london-bombings on S Anand

Seatbelts in the UK

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 12:00:00 +0000

I got on to a taxi at the station. As usual, I sat in the front. When the engine was turned on, it started making loud siren noises.

“Oh, you have to put your seatbelts on, you see,” the driver said. So, I did.

“It’s really annoying,” he continued. “You’d think it’d shout a few times and then shut up, but no, it just goes on and on.”

“Well, good isn’t it,” I countered, “if it’s the law to have your seatbelts on if you’re sitting in the front?”

“Actually, you’ve got to have seatbelts on even if you’re in the back. But funny, they haven’t got any sirens if you don’t put your seatbelts on in the back!”

“Pity,” I said.

“Yeah. It was driving me mad. I had to buy a second-hand seatbelt and plug it in to my clasp, to stop the sound.”

I noticed, at that point, that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. I didn’t notice if any other taxi drivers wore them. So after considerable deliberation, I ventured.

“You don’t have your seatbelt on.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

He said it with confidence. I didn’t want to debate it with him, but I was curious.

“Why?”

“Well, because you might assualt me!”

A beat.

This was after the London bomb blasts. And I do look Asian. But surely!

“I mean, it’s tough enough having to drive, without having to worry about passenger assault.”

He proceeded to explain the seatbelt laws to me. “I don’t need to wear a seatbelt when I’m with a passenger, you see. When I’m not, I need to – except mostly people don’t do that if it’s short trips. And if I’m going outside my area, even if I’m with a passenger, I need to. Of course, I’d like to anyway, because it’s safer. But lorry drivers, for example, don’t need a seatbelt. That’s downright unsafe, with their low steering…”

Which is all very fine, but I wonder why he thought I would assault him.

Profile of the London bombers

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 12:00:00 +0000

Profile of the London bombers. I hope their Pakistani origin does not create a backlash. But then, this is the UK. Not the US.

Comments

Francis 14 Jul 2005 5:13 pm: http://www.wherearethejobsgoing.com
harish 15 Jul 2005 1:58 am: you can never say. places supposedly tolerant like new zealand had a few attacks on mosques. also i heard the discrimination on the pakis particularly is a long standing issue. am i wrong? the link incidentally doesnt click through to the page intended. its on the index page
S Anand 16 Jul 2005 8:05 am: Fixed the link. Thanks, Harish. And yes, I have heard about some incidents against Asians outside London. You are right.

London reaction

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 12:00:00 +0000

Londoners’ reaction to the bombing. Feels like a classic British reaction. That seems to be feeling around office too. More from IrishEyes.

Comments

S Anand 13 Jul 2005 11:50 am: More at We’re Not Afraid.

Explosions in London

Thu, 07 Jul 2005 12:00:00 +0000

There are explosions all over London. We are fine.

Comments

Sri 7 Jul 2005 2:24 pm: Nice way to let your family
Krishnan 7 Jul 2005 4:14 pm: Hi Anand…The six ways of reading a book for free link is not working. Can u pls reload the link
S Anand 7 Jul 2005 4:45 pm: Did I have a link like that? Where?
Ram 8 Jul 2005 2:15 am: Those who are using IE may get a false icon saying it as a broken link,but with Firefox it works fine
S Anand 8 Jul 2005 5:44 am: Guys, what link are you talking about!?
Anonymous Hero 8 Jul 2005 7:22 am: I am using Firefox but the link is not working Ram. Can you tell me how it worked for you?
S Anand 8 Jul 2005 8:47 am: If this is a hoax on me, it is the best I have seen so far!
Anonymous Hero 8 Jul 2005 10:12 am: From my side, yes… I saw the other two comments and thought to myself, “Mate, that looks like a nice way to pull a fast one on Anand’ :-)
S Anand 8 Jul 2005 10:59 am: Well, seems like a day of hoaxes. I got a mail from a colleague in Finance asking me not to reclaim VAT. I never even tried!
Ram 9 Jul 2005 3:44 pm: From where can we get Free e-books ? If anyone knows please post it here or mail me
Dhar 10 Jul 2005 1:58 am: Depends on what kind of e-books you are looking for. If you want novels, you could check out http://www.greylib.align.ru/
S Anand 10 Jul 2005 11:38 am: The torrent network has plenty. Try the BitLord client.
Dhar 11 Jul 2005 3:46 pm: And the sites: torrentspy.com and thepiratebay.org/. What I like the most about thepiratebay is their response to legal threats (http://thepiratebay.org/legal.php)
Anonymous 12 Jul 2005 9:41 am: guess the link that was mentioned corresponds to the june 17th entry at http://www.geocities.com/root_node/articles/London_2005.html and mirc is a good place for ebooks.
S Anand 12 Jul 2005 11:04 am: Oh, OK.