As I left my office at the London School of Economics at about 7:30 p.m. last night (Friday), the street in front of the School (Aldwych) and the street nearby (the Strand) were closed to cars by police lines, though there was no trouble walking about. I asked somebody, and they pointed eastward saying, "They found a bomb in..." (I couldn't catch the name of the street, but probably some side street off Fleet Street nearby.) Walking toward the tube station, I overheard a woman talking on her cell, "There's a bomb scare," and I was able to direct her to the nearest tube stop, which she obviously didn't normally use.
On the BBC 10 p.m. TV news, there was indeed a stroy about a second defused bomb, but it wasn't in the area near the London School of Economics the police had cordoned off (that must have been a false alarm -- it wasn't even mentioned on the TV story -- possibly there have been more unreported false alarms) but rather right near the site the first car had been found.
Is the U.S. media reporting how these bombs were discovered? The first was called in by ambulance workers passing by the street, who noticed smoke coming out of the car. The second had been towed for being illegally parked, and the car towing lot had noticed something suspicious. In both cases, public employees going beyond their job descriptions and taking responsibility as eyes and ears for public safety. Good job!
My sister in Denver e-mailed telling me to stay away from theaters (I'm not one of these Americans who spends all their time in London at plays anyway) -- I guess she didn't need to add avoid bars and clubs. I'm writing this from the Starbucks in Victoria Station, maybe not the safest place now that I think of it. Otherwise, I will be at museums a bit of today and tomorrow, various government offices on Monday, and at home on Tuesday!
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