I walked through one at the Bank of England weeks back – now this logjam in Liverpool Street Station.
There’s something very moving about flash mobs. I think tonight it was captured by the dejection and slumped shoulders of the greying out-of-towner, large suitcase in each hand, contemplating the locked up entrance to the Underground completely at a loss about what to do next, as young women he didn’t know danced at his side.
I squeezed my way onto the upper concourse to take this picture, and then walked to Bethnal Green wondering what the revolutionary left make of flash mobs. By the time I got to Fairlop, the whole of Liverpool Street Station was closed.
Update: mob Facebook organiser: “I was like Oh God, Oh God”. He left after fifteen minutes. Priceless.
Flesh is Grass 
I was trying to get home last night when this flash mob occurred. What the people who took part in this/organized it probably don’t realize is the cost to other peoples’ lives. I was waiting at the tube entrance for it to re-open and a man next to me was trying to explain to his daughter that he was not able to be there for her birthday because a group of people had decided to close down the tube. He was upset, and apparently so was she. I missed dinner with a friend from overseas who had travelled to meet us all the way from Luton. A woman I spoke to was desperate to get home because her husband had to leave for work on the nightshift and their children could not be left alone. She was worried about his job as his company is downsizing.
Why not do this where it’s not going to mess with other people’s lives eg in a park?
That is very sad. The mobbers surely would have anticipated it. The mob at The Bank was completely harmless – on that traffic island with (I think) Wellington’s statue across the road. I think T-Mobile will catch some of the flak – they contrived a flash mob in there the other week.
All the people who took part should be banned from entering any tube or rail station for one year, then they can have a taste of the inconvenience that their petty actions caused to other people. They are ignorant sheep who should find something better to do.
I agree with everything Mark says … with the addition of saying you’re a bunch of spoilt – selfish cunts.
why didnt you walk to bank or monument? surely that would have been quicker than standing around waiting for it to open?
Perhaps we should congregate outside Parliament,10 Downing Street or Buck House, but the Stazi will stop us!
Apologies for the delay moderating – I went to Brighton for the weekend and was offline. Must get mobile access… trouble is, my existing phone still works fine.
Anyway, the reason I walked to Bethnal Green is because I like to walk, and particularly down Brick Lane on a Friday evening.
Hoping, what’s it all about? Is it just congregating you want, and you want to do it indoors cos it’s cold and wet? I can sympathise. We don’t have any proper covered public spaces any more. But most of my sympathies are for the people whose various plans were wrecked. Weekends are precious things.
I think T-Mobile should apologise: http://blog.matthewcain.co.uk/should-t-mobile-apologise-for-flash-mob/
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I’m not sure about T-Mobile apologising – flash mobs have been going on for ages and Liverpool St station has long been a staple venue for them.
I think the problem is that they’ve become so popular that they can cause real problems such as this – having to close the station for 90 minutes is hugely annoying if you’re trying to get out of the city – the organisers need to think about this sort of stuff when selecting a venue – fine flash mob parliament or hyde park or something like that but leave rail / tube stations alone – they have a hard enough time running without 13,000 people hanging out and feeling pleased with themselves!
Fucked up my journey home. Missed my last train as I couldn’t get onto the station.
Now try and have to reclaim a fairly big taxi fare.
😦
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I don’t really want to breath any more oxygen into this by linking, but the Facebook site is called Liverpool Street Station Silent Dance. Today it has 14,737 members. And on BBC Five Live, the mobber king complains.
1. Psuedo flash mob at Liverpool St:
http://history-is-made-at-night.blogspot.com/2009/01/pseudo-flashmob.html
2. Silent dance at Liverpool St:
http://history-is-made-at-night.blogspot.com/2009/02/liverpool-street-closed-by-silent-dance.html
And more:
http://history-is-made-at-night.blogspot.com/search/label/flashmobs%20and%20silent%20raves
Thanks Bob. When is a flashmob a demo? I can’t see that there would be a spontaneous or semi-spontaneous gathering at Heathrow – it’s so out of the way and hard to get to that you can be pretty sure that everybody who goes there is either working there, flying, supporting somebody who is flying – or demonstrating by prior arrangement. Sorry to go all definitional on HIMAN, but I don’t reckon that’s a flashmob.
Ahaan… I will follow.