In Memoriam

by Bryan

4 comments

1 jamsodonnell { 07.07.12 at 11:46 am }

Jesus it’s seven years. That was a day burned into my memory. I decided to sit out a heavy shower in the morning which meant that I got to Liverpool Street station about 10 minutes later than expected. I would have gotten on a Circle line train. For all I know it may have been the one that got hit at Aldgate. Within minutes everything came to a halt in the City and I spent several hours penned in before I could get out. I came away feeling like one of the most useless people on the planet. There was a major incident and there were thousands of us milling around trapped knowing that there was absolutely nothing any of us could do to help.

What a contrast to the previous day when London won the 2012 games

I was never a fan of Livingstone but he rose to the occasion that day.

Three of the dead lived near me: Lee Baisden, Giles Hart and Gladys Wundowa. A terrible day but the bombers achieved nothing.

2 Bryan { 07.07.12 at 5:50 pm }

I was in London during the IRA campaign, and close enough to feel the shock of bombs from the ground, but people were annoyed, not frightened. There were a lot of people who remember the Blitz as children, so it wasn’t a shock, like New Yorkers who haven’t been attacked at home, or in their work places. That makes a big difference in the way people react.

What the US has done is overreact on a massive scale, but then, I put up with terrorists trying to blow me when I was stationed in Germany, as well as the IRA attacks in London, so it isn’t an exceptional situation for me.

OTOH, I would not have been happy about being penned in like you were. I was trained to react, and being unable to would have been extremely frustrating.

3 jamsodonnell { 07.08.12 at 1:49 pm }

Too young for the blitz and my mum was in Ireland while my dad was returning the favour to the Germans! But I do remember the IRA campaigns. I was close to the Downing Street mortar attack. I nearly jumped ut of my skin when I heard the explosions.

True Londoners largely kept calm and carried on. For a week or two people seemed to be a bit more wary on public transport but afterwards things went back to normal

4 Bryan { 07.08.12 at 5:49 pm }

Amsterdam is the only city I like more than London. US cities are way down on my favorites list, with San Francisco at the top of US cities.

The US is just weird about perceived threats. People were freaking out during World War II over a possible invasion, even along the Gulf Coast.

You can’t convince people that all of the overreaction was exactly what the terrorists want … that’s how they win. The security theater at US airports is the biggest victory al Qaeda has ever had.