Twenty Years On

The 7th July 2005 and I was in the vicinity of Aldwych, London.  I'd gone up for an interview and was on a carriage of kids who were all due to go to Baker Street and I imagine Madame Tussaud's and the Planetarium.  They were advised to catch the train back as there was a power outage and a fire and I think they duly caught the train back.  I wandered up the road to the interview.  There was a BAR F1 Car in the window of an office block - the sort Jenson Button drove as I recall (perhaps wrongly).

It was an early interview and I immediately realised that the two guys that were interviewing me were way out of the depth.  By that I mean that they hadn't prepared, hadn't read my CV and had no real grasp of the job that they were asking me to do.  It was like sending the cleaner to hire a Brain Surgeon.   The interview didn't last long as they couldn't answer my questions and the little creep was also sneering and I could see had no idea of what I was talking about.  He also didn't like the questions I was asking them about what their roles were to be if they hiring the overall Programme Director, what part in the Programme were they taking and would I be reporting to them.

Once you realise that there isn't a hope in hell, then go on the attack and make them work hard to close down the interview etc.  They said that there had been an incident on the underground and just up the road and so I thought, as it was relatively early I'd go back to Charing Cross and just go home.  The sound of sirens was all around and when I got to the station the dooors were locked and a Policeman was guarding it.  I asked what was going on and I think he said security incident, that Charing Cross was closed but Waterloo was open so I walked across the bridge to Waterloo and then found that whilst Waterloo was open (that's the East station) they were actually running trains out of London Bridge - the next station on and using Waterloo East to turn the trains like they'd do at Charing Cross normally.  So I walked on but the other side of the station saw the largest numbers of Fire Engines, Police Cars and Ambulances all lined up.

The mobile phone network had been turned off and so I didn't get the frantic calls from my mother, brother and wife.  I could not call out either.  I walked in the mizzle towards London Bridge and as I arrived there, a train came in and I was able to head home on a reasonably empty train.  The phone eventually rung as I got nearer my destination and it was my brother and so I briefly explained where I was and that I was on the way home and got him to ring my mum and my wife so they knew I was OK and making my way home.

I came out of the station into the local pub and grabbed a beer and they had the TV on so I was able to finally see and hear what had gone on.  Not for the first time I had been in London during a multiple bombing.  I drank a second beer and wandered home and watched the horror unfold. 

 It was a horrific attack and the Bus in Tavistock Square was the nearest to where I was - still around a mile away I'd guess - possibly a little less. A sad day, the dead, injured, those affected and the emergency services all caught up in the events.