I managed to get to Clapham this morning before discovering that the train I was due to change on to was cancelled.
The rail network seemed to be in total chaos.
Talking to the missus on the mobile phone whilsht she’s tucked away in Spain, it began to emerge that things were not too good in the City, with reports of, errm, “power surges” on the London Underground.
As more details began to unfold, and the closure of all London Underground services was announced, we became more and more worried, and I sought out one of the platform guards to see if he could give us some reassurance.
The scary thing was, he appeared to know nothing. In fact, I got the impression that I actually knew more about what was going on (thanks to the missus relaying Sky News to me) than he did.
Right after talking to the guard, the platform PA system, which had only been announcing “delays to this” and “delays to that” previously, started to repeat rather frequently that luggage should not be left unattended, etc, etc, etc.
However, there did not appear to be any additional security measures in the station, and not once did I see a member of the Metropolitan Transport Police in the station.
All in all, even though I was probably well away from the blasts, I decided that rather than waiting around for a train that may or may not appear, I should return to Brighton, as that train was already waiting on the platform.
As more and more people alighted the train on the way back to Brighton, it was obvious that virtually no one knew what was going on. We were being kept almost completely in the dark.
I found this, along with the lack of any obvious increased security measures shocking.
At a time when London’s security should be at its peak, it appears that our “threat level” has actually been reduced!
I’m just completely flabbergasted. Speachless almost.
All I can think to say is, firstly, I’m really sorry for anyone that has been caught up directly in this tradegy, whether it be friends, family, or loved ones that have been affected.
Secondly, the people behind these acts are spineless cowards. Unable to fight their cause through intellectual means, they resort to violence, faceless violence at that, the last refuge of the incompetent.
The people of Britain are a proud nation. We’ve lived with IRA attacks. We can live with this.
Terrorists beware, you won’t weaken us through terror attacks. You’ll only strengthen our resolve against you. All you achieve is alienation against what you represent. Extremism.
