Thursday
(0)Sometimes talented, sometimes monumentally untalented assailants of one's ears: yes, the phenomenon of the public "busker" seems to be alive and well on the London Underground. A guy at Chancery Lane station this evening was dressed in what must have been a hot and thick red jacket, with a sort of Elvis haircut and was belting out Sinatra hits. (Not bad, actually). The sound of Old Blue Eyes followed me down the Stygian depths of the platform until the racket of the train overwhelmed it. A strange evening. The station was full of police with their yellow jackets on on high alert four Thursdays on from the mass murders of July 7. Cops and Sinatra on a Thursday night. A rum combination.
... in what must have been a hot and thick red jacket
Lucky he wasn't of a swarthy appearance then - he'd have been subjected to the 'why do you need to wear that jacket in this weather' approach, which I saw one of the 7 officers at Pimlico station use this morning on one unfortunate individual.
Posted by Julian Taylor at August 4, 2005 11:46 PM
wee johnny is so chuffed that he's finally had the balls to travel underground again that he feels moved to blog about it. no more taking the scenic route home and giggling at pretty girls jon? GOOD boy. BRAVE boy.
Posted by tatter at August 5, 2005 12:18 PM
If I lived in London and could avoid the tube, I would do so. What is laughable about having a strong sense of self-preservation?
Posted by Verity at August 5, 2005 06:25 PM
The proper response to terrorist pukes who don't have the balls to buy proper kit and stage a guerilla war, in uniform, in accordance with the laws of land warfare, is to stand up tall, stick your chest out, and to say "fuck you" in every way you can think of. That means being brave and taking the Tube. When we had the snipers here in D.C. post-9/11, people were crouching down behind their cars to fill up on gas. I saw that only once, and resolved to stand tall. First off, no place is safe from punks who are willing to die, in order to make you die. Second, if I'm going to die, it's going to be standing up and not giving a shit about these cowards, not crawling around and praying. There is a difference between prudence and fearfulness, and it may be really trite to say it, but if you are running scared, they have won their first battle.
And if that's not enough for you, just remember, scared people often accede to really stupid, liberties-destroying government measures. Some increased security is necessary, but a government that feels the public needs a wet nurse, will go wayyyy overboard. TSA, anybody? .
Posted by Al Maviva at August 6, 2005 12:18 AM
Tatter: I have no qualms in admitting I was frightened for a few days and decided to write about what I saw. So take a hike.
Posted by Johnathan at August 8, 2005 09:12 AM
"So take a hike."
Nah - I'll stick with the tube.
(I look forward to your next "What I Done at the Weekend" contribution.)
Posted by tatter at August 8, 2005 09:24 AM
Tatter, if you have nothing intelligent or amusing to say, f**k off. Trolls will be deleted.
Posted by Johnathan at August 8, 2005 10:23 AM
