Twenty years on…

20 years ago today, I had a physio appointment, so I was commuting late into work. My train from Ilford stopped unexpectedly at Manor Park and the driver didn’t have a reason.

We had ~20 mins of the driver occasionally telling us he didn’t know what was going on, with me trying to get news on my Internet-capable phone (the iPhone wouldn’t launch for another 18 months); it was clear something was wrong, with initial reports of 2 explosions on the Circle line.

It was actually only 1 explosion, between Liverpool Street and Aldgate — we didn’t know about the Edgware Road or King’s Cross St Pancras bombs yet and it was initially thought to be due to a power surge.

After waiting on-train for 20–30 mins, we were finally told that the train would not be proceeding further, as all rail transport in Greater London was suspended (!!)

I worked in West Kensington, about 20 km away, whereas I’d only moved 1 station, so I headed home. All busses were full, so I walked.

I think I called my parents to let them know I was ok, but I don’t actually remember; maybe I only tried to and couldn’t get through at this point. (I’ll have called them once I got home, if I hadn’t already.)

I do remember arriving back at Ilford station and telling a lady who couldn’t get through to Channel 4 News, where she worked, what little we knew then.

Once I got home, I let work know that I was unable to travel and would work from home. But I didn’t get any work done, oddly enough.

Along with almost all my circle of friends, I spent the day watching BBC News 24 and talking on IRC and LiveJournal as we all checked in to let ppl know we were ok.

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you can still see the LiveJournal posts I made this day 20 years ago.

“I just hope we don’t get a big knee-jerk political reaction” isn’t a phrase that aged well, especially living in a very South Asian area at the time…