7/7 - where were you?

[CuppaTeaAndAJammieDodger]

Just realised it's the 7th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings tomorrow.

I haven't thought about that day for some time now, but for a long time after there wasn't much else I could think about. Here's my recollection of the day.

I was on my way to a primary school outside of London to do some user testing for a course my company had developed and was en route between Bethnal Green, where I lived, and Waterloo.

I walked in to Liverpool Street Station and down in to the ticket area of the tube and made my way on to the eastbound platform just as a circle line train was pulling in. I was running pretty early so decided to grab a can of coke to wake me up from the kiosk on the platform, and let that train go by without me. Not long after the train had fully left the station there was a whooshing sound, soon followed by (which really stayed with me) a smell of burning (plastic or something).

A kind of controlled panic ensued, nobody knew what had happened, we all started getting off the platform as quickly as possible and the staff were ushering everyone out of the station. by the time I managed to get outside the emergency services were arriving. I had no idea what to do so just started walking to Waterloo, desperately trying to get a news feed up on my phone to see what was going on (this was 2005 - no smart phones back then!) but couldn't. It wasn't until I arrived at Waterloo that I found out what had happened and was told that I could leave London, but I wouldn't be getting back in today, so I decided to cancel the testing, make my way home and work from there.

I started to make my way, again on foot (public transport had obviously completely shut down), but every street I walked down seem to be being cordoned off by the police and I found myself walking further and further trying to find a route, then it started raining. Finally I managed to get to Bethnal Green Road after walking for what felt like hours, my mum managed to get through to me on my mobile after hours of trying, as soon as I heard her voice I just sat down on the curb and started crying - the gravity of the situation just hit me.

Took me a while to realise that that decision to have a can of coke could have potentially saved my life (dependent on what carriage I'd got on of course) - the ironic thing is I don't drink the stuff any more as I can't have caffeine due to panic attacks/anxiety issues.

Wow - that was long, sorry if I've bored you to death! That was the first time I've written down in detail what happened that day, rather cathartic really.

Interested to hear your memories of the day.

I was in America, visiting my mom with my husband, who is from Northern Ireland.

Absolute panic as that is the tube his sister would have been on and, of course, trying to get an international line was impossible. Finally got an email from SIL to us and their parents (who couldn't even get through to her from NI) that she was fine. She had been running late and missed it.

Just sitting here remembering my walk from Victoria to Fenchurch Street. Why I didn't go home I do not know. I had started walking and I think I thought I ought to get to people I knew an a building Which was safe rather than back on a train. Little did I know I'd hit the Aldgate aftermath as I approached the office. I now travel through Aldgate everyday and the flowers and tributes (year round) make me feel so emotional.

It also pisses me off that we have 9/11 memorials etc on the news (rightly so and not meaning to belittle that event) but the 7 July anniversary hasn't even made the Sky News or BBC news apps yet this morning

My thoughts are with all affected

I was just about to leave home to go into Bond Street - i hadn't had the t.v on that morning.

My Dsis called and i said i couldn't chat as i ws just going into town, she told me to put the t.v.

Needless to say that's where i stayed.

I am outraged that this hasn't been mentioned on t.v this morning, we need a candle emoticon for this too.

My dbil was a manager for London Underground at Edgware Road, he got a medal from the Queen for what he did that day - he never talks about it though.

At uni in slough on a course. One if the tutors came in to tell us. Then worrying time trying to get hold of my h, we'd had a massive row that morning and I knew he was working in the area.
Luckily he'd been delayed in the m4 from an earlier meeting.

CuppaTea - I'm glad you stopped for the can of coke!! :) x

I have to go out now, but will be back tomorrow to read the rest of the thread.

This thread has made me realise that I remember hearing about the 'power surge', taking it as fact, then hearing that a bus had blown up and realising that we were almost certainly looking at terrorism.... Beyond that, I cannot remember a thing. Very weird. I was working in London at the time and used Edgware Rd station every day.

At school, aged 14, in a commuter belt town. Worrying about my dad who worked in London. I ended up spending most of my day in my Head of House's office, being looked after and trying to comfort some Yr 7's who were in the same boat. Thankfully all our relatives were okay.

I was at work on Old St as a temp during my university holidays. I started at 8, and was picking up the calls from everyone else in the office saying that they were having problems getting in because of a 'power surge'. It sounded dodgy and was across a number of tube lines so I called my mum, who was supposed to be going to Hampton Court flower show that day and told her she might want to stay at home.

When she heard what they were saying about the power surge, she just replied 'that's ridiculous, it's not possible on the tubes' (she worked in the rail industry before she retired), and said that she thought it was probably something more sinister. She was proven right about 20 minutes later when the bomb went off on the bus.

We all left the office at about 2 and walked down to London Bridge, where services were still running into south London and I eventually got home.

I also remember the 'power surge' news on the radio and then got a call from my friend who'd been evacuated from Euston. He was distressed and completely disoriented, very out of character. I sat with the news on and my laptop and an A-Z, trying to navigate him out of London or to somewhere I could pick him up. Felt helpless. I think he walked half of the 15 miles home and eventually got a bus.

Rest of the day at work watching news and trying to explain to my boss (who was away) the extent of what had happened and that a) no-one would want to come and see a stupid play tonight and b) many people wouldn't have been able to travel. We were just outside London so she didn't understand why it would affect us. I managed to persuade her in the end though. How heartless it would have been to do otherwise.

On the Aldgate train. 30 feet from the bomb. Fortunately I was in the next carriage so had the carriage bulkhead to protect me from the full force of the blast. I was also sitting down and bending over (to get something out of my bag) as the bomb went off. I covered my head with my hands and that saved me from hitting my head on the glass partition. Someone sitting four seats from me (next to a glass partition) wasn't so lucky and ended up with a serious head injury and nearly died. I was covered in glass and other stuff I won't write here but other than cuts, bruises and the effects of smoke inhalation I was physically okay. Mentally it took two years of counselling to help me recover from what I experienced and what I saw that day. I think I'm one of the lucky ones.

Teaching in a school with a huge number of children whose parents commuted to the city for work. We had a number of mothers come and collect their children from school early, and that set panic for the rest of the children who didn't know WTF was going on.
Very impressed by several dads who biked the 45 miles back home to reassure their families that they were OK, several parents worked in the hospitals and had to stay over but got messages through. One dad had to jog 10 miles or so before finding transport.
There was a lot of fall out afterwards with the older children who wanted their parents to swap jobs and never wanted to go on the tube or even to London again.

I remember staying at work until three when it was decided it was safe for us all to go, by the bosses, then walking home.
Walking with some colleagues to Finsbury Park, in crowds of others, then going our separate ways. It was sunny.

All the buses going past were utterly full. I was pleased, that people hadn't been frightened off them.

I was on a school trip to Cambridge university for an open day. We arrived at 9.30 and went on the tour as planned, at lunch time the teachers let us wander round Cambridge to find our own lunch. We turned our phones back on at this point and started to receive messages from family asking if we were ok, there seemed to be far too many messages for this to be normal concerned parent behaviour.

Then our teacher found us (in McDonalds) and said we were going home, we were supposed to have stayed until late afternoon. None of the teachers told us what was happening, if they knew themselves.

All the way home on the coach back up north there were signs on the motorway saying basically that London was closed and to turn back if heading in that direction.

I was driving to meet a friend to walk our dogs on Hampstead Heath. The radio was talking about power surges and I remember seeig people waiting outside Golders Green tube station. We started walking and were listening to LBC on my headphones and I remember at one stage they reported that several buses had been blown up. We could hear sirens from all around London. It was so eerie.
I went home and locked my door, and called my friends to make sure they were safe.

I was on a tube at Paddington, one stop from Edgware Rd. We were told to get off. I walked to Euston where I was doing a presentation. I went down Praed St where I saw firefighters on ladders on the bridge presumably looking down to see if they could see the tube. I actually passed Edgware Rd Station, there didn't seem to be an emergency as there was just one police car pulling up as I went past and the police got out very slowly and casually. No ambulances or people calling for help. I wish I had known and could have gone into the station to help but I had no idea there were casualties. I got to my presentation which had been cancelled and we spent all day watching the horrific events on TV.

As a child I was close to the bomb in the Holland Park area that killed a doctor and remember the huge explosion. I was also in Bournes in Oxford St when it was evacuated (the bomb disposal expert was killed later that day). I was in Knightsbridge on a bus when the bomb exploded in Hyde Park killing the soldiers on horseback.

Unfortunately if you live in central London you are sometimes close to these events. I don't think I would want to live anywhere else though.

Bisjo - OMG!

I was on the Victoria Line at Kings Cross when the Russell Square underground bomb went off. We missed the Picadilly line train as my flat mate took forever to leave the house and then walked to the station as slow as a steamroller in her new heels. I was cross with her as she was making me late for a meeting, but her new shoes probably saved our lives. Had we got to Finsbury Park a few minutes earlier we would have jumped on the Picadilly Line to Russell Square...

Getting married.

I was at work, near Heathrow, and watching the BBC site: power surge, another power surge... Then we all went down and watched the telly and Tony Blair's speech.
Colleagues' friends & family working in London were ok. But a girl in my choir was killed at Edgeware Road, and a friend was in Tavistock Square and showered with glass.

I still hate the tube - I go on it but wish I never had to.

It's my birthday and I was in Reykjavik with DH.

I had a (unrelated) miscarriage. Came home from work, with dh soon after, then we both heard it on the news.

All you Londoners, do you still go on the tube? I visited London not so long ago and was very wary about going on the tube with my 2 yo, I think it's time like this that everyone pulls together and reading the stories on here has confirmed that, I do fear that something is going to happen at the games