I was late for work because I was detained at gunpoint by the police

Although this is not my usual excuse for being late, it is probably one of the more interesting ones I’ve been able to use.

So, I was walking up Southwark Bridge Road, having stopped in at the butcher for a chat on the way in to work (it’s all very Sesame Street in the Borough, baby), and I heard the familiar sirens of a police motorcade escorting prisoners to the Old Bailey. As the motorcade drew up level with me (at the crossing of Union Street), it stopped, because there was construction in the middle of the road. Now, I’ve seen enough action films to know that this is the moment when any would-be assailant would choose to tackle a convoy, and so I was impressed when the armoured Land Rover nearest me pulled diagonally across the intersection and a police officer with an automatic shotgun emerged from the vehicle to keep a close eye on everyone as the motorcade was stalled there. Now, my route would have taken my straight past the armoured people carrier, so I decided to stay put and observe the scene. There were police on all sides of the convoy, diligently scanning the roads, houses, rooftops, for ... er, outraged Somalis? It was a little bit Black Hawk Down, except no one got shot. And there were no helicopters.