I was sad to read about the death of Bonnie Tyler a while back. I’m not a great Bonnie fan, but she was really good at what she did. And for the rest of the day after I heard the news, I had her song Holding out for a Hero running through my head. Over and over. It’s not the worst ear worm to have.

Bonnie’s very specific about what sort of hero she wants. And I’ve just been writing about one, DI Archie Darling in my new cozy crime series. He’s heroic in so much as he solves crimes and has a good heart.

That set me thinking – who are my heroes? Other than Archie…

I’m certainly not looking for the sort of hero Bonnie was, but I admire people for all sorts of reasons. Maybe that makes them heroes. Who comes to mind? Let’s have a think about it…

Great writers from Literature. Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Donne, Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, James Joyce, Benjamin Zephaniah, Bernadine Evaristo, John Cooper Clarke, Sarah Winman. I’ve met two of them, one of them several times, and they were fabulous people – I can’t speak for any of the others. So, I suppose they aren’t heroes – I just like their work. There are far too many people who’s writing I love to mention here.

So next, I thought of modern media personalities, witty people with good brains, funny people, clever people, innovators. Germaine Greer, for example. I admire her. The book she wrote about Shakespeare’s wife took my breath away. David Mitchell – what a fascinating, bright man. I loved him in Ludwig. He’s such a talent. I’d definitely invite that David and Victoria to dinner and have a great time.

I thought of sport and immediately Tadej Pogačar came to mind. I’ve been watching him in the Tour de France. He took my breath away too. What an athlete. He’s superhuman. He has a resting heartbeat of 37 beats per minute. He flew up the Col du Tourmalet like he was cycling to the shops and left everyone behind him in the distance.

He’s physically blessed. But what’s heroic is the training he must do, the resilience, the mental strength, the suffering.

Do we really have to suffer to be heroes? I thought then of that huge nameless group of people who’ve died in poverty, battles and wars, the martyrs, the witches, the people who’ve suffered injustice and cruelty. My heart goes out to them.

I don’t want people to have to suffer to be heroes.

Actors and musicians are heroes, I suppose. Alan Rickman. Bob Marley. Billie Halliday. Mozart. All of Steel Pulse. I continued down that list a fair wayin my thoughts: people who defied bad social conventions and forged the way for fairness are heroic. Some of them made great music too.

People like Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Alpha Blondy, and Peter Gabriel did great work in changing the rules.

Of course, there’s the expected ‘conventional hero’ path in books, where we choose people we think are good looking. I’m not going to go down that route, because I’m not a fan of objectification, although I have to mention Harpo Marx in this category. Magnetic. Musician. Actor. Funny man. What’s not to admire?

What about the special women who’ve influenced me? Maya Angelou is right up there. Wise, brilliant, strong. She’d be close to the top of my list. Alongside my mum.

Politicians? There are a few I think I admire. I’m going to leave that one for a while and see what happens…the water is too muddy.

And then suddenly – I know what a hero is. It comes to me in a flash. Of course.

The heroes I’m holding out for are real people. Not necessarily the celebrities, the ones who win or hit the heights or are admired by many. But the people who live heroic lives quietly and do incredible things every day. There are so many of them. People who commit their time and their thoughts to making the world better for other people. People who battle on a daily basis so that other people get fair treatment, equality, a gift, a chance to move forward. Teachers. Builders.  Medical people. Policy makers. Lawyers. Writers. People who manage to smile, even though their own lives are difficult. People who care about others.

Everyone who holds out in their own small way for fairness and justice and generosity and kindness.

Not necessarily the great people who do ordinary things each day, but so-called ‘ordinary’ people who do great things.

There are so many examples of this among my friends and my family. I could single some of them out – it wouldn’t be fair on the others though. But they are my heroes, these wonderful real people who do great things.

I hope you know who you are.

And there are all the other people in that category who I don’t know, who spend their lives thoughtfully and give their time freely caring for and supporting others, whether in a big or a small way. Kind people. Special people. Good hearted people.

That’s maybe who Bonnie should have been holding out for in her song. Yes, you’re my heroes. You have my absolute respect and love, every day.

Thank you.