Hangover
| Thursday 7 July, 2005 |
Feeling fine today? I was this morning, still grinning that the world's attention will be drawn to my city in seven years time and London can showboat all that's best in the place I now call home. But then the sirens, swarms of police and shutdown of Sunny Stockwell started. Blogging about my bad back seems a little silly now.
The first I was aware of the attack was when I walking through Brixton Market. A crowd had gathered around a crappy TV and the usual Bootilicious video had been replaced by a BBC news bulletin.
'All London Underground lines are closed' came over the tannoy as I walked past the newly refurbished (and newly graffiti tagged) Brixton tube. No worries I thought, I was planning on walking down Stockwell Road anyway to stretch out the bad back.
The phrase 'ALL London Underground lines are closed' didn't really register at first. As I passed the Academy I then thought that in my ten years of London living, I have never known for the entire network to be down. This must be serious.
 London ALWAYS emerges stronger |
The major Stockwell traffic inter-change was completely sealed off by some panic looking Police officers. A queue of red double deckers was waiting patiently to turn off to Stockwell Bus Garage. The sound of sirens was in the South London air.
The initial news reports in Brixton Market had mentioned 'explosions caused by the bad weather.' But what bad weather? And six simultaneously? Logging onto the BBC site as soon I got home and the horrible truth was there to see.
I felt a definite sense of After the Lord Mayor's Show with the 2012 triumph from Singapore less than 24 hours ago still making me smile. This is a city that was full of optimism the night before. Even a cynic like me who abodes the politicisation of sport was feeling rather cheerful at the twenty20 cricket last night. And it's not often you hear me say that.
And now the hangover has hit us. I think we may be in for a few more mornings like this as we approach 2012 and London becomes the centre of the world's attention. London is a city built and re-built by tragedy: Plagues, fire and the IRA. But as Peter Ackroyd documents in his excellent biography of the city, London ALWAYS emerges stronger.
A genuine tragedy for the family and friends involved, but incidents like this just make Londoners more determined to put on one hell of a show in seven years time.
(click on thumbs to see large image)
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