“Elise?”
“Dad?”
“Where are you?”
“At home. Safe. Where are you?”
“Notting Hill.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s fine. I’m on my way to Chelsea. Stay inside.”
“Grandmama?”
“I’m fine, darling. I’m watching Live BBC News. My goodness!”
“Mama?”
“Elise, minha filha”
“We’re fine, Mama. Is everyone okay?”
“Yes. Stay inside and call if anything happens.”
It wasn’t too bad when it was just looting. But when the cars and buildings are set alight… And people are being dragged bleeding from their cars… and when people wake up to find people in their own homes….
Solicitor sat at the PC late last while I called all of our family.
“Fuck! They’ve erupted in Birmingham too. Only a matter of time before Manchester and Liverpool are the same.”
“Croydon’s still burning. Where the fuck are the fire dept?”
Silence
“This is bad.”
Silence
We quietly watched the riots spill into the urban areas in London and other areas in England.
The online updates were quicker than the televised. Images of the burning buildings were on every news channel.
“Think of all the crimes that haven’t been reported.” Solicitor said thoughtfully. “Knife crime, gun crime, muggings, rape. None of that will even get processed. The emergency lines must be ringing off the hook, and it’s not like anyone can help.”
I shuddered at the thought.
We hardly slept last night. The news was on in the background.
Just before I drifted off I heard Solicitor mutter. “They need the army on the ground.”
Elise 
Strongs Elise. Its mind boggling.
Been watching the images on TV and online. Such madness that i hope it ends soon.
May you and your loved ones stay safe, Elise.
I am so sorry this is happening there…
It’s times like this that we should realize that we can not rely upon the police…
I hope you are safe…
~shoes~
My BF’s brother lives there so we’ve been watching and hoping he’s okay. Quite relieved to receive a text saying he’s fine and the riots haven’t spilled over to where he lives yet although it did take a good few hours for him to get home last night.
I hope you stay safe. And that everything calms down sooner than later.
I am beyond embarrassed that I didn’t know anything about this when I started digging through the 200 unread posts in my Google Reader this afternoon. I’ve been so unplugged from the world and all the while, one of my favorite cities on the Earth is burning and its residents are victims of so much crime. I agree with Shoes…we can’t rely on the police . For they do the best they can (mostly) but they can’t be everywhere all the time. This calls for the Army. I hope the PM sees that before it’s too late. (Although ask the shopkeepers and residents of homes who have been vandalized and burglared and it’s already too late.) Stay safe, Elise. Keep us updated. I am praying for you!!!! xoxo
Strongs!
I don’t mean to sound racist here, but all of this rioting in London seems rather predictable. Great Britain has always been this melting pot of European, African and Asian cultures. Most, if not all of these scenes of rioting and looking are being carried out by young people, under 30, usually of non-Caucasian origin, that have not education, no future, no morals and basically live a guttural existence. Their parents came to England to find work, and the socio-economic base could not support them in the long run, so now their entire families are indigent and living off the state with no hope. We saw the same things in the riots in Watts and LA in past years. No hope or future, breeds discontent, which in turn makes people take what ever they want. This is the manifestation of a problem that has been growing for a long time, globally. It won’t be going away any time soon.
The mass shooting in Norway are the same thing, only there, individuals are trying to stop to inflow of foreigners before it gets to this stage in Norway.
Solicitor is right they need the army on the ground if you ask me.