London

As a Londoner born and bred, it seems strange to put Al Qaeda, bombs and London in the same sentence. New York and Madrid might have been hit by terrorist attacks but you just don't expect to see landmarks of your daily, mundane routine - Kings Cross, Liverpool Street and Moorgate - as the targets for extremists. At least, we all hoped that the inevitable would never happen to us.

Going to work this morning seemed both incredible normal and hyperreal. We were back on trains and buses but, instead of the usual morning torpor, everyone was acutely aware of their fellow passengers. And the empty streets.

It's okay for Tony Blair to bang on about how we must protect our way of life but he doesn't have to walk the streets or get on public transport. It's bodyguards, bulletproof vests and helicopters all the way. Maybe it's time to mull over his decision to go to war with Iraq. He can hide behind his phalanxes of security but the two million people who protested again the war can't.

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