Friday, July 08, 2005

London Unbowed.

Yesterday was testing for all Londoners. We had no idea of what was happening as our journey to work became more chaotic. I was stuck in a tunnel for 15 mins on the Piccadilly line, before the station was evacuated. The news was that of a power outage in King’s cross station bringing the tube network down. I caught a bus in Gloucester Road among hundreds of passengers who thought London underground was failing them again. The bus didn’t go very far and we were told to leave. While walking in South Kensington, I heard that all buses to Central London were suspended. I saw a mass of people looking at a TV screen in a shop. It wasn’t a power outage. I was amazed by how calm people remained. I couldn’t call my wife nor my office as the mobile network was down so I decided to walk to Soho where I work. The day went on eerily, checking if friends were fine, reassuring families and friends abroad. We were all upset. The emergency services did an amazing job. Tony Blair and Ken Livingstone made thoughtful and defiant speeches yesterday. They are right all the way. Any blow that doesn't kill us makes us stronger. My thoughts are with those who suffered most from this senseless tragedy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy to know you safe.
I was waiting for news on your blog.
Sebastien Closs. DESS Metz.
http://seb.closs.free.fr/

Joël Céré said...

Thank you Sebastien. I wasn't in the mood to blog yesterday. Best regards to your classmates if you guys are still in touch.

Anonymous said...

Most "londoners" are foreigners pehaps that explains why people are so blaze about the bombings...