7/7

The events of the 7th July 2005 and the shock of the terrorist attacks meant for us some immediate decisions.  At the time we were making regular visits to London and had a full diary.  Did we give up on all this or did we refuse to let it do so?

We decided to go ahead.  Whether we were being bone headed or not is a matter of opinion.  But we grew up at a time when people had to go on with their lives despite daily serious risks.

So on the 8th July we were at The Barbican having followed our usual routine in a quiet City and the auditorium had many vacant seats.  On the 10th we were up again, this time Covent Garden, again with seats left vacant despite the prices.

Also, we followed routine on the 10th, as this meant a spell in the Embankment Gardens we ate our packed meal under the statue of Robert Burns, picture above, a man who believed in freedoms and signed the Book of Condolence there.

For the Proms season, and 2005 was one where we were on the front row of the Arena on The Last Night, the security was heavy and at the Albert Hall it was problematical.  The "intelligence" and "security" aspects there raised some real and worrying questions.

What was disturbing was that the security people rather than just doing the job with awareness  and being alive to subtleties seemed to be aping the conduct of characters in bad quality film and TV.

I hope things have improved since then.