In the aftermath of the London terrorist attacks on Saturday night, a man named Richard Angell says he won’t be cowed or frightened into changing the way he lives. As such Angell reportedly plans to return to the restaurant he fled when the violence began, to pay off his bill, and show some defiance in the face of violent extremism. Or, to hear him tell it, to show “two fingers up” to the terrorists who would have eagerly killed him.
“I’ve got to pay my bill,” Angell told BuzzFeed News, planning his return to the Arabica Bar & Kitchen at London’s Borough Market when the establishment reopens. “Also, we haven’t given the staff a tip and they looked out for us when they should have been helping themselves. It was lovely food and I want the rest of my main course.”
Gin and tonic loving Londoner “sticks two fingers up” at terror by returning to Borough Market restaurant to pay his bill and tip staff. pic.twitter.com/0Bmmqv5B8A
— Channel 5 News (@5_News) June 4, 2017
Angell, a staunch Labour supporter and the head of the appropriately named progressive think tank Progress, was at the restaurant to sip some gin and tonic and spend a night out with his friends. What ensued was a confusing and violent scene, as he described seeing a man staggering past him, badly bleeding from the chest and neck. Ultimately, British authorities have confirmed seven deaths as a result of the attack, while dozens more people were taken to area hospitals. More than 20 of the hospitalized are reportedly in critical condition, however, raising the grim possibility that the death toll could creep higher.
Angell escaped without any injuries, however―a merciful bit of luck, considering the Arabica Bar & Kitchen was right next door to a restaurant the three knife-armed attackers entered―and he doesn’t intend to alter his lifestyle in the wake of the attack.
“If they have a problem with me having a G&T with friends and flirting and being gay then I’m going to carry on doing it,” he told BuzzFeed News. “If that’s so barbaric to these people then two fingers up to them.”
As far as an enduring and defiant spirit in the face of a terrorist attack goes, that’s pretty good, no?
H/T BuzzFeed
