The 2 minute silence in London

[Applespider]

I've never heard London so quiet as it was during the 2-minute silence today. Private cars pulled over alongside the cabs and buses and many drivers actually got out. Along the street I work in, there were many people standing outside virtually every business (including our entire office).

From friends who were in Oxford St, I've heard that you could have heard a pin drop...

It's certainly the best-observed silence I've heard and the most visible - what a great idea it was to encourage people to go outside rather than sit at the desks where people are tempted to just work quietly.

[mad jew]

It's really good to see that the terrorism hasn't harmed the British national pride. It's almost a sign of the fundamentalists "losing" if we're going to use the war analogy in my opinion. It's really quite reassuring and heart warming. :)

[robbieduncan]

I was going to lunch at the time and it was really strange to see all the people standing outside their offices at Canary Wharf. As usual though there were a couple of people who needed to be talking on their mobile phones through the silence!

[gwuMACaddict]

must have been a moving sight... everyone being so silent...

but talking on cell phones during it? lame... i'm still shocked by the identities of some of the bombers... kids, teachers, etc...

[absolut_mac]

It's certainly the best-observed silence I've heard and the most visible - what a great idea it was to encourage people to go outside rather than sit at the desks where people are tempted to just work quietly.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

[wdlove]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention Applespider. I greatly admire the British, they are very steadfast in their national pride. Hopefully this will made all of you even stronger. You and all of your fellow Britons have been in my prayers.

[tech4all]

That's a nice thing to hear (not the silence but the news of the silence). Glad London is standing strong. Indeed, it must have been something to have a moment of silence all around the country.

[Peterkro]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention Applespider. I greatly admire the British, they are very steadfast in their national pride. Hopefully this will made all of you even stronger. You and all of your fellow Britons have been in my prayers.
Except that the bombers were British.The Brits like everyone else have a wide variety of people some good, some not so good ,some revolting.The stiff upper lip, Blitz mentality thing is mainly a media invention.

[ham_man]

Just notice that they completely halted play at the Open Championship. Glad to see that the British are still standing tall through a time such as this...

[Applespider]

The BBC have a great report on the effectiveness of the silence with shots of Buckingham Palace with the Queen outside, Piccadilly Circus, Parliament Square and Oxford St as well as the bomb sites.

I can't find a direct link for it but if you go to the BBC news site - http://news.bbc.co.uk - and click on 'Audio and Video', you'll be able to watch the report.

[dubbz]

As usual though there were a couple of people who needed to be talking on their mobile phones through the silence!

No respect... :(

Saw pictures on the TV, from the 2 minute silence. Can't image how near total silence like that whould feel like in a big city like London... but it looked nice.