CJ: Bombings in London

‘September 11 for London’
I was evacuated at Monument Station this morning on the Northern Line. We weren't allowed to leave the train at Old Street where they found one of the bombs. When we got off the train they made us run out of the station. The next station away another bomb had gone off. Then I found out my friend in Russell Square had witnessed the bus explosion. There was absolute chaos everywhere in the streets. No cell phones worked and I wasn't allowed to leave the street. I can only say that the police and emergency teams of London were absolutely miraculous in how they handled everything. This was September 11th for London.
--Ryan Wayne, Raleigh, N.C.

‘A loud bang-like collision’
Was traveling this morning in the Hammersmith and City line, when we got to Edgware there was a loud bang-like collision and lights went off and we were asked to leave the station. (At) 8:50, walked down to Baker Street, got into bus 18 to go to Euston. When i got there people were being evacuated from the underground, everybody stood outside confused waiting for buses. In the process there was a loud bang the other side of the road with no doubt I knew it was a bomb. It was a bus in Tavistock square. (At) 9h45, police were already around, and the area was closed, I started walking back towards Baker Street till I got the bus home.

I started making my way home immediately which was around 10h00, got home around 1130. (It) would normally take 15 minutes on a bus. Main road A501 was jammed with cars. I was walking towards Harrow Road when I got to A5 crossing just at Edgware Road Station. The area was closed, the policewoman who was standing there redirected us towards Euston -- she said it was the safest direction and I said to her, no, because i had just walked all way from Euston, where the bus exploded, There was just confusion at the at time, it was just shock and disbelief. I got home watched it on TV, made few phone calls to check on people. I am still shocked.
--Phildah Molobi, London

Perspective from American tourist
The streets were oddly empty. You could feel and see the difference easily, just comparing yesterday with today. Everyone seems calm. The police seem calm, in control, and on top of where they want you to walk and what they want you to do. Everyone who lives here is confused and concerned. You can see it on their faces as they walk by. On the other hand us tourists have less to worry about. We know where we are sleeping tonight and we're not trying to get home … without the tube … to an area 10 miles away for instance. I talked to one salesclerk who had to walk into work today after the busses just kicked everyone off and she lives 10 miles from her store. Most roads are closed, there are no busses and no trains now, she was going to close the store and start walking. We were her last customers of the day. We bought shoes.

Anyway when we left here we walked to the Soho area. There are no red double-decker busses running, no busses of any kind running, and no one was, this morning, using their cell phones. We went to a restaurant at high noon and no one was in it. No one. We walked by this same restaurant in Soho yesterday, a place called Pizza Express, and it was packed for lunch. So we ate alone -- sadly the only people in the place the whole lunch hour.

After lunch we started to walk and noticed that 90 percent of the shops were closed. No stores, few restaurants, even the coffee shops were closed. So we walked to a large Macy's like store called Selfridges. It was basically empty, but it was open. Since it was raining, we went in to shop. Within 30 minutes they closed the whole store. Employees told us it would not be open tomorrow either.

So we walked back to Soho. There are all these gay pubs there, with TVs and stuff, and we thought we'd hang out for a bit. They were all open yesterday in the late afternoon. Today they were all closed.
--Michael Nelson, Seattle, Wash.

Close calls
My best friend was running late this morning and missed getting on the train at King's Cross so caught the one behind. When this was stopped and she found out the train she missed had been blown up she left the train she was on and tried to catch a bus -- again she missed the first one and had to catch the one behind. Minutes later her bus was gridlocked in traffic and police cars were trying to get through with their sirens blaring. Her bus driver suddenly opened the doors and told everyone to get off because more bombs were going off. She left the bus and asked police what was happening. they told her that a bus -- the one she had missed- had been blown up. She then walked six miles to get out of central London and finally found a way to get home. Needless to say she and everyone close to her feel very lucky that she is still with us and not at all injured.
--Liz Withersby, Sutton, Surrey (Greater London)

A perspective from a Utah tourist
I'm in London on a 'study-abroad' trip with students from Southern Utah University in Cedar City. We were getting ready to get on the underground when we were deterred. Later we tried to get a bus, but they were very full and were not stopping to load more passengers. Finally, we decided to walk the four-plus miles to Shakespeare's Globe and St. Paul's Cathedral -- the two sites on our agenda for the day. We still did not have any news as to why things were shutting down. As we walked, we noticed buses driving by - empty -- or no buses at all. We also began to overhear news reports, people talking on cell phones, and other pieces of information that we could gather.

By the time we confirmed what had happened, we were nearly to our destination. St. Paul's was closed for a special mass, and the performances at the Globe were cancelled. Major tourist/important cites in London closed -- for obvious reasons. It has been interesting to be here -- close by - and not know what is going on. We all called our families to check in so they knew we were all okay, but it's still frightening to be so far away from home at a time like this.
--Jacqueline Mills, Toquerville, Utah

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