Nervous? Us?
30 November 2005 22:19![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mandragoraWas on the tube this morning, on my way to the office, when a fellow passenger asked if a bag by one of the doors belonged to anyone in the carriage. Everyone said no. And then we all looked at one another.
The train had just set off and was in a tunnel and therefore the best thing was to wait until it reached the next stop and alert the authorities. Most people moved to the other end of the carriage. I didn't. Hey, I had a seat! I sat there reflecting on the irony and counting the seconds until we reached the next stop. You see the next stop was where I was getting off anyway. So, if I got blown up just before I got off, I'd be, well, I'd be pretty pissed off actually. I also thought glumly that the timing would be spot on if the bag exploded just before the next stop, which is right in the heart of the City and therefore a major terrorist target. Has been for many years, actually, ever since a significant chunk was blown up by the IRA.
Next thing, the door between the carriages opened and a harassed looking woman stepped through. "Oh, that's my bag," she said. "I've been running up the train searching for it." And then, catching sight of the worried faces, "Oh. Sorry."
There was a palpable frisson of relief. Tense expressions lifted, tight bodies loosened. And I sat there wondering how the hell she managed to get her bag on one carriage of the tube train and herself on another. It's not like you can move easily between the carriages, after all. But, alas, before I could assuage my curiosity, the train pulled into Bank and I got off, reflecting on how fortunate the woman was that she'd found her bag before it was blown up by the bomb squad.
The train had just set off and was in a tunnel and therefore the best thing was to wait until it reached the next stop and alert the authorities. Most people moved to the other end of the carriage. I didn't. Hey, I had a seat! I sat there reflecting on the irony and counting the seconds until we reached the next stop. You see the next stop was where I was getting off anyway. So, if I got blown up just before I got off, I'd be, well, I'd be pretty pissed off actually. I also thought glumly that the timing would be spot on if the bag exploded just before the next stop, which is right in the heart of the City and therefore a major terrorist target. Has been for many years, actually, ever since a significant chunk was blown up by the IRA.
Next thing, the door between the carriages opened and a harassed looking woman stepped through. "Oh, that's my bag," she said. "I've been running up the train searching for it." And then, catching sight of the worried faces, "Oh. Sorry."
There was a palpable frisson of relief. Tense expressions lifted, tight bodies loosened. And I sat there wondering how the hell she managed to get her bag on one carriage of the tube train and herself on another. It's not like you can move easily between the carriages, after all. But, alas, before I could assuage my curiosity, the train pulled into Bank and I got off, reflecting on how fortunate the woman was that she'd found her bag before it was blown up by the bomb squad.
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Date: 30 November 2005 22:46 (UTC)Nervous? No: sensible. The Monday after July 7th some idiot left their bags outside the Superdrug on the Stand whilst they went inside to buy something. Several commuters walked past doing the 'does it belong to someone?' eye-shifty, then two policemen on horses came into view and several people diverged on them to report the 'unattended articles'. All the time I was wondering what kind of fucking idiotic wanker would leave large bags hanging around on a London street, recent bombings or no. Still, I'm very happy it was just such a wanker, eh?
no subject
Date: 1 December 2005 22:29 (UTC)Regarding the woman, I think she probably got off the train, started to walk away down the platform, suddenly realised she'd left her bag on the train and leapt back in, a way down the train, just before the doors closed. She would then have gone through the carriages looking for it. So, perhaps understandable that she had a moment's inattention. #
Ah well, at least it ended well.