Oh joy

[mandragora]

News has just broken that 6 men were arrested in North London in a suspected plot to mass-poison Londoners, probably on the Underground with a deadly poison called Ricin - which is 6,000 times more toxic than Cyanide. The chemical has been manufactured in Iraq and it's thought Al Quieda may have access to it.

All this is alarming, of course, but what's got to me is that the road where they were arrested is about a mile from where I live (granted, with the population density of London that isn't that close). However, the road where the suspected poisoners-to-be were living and where they were arrested, is one I know very well, as one of my closest friends used to live there. It's a quiet, surburban road in North London. Not somewhere you'd think a bunch of people would be plotting to commit mass murder.

The other happy thought is that Wood Green is one stop down the line from where I get on the tube, on the Piccadilly Line, so if the poisoners had decided to release the toxin on the tube, it could have been my line, and if I was really unlucky, my tube train.

What a happy thought.

Comments

Yow!

[thermidor.livejournal.com]

Geez, and I'll be back in London on Sunday. (mental note: take cab from station)

That sucks but I hope they arrested the right folks & fouled up their plan.

Re: Yow!

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Will look forward to seeing you when you're back. So far the police have found only trace elements of Ricin at the address in Wood Green. So, they're telling anyone who feels ill in Wood Green to go to their doctor. Can't see why, though, as there's no antidote to the poison. Once poisoned, you're dead. However, the doctor on the news tonight said that there are lots of worse poisons around. So that's all right then!

(mental note: take cab from station)

By all means take a taxi if you've got too much luggage, but I don't think you need worry about travelling by tube too much. Let's put it this way, I'll be getting the tube as normal because we need to carry on our lives. Which seems to be the attitude of the hapless residents of Wood Green. People who live in the relevant road who were interviewed by the BBC were surprised, but phlegmatic about it all.

Re: Yow!

[thermidor.livejournal.com]

yeah, it's the luggage that's going to make me take a cab, actually. I'm hoping London Bridge to Islington won't be too frightfully expensive.

And gee, maybe I'll leave here before that idiot the president starts a war with Iraq or N. Korea (or both)

Re: Yow!

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping London Bridge to Islington won't be too frightfully expensive.

It shouldn't be, it's not far in distance. Just don't let the cabbie take you the 'scenic route'. I know that you're pretty savvy on the travel front, but London taxi drivers have had the cheek to even try it on with me. Cue ensuing argument over the fare, all of which I have (so far) won. But I've had long 'discussions' with them as to why they chose a particular route, usually starting off with, "Oh, are there now road works on [particular road in question] and is that why you haven't gone down it?" When rumbled they usually are conciliatory, but it does make me wonder how many poor tourists get ripped off.

Anyway, bear in mind that London Bridge is only just south of The City, Islington is only just north of it and The City is only about 1 mile square. Ergo, London Bridge to Islington is Not Far, and don't let anyone suggest otherwise!

[temaris.livejournal.com]

Having been to Wood Green on several occasions I can only be impressed that the police even noticed unsavory characters wandering around with poison, among the unsavory characters wandering around doing drugs, promulgating gang wars, dealing, boosting movable goods and making the place into the filthy, scary place it used to be.

shiver

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Be fair, Wood Green is improving. Or, at least the Council is trying to improve it. What's sad is that when I first moved to London, Wood Green was actually quite decent - there was a DH Evans (House of Fraser) in the shopping centre, for example.

Then it went way downhill, but now seems to be getting back on track.

Also, as even the BBC reporter pointed out, the actual road where the alleged poisoners were arrested is a decent, leafy, surburban road, which is placed near to the (nice, middle-class) Palmers Green area. So, it's not the dregs of Wood Green, where you wouldn't be surprised at any nefarious goings on but the kind of place where you find the respectable working class and young professional types.

[temaris.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. It's still impressive, in a city this size, to be able to find the right people. Got to hope they keep doing it.

Can't help wondering what security around the underground trains depots is like. Iron clad if they've any sense at all. But if I can think of three easy ways to infect all of London, I expect the security services can too - and several more too that I just do not want to know about.

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Ooh, shiver. I was reading the New Statesman the other day and discovered the area where I live is Illegal Immigrant Central. And I thought they were tourists, which proves that I'm a complete innocent who notices nothing. Hi! by the way.

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Hi back atchya,

Had a longer response typed out, but LJ ate it, so will simply say that given the multi-cultural nature of London, such as the fact that at any one time there can be up to 60 different nationalities in a single tube carriage, I don't think I'd have realised I was living in Illegal Immigrant Central either!

Especially if the area I was living in was hugely multi-cultural to start with (mine isn't so I might notice, but I wouldn't bet on it).

But yeah, poison plot is scary, although the security services are clearly doing their job well in catching them. Trouble is, they're not going to catch everything. Sigh.