After yesterday’s Poker Night, I woke up feeling a little delicate this morning and, while Brett got ready for a day of Chorus Politics at a Steering Committee focus session, I stayed in bed and browsed the news. The headlines are still dominated by Thursday’s bombings as forensic teams piece together what happened and the emergency services work to recover the remaining bodies from the most badly damaged tube section.
What caught my eye the most though was the community spirit and the resilience that shows through the stories. Here, towards the end of a commentary on how the Emergency Services responded, a paramedic describes how members of the public helped and comforted those who were shocked or had minor injuries. He also tells of the shopkeepers handing out bottled water to the victims in the aftermath. The Marks & Spencer branch on Edgware Road became a triage centre and handed out water, food, blankets and clothing to those in need.
There are a whole range of stories (here, here and in video here, for example) which show how Londoners are refusing to give ground to the terrorists and are carrying on with their lives as normally as possible. From the Prime Minister promising no knee-jerk legislation here, to the mass-circulation tabloids here reminding us that Muslims have been as much victims as anyone else, there is a sense that we aren’t going to be panicked into doing anything stupid,
As someone who so often sees the flaws and problems in our society, it is a real boost to see this all happening and realise that there is still something worthwhile about being British.
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