All that you have is your soul (Tracy Chapman).

Thursday 7 July 2005

7/7 2005

All the teachers were asked to go to the staff room at lunch time for a meeting.
It turned out that as there were only three buses still running, there would be a serious problem in the kids being able to travel home (since the majority were travelling on bus routes that had been cancelled). We were also told that, understandably, we had to stay in school until the kids got out safely. The deputy head even offered to put up teachers who could not get home in her own house.

We were asked to get the kids into their form rooms and use mobiles or landlines to contact their parents about picking them up. The teachers needed to speak to the parents first, to find out how they wanted their kids to get home. It goes without saying that some parents could not be contacted and there were a lot of scared, hyperactive kids walking around school.

A long line of parents queued outside the school waiting for their children to come out. I had to write notes for the front office, to confirm that I had spoken to a parent, otherwise the student wasn't allowed out of school.

I was facing the prospect of having to walk home as my bus route had also been cancelled, but fortunately, a fellow teacher offered to give me a lift.

It has been a black, black day and the worst part is that we have yet to discover the full extent of the horror. Over the next few days, heartbreaking stories will fill the news and our minds, and many of us will feel uneasy as we board the buses to and from work.

Welcome to London, the new terror capital of the world.

2 comments:

I'm not even supposed to be here today said...

I hate that you're faced with that feeling of uncertainty, regarding your basic right to life. I sincerely wish there was more I could do... but all I have to offer are words... and they seem pretty hollow in comparison.

The Scribbler said...

Thank you Rachael, but remember that the pen is mightier than the sword.