It was only a matter of time

I turned on the television yesterday lunch time to watch the news on BBC1. A reporter was saying something about a bus and at first I thought there had been some sort of accident. I turned to Sky One's interactive service and saw that London had been subject to a terror attack.
I remember that when I first heard about 9/11, my reaction was one of total disbelief: it felt as if I were watching a movie. This time there was no sense of disbelief, nor even of surprise (I think everyone had expected this since 9/11). I just felt numb.

It's not the first time we've watched the aftermath of a terror attack, of course. I worked in London during the worst period of IRA bombing. I always wondered if they would ever hit the Tube. They planted bombs at Tube stations, but never on the trains themselves. And there was usually a warning. I do not for a moment think that the IRA were motivated by humanity to limit loss of life, but I do think that they held back to some extent because they didn't want to lose credibility and support.

The contrast between the euphoria over the Olympics the day before, and the horror that unfolded was particularly poignant. I think we need the Olympics like we need a hole in the head, but it was so uplifting to see the celebrations in London and Singapore.

Then I thought about Israel, and how London's terrible day is a way of life for Israelis. How many of those rushing to condemn yesterday's terrorism have been equally quick to excuse Palestinian suicide bombings as "desperation"?

I rang the one person I thought might have been in London; he was fine and so was his brother, but his sister-in-law hadn't been in touch (she was all right, it turned out).

One thing puzzles me, and, I'm sure, many others. Why were 1500 police officers sent north of the border to the G8 summit? I'm sure the Scottish police are more than capable of mounting a security operation of this nature.

This morning I watched the news, and then turned to S4C and, for the rest of the morning, watched the International Eisteddfod from Llangollen. It was a wonderful antidote - singers from all over the world united by their love of music.