0:00:09 > 0:00:11All right, tell me exactly what's happened.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14The ambulance will be there as soon as possible.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15All right, take care.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18This is the specialist operations centre,
0:00:18 > 0:00:20part of the London Ambulance Service.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24I've had the privilege of meeting some of the amazing staff here.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26It's used for training and becomes operational
0:00:26 > 0:00:28when there's a major incident in London.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34- Hi. Justin.- I'm Will.- Will. - I'm Ben. Nice to meet you.- Ben.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36- Simon.- Simon. - Tyler.- Tyler.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38It's very nice to meet you!
0:00:39 > 0:00:42On the 3rd of June, as the terrifying events unfolded
0:00:42 > 0:00:44on London Bridge and in Borough Market,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48staff took over 100 calls from those caught up in the atrocities.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51I'm the old-person representative here.
0:00:51 > 0:00:52THEY LAUGH
0:00:52 > 0:00:56So, I'm the operations officer for the Hazardous Area Response Team.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02So, how quickly did the first ambulance get to Borough Market
0:01:02 > 0:01:03and London Bridge?
0:01:03 > 0:01:05It's three or four minutes we were there
0:01:05 > 0:01:07in terms of the first response.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08SIRENS WAIL
0:01:09 > 0:01:13It wasn't just London and Manchester that suffered last year.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16All over the world, we witnessed the horror
0:01:16 > 0:01:18and devastation caused by terrorism.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22You don't actually think about, you know,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25what you've actually just dealt with until probably a day or so later.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27And then, when you see it on the telly or in the paper or...
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Yeah, that's right,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32- because, you know, we're blind, we don't see...- Oh, absolutely.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35..anything, we're just going by what we hear on the screens.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42And there have been other terrible tragedies.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44I visited Grenfell Tower while it was still burning.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I remember the desperation and sorrow.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49SIRENS BLARE
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Then there are those whose suffering will never make
0:01:55 > 0:01:58the news, people who are struggling to find work or
0:01:58 > 0:02:01relying on food banks, those who are bereaved
0:02:01 > 0:02:04or coping with poor mental health or physical illness.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08When things feel unrelentingly difficult,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11there are often questions which hang in the air.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15"Is there any light at all?" "Does anyone care?"
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Every Christmas, we hear from the Bible in the Gospel of John
0:02:19 > 0:02:21the extraordinary words,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23"The light shone in the darkness,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25"and the darkness has not overcome it."
0:02:26 > 0:02:30We see this light in the resilience of Borough Market.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Today, it is as crowded as ever,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and the people who work there are vibrant and welcoming.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Anything to drink, young man?
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Er, a cup of coffee.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46- "Young man"!- There's always someone older! Remember that!
0:02:51 > 0:02:54We see it in the faces of the hundreds of volunteers
0:02:54 > 0:02:59who turned out after Grenfell simply to help strangers in need.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02We see it in the heroism of the ambulance crews, police,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Fire Service and security forces.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08I will never forget the image of a group of unarmed police officers
0:03:08 > 0:03:12sprinting flat out towards Borough Market
0:03:12 > 0:03:15as so many were running in the opposite direction.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20So often in 2017, the depth of suffering
0:03:20 > 0:03:24was matched by a depth of compassion as communities came together.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26We love Manchester!
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- ALL:- We love Manchester! - We love UK!
0:03:29 > 0:03:32CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:50 > 0:03:55Which stories will define us, the horror or the response,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58the darkness or the light?
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It is a choice, but not one we have to make alone.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, weeps for our struggles,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09works for our healing and invites us to walk in his light.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13He is right there with us in the midst of everything.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20May I wish you all a very happy new year.