CLONMEL -- A few weeks ago I walked outside Euston Station in London en route to University College London and I passed by a garden square where terrorists exploded a bomb on a bus. I remember this place because Mahatma Ghandi overlooks the square. David Vinson works right around the corner.
The BBC wonders "what a man whose name is synonymous with change through peaceful protest would have thought of the events of 7 July 2005 and all that led up to them". I feel lucky being close enough to remember the joy of the place two weeks ago and far enough away from the sadness wrapped around it today.
As BBC News continues covering the aftermath of the bomb blast, I cannot help but notice the quiet energy of the streets of London. Emergency services were given rights of way to the pavement and to the mobile phone networks. At pavement level, you could have heard conversations on the opposite side of many streets because no cars or buses ran on the main roads for several hours. The calm after the storm "seemed to suck the terror out of terrorism" for many who have walked London's streets.
In another show of relevancy, this blog's referrer traffic told me something was happening. When the bombs exploded, I was setting up an electronic classroom for 60 primary school teachers. One of the first things that load onto my XP laptop is my Skype contact list. It showed three London-based names in the green. While that alone was no proof of their well-being, it suggested they were at their workplace and away from the carnage. Behind the scenes, searches for "islamist website" on Google and "London" on Technorati represented two of the top ten requests for information from IrishEyes. Without turning on the news, my blog was telling me something was happening outside. It's as though the blog itself had a pulse.
In the real world, regulars like Euan Semple, Gerry O'Sullivan and Jamie Cason put a personal view on the day's events. From the Lunarchy Blog:
My son, Alfie, was bawling for me not to leave this morning. Not to get the train to Liverpool Street. I decided to get a later train. To stay and comfort him awhile. Knowing that the BBC could spare 20 minutes for me to give my boy a cuddle and play cars. If not for that delay, I would have been there at the time; not on that train, that line, but close enough to feel the reverberations through the station. It's a sharp poke in the chest. Don't take any of this for granted. Don't part from those you love on a cross word. The next chance to say "I love you" can be snatched away in an thoughtless instant. Always remember to ask yourself "Did *you* give the world some love today?"
Ben Davies -- "The aftermath of the London bus bomb"
Euan Semple is okay. Technorati's London tag is capturing some of the images of the day. But many of the best amateur shots are already property of Getty, if the Scotsman's taglines are any indication.
Gerry O'Sullivan -- "More on London"
David Vinson -- "London Explosions"
First-person blog accounts are often better than next-hour mainstream media shorts.
Wikipedia has the best news flow for the 2005 London Transport Explosion.