One moments silence
The past week has been dominated by the 7/7 (as they're being called now) bombings. Yesterday, I found myself taking the tube again after a gap of two weeks (luckily I'm close enough to the centre of town to walk almost anywhere), feeling apprehensive about the journey.
Above ground, there are still regular sirens and emergency services passing by to remind Londoners and tourists that there is a heightened sense of vulnerability in the city right now.
My journey passed without incident, but it was a sign of how different the landscape feels after last week.
As we stood outside our offices at 12pm today, for a Europe-wide moment of silence, as the traffic ground to a halt and hundreds of people stood motionless along Tottenham Court Road, there was a sense of calm and reflection about the events of that morning just one week ago. The atmosphere, however, was predictably sombre.
In the time since last week, we've seen numerous accounts of those tragic events come to light, along with frenzied media speculation about the bombers, and finally, in the last few days indications (yet to be fully confirmed) that these people were British-born, that they were seemingly normal individuals, that their families did not even know what they had planned.
It is true to say then that the threat of terrorism will always be upon us, that at any time, London or any city in the world is vulnerable to sudden, horrific, ife-changing events. For all that, one attack since 9/11 must give us hope that the security forces are doing their job to the best of their ability, that these events are rare, and that we should carry on our normal lives, putting fear to the back of our minds.
As two minutes of silence ended, so a spontaneous round of applause began that echoed up the street. People smiled. The sun blazed down. The traffic started to move again, and the streets began to take on the motion and energy we are so used to. We trickled back to our offices, our desks, our chatter. Normal life began again.
Above ground, there are still regular sirens and emergency services passing by to remind Londoners and tourists that there is a heightened sense of vulnerability in the city right now.
My journey passed without incident, but it was a sign of how different the landscape feels after last week.
As we stood outside our offices at 12pm today, for a Europe-wide moment of silence, as the traffic ground to a halt and hundreds of people stood motionless along Tottenham Court Road, there was a sense of calm and reflection about the events of that morning just one week ago. The atmosphere, however, was predictably sombre.
In the time since last week, we've seen numerous accounts of those tragic events come to light, along with frenzied media speculation about the bombers, and finally, in the last few days indications (yet to be fully confirmed) that these people were British-born, that they were seemingly normal individuals, that their families did not even know what they had planned.
It is true to say then that the threat of terrorism will always be upon us, that at any time, London or any city in the world is vulnerable to sudden, horrific, ife-changing events. For all that, one attack since 9/11 must give us hope that the security forces are doing their job to the best of their ability, that these events are rare, and that we should carry on our normal lives, putting fear to the back of our minds.
As two minutes of silence ended, so a spontaneous round of applause began that echoed up the street. People smiled. The sun blazed down. The traffic started to move again, and the streets began to take on the motion and energy we are so used to. We trickled back to our offices, our desks, our chatter. Normal life began again.
posted by The Scribbler at 11:58 AM
2 Comments:
Yes, we all know what happened on the tragic day. I was probobaly sitting down laugthing when people were dieing. Nobody knew or will know why they did it but what we do know is that they are sick. Sick killing the innocent not the guilty.
Great to get the view from someone who lives and works there of their experiences that morning. Saw it all unfolding here in Australia on the late night news. So glad that you and your Mum are safe. Looking forward to regular postings
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