london diary

july 2005

 

my london diary

the attack on london in the morning rush hour of 7 july 2005 was not unexpected, although its timing was unpredictable. london had been expecting some similar terrorist outrage for several years, not that this is any consolation to the over 50 who died, the more than 700 seriously injured and those many more whose lives have been seriously affected, either by being there or through friends and relatives who suffered.

i heard about it from a phone call from my wife, perhaps worried if i had travelled up to town earlier than expected (i hadn't, and abandoned my plans to go into the city when i heard the news.)

london was as ready for it as one can be for an atrocity like this. hospitals, police, fire services, ambulances, public transport workers and more had practised and trained for an emergency, and largely the plans worked, thanks to the countless small and large acts of bravery by ordinary men and women faced with horror.

london is united in mourning the dead. among them are people who reflect the diversity of london; people of all religions - including muslims, first and second generation immigrants from around the world as well as those whose families arrived in the mists of history.

londoners were determined not to be beaten by the fear of possible further attacks. life and the city had to go on, although when we travelled on the tube we looked around rather more carefully than usual at our fellow passengers and the bags they were carrying.

even later, when details of the bombers emerged, there remain many unanswered questions about what exactly happened. you can read some harrowing eye-witness accounts on the web from people who were in the carriages where the bombs went off, and see some of the pictures taken underground with mobile phones, as well as the police statements.

only the british government seems to be in some kind of denial. the kind of evil logic of hate that makes human beings act like these four did is can only grow in conditions where people feel an intense injustice. that this is so does not at all excuse this kind of action, but it does points to what must be done to make further atrocities less likely.

the roots of the current terrorism lie in palestine, and have been fertilised in britain by our part in the invasion of iraq, and the failure of our government to listen to the british people (and in particular british muslims, though we spoke with one voice.)

the british government (along with the US) are now where they are in iraq, and it is a situation that cannot easily be unravelled. however it is one that needs to be addressed both in iraq and britain. some kind of apology or at least an admittance of some of the mistakes is long overdue.

back in london, things went on. several days after the event, people were still searching for any news of missing relatives and friends, with a number of bodies still to be recovered, some damaged beyond identification except by dna samples, and some of the badly injured also still unidentified. people put up posters on the streets around the stations, asking for information. there wasn't a lot of hope, but there was little else they could do. people queued up to leave flowers and sign the various books of condolences, and gradually the city got more or less back to normal, though it may well take several months to restore some of the tube services.

i ran a workshop in london on the sunday, well away from where the bombs went off. one person left a phone message to cancel "because of the bombings". so far as we knew they hadn't been personally involved, and no-one could understand why.

london goes on.

pictures from other london events in july

 

january
february
march
april
may
june
july
august
september
october
november
december

 

2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999

some of my work gets put into nice organised websites.

this isn't meant to be like that, but you can see some of the rest at

london pictures
londons industrial history

and you can read what I think about photography at

>Re:PHOTO

All pictures on this section of the site are © Peter Marshall 2005;
to buy prints or for permission to reproduce pictures or to comment on this site, or for any other questions,

contact me

your comments may be added to the site - or not.
Payment may be waived for acceptable non-profit uses.

some of my work gets put into nice organised websites.

this isn't meant to be like that, but you can see some of the rest at

london pictures
londons industrial history

and you can read what I think about photography at

>Re:PHOTO

All pictures on this section of the site are © Peter Marshall 2005;
to but prints or for permission to reproduce pictures or to comment on this site, or for any other questions,

contact me

your comments may be added to the site - or not.
Payment may be waived for acceptable non-profit uses.


London after 7July

Kings Cross


Signing the books of condolence at Kings Cross, London


Posters from friends and relatives desperate for information, near Russell Square station


Posters at Kings Cross Underground entrance


Bus stop at Kings Cross


London is united in mourning the dead.


pictures
from other London events in July

 

 


 


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