If you were also on the bombed Piccadilly train...
(REPEAT POST: Read this before? I'm 'bumping' this entry so it stays at the top for visitors looking to contact Kings Cross United group. Anyone else reading, start second post down for new stuff)
BY THE WAY...
THIS BLOG - THIS WEBSITE - IS NOT THE KINGS CROSS UNITED WEBSITE - THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOG, MY POST 7/7 DIARY - PURELY MY OWN VIEWS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF PEOPLE FROM THE TRAIN.
IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME, BUT YOU WERE ON THE TRAIN, YOU ARE WELCOME TO MEET FELLOW PASSENGERS - KINGS CROSS UNITED IS NON - POLITICAL, FRIENDLY AND HAPPY TO BUY YOU A PINT - OUR ONLY AIM IS TO GO TO THE PUB AND HELP EACH OTHER AFTER THE 7/7 BOMBS.
THANKS!
RACHEL,( ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP - WHO ARE DIVERSE, AND DIFFERENT - AND ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS AND BELIEFS - FROM ALL THE CARRIAGES OF THE TRAIN)
f you were also on my train, travelling south-bound on the Picadilly line on 7th July when the bomb went off, and you want to get in contact with other passengers, here's how: email us
kingscrossunited@yahoo.co.uk
We will then get in contact with you. (Give us a few days, we are volunteers, and we do this in the evenings and in our lunchtimes. This is an informal gruop run bu survivors for survivors with no agenda at all )
There are nearly 70 of us so far, men and women, from different carriages, of all ages and backgrounds.The group is for anyone who was on the train, and would like to find others who were there too.
If you were on a different train or bus, we can try and put you in contact with other groups. We are the first and the largest and the longest-established survivor group. We were up and running as a group within a week.The experience of people from all 4 bomb sites is very different. In the case of the Piccadilly line bomb, we were all trapped 100 feet down in a tiny tunnel in the dark, for half an hour or more, breathing smoke, hearing screams, waiting to die, so people formed tight bonds - teams, almost - in every single carriage - to try to manage the panic. There were over 700 on the train. Some of the passengers came together early, within days; we very badly wanted to find each other again, to try to make sense of the darkness, the horror, the lingering, disabling fear that affected us all. From that small group, seventy have come together and people still join us.
We did all of this by ourselves. This is not an official group. No-one helped us. It came about because people found each other, mostly through my writing about it on the internet, and decided it would be a good plan if we all went to the pub.
posted by Rachel at 1:00 am
hi rachel,
hope your pub meet went well and that you are feeling somewhat better...btw...i dont know if the news has made it to the UK but now there has been a "credible" threat against the nyc subways...so its back to random searches,etc...never a dull moment here....seth :)
I heard about the NYC subways Seth... good luck, do you use the subways much? Do you feel scared, or not really?
Thank you for doing your blog, I know someone who was on the train, teh carriage behind yours, she has changed beyond recognition, I will pass the website address and the email on so, if she would like to talk to those who were also there. She can, this could be here only life time.
Dear Amanda,
please pass on the blog and the kingscross united email details to your friend, she is most welcome to get in contact.
There are 5 people from carriage 2 who send her their best regards and so do I! We have all felt MUCH better for meeting each other.
There are people from all over the train - now more than 30 - and we are still growing as a group.
She need not be alone. She has fellow passengers! We're here if she wants us.
The scary thing is getting in touch, or waking into the pub to meet us. But we are all friendly and just normal people from the train who have been through an extraordinary experience.
Rachel
hi rachel,
sorry i havent posted....been finishing up a few things in the new flat(apartment) and then along came jewish new year.
in answer to your question,i do use the subways...89% of the nyc population,regardless of income levels,use them. but for a short (1 or 2 stop trip) ill either take a bus...or even walk.im uneasy on the subway sometimes,but with our horrible traffic and congestion,there arent really any inexpensive alternatives...remember the base fare is only $2 US.
I hope that you are doing better..and are going for either some sort of counseling...im sure that your monthly pub meets also help...have a frosty pint for me...:)
.theres has been an ENTIRE week of rain here.in nyc....almost a foot has fallen...:(
oh...and last nite my favorite simpsons episode...where they visit england and homer knocks over the queens royal carraige..was on tv again :):):)
ciao,
seth
Rachel,
This is such a great thing to be doing. It will help all of you heal through the process of getting together and talking. I'd love to hear how it goes.
~Deb
Hello Rachel
My name's Kirsten Lass and i'm a producer for Radio 4 and the World Service. I've been reading your blog and other people's responses with admiration - and have felt very moved by some of them. I've also read you're getting fed up with writing about July 7th, so would you consider talking about it? I appreciate you want to remain anonymous, and you can do that with radio.
You mentioned you had had a phenomenal response to your blog, that comes from around the world and that it's taken you by surprise. I'm really intersted in this - would it be possible to speak? If you wanted, you could then decide if you'd like to participate - there's no pressure. Any interview would be longer form than 'Broadcasting House' with Frank: it's the same topic, just there's more time. My email's kirsten.lass@bbc.co.uk and i would really appreciate hearing from you.
Best wishes
Kirsten
Hi Rachel,
I've been reading your blog with interest.
Colleagues of mine actaually work at Kings Cross Station, and they have just been as badly effected by the situation as you have.
Especially one of my close friends who was one of the first staff onto the Picc train.
It was strange for the first few days, to get used to the idea of such a horrific incident happening.
But I was travelling the very next day on my way back into work, and i travel on national rail straight into Kings Cross. It was nerve racking for the first couple of weeks
Happy New Year Seth, hope the flat is going well and you are not still surrounded by boxes.
Hello Great Orme, and Dr Deborah and Kirsten, thanks for dropping in.
I'm absolutely beat - just did a 2 hour train journey to Norfolk to see my dad sworn in/inducted into his new parish ( he is a priest) then went straight back on the train, long day tomorrow,
Kirsten I will try and get hold of you to discuss whether or not to do something on radio but will have to wait til later this week, as I am flat out from 8am til 8pm tomorrow
bloody meetings all day, need to GO TO BED or I will not function and disgrace myself in front of new boss
R x
Rachel,
This is so great. Almost 40 of you!!!
:)
Deb
I just came across your blog, it is very interesting. I have recently launched an online lifestyle magazine by londoners for londoners. It was set up to bring positivity to London after the recent events. I wonder whether you would be interested in writing a piece for my magazine? Check it out at www.thelondonproject.com
Many thanks
claire.cutler@thelondonproject.com