London bombing

[raven]

Like so many, I do feel like saying that LJ made all this so much easier, if anything could be said to make it easier. My immediate thought was for my "grown up" LJ friends, as so many of them live and work in London and commute on the Underground, but it's amazing how organised and orderly and thoroughly competent people can be at times like this; the checking-in posts are so easy to check and add to that they must have eased literally thousands of people's minds.

I feel lucky. Not as lucky as the friend who overslept and so didn't go to Liverpool Street, but I'm uncomfortably aware that I'm going to be in London twice next week, that I've been there at least four times in the last three months, that just last night I was thinking about arranging to meet amchau for lunch in London. I'm aware that some of my LJ friends know I'm British but don't know where in Britain - I live just north of Liverpool, a city two hundred and twenty-five miles away from London, so I'm very much safe here. That said, the scenes on television are horrifying, much more horrifying than 9/11, because I recognise every place shown, I've been to all those places, some very recently, I know people who live and work there, four days later and I would have been there.

[Actually, some of my relations have rung up frantically because they've misheard "Liverpool Street"; nothing to do with us lot up north, as I've explained, it's just the name of an Underground station. It's amazing how quickly the news has spread - one of said relations lives in a small town in Himachal Pradesh.]

And so many people on my flist have had narrow escapes this time - people who left home late, overslept, missed trains, chose not to go into work today - you're all safe and I'm incredibly grateful. Also, I rather think amchau is right; we're both bloody-minded enough to refuse to be "terrorised", as they say, and we will have lunch together on Wednesday. So there.

On the practical note, it is possible - trains from Liverpool Lime Street to Euston have already restarted, so if anyone feels like meeting up with me while I'm around (that is, Wednesday 12th 13th July), I'd really like that.

Comments

[dougs.livejournal.com]

Wednesday 12th July is in 2006. Do you mean the 13th?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Yes, I may well do. Thank you for that. :)

[gwynnega]

I did think of you when I heard the news, though fortunately I did remember you lived in the north. Be safe!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*hugs* You're very sweet.

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

one of my bestest mates was on a tube train about 5 minutes before one of them went off. I'm so glad she's okay that I cried when i heard.
Seriously though... we're going to be okay, i think. The responce has been very strong and very reassuring, don't you think?
xx

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Mmm, definitely. The response was what made this a tragedy and not a crisis - people were so strong and sensible and did their best to keep themselves and others safe. "Terrorism", big misnomer, because there was no terror.

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

Lets face it, Britain's seen so much of this sort of thing in the last 30 odd years... we're not actually all that scared of it anymore.
We keep our cool :D
xx

[amchau.livejournal.com]

I think that we should make a rough plan for Wednesday, and then make a final judgement Monday or even Tuesday, based on how the Tube is. I'm guessing it'll be back up by Monday, if not over the weekend, though that is just a guess. When you are planning to arrive, and where, and where's a good place for lunch?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I'll be there on Tuesday night, but I won't be free until about midday on Wednesday. How about a picnic, if the weather's nice? We could get sandwiches from somewhere and go and sit in one of the parks.

[amchau.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me. Picnic! (Should I be wondering which teddy bear to bring?)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Yes, you should! ;)

Any preference as to where we meet? I have a fondness for Marks 'n' Sparks sandwiches, but there's lots of places near the Green Park. If you disagree, anywhere in Zone 1 will be good for me.

[amchau.livejournal.com]

I can do anywhere in Zone 1, too... let's make a call on Monday when we know how much of the Tube is actually open. No point planning to use something that's closed, or trying to go past something that's closed, when we can be so flexible.

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

Sorry to butt in - one of my mates says parts of the tube are open already. Hoorah.
*goes back to the darkness of her whovian worshipping*
xx

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

So I hear. There were people going to work on it this morning. I love the Underground.

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

:D My evil art teacher almost got stuck in the doors when she was pregnant and she took us on a trip to the tate modern.
I nearly laughed. I so wanted to laugh. She was a cow XD
xx