..............................Persis is married!..............................

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Just another day?

I walked out of my office today to my usual bus-stop on the Aldwych. The bus was taking an awfully long time. Then, as I read my copy of the London Paper, I spied in the corner of my eye the first bus doing a u-ey on the corner of Kingsway. Then another bus. And another. If you've never seen a huge double-decker bus do a u-turn, let me tell you, it's a sight. That was when I noticed the police cordorning off the entrance to the Aldwych. Don't know what's happening (I hadn't heard about the second bomb), but I guess no bus was coming my way any time soon. So I picked up my handbag, and heavy tote, and shopping, and started walking down the Aldwych and across Waterloo Bridge - figured I might as well take the tube home and pick up some groceries on the way. The bridge was busy. Everyone was walking home this evening. Contrast with the streets, they were eerily silent of traffic - Aldwych, Waterloo Bridge, the Strand. As I walked out of Sainsbury a little later, police cars were speeding by, sirens blasting. Across the road from Waterloo Station, I could hear the announcer listing the trains that had been cancelled.

I totally freaked and hailed the first cab home.

So, I'm lying on my bed now looking at the news on BBC. This is the map of where the two car bombs were found. Goodness gracious. Do these people know that I run this route almost everyday? Do they know that I work nearby? I am seriously affronted. This is my space too, my freedom. My friends walk these streets, someone I love could be on the London Bus admiring the towering statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square, and they would not have known that their lives were in danger in the midst of mundanity. This is an act of cowardice and I'm seriously pissed off.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The news in the US has been covering this situation extensively. Prayers for y'all!

LG