7 or was it 4? Hey whose counting?
Recent events in London are little like blasts from the past. Last time I felt closer to a lot of the action as I was in the USA, but this time I am safely tucked away in Australia. However many blasts there were yesterday, there were enough to remind us that life is never quiet and simple. Why? Because of G8? or London got the olympics? Does even really matter; probably not for those frightened, injured or killed.
So remembrance of the craziness post 9/11 I say now I hope you are well and safe wimmy. And then I hope that the media lets this go a little. I am not saying don’t report, but when 4 out of 5 station in Australia go live streaming of various coverage of the bombings in London, even when there was nothing report other than something had happened I do believe that the media is feeding off other people’s misery and my personal need for knowledge should never outweigh the need for calm and effective dealing with an event that is a twenty hour flight removed from me.
So stay safe wimmy and all of your friends and family, but mostly stay clear of the raveging media who has found a new toy to play with and seems unlikely to let this juicy morsel go until it has been thoroughly mauled.
Thanks Fifa - so far no-one
Thanks Fifa - so far no-one I know was injured in the blasts, although the bus that was bombed was on the corner where my brother and his wife live with their two young kids, so they got a bad fright.
I agree with your sentiments regarding the media coverage - reading some of the newspapers coming into work this morning, I was actually taken aback by some of the articles. They seemed to be more interested in detailing the goriness of the bomb scenes than in reporting anything meaningful.
Wow
Wimmy,
I had no idea you had a brother in London… I only knew your sister lived in Africa. Thank God that he and his family are OK. I did think of you when it happened, but knew you were safe in the northern lands of Glasgow.
Glad everyone is safe.
-M
Thanks Wojo….I just found
Thanks Wojo….I just found out last night that my friend’s next door neighbour was down in London on business and she lost a leg and and an eye in the underground blast. Most people here are angry more than anything, and everyone is of the sentiment that the bombings will be counter-productive and will bring people closer together, as they did during all the years of IRA attacks.
fear and loathing in London??
I hope you are right about it bringing people together, but I just I hope in a positive way.
I have avoided most news recently so I don’t know who is currently thought to have carried out the bombings. I only hope in togetherness people don’t become an ugly mob bent of belittling anyone even tenuously associated with the attackers. I remember when I was in the US terrible stories of how muslims were being treated after 9/11, even on my own university campus and that didn’t seem like togetherness against a common enemy - it just seemed like thuggery.
I understand how you must feel as you realise that people close to you have meen affected by the blast. A friend of mine emailed to say she was ok, and I hadn’t realised she was in London - I thought she had gone for a weekend the weekend before not realising the course she was doing ran for a week. She had been on the train system, and then she was taken off (I guess the bombings had led to the system shutting down). She then tried to catch a bus but when there were so many people she decided to walk. I think we are all glad she didn’t take the bus, as she was in the area where the bus was blown up. Even after the event is well and truly over the fear of what could have been grips my stomach.
Strange how the lives of your friend’s neighbour have been so dramatically altered. It is these kind of events that always bring to mind thoughts about fate and random chance.
I guess all we can do is wish a speedy recovery to those injured and that calm sensible heads will take the lead in the weeks to come.