On London

My heart goes out deeply to all those who suffered and lost in London yesterday. Internet connections went down just as we heard the news, but the BBC’s coverage was excellent and avoided sensationalising the tragedy. This afternoon, I’ve been checking up on friends, looking at the detail of what happened, reading survivor reports and seeing photos. I feel a resonance both with Ken Livingstone’s response and with the Guardian’s leader, but in the end Steve Bell’s Cartoon brought it home in the starkest light.

I have felt drawn to pray, but also to reflect on how inevitable it seemed. After 9/11, the city changed; life went on but Londoners would talk with resigned certainty about the prospect of something horrible like this. We had scares, tanks around Heathrow, drills and evacuations. Most Londoners had at the back of their the prospect of this, which may have in some way contributed to the calm with which they responded. It is a cliche, I know, but London’s greatest asset is the rich and interesting diversity of people who choose to live there. My thoughts are with them.