In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I don't have any family or friends living or working in London, but a few of my work colleagues were there yesterday conducting meetings. Thankfully, by the end of the day yesterday, they had all reported back that they were safe and well.
I think it is as much the British way as just the Londoners. Having experienced the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Manchester almost 10 years ago, it made me more determined that terrorists would not stop me from living my life and doing everything that I've always done.
My thoughts and prayers are with those that have been affected by this atrocity.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
my young daughter uses the tube system to get to school and was at one of the affected stations 15 minutes before the blast.her best friend was on the platform ,heard an enormous bang following which thick black smoke came pouring from the tunnel and she ran out.other friends were evacuated from stations and saw people with severe injuries.young children should not have to face this. we had a terrible hour yesterday morning when we did not know if our daughter was safe.london feels sombre today and there has been a lot less commuter traffic in the area where i live.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Eventually managed to get through or be called to all friends and family in london and relieved they were ok, some just a few stops away when it all happened - london is coping admirably and they are attempting as quickly as possible to return to "business as usual"
I do hope they will take an opportunity to reflect on the pain collectively through a march of solidarity - similar to what took place in Madrid after the train bombings.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I work in London, yesterday was a strange experience - walking to work and walking home from work I have never seen so many people on London bridge, there were thousands and thousands.
London
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/08/2005 - 09:08In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I am working in East London and it really was a very 'unreal' day yesterday. sirens all day - the terror on the news and it took me until lunchtime to make sure 2 of our boys and their girlfriends were ok. And thanks to a changed appointment I was at Aldgate on Monday around the same time.
Today is even stranger, very little traffic and some very shocked Londoners. All our thoughts to those who lost loved ones and very best wishes to those injured in the tragedy. How anyone can do this kind of battle in the name of religion is beyond me - its more a force of evil.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We were in Abruzzo at the time it happened. Our (italian) friends called us to let us know what had happened. We were in teh Cityper in San Nicolo at the time and spent a short period watching the TV coverage.
In truth we wished that no one had told us because our daughter was on her way to work using the tube and she goes via Kings Cross. So we had a lousy day of worry, unable to do anything and unable to get in contact because all the phone lines from Italy to London were jammed from 10AM to about 6PM.
Fortunately SMS was working, although very, very slowly so we sent a message saying "are you OK" to our daughter and got a reply about 4PM. She had a narrow escape because she was late for work that day and was on the train following the one that was bombed. She was taken off the tube by police and then (horror of horrors) they directed people onto the bus. She later found out that the police had put some of the people onto the bus that was bombed, another close escape. She now thinks she has used two of her nine lives.
Still eventually apart from the stress and shock we were OK and able to continue our stay in Abruzzo as planned.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Despite the terrible nature of this atrocity, I do take some comfort in knowing how very few people were adversely affected. Of course it is a terrible tragedy for those directly involved and I do not mean to trivialise their experience/grief, but as a proportion of the number of people who travel on London Transport, these terrorists have given up their lives for so little reward. Everyone here in London is, if anything, more determined than ever to carry on our normal lives.
So far have confirmed that all friends and relatives bar two are ok. Am still waiting to hear on the last two who work just opposite Liverpool Street Station. Am assuming that they are fine until I hear otherwise.
The response of Londoners has been terrific, and I think a fine example for the rest of the world on how to cope with situations like this.