6.30 EST - Wake up to news of London bomb blasts. Frustratingly, US morning radio news doesn't seem to have the resources to do full coverage. New York seems normal for the time being, although presumably vigilance must be ultra-high.
6.50 EST - ABC reports New York subway subject to hightened security today (no surprise there).
11.11 EST - The cruelest of ironies. Today's New York Times is covered in pictures of jubilant Londoners and happy British faces. What will tomorrow's front page pictures be? A truly traumatic day. The emergency response in London seems exemplary (something not lost on the New York media). How far will these terrrible events scar the national psyche?
14.43 EST - The answer to that last question is, I hope, 'not one iota'. The US news media is beginning to report, with a mixture of shock and, I suspect, secret admiration, the impression that the Brits respond to this kind of thing by displaying a considerable amount of stoicism, washed down with either tea or beer. Mostly, of course, beer.
14.53 EST - My Sharpener colleague Andrew has had a lucky escape.
You may suspect " secret admiration" but what is really hidden is how disgusted Americans are with the endless self-congratulation of the British.
Posted by: George Lee | 17 July 2005 at 11:14 AM