Alert and bloody alarmed

While Australians are still being encouraged to 'remain alert, but not alarmed', the panic button was well and truly pushed in Great Britain earlier this week. Even though the terrorist alert has since been downgraded from critical to severe, it still sounds a little too dangerous to take to the skies for my liking. I'm waiting for the alert to be categorised to the equivilant level as a paper cut, before I even consider going to the airport.

Living in the depths of Surrey, where a 'severe alert' is usually referred to as the final drinks bell at your local pub or the daily weather report, it's easy to become apathetic to the threat of terrorism. However, the threat is always there.

Recently, while I was standing on the platform of my local railway station, an ominous voice boomed over the station PA - 'Please report anyone or anything suspicious to the authorities'. The man standing several metres to my left with a beige cardigan and trousers far too short for loafers certainly looked suspicious to me, but was he worth reporting to authorities? The Reliant Robin parked across the road was incongruent with its surroundings, but did I suspect it of something more sinister? Everything and everyone looked suspicious to me - afterall, I had just arrived from Australia.

The threat of terrorism in Woldingham is highly unlikely, so it's easy to remain alert rather than alarmed. However, the sight of an unattended bag or box on the Circle Line certainly does put a swing into your gait, as you leg it towards the exit. Forget alert - I'm truly bloody alarmed.