Photographs: July 2005 Archives

A quick belated note to say that I am fine and totally unaffacted by the bombing in that all my friends and family seem to have avoided the trauma. I remain amazed that more people weren't killed or seriously wounded as a result of the attacks, although obviously one person who loses their life, or is injured, is one too many.

I'm amazed by the stoicism people are showing - here's the text of an email I wrote yesterday which sums it all up:

"...I work at Kings Cross, and there's a very strange atmosphere here today - people going about in a 'business as usual' fashion, people coming to the site by the station to pay floral tributes and then lots of people watching them and taking photographs, with camera crews then taking pictures of the whole collage.

I've just walked back from the Post Office and passed four reports from a variety of stations all doing live pieces to camera with the station as a backdrop - every site road seems to be full of Sat vans, yet at the same time whilst people stop, look and stare, mostly they're caryring on as if it's normal to have a dozen TV crews sitting on the pavement."

A whistlestop visit across the border for 36 hours in Bonny Scotland. Having got to bed at 3am on Sunday morning it was up at 7 to drive to Heathrow and fly up to Edinburgh for a conference which I'd helped to organise and where I had the pleasure of chairing a session.

All work and no play would of course make Damian a dull boy, so there was at least a Sunday to meet with Pam (new plan gained on the Jordan trip,)with lots of walking around the city and the chance to sample vegetarian haggis, which I would have thought was a contradiction in terms.

So Sunday was spent walking, talking, playing board games and looking at holiday photos, before the conference on Monday (which included a lock down due to anarchists outside the building!) and a late flight home resulting in it feeling like I had been away for weeks, not 36 hours!

Airport shuttle - aimed at tourists perchance?

Pam in the Botanic Gardens

No idea where in Edinburgh this was, but it was pretty!

Sadly didn't get to go to the show proper, but a few of us managed to get tickets to go and see the big screen relay in hyde Park which was still pretty cool.

The only downsides were the sound (not great on one side, and too quiet,) the cold once the sun went down and that we saw the TV coverage rather than a replica of what was being shown on the screens in the concert proper.... oh and we didn't get home till 230am after waiting an hour for a bus... :-(

... And I also have no idea who profitted from the merchandise either, but that's another story. Ask Menace for details...

On the flip side, a good atmosphere, the chance to 'see' Floyd (although I wish Roger hadn't sung,) and some great performances by Madonna, Snoop Dog and PF in particular.

One to tell the grandchildren for sure!

More here.