Westfield Stratford on a wet Wednesday morning and just ahead of opening the security forces almost outnumber the shoppers waiting for the stores to open.
Westfield Stratford on a wet Wednesday morning and just ahead of opening the security forces almost outnumber the shoppers waiting for the stores to open. Everyone’s used to men with earpieces and dark suits chatting to each other or looking at those they suspect might be up to no good, but there is more of a sense of purpose to the crowd currently patrolling the public areas in the Stratford mall.
And now they are joined by new, more official looking forces of law and order in the shape of policemen with sniffer dogs, uniformed members of the Air Force and young men in Army fatigues looking well-turned out in claret-coloured berets. None of the Forces personnel appear to be carrying any form of weapon, but their presence alone is enough to make you think that there is reason to be alert and equally to suspect that more covert operations are underway.
Westfield Stratford’s a nice place to visit if you want to while away some time and maybe do a little shopping. Yet depending on your point of view, there is either something to be scared of as the Games approach, or there is much to be thankful for as the boys (and girls) in blue and khaki have suddenly begun to appear in the mall in numbers.
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