Kaboom

So today there were bombs going off at tube stations and on buses causing widespread chaos across London. Living on the outskirts I escaped all the madness and was blissfully unaware of what was going on until I got to work.

What staggered me was witnessing the knock-on effect of the hysteria this caused amongst my colleagues. I soon as I learned something had happened I went onto the BBC and Guardian websites to find out more. As my co-workers arrived I advised them to do the same. They didn't. They sat there slack jawed with eyes agog repeating "does anyone know what's happening" like an insane mantra.

People were rushing around with ludicrous stories: "the internet is closed", "all the phones in London are down" and, my personal favourite, "the government has switched off all the mobile phones" (!). People were happy to believe these outrageous stories, but nobody wanted to arm themselves with the facts.

Finally the reality of the situation filtered through and they were calmed. Those with genuine concerns about people they couldn't contact were able to do so and a numb normality returned.

I would hate to be around these people in a crisis in which I was personally involved.