[ Friday, July 08, 2005 ]London friendsStarbuck [14:06] Comments: 2 [] Following yesterday's terrible events, I'm glad to say that I've heard from most of my friends and family in London, and they are all safe and well. One my friend's husband was on the underground and was just two minutes ahead of the explosion at Kings Cross, and her brother was trapped below ground on another tube train for two hours, however thankfully that was the closest that people I know seem to have come to harm. That doesn't make it any easier thinking about those who have been less lucky. Sitting in lakeside peace this lunchtime I was mulling over my time in London. I remembered when goverment and media had ramped up our fears over imagined gas attacks, and I recalled how I would sometimes hold my breath on the Tube when I thought I detected an unusual smell. Ricin smelling of almonds, I would stem my breathing if I caught the odour of sweets... not that it would do any good. So I sometimes started taking the bus home from Kings Cross. To my delight I found that sitting atop a double-decker got me home in a relaxing fashion - ignoring any paranoia, you had beautiful views of the city and a real sweep of contrasting but impressive scenes, as well as the heat, the crush, and the maddening sound of the friction between the wheels and the track. It felt like I was a tourist viewing a city and its inhabitants, it lacked the Tube's inhumanity, and the journey didn't really take that much longer. Now of course that paranoia will also be poisoning the journeys of those riding the buses in London as well. Still, as has now been repeated many times over, the goodness of the people shall never be defeated. And just to end for now, I must add that you know things are bad when the Daily Sport runs a "serious" headline on the front page ("Blitz") as well as photos of the wounded. It did, of course, take up just a third of the available space, the top two thirds bearing a massive picture of a scantily-clad "Emma Bell as you've never seen her before"... 2 Comment(s):
Comment by My condolences go out to everyone in London affected by this horrible event. Though I am an American, I have been to most of the places in London that were attacked. (On the other hand, I had never been inside the World Trade Center.) So that gives the whole thing a personal feeling even for me.
Comment by On behalf of those I know living there may I say "thanks" - all our thoughts are there, and I'm looking forward to being there myself in a couple of weekends time... [ Click HERE for the VSX front-page... ] |
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