Londoners' resolve and unity
Trying to catch a train from Kings Cross to Middlesbrough this morning, I was reminded of events on a fateful summer's morning in July 2005. Like today, London was bathed in soft sunshine as I drove down Euston Road towards work. I never reached the office.
It was nothing to do with a mythical technical fault, of course, but the murderous activities of al-Qaeda inspired suicide bombers.
I parked my car and walked back to the station where I would spend the rest of the day reporting on the unfolding events of what became known as 7/7.
The reason I was reminded of that awful day is that, as then, today's Tube strike has forced hundreds of thousands of people who would normally be travelling underground onto the streets. The pavements around Kings Cross were heaving this morning. With traffic seized up in many places, for many walking has been the only way to get to work. Central London sounded different: the hum of buses and cars was muted, replaced by the clatter and swish of shoes and coats.
And there was another rare sound - I could hear people talking to each other as they shuffled along in the crowds. Faced with the shared challenge of beating the strike and making it to work, complete strangers swapped stories of their commuting nightmare. Human chatter was louder than the traffic noise this morning.
There has been a bit of jostling and pushing, the occasional flash-point as desperate people tried to board a near stationary bus, but what I have been watching is a city pulling together.
In the context of the 7/7 bombings, I remember writing about the determination of Londoners to beat terrorism by continuing their activities as normally as possible. I recall the resolution on people's faces as they marched purposefully on their way. "Keep Calm and Carry On" was the mood.
It is a similar story today although one cannot compare legitimate industrial action with international terrorism. Frustrating and annoying and inconvenient it may be, but London doesn't like being beaten. Once-a-year cyclists have dusted off the bike in the shed, walking boots and back-packs have been donned as one of the world's great cities hangs out a hand-painted board which reads "Open As Usual" just as shop-keepers did during World War II.
On this day 70 years ago, London experienced the start of the Blitz. The Nazis wanted to soften up the people of the capital, to sap their morale ahead of a planned invasion.
What happened, however, was that citizens pulled together across class and creed. Far from fostering despair and division, shared adversity can often inspire resolve and unity.
That is what I saw in the soft sunshine in London this morning.
I'm 
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