie watched the blaze horrifically spread on this day six years ago (Tuesday Greenidge)"We were expecting everybody to have gotten out down the back stairway, but I didn't know that it was blocked because of the work that had been done," Tuesday, now 56, told the Mirror.
"There was no access to it anymore. I realised when people started to come up at the windows. It was awful."
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As fire engines fought to the scene and police began cornering off the area, Tuesday stood with her only daughter, who she realised now was a survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire.
In the early hours of the morning, Tuesday took in three other survivors - an older lady and two younger adults, who all huddled in her one-bedroom flat, less than 15 metres away.
The Sewing for Justice group aims to make the quilt the same size as Grenfell Tower by June 2027 (PA)The whole community rallied together to assist victims and people affected in the aftermath of the blaze, with donations of food, water, toys and clothes handed around West London.
For a few days, Charlie had a "fixed stare" and found it incredibly difficult to talk about what had happened. To this day, her mum said that it's still a struggle.
In October 2017, Tuesday began a decade-long project to sew a quilt the size of Grenfell Tower, to remember those who lost their lives and "symbolise justice" for survivors.
It started as a small project, and 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez - a young girl who tragically died on the 23rd floor - was the first name Tuesday embroidered onto the quilt.
The beautiful quilt is currently 72ft and will be 220ft in four years' time (Tuesday Greenidge)
Tuesday's thoughtful art project has united the Grenfell community together (Tuesday Greenidge)Jessica was one of many residents that ended up in 63-year-old grandfather Raymond Bernard's flat - better known as Moses. Children fled to him and laid in his bed as he comforted them while they passed.
Moses is another name sewn into the colourful Grenfell Memorial Quilt - which is now the same width (72ft) as Grenfell Tower, on the 72nd month since the fire.
"It turned into a community project. I wanted to salvage all of the wonderful dedications and commemorations to people, and turn it into a quilt that would last," Tuesday said.
The quilt, which has been handmade by a group of volunteers with donated materials, documents the "outpourings of grief and celebrations of the lives lost" six years ago today.
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The names of the 72 lives lost can be found embroidered on the quilt, with quotes and pictures (Tuesday Greenidge)It has the names of all 72 victims etched on, including Fathia Ahmed, 71, Reabeya Begum, 64, and Mehdi, eight, as well as quotes, pictures and prayers.
The sewing techniques have been inspired by the National AIDS Memorial quilt, as well as rugs made by African-American slaves.
Every week, Tuesday meets with around 20 people, from all walks of life, in North Kensington Library to cut, sew, embroider and most importantly, talk and remember.
"We sit at the table amongst the books and leave fabric hearts out so people can write their messages, then we embroider them on," she explained.
Around 20 people come together every week at North Kensington Library to sew and talk (Tuesday Greenidge)"It brings healing to us all and we find comfort in coming together to talk about what happened. It's a difficult subject, a tragedy."
Today, on the sixth anniversary, they will remember the lives lost with numerous sewing stations across London, as well as a pop-up sewing bee and time spent learning at the Festival of Decolonial.
By June 2027, Tuesday and the Sewing for Justice team aim to have made the quilt as large as 220ft x 72ft, to cover an entire side of the tower, in protest and support.
"We want the bereaved to understand and know that we are by their side and support them as much as we can, by being there and recognising their long struggle for justice," Tuesday said.
Tuesday wants the bereaved to know that the group recognises their struggle for justice (Tuesday Greenidge)"We created the quilt to bring awareness to the cladding and to change the building regulations. There's hundreds, if not thousands, of tower blocks with it still on.
"There have been changes, but not enough and not fast enough. The area is dilapidated and there is no funding. People are still living in decline. It looks as terrible as it did before.
"The bereaved are living in a building site. How much more can people take?"
It is Tuesday's mission to support the Grenfell community as much as she can, and even when the quilt is finished, she will continue to keep the memories and legacies of the 72 victims alive.
If you would like to donate or help out with the Grenfell Memorial Quilt, visit Tuesday's Facebook page.
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