London has a multitude of famous old markets. Our favourite is Borough Market, near London Bridge. It’s a great place to go at any time of year for a bite to eat. You may know it from movies such as Bridgit Jones Diary. Or, sadly, from a news report last year. We went recently, on a frosty weekday morning in the middle of winter. Hardly peak time. It was packed with people. The simple presence of every single one of whom is a two fingered salute to ideological idiots. On every side.
I had a large coffee and a lemon cheesecake. Mrs P had something tasty too, although I do not remember what. The three terrorists, all shot dead by police, ate and drank nothing. They were extinct. Physically and, hopefully, spiritually. They couldn’t even get family to attend their funerals. I was feasting on delicious treats. They are rotting in the ground. My coffee tasted all the better for that fact. My coffee tasted of victory.
The Mexile 
Living without fear is the best revenge on terrorism.
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People who live in fear of terrorism shouldn’t bother getting out of bed. And definitely shouldn’t go downstairs to brew a tea to try and compose themselves. More than a thousand people a year die falling downstairs, 100,000 more suffer injuries.
And that’s before they even get near that positively lethal kettle…
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People who live in fear of terrorism: What are the odds of that?
My neighbor down the hill fires off guns at all hours of the day and night, the cops know him well, he is far more likely to put me in a box than any terrorist. Ten or twenty thousand times as likely would be my guess. I’ve always said 9-11 was a sucker punch, bloody nose kind of thing; we’re more careful now. That is not to say they will not find another weak spot. They are human beings, a crafty lot, one and all, they are always thinking. We need to as well. But afraid- I think not.
Good essay fella.
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Some people do live in fear, full stop. Give them a reason – however vague, ridiculous, unlikely – and they will fear it. That’s why we have so many words ending in phobia, and why they are in increasing use.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/13/merlin-entertainments-uk-attractions-visitor-numbers-fall-after-terrorist-attacks
There will be other atrocities. We can be assured of that. There will also be further deaths on stairs. I love that stat because it is both measurable and relevant to pretty much everyone. And it puts those fears of terrorism in stark perspective.
Good luck with your neighbour. Rather you have him than me. It’s the noise that would irritate me the most, I suspect!
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Agreed, good reading.
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