Euston Station, the gateway to the North, falls silent. But the silence, as the saying goes, speaks louder than words.
A BBC reporter has been dispatched to record the sound of silence. As she reports, and as we can see, the great Departures Llounge is deserted.
‘Good morning from a very eerie Euston station, where the first train doesn’t leave for an hour’.
Outside, a picket line in day-glow jackets. Among them, Mick Walsh, the reader of the striking railwaymen, is conducting an interview. His style is a model for any student of leadership. He is clear, speaks without few rhetorical flourishes or cliches. He is firm but with more regret than anger, even against the Government.
He avoids repeating his last press interview by suggesting how the settlement would not require extra money from the public purse.
‘If Andrew [that’s Andrew Waites, chairman of Network Rail] was to agree to releasing the huge bonuses paid to top executives, that would resolve the payment difference, the negotiation gap’.
The suggestion is unlikely to resolve anything, but the overall impact illustrates the style that differentiates Flynn from other spokespersons involved in the dispute.
The interview trends in the social media, largely positively.
I picture the more familiar scene. The crowds of jostling travellers, gazing at the electric platform announcements, readying themselves to join the lines for the appropriate platforms. Then the Euston Rush, as a platform number is announced.
I wonder when these scenes will occur again?
Hello Euston, my old friend
Will we see ever see these scenes again?
The hubble bubble of the hall
The surge of people to the call
To the blinking lights there high up on the wall?
Instead of silence?
The sound of silence.
Everyday Creativity 