nick’s (n)-line life

[note this is a draft article that might well be changed without notice]

Just in case anyone had somehow managed to missed today’s headline news here it is again: London has been attacked by terrorists!

BBC News
At least two people have been killed and scores injured after three blasts on the Underground network and another on a double-decker bus in London.

Even as I write this article the sirens of many police cars are still wailing outside the building and the streets have taken on an almost surreal calm in the wake of the explosions. London is decimated and the terrorists have achieved much of what they wanted: large scale disruption that will continue for weeks and fear, lots and lots of fear. Anyone who can is getting out of central London, and everyone else would like to do the same (no mean feat without transport).

Information on the bombings can be found in these resources:
FT
BBC Personal Accounts
BBC Images (mine to follow when I get somewhere I can make an upload)

BBC Live Video Feed

For my part, I was on a train from Watford to Euston when the first blast took place (at Liverpool Street Station). Arriving at Euston I found the underground had been shut down but was oblivious to the full scale of the unfolding crisis. At the time people were saying that there had been a power surge at Kings Cross.

Tutting in irritation I went outside to hunt for a bus (thinking I was going to be late for work). Well, I was certainly right about that. In the end it took more than three hours to get across central London, but I was in for something of a shock as to the reason for the delays and I can tell you now that it certainly wasn’t a tube power failure.

Outside Euston I spent a good 10 minutes queuing for a bus to Liverpool Street and generally joking around with a few of the other commuters at the expense of the efficient British railway system, it seemed so amusing that a simple power failure could reduce the capital to havoc.

Suddenly there was a loud bang a few streets over. People turned to look but, without seeing much, turned back again. I didn’t think anything of it until the crowd began moving away from the bus stop at the suddenly insistent motions of the police officers.

That was when things started to get strange. Large numbers of Police started appearing, with what looked like bomb crews, all decked out in yellow reflective clothing. Some had dogs, others were unfurling police tapes, making Euston look like a crime scene. I didn’t twig immediately that the overground had been evacuated too.

There were hundreds of people, mostly commuters in suits, standing around looking confused and almost everyone seemed to have a phone in their hand. Suddenly everyone seemed to be talking at once as realisation struck home. Everything was misinformation as people blended fact and fiction, fuelled by fears of the potential disaster that was unfolding. One thing, however, started to become abundantly clear: several bombs had exploded in London, we were under attack.

Helicopters appeared overhead and huge swaths of London were cordoned off making it impossible to get past Kings Cross. Everything was very confused and chaotic. The police had been instructed not to give out information but that wasn’t stopping people from asking.

Then people started taking pictures (there’s going to be a lot of these I think). At first people started using point-and-shoots, then enthusiasts whipped out their SLRs, and finally came the press. My own offerings will appear here as soon as I get an opportunity to upload them.

I took refuge next to a BBC camerawomen to take some photos. We had direct line of sight towards the exploded bus, but the police were doing there best to keep her (and everyone in fact) away from the scene.

Everyone seemed lost for what to do. I was walking around in circles myself. Not quite sure what to do, not quiet ready to accept what was happening around me. The police were blocking our only route into central London and all transport was down.

Eventually I decided to try and circumvent the blockade and get into London reasoning that Euston was shut and so my only other alternative (i.e. going home) wasn’t viable.

On my way I bumped into Xia, a friend from uni. We did our best to get past the blockade but it was just so vast that we had to walk several kilometres in the wrong direction. Never again will I mock the tube with such gusto! Without the tube, and without busses it’s no exaggeration to say that London was crippled.

Eventually we got to Holburn (where Xia was working) and I went on to Liverpool street.

Work was going on to a level surprisingly near normal but there was a very strange atmosphere and people were choosing not to talk at all rather than discussing what was going on in the City around us.

Perhaps the strangest thing of all was the silent streets. I’ve never seen London like this. London Wall, one of the busiest streets in London, was deserted apart from the occasional police vehicle. It felt like it was straight out of 28 days later!

At around 4pm the streets started to get very busy as commuters began the long hike home or towards their overground station. The atmosphere seemed somehow carefree, jubilant, as if to stick a finger up at the terrorists and say: “we have overcome the best you could throw at us, and we have survived�. There was such a strong feeling of closeness and solidarity unlike anything I’ve ever felt in London. It was fantastic.

By the time I got to Euston it was starting to get dark. All of the roads since Kings X had been closed blockaded off and were still being guarded by police. Pedestrian flow was being (quite substantially) diverted around the back of Kings X and St Pancreas. 2 hours later and I was making use of the reduced service back to Watford. The entire journey home took nearly 3 times longer than normal with the walking alone taking 2 hours!

The next day I debated whether to go in to work for the last day of the vac scheme. Eventually my tired feet answered for me. However I did still have to venture in to the City to and reclaim my passport from the Chinese embassy. I was terrified that it was going to be shut despite the fact that I needed it the next day.

To cut a long (and uninteresting) story short, I found travel difficult but doable (if extremely time consuming). The thing that really captured my imagination was the almost deserted tube stations and the nervous glances aimed at anyone carrying a backpack. As people sat down on the bus or tube they would throw nervous looks around the carriage, the thoughts showing clearly in their eyes, “is anyone here going to blow us all up?�

While, in truth, something like this was inevitable it brings so much sadness for those killed, injury, and affected by it. And yet, I think it’s true to say that we can be really proud of the way it was handled. Not just the professionals (who did such an excellent job) but the average Londoner who just got on with living. There was never any panic and now our resolve to combat the terrorists and punish those responsible is greater than ever.