London 07-07-05

Well, what else could I really write about today other than the happenings in London?

**Stunned silence**

Mind you, what can I say about it?

Safe to say we are in shock and awe about it and words alone cannot express our condolences for the people and the families involved. My Uncle is in fact in London at a meeting and fortunately he is safe and sound, although a little stuck.

The sheer barbarity of the monstrosities let loose during the London rush hour on an already strained public transport network has left thousands of people stranded and with no means of travel.

Safe to say an attack on home soil was more a matter of time than really unexpected, as we have been standing alongside the U.S.A. on the matter of terrorism and have been a main perpetrator in the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq.

What is the effect though?

Well, Britain will be shaken by it, but our resolve will not break. It will definitely make us more aware of what has been happening elsewhere in the world and security will be stepped up to a level never seen before, most likely.

It’s not going to simply affect national security. The G8 summit at Gleneagles will have been hit hard by these attacks, and so the topic of global warming and aid in Africa will have the spotlight robbed from them, and the series of events like Live 8 will have their effect very much stolen, as the focus once again will switch to national security. This is a great shame, really, as they finally had the attention that they deserved, driven forth by a country which takes both far more seriously than most others.

But, as London revels from the bombings of this morning, some are showing strong signs of resilience to being forced into living in fear, whilst others will need that strength to pick them up again.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have been affected by it, the lives lost – last count of 33 – the scores of people injured, most seriously and the many more traumatised by the sights they saw. This is something we did not want to be repeated ever again, but unfortunately it has, and we have no choice but to try our best to cope.

Perhaps the most poignant question would be, why? Who could find the reasons to bomb innocent civilians when they were at their most vulnerable on their way to work? And, if suicide bombers were in fact involved – which is half suspected – how could they do it?