Condolences to our British friends

[Lisa]

Many condolences to our British friends. We Americans know how frightening this is. It really shakes your belief in everyday safety. And I pray that none of you lost someone close.

Love and light,

Lisa

[jojo]

This episode also brought nikkiuk to mind. Not only Nikki, but I also remembered Christine MH.

Hey Nik, you doing OK over there? Hoping that your family & friends are alright, too.... What about you, Christine?

Praying for you guys.

[*_Christine MH_*]

Hello everybody,

I live nowhere near London and am fine. My sister lives in London and frequently rides on the bus route that was affected, but she is fine. My thoughts are with the people affected and there families. I think Nikki must be o.k. because she posted something late on Thursday.

I was actually in Washington on 9/11 and would say that people over here are less traumatised. We are more used to terrorism because of the IRA. We knew that London was a likely target, so the emergency services were well prepared. One of the bombs went off outside the British Medical Association, where doctors were having a conference, which was also fortunate. There were fewer lives lost than on 9/11 and there wasn't any footage of the explosions taking place, which was a good thing. Londoners also are very proud of how they managed during Hitler's blitz against the city and seem pretty determined to carry on with normal life. My biggest worry is that the act might worsen racial tensions.

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I think that JohnL who posts on this board is also from the UK and hope that he and his wife are o.k.

I suppose one of things that life, and early-onset breast cancer in particular, teaches is to carry on no matter what gets thrown at you.

[John L]

Thanks for your thoughts. Monica and I are fine. Monica who has been using the Piccadilly line all week on the way to a photo shoot didn't go in that day (Thanks God, I owe you one). I was on the tube at the time but a few trains behind, so after the whole system shut down we were ejected at Shepherds Bush.

Naturally, everyone leapt onto the buses. Except me who switched to the normal default behaviour of Brits when anything inconvenient happens and I stopped to have a cup of tea. By that stage it was obvious to the regular commuters that something serious had happened and most guessed at a bomb (all the cell networks were cut - which is a security measure to stop phones being used to trigger bombs). Plus all you could hear were sirens as every emergency crew in London rushed towards the centre. The sheer volume of sirens was quite spooky - more than I've ever heard and as Christine says, for those who went through the 80's and 90's in London or NI, bombs are not exactly a novelty.

The bus bomb went off about 500 yards from my office. A few of the staff had close calls.

It is all so appalling and pointless. I feel so sorry for all those who have had loved one's killed or mutilated. It must be all the harder because their fate seems so unjust and undeserved.

JohnL

[Lisa]

John,

Although there was nothing funny about the bombings, I had to snicker at your comment about the typically British "habit" of stopping for tea when things are inconvenient. My brother wrote a stageplay several years ago called "Something's Afoot". In one scene, after a few unexplained murders and in the middle of the investigation, everyone stops for tea and song.

Love and light,

Lisa