No parent should ever have to try to make sense of such a horrific attack

I was in the steward’s office at the old Laporte’s Club on Hood Lane discussing using the playing fields for junior rugby.

I suspect anyone who was in Warrington the day the IRA bombed Bridge Street will also be able to tell you where they were, who they were with and what they were doing.

You don’t forget things like that.

As a father of young children, the fear I experienced when the news filtered through to us was visceral. That could have been my kids.

I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering of those who were involved.

No parent should ever have to make sense of such a senseless act.

This week, 25 years after that horrific attack on the innocent of Warrington, we can only pray that our town never sees such terror again.

•  I’m confused. I’m really confused.

Do we need a deputy Police and Crime Commissioner or don’t we?

Less than a year ago, there was such a pressing urgency to fill the £50,000-a-year position that Commissioner David Keane went into battle for his chosen one – Sareda Dirir – in the face of accusations of nepotism and stinging criticism from the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel.

Now it appears we don’t need a deputy. How things can change in a few months.

What on earth is going on, I wonder.

Apparently, Commissioner Keane has axed the post and will not be replacing his deputy when Ms Dirrir steps down at the end of the month as part of a ‘restructure’.

One wonders just how much Ms Dirrir’s input will be missed as Commissioner Keane hailed her as ‘an experienced and dedicated public servant’ who ‘has been an asset to the team over the last year’.

This is somewhat at odds with the verdict of the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel who said she ‘failed to demonstrate an adequate knowledge and understanding of the operation of the police service and criminal justice system’ and agreed she just about met the ‘minimum standard’ when she was appointed last year.

Ms Dirir, a former jazz singer, actress, teacher and journalist, as well as a Labour councillor in Salford, has known Commissioner Keane for almost two decades from his role as a borough councillor in Warrington representing the same ward as her parents, who are also Labour councillors.

It just didn’t look good then and it still doesn’t look good now.

As much as I like David Keane, his tenure so far has not been without its problems, dare I say gaffes. I guess he’s hoping for something of a smoother ride over the next couple of years as he heads towards re-election.

Interestingly, next month sees the closing date for the position of head of finance, operations and governance in Commissioner Keane’s office (salary band £66,000 to £70,000).

Let’s just hope that appointment goes a little more serenely than Sareda’s.

•  Generally speaking, I quite like the Green Party but I am a little irritated with them this week.

It costs the public purse (that’s you and me) around £5,000 to hold a parish council by-election but those elections don’t have to take place – parish councils can co-opt new members if they have a vacancy.

But not if a candidate is put forward and receives the backing of 10 constituents.

Then an election has to be held.

There were vacancies on Walton Parish Council and the Greens, fancying their chances of electoral victory, called the election and put forward two candidates.

I suppose the Greens will see this as some sort of success as one of the candidates – Steph Davies – actually won a seat on the parish council having received the grand total of...18 votes (yep, that’s not a printing error – 18 votes.) You couldn’t make it up.

As one poster on the Guardian’s website put it: “A shameful and unnecessary waste of taxpayers money, maybe the three candidates might like to reimburse the parish council and its hard pressed taxpayers the cost of this election.”