Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action

[caddyman]

It's not looking good at the moment.

Happily for me personally, my habit of going to work late and then staying late has meant that I am nowhere near Central London, and with very little hope of getting there today.

The incident at Liverpool Street Station just before 9 this morning was thought to be an explosion due to a power surge, and this line seems to have been adhered to even after a separate incident at Edgeware Road station which is around 8 miles away.

It has now been confirmed that a double-decker bus has exploded in Tavistock Square or Russell Square outside the BMA.

This does not seem to me to be the effects of mere happenstance.

Many, but not all, mainline stations are now closed, and overland rail services are stopping outside London. The entire Tube network has been evacuated.

Understandably, the news is very confused at the moment, and reports vary. You don't get accidents like this; someone has deliberately set out to cause as much disruption as possible. It appears that there have been explosions at Liverpool Street, Edgeware Road, King's Cross and a couple of other places, but sorting rumour from fact is not easy at the moment.

Unsurprisingly, the BBC News website is sluggish; I expect it's getting more hits now than it has done for some time.

Edit The reason your mobile phones won't work in the area is because the network has been switched off so that phones can't be used to trigger explosives. Most, but not all networks in the centre have been switched off.

Comments

[cowjam.livejournal.com]

I've been told that the national grid has stated that there hasn't been a problem with the power, making a surge unlikely.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Have you heard from DT?

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

No.

The network is busy so I can't phone him, so I've texted.

I don't have his office email here.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

I do, have mailed him - will let you know when I hear.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Ta.

I expect he's fine - but communications with that part of London will be awkward.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

smokingboot has heard from him, he's OK.

[sea-strands.livejournal.com]

Just..Be safe.

Kathy
XXXX

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've just spoken to him. He missed it all by about 10 minutes.

Quite how he's going to get back home tonoght, though...

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Where is he?

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

He coulodn't talk for long, and will be phoning back if he gets the chance. I think he is at the Old Bailey, or maybe Southwark Crown Court.

I was more relieved to hear the owd bugger speak, than to press him for details of location when he was patently in a hurry.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

True and fair

[littleonions.livejournal.com]

Glad you weren't there glad DT is alright, be safe.

[pauln.livejournal.com]

My regards to Beastie when he makes it home. I'm profoundly glad he's ok.

[trav28.livejournal.com]

Good to see you're ok.

I thought the network would be switched off - stands to reason given the nature of explosives etc

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Not all phones were switched off; at least one was still on, which annoyed me. After Madrid, I would have thought they would have learned their lesson and have a priority "off" system. However, since at least one was a deep-level tube the odds were that they weren't phone triggered.

Vodaphone intrigued by saying that they had a "priority for emergency service calls", which if true is something I was not aware of.

Tip 1: use news.bbc.co.uk/text_only.stm - it works better in emergencies.
Tip 2: Sky News is much less conservative than the BBC

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Kathy.

You too.

xxxx

[jennanne.livejournal.com]

This brings back all the feelings I had April 19, 1995. I was just a few miles away when that idiot bombed the downtown federal building. We all were trying to get a hold of everyone we knew to make sure they were all ok. So different but the same feeling of panic! I think I better get my mind off things and work for a change.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Aye, it's not fun, is it?

Still, London is pretty much used to it, even if not on this scale. In the '70s, '80s and early '90s, the Irish did their best to blow up every litter bin, parked car and mail box in central London.

That didn't stop us, this won't either. But it's always a relief to know your friends are safe.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Thankee, Miss Onions.

DT rolled in about a quarter after midnight, about 10 pints to the good, in a generally pissed off mood about the emergency services'over reaction to a minor problem...

He's a card.

[pauln.livejournal.com]

That didn't stop us, this won't either.

Quite. As the old timer caught up in the Canary Wharf show some years back said: "We've been blown up by a better class of bastard".