My brother-in-law works on the underground, but he and my sister are in Spain on holiday this week - fortunately

Hope everyone has signed in by now, I got the news through on our intranet (work for UK Gov. Dept) - but couldnt access internet for some time as it was too busy with everyone else trying for bbc.co.uk but managed to get on to cnn.com - also they brought a TV into the rest room at lunchtime. Amazed - took me back to the mid 1970's with the IRA ... I walked out of a shop in London - was about 100 yards down the road when a bomb went off in it. Please God let us not have to go through all this again.

Just got home. Working in North West London during the week at the moment. Hospital has been on red alert all day and we cleared some beds - but we've now been stood down. Thoughts and best wishes for all those caught up in town.

Louise

I spoke with wingnut this morning; he's fine. Left message for BingoSF & MatthewClement, but see from this thread that they're ok. I've spent most of the morning talking (got through on both cells & landlines), emailing, texting friends, clients, FTers, journalists, biz colleagues. All are ok, although 2 had close calls. Big problem right now for folk is trying to get home with public transportation shut down. For those in London, know that our love, prayers, thoughts & support are with you.

Helpful information
 

This may help fellow FT members - if you are trying to locate a family member and trying to phone airlines if at all possible try to find out which airline they were due to travel on not just departure or take off time before contacting any airline. I know many FT members will be concerned about family and friends and will not want to use the UK police emergency line but it does help if you know which airline the pax is travelling on even then not a lot of information may be given but it will save too many phone calls and hopefully help track down the pax. It sounds a simple suggestion and not meant to be frivolous in any way but it will help.

Just checking in....

I hope everyone is ok, sounds like most of Central London was hell on Earth :(

I'm London based but am a Womble so I'm about 8 miles from the nearest blast. I'm also not an early riser so the probability of me being involved in a morning rush hour incident is practically zero. To be honest the likelihood of me being in any morning incident at all is very slim. I prefer to start my morning after lunch when everyone else has already got their morning out of the way. Less crowded that way.

I'm sure this won't be the last terrorist incident we have in London (it certainly wasn't the first). All I can hope is that increased vigilance from Londoners will lessen the effects of future attacks and make them more difficult to perpetrate. My thoughts are with those who have been directly affected by this horrific series of attacks.

Finally I think the emergency services were superb. Although I've only seen the reports on television it seems as though the emergency plans swung into action with great effect. Well done.

Haven't seen or heard from Aisle Seat H yet, but will have to check to see if he has been posting over on the bmi Forum.

Looks like things could have been a lot worse - this from Fox News

American > English translation - "homicide bomber" = "suicide bomber"

To all the London Flyertalkers and everyone else in London, our thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Has anyone heard from Chartreuse?

Carol calls and I obey!!XX
 

I was very near the bombings but not affected directly by them. We were inconvenienced trying to go home as there were no Tube trains as you know and all railway termini north of the Thames were closed so I could not get home. What was this compared to what other suffered? The pictures in this morning's paper are almost too much to bear.

Roy, my partner (our 28th Anniversary this very day 8th July, I've just realised) came to London to collect me. I went to Kingston from Waterloo as that station being on the South Bank was open and working. Sorry that I had not checked in earlier but my mind was rather engaged along with everyone else on other matters. One of our staff saw the bus expode and most were in a rather flakey state either worrying about loved ones or the very situation. We are situated in a quiet street off Finsbury Square so apart from the general order issued by the police to stay in the building and the accounts related by others who had had to walk miles across London just to get to work and had absolutely no idea how they were going to get home. We had no idea if the bridges over the Thames were open, if the roads were open, if they were open would the police let us through? We just did not know. As I remember from 9/11 - people may have been at work but nothing much there mattered, most people stared at the internet, listened to radios and comforted each other. I spoke to several people as I crossed London that afternoon and heard the same story. Like the afternoon of 9/11 an eerie silence descended on the city. It was quieter than a Sunday. No buses ran, there were very few taxis, and all you heard was the sound of people walking and sirens wailing as yet more ambulances or police cars hurtled past. That was a little unnerving - but only a little. All everyone wanted to do was to leave the Capital. We were all concerned that something would cause Waterloo to be closed and then we would all be snookered. I left at about 15.32 after a walk from the Barbican that took about 50 minutes. The heavens were kind and after drizzling at lunchtime, the skies cleared and it was warm and sunny. Let us Thank Heaven for small mercies. We all thought - there but for the Grace Of God went we. The stories that will emerge are going to be incredible.

Thank you all for your concern for us over here - worry not - I strongly suspect that normal service - (which is the only civilised response to terrorism IMHO) will resume as soon as possible. Thank you all Dear Flyertakers who know Roy and I for your mails - and if I have not been able to respond yet - I will. I am supposed to be working from home and I have done nothing since 7.00am but answer mail from lovely concened people. Even the postman called in here in Hadleigh to see how I was. God Bless you all.

I flew to LHR the night of 9/11 from WAW. It was eerie silent that night as everyone was watching TV. But the next day on 9/12, most everyone went to work. It will be interesting how London reacts to this. As others have said, bombings are nothing new to London, but this isn't like other bombings.

On a personal note, I finally got through to my cousin who lives near Oxford High Street. She walked home from work in the City. She doesn't know yet if she will go to work in the morning.

Thanks QF WP, and everyone else, I am fine. Due to it being the end of Semester I was working from home, so was not in town or on the Tube. All family and friends well too, no one I know involved thankfully. I do hope all of your loved ones and friends are all OK too everyone.

Thanks for the thoughts all of you.

I was out of town on Thursday, and got back to London yesterday (Saturday). Thank God for company plastic and hotel rooms. Mrs Chartreuse was in London, but hadn't yet gone out when the attack started, so was able to stay indoors.

Although I don't usually take the tube to work (my office is off Russell Square) I'll be looking at taking it for the next week or two, just to make a point. Tufnell Park to Goodge St on the Northern Line should be doable.