7.7: One Day In London Page #2

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We just thought, "Thank God for

that." And then he started this job,

and we thought, "Absolutely

fantastic, job done."

There was a flash, and lights,

and lots of buzzing.

The train shuddered to a halt.

And I remember

seeing in the window opposite me

a white flash with a mushrooming,

fiery cloud around it.

And then before I had hardly even

registered that,

I was just engulfed in the blast.

Just a huge blast of wind and fire.

It was so ferocious,

you wouldn't be able to imagine it

unless you'd actually been there.

I just remember this light,

this white light that was just

completely in front of my face.

We were sort of all

enveloped in this light,

and it was a sort of feeling of

pressure,

it just wouldn't sort of,

it wouldn't go away.

The force was such that

I really thought that my head

was no longer attached

to my shoulders,

and I remember

hearing the screams,

which of course

doesn't make any sense

cos if I didn't have a head

I wouldn't be able

to hear anything,

but I remember hearing the screams

and I just thought that everybody

was screaming at me.

I thought this was just an isolated

event that had happened to me.

The blast seemed to go on... forever.

I expect it was only a few seconds.

But it seemed to go on and on.

I was sure I was going to die

at that point.

And I can remember just thinking

of my children, and thinking,

"I don't want to leave my children

now, they're not grown up.

"I haven't finished

the job I'm doing as a mother."

I just started to see

this light smoke,

sort of like...

coming, like, past me.

And then I felt quite light.

And then just I thought to myself,

oh, that I was now

beginning to float.

And then I just said to myself,

"How embarrassing,

I feel like I'm going to faint."

And that was it,

I just went into darkness.

Just went into darkness.

Duty manager. Tony, it's Darren.

Hello, Darren.

What's happening, mate, do you know?

204, apparently, has reported

hearing an explosion on his train.

Explosion on train, yeah?

Or a bang on his train.

Hello, pips?

Hello, pip controller here,

just to let you know we've got

a T op, 0850 at Russell Square.

CC information, hello?

I'm assistant manager at Aldgate,

we've just had a big explosion,

there appears to be something

ahead of the train in the track.

Has anyone been injured at all?

We're not aware that anybody's

been injured as yet, no. OK.

But there is smoke. Yeah?

We've lost all power as well.

No power? OK.

Now, you're not the only one

who's actually had this done,

so I'm going to confirm

with my manager,

and we, we'll be in touch with you

in a sec, all right? OK, yes.

Cos I don't know what,

whether anything's been called out.

Soon as I know, I'll ring you

back, all right?

OK, thanks. Thanks, bye.

No, it won't be that one,

I don't think.

Well, I wrote to

Tony Blair about 11 days...

I suppose, it must have been,

after Emily had been identified.

And I wrote to him and said,

"I utterly blame you and George Bush

for the death of my daughter."

I suppose,

"yours sincerely, Sarah Jenkins."

And heard nothing.

And was incensed, and wrote again,

and heard nothing.

On the third time of writing, I

put a stamped, addressed envelope in,

because I felt he might be short

of envelopes, really, and nothing.

And then the next occasion

I wrote and put a biro in

and a stamped, addressed envelope,

and heard nothing.

And on the fourth occasion I wrote

with a stamped, addressed envelope,

another biro,

and just scribbled on the back,

"If on holiday, please forward."

I've got it here.

"I'm writing on behalf

of the Prime Minister

"to thank you for your further letter

of the 13th of August.

"I'm enclosing a copy of the

Prime Minister's reply to your letter

"of the 22nd of July,

"which crosses with your letter

of the 13th of August."

"Dear Mrs Jenkins,

"I'm desperately sorry to hear about

"the death of Emily Rose,

your daughter.

"It is impossible for anyone

"who has not lost a child

in terrible circumstances

"to understand the agony

you must be suffering.

"I don't think it would be

sensible to go over the arguments

"about the causes behind

the explosions on the 7th of July.

"I continue to believe, however,

that the people to blame

"for taking the life of your daughter

and so many others

"were those that planned

and carried out the bombings

"in London on that day.

"I also recognise

there is nothing I can say

"which will help ease

your pain or grief.

"Yours sincerely, Tony Blair."

Do you think he feels responsible?

I don't know what he feels

in the middle of the night.

No, I expect, I expect Mr Blair

doesn't feel responsible,

wouldn't you?

As the smoke cleared, I could see

a little around the carriage.

And I realised, there had just been

a huge amount of devastation.

The doors were blown off,

there were great pieces of buckled

and twisted metal lying around.

All the windows were blown out.

I realised my shoulders and hair

were covered in glass.

I couldn't believe I had survived,

I think it's given me a huge respect

for the resilience

of the human body,

that any of us could

have survived that,

when you saw what it had done

to the carriage.

The first thought

that went through my mind

was that I was at home in bed

having a nightmare,

you know, those nightmares

you get when you're in that position,

you either daren't move,

or you can't move

because something's

frozen you in that space of time.

I thought, "Oh, it's one of those,"

then I thought, "I don't like

this very much, go back to sleep,

"and when I wake up

it might be different."

But, of course, when I came to again

it wasn't different,

I was, it was still dark.

I could smell smoke,

and then I woke up

and found myself lying on

a train track,

um, beside a train,

and I could see that

we were at a platform,

because I could see, "Aldgate"

written on the other side.

I could see the platform

on the other side.

So, there was a train,

there was myself,

train tracks, and then platform.

I thought I had fallen out,

and almost like, nobody had noticed,

sort of thing.

You know, "Trust me

to lean on the door,"

and, "What idiot

would lean on the door?"

"Something's bound to happen

at some point."

Um, and it didn't occur to me

that there had been an explosion

or anything like that.

You know, it just wouldn't

cross your mind.

I could see this white thing,

and I thought, "What's that?"

And then I looked up

and it was my new trainer,

that, I'd only worn them

that morning,

and I know this sounds

so, uh, not shallow, but...

It was my new, sort of, Adidas,

shell-toe trainers, white.

You know, it was mid-summer,

wasn't it,

I'd just worn them

for the first time that morning.

And I could see it on

the top of this, the metal,

and, with, like, blood all over it,

and I just thought,

"That's my trainer,

"what's that doing up there?"

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