Caught up in the news

There’s one story dominating newspaper headlines in London today. Two weeks after the news first broke; eleven people faced court yesterday charged over Britain's alleged airline bomb plot. Police also revealed that they had found "martyrdom videos" and suspected bomb-making equipment during recent raids.

Having lived Down Under for most of my life, such news stories were always something that happened elsewhere. They never impacted me personally. However, living in London, the same stories have unexpectedly come to life. Time and time agin, I find myself a witness to events as they unfold.

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The plot to destroy ten US-bound aircraft flying from London hit the headlines while Garry and I were traveling in Australia and New Zealand. For several days we wondered if our flights into Heathrow would be cancelled or delayed. We also had no idea what sort of carry-on luggage would be permitted until the day we flew. In the end, both of us traveled home without delay and with our laptops in the cabin.

I had expected serious security delays at the airport in both New Zealand and South Africa. However on both occasions check-in and the journey through security took no longer than usual. We’d arrived early (or woke up earlier than usual) for no reason.

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In Johannesburg, I was amused by the extra security check taking place before we boarded our Heathrow-bound flight. We were first divided into separate queues for male and females passengers. We then presented our passport to a bored looking guy behind a table who didn’t seem too concerned about our luggage or our passport. Our passport was then checked a second time before entering the airbridge.

On reflection, my passport was checked five times at Johannesburg airport, while my luggage was barely noticed. In fact, the baggage screeners were in such a hurry to process passengers through security that I doubt our bags were seriously monitored. I've never seen so many bags shoved through a x-ray machine in such rapid order.

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On Sunday I went into Paddington to file a fraud report at the local police station. You’ll recall from an earlier post that someone skimmed my ATM card while I was in Prague. While filing my report, the attending officer explained that he was from out of town, as were many of his colleagues. He indicated that he’d been brought in to assist with terrorist plot investigations – which were being conducted from the very police station I’d walked into.

Earlier this morning I learned from the BBC that the detained suspects were actually being held at the police station I’d walked into. This probably explained the armed policeman guarding the public entrance. It was a rather surreal moment to realise that major terrorist suspects had been in the same building.

Finally, I have a daily reminder of the terrorist threat. The tube line that I catch to work each day was targeted by unsuccessful suicide bombers a month after July 7. The threat is real. Current events no longer happen to other people – they’re all around me.