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| Sunset over the chimneys |
It was Dr Johnson who said ‘When a man is tired of London he is tired of life’. So we choose where to go this afternoon. And settle on the Tate Modern gallery, hoping for something dramatic in its Turbine Hall (3300 square meters, twenty-six metres high). Home to some of our favourite past exhibits.
But not to be. We reach the platform at Kilburn Station just as a train is pulling in on the southbound Jubilee line. The carriages fill up but the train doesn't start. Then the announcement. Due to a fire on the track, there will be a delay of fifteen minutes or more. The carriages empty onto the platform as people start rethinking their plans.
This is not exactly unprecedented. Coming back from the Saatchi yesterday there was a delay of about fifteen minutes caused, apparently, by a fire at West Hampstead Station, but service resumed and there was nothing to be seen passing West Hampstead Station. So we decide to sit down and see what transpires.
At which point a short man with a high-vis vest and a megaphone voice begins shouting that the station is being evacuated and everyone must leave. We do, with something less than fire drill precision, a couple of hundred people navigating a double staircase, some hampered by suitcases or small children. No sign of fire, but megaphone voice is persistent, and he does succeed in opening the exit gates which frees the bottleneck caused by people attempting to touch the electronic button with their cards to exit. No panic, probably because we don’t quite believe in the reality of the emergency. No sign of smoke or fire. No official activity other than megaphone voice’s repeated calls to evacuate.
Do have a couple of fire engines pass us headed toward the station as we start down Kilburn High Road. Bit late for a plan B that doesn’t involve leaving from Kilburn underground station, but it’s a balmy day and we do have minor errands along one of our favourite roads.
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