On July 3rd 2022 a friend and I were caught up in a sudden, violent event in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was across to do research for my second book, and also took the opportunity to connect with family and friends. Copenhagen was my home for 12 years and it is always lovely to spend time in my former hometown. Unfortunately my friend and I were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I do not want to share the specifics of what happened. If you want to know, you can always google the date and the location: plenty of news coverage will pop up.

Following the event, I received free crisis counselling from the Danish National Health Service and other emergency services. I also gave a witness statement to the police. At one stage I was travelling between my parents’ house in the country and Central Copenhagen every day.

I cannot thank you enough if you helped me out by buying a pattern or a book, or if you donated to my ko-fi. You have no idea what a difference it made to me, but let me try to explain.

Danish train fares were very high and the British currency is very weak, so the fact that you helped me cover my train fares is incredible. I spent nearly £200 on transport in just a few days, as I had no way of pre-booking tickets nor did I have access to discounts.

Even more important: I had to leave my parents’ house in the countryside and find a quiet, peaceful place to stay near Copenhagen. Thanks to your help, I was able to book a quiet hotel in the cathedral city of Roskilde. I did not want to stay in Copenhagen and I could not stay at my parents’. My hotel was not particularly fancy, but it gave me a safe, tranquil base until I could travel back to the UK.

It proved crucial to my state of mind that I had space and time to process events. I knitted by the Roskilde Fjord, I visited the local museum (which had the Liber Eliensis on loan) and walked around the old city centre. I tried to keep things as normal as I could while life felt very .. not normal.

I also want to thank the special assistance teams at Copenhagen Airport and Edinburgh Airport who all ensured I did not have to walk through busy crowds nor queue in large, exposed areas. Everybody really stepped up for me - including when I couldn’t articulate what I needed.

I am currently designing and knitting some fingerless gloves. I will be releasing the pattern as a free pattern as a massive thank you to the community who stepped up for me. I will be donating to gun control charities as well as mental health charities, and when the pattern is released I will share links to chosen charities.

What happened in Copenhagen is highly unusual for the country (my friend Z. who accompanied me to the crisis centre told me it had been 28 years since such an event had last taken place in Denmark) but sadly it is far too common in other parts of the world. I am pretty resilient as things go, but I’ll always remember the faces of the traumatised kids I met that day in Copenhagen. Let’s work towards a world where these things do not happen to more kids.

Thank you again for your kindness, your thoughtfulness, and your help. It truly meant the world to me.