London Bombings

Evening Standard
Originally uploaded by murky.

I still can't believe this happened today, when only 24 hours earlier I was crowing over London's Olympic victory. This is definitely one of the times when you feel cut off from home as an expat, because it seems almost unreal. You can look at the pictures, you can listen to the newsmen, you KNOW where all these events took place and yet, somehow, you feel slightly disconnected, like it's happening to someone else. You can't feel what it's like to be there, you even feel a little guilty that you're not there to take part in it, to do something. It's weird, partly I think because I didn't talk to anyone today who was actually there, who was involved in any way. I did the sim-tran of Blair's speech live for the TV, and was quite impressed for once - I felt he struck completely the right note and was genuinely moving. I was interviewed on French radio, but somehow talking about it all in another language shifts you another step further away. Anyway, rather than reading my ramblings, have a look at the BBC's eyewitness accounts here. And spare a thought for all those who were hurt in any way by today's madness and for what I still think of as "my" hometown.
(The photo was taken by Murky and uploaded from flickr.com under a CC license)