11th July 2005
Hi all,
At about 9.30pm last Wednesday night I was firing off an e-mail to Neil Taylor, asking him if he'd like to write a bizarre thought celebrating London winning the right to host the 2012 Olympics.
At about 9.30am on Thursday morning I'd heard about an explosion on the tube at Liverpool Street station, and I just wanted to know that my best friend was okay. I guessed he probably would be. Although he works in close proximity to Liverpool Street he normally takes a train to London Bridge and then walks the rest of the way. However occasionally he does take the Underground. I just wanted to know that he hadn't that day.
Thankfully it wasn't long before I got a reply to my text message. Neil was fine (he later described to me how he'd had to quickly learn how to use the template system on his phone to send the same reply to everyone asking after him, a lighter moment on a dreadful day). However for others that wasn't the case. People have lost best friends, spouses, parents, siblings.
As I've said before I cannot comprehend what type of person you must be to sit with other people and plan how you can possibly kill hundreds or thousands of people. I hope I never do.
I had followed events from the day on both online news sites and some forums. To find out what people were thinking in London the forums were more useful, as people reported their offices being evacuated, supplies being brought in for the people staying in their workplace overnight, and the difficulty of booking hotels. All the sort of things you can put up with when you're thankful just to be alive.
There was also the worry about what else could happen. The bombs had started on the tube, then on one bus - were overland trains next? Until the rumours of all kind of alerts went around I'd forgotten what 9/11 was like - trying to get accurate information amid the hysteria was nearly impossible.
The effect on the capital seems to be interesting. Instead of frightening people and causing division the population appear brave and united. Listening to Virgin Radio on Friday morning wasn't depressing, it was uplifting, especially as one lady discussed how she came from the North and thought of London as an unfriendly place. However she had seen Londoners in a new light. Helpful, warm, resillient, resourceful. It is odd how a crisis brings out these qualities in people. Funny also how terrorists don't realise how little effect their attacks have on the spirits of those they aim them at.
A couple of things seem really strange about these attacks, as discussed with friends and colleagues:
1) One of the purposes of terrorism is to scare people. Having bombs going off on the underground has had a far smaller visual impact than previous attacks in New York, Bali and Madrid. The attacks were clearly traumatic for those people who were on those trains, but for those of us away from the situation it was easier to remain detached from the situation. Even some people in London last Thursday have said it was surreal, like it hadn't happened in London.
2) At first it seemed like the attacks were going to get people off the underground and onto buses, where buses would be picked off. There has been speculation since that the bomb went off on the bus by accident. When you consider that four bombs went off and yet the death toll has remained in double figures you can't help thinking that possibly this attack didn't go to plan. Just about everyone I've spoken to has raised a scenario which could have caused a greater loss of life. It seems strange that the terrorists didn't act out such easily conceived thoughts.
With respect to the friends and families of the victims, London was lucky the situation was not worse last Thursday. Personally I count myself lucky that my best friend is unharmed, ready to give me grief about London winning the right to host the Olympics for the next seven years. He knows he's welcome to at any time.
Have a good week!
Tony
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