Checking in

[selenay]

Just checking in to say that I don't work in London and am therefore OK. If anyone on the f-list hasn't heard any news yet, there were bomb blasts in London this morning. So far, my sister has reported in that she's safe - the school that she works in is near Aldgate tube station, just behind the London Royal Hospital, has been evacuated because so many injured are being taken to the hospital. She's walking home.

terrylbirch has reported into her journal that she's fine - daft bugger got to work at 7.30am, way before the blasts.

I haven't heard from one friend working in London - she hasn't responded to emails or texts yet. Not being a London native, can anyone help me with some geography? Is Grosvenor Square near any of the sites and, if she's trying to cross London via Marylebone, is it likely that she'll have had to go through any of the affected tube stations? Not that I'm panicking or anything...

ETA I've been listening in to Radio Two since I got home from work and apparently Grosvenor Square is closed off. Um....

ETA 2 She checked in and she's fine. Very relieved. That's everyone I know in London safe. My thoughts are with the families who haven't been as lucky.

Comments

[destina.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you and your sis are ok. This is so horrible. *sigh*

[selenay]

Thanks. I'm obssessively listening to the radio and feeling rather sick - so far, my friend hasn't checked in. I'm sure that she's fine but...there's this niggling little voice asking why she hasn't contacted anyone.

Bleh.

[gmul.livejournal.com]

Grosvenor Square isn't particularly near anything in practical terms. Edgware Road isn't far off but not really on a straight line between Marylebone and GS.

(GS has the American Embassy I think, so might just be closed off as a standard precautionary measure.)

[selenay]

My London geography is pretty hazy - thanks for the reassurance. My friend checked in a minute ago (finally!) and she's fine. Her boyfriend was going to a conference near King's Cross this morning, but thankfully he was out of the station by the time the blast went off. She's feeling shaken, but relieved. As we all are.

[greensilver.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear from you. I hope your friend is safe.

[selenay]

My friend checked in a minute ago - she's fine. Her boyfriend was at a conference near King's Cross today, but he was out of the station by the time it went off. She's spent most of the day making sure that he's OK, hence the delay in letting us know that she's OK.

[rhi-silverflame.livejournal.com]

Good to know you're all right. Very relieved to hear this, and glad to hear your sister is all right, too. All my best wishes to your friends and family in the area.

Sitting here listening to the streaming feed of BBC Five Live at work . . . the US news media is utterly useless as far as giving us any actual information. On the other hand, if you want to stir up mass hysteria, they're useful. :P

[selenay]

*g* I always feel incredibly glad to have the BBC - between their website, their radio stations and their news channel, we've been kept informed *without* a mass panic. The only problem is that, because the BBC likes to be conservative in its estimates and not report unsubstantiated rumours, we can expect the numbers to rise over the next day or so.

[rhi-silverflame.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'd rather have the conservative estimates than what we get here -- people running around with "shock faces" that might as well have been put there by plastic surgery, talking about "we don't know how many people have been killed" in such a way that automatically leads people to assume the worst. So unnecessarily sensationalist . . . I can't stand it.

[selenay]

*sigh* Having seen snippets of CNN on a good day when I've spent time in Canada, I'm feeling incredibly grateful for the way that we report news over here and particularly for having the BBC. I'll be trying to figure out a way to stream BBC radio and TV through the house when I move over to Canada!

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

I'm relieved both you and your family are safe.

[selenay]

Thanks. Mom was alone this morning waiting for sis to call in, but we're all feeling relieved right now. In fact, we had no idea how close to the hospital she was working. Apparently they're using her school as some kind of staging post/triage centre.

So glad she doesn't use the Tube to get to work. The stubborn kid walks instead. Her nearest tube station is...Aldgate.

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness for stubbornness.

[jedishadowolf.livejournal.com]

I wondered this morning when I heard about the attacks if you were in London. I'm glad to hear you and your loved ones are alright.

Damn sorry this tragedy happened though. I know, fairly trite, but very true.

Take care & be safe.

[selenay]

Thanks. It's still a little hard to take in and I can't helping feeling terrible about the families who haven't been as luck as I have.

[notsoshygirl.livejournal.com]

So glad that you and your family are all right. {{{hugs}}}

[selenay]

Thanks, hon.