No Work Today?

The bombs in London today had a great affect on my working day. I was due to represent an existing Client who does not have a particularly good sense of time, and as they were appearing at a Magistrates Court that does not sit until 10.30 am I had decided that it would be unwise to attend at Court before 10.30 am.

I set off for work by train and was told almost immediately that the trains were not running in to London and that I should not travel unless my journey was strictly necessary. I made some phone calls and then found out my Client was unlikely to attend at Court due to health problems. I then sat for a while and tried to contact my office, and had little luck due to the mobile phone networks being so congested. Eventually I took the decision to go home and work from there.

I reached home and sent out a number of faxes to sort out my absences for today and then found out that the London trains had not been brought down by a power surge but that the bombs were real and had caused great carnage and death. This shocked me greatly. Working from home was slightly surreal with the events in London going on. I sat and observed more CCTV footage on a case and then put my computer skills to the test by editing and burning some of the CCTV footage on to a DVD for use in a trial.

I have heard from several Government agencies such as the Legal Services Commission and Her Majesty's Courts Service that Courts and other buildings may remain closed tomorrow. I will make the journey in to London tomorrow - thankfully I have no appointments until Monday. I had several phone conversations today about people who were unable to get to certain Courts and how people just abandoned their journey because of problems. I am hoping that 'normal service' is resumed as soon as possible.

I extend my deepest sympathies for anyone affected by today's bombs. The real scary thought for me is that I regularly travel through Liverpool Street and use the bus route that was blown up today. Perhaps my decision to arrive at Court for 10.30 am was one of the better decisions I have made recently?