The atmosphere at the end of Heybarnes Road this afternoon was calm, as if people were just waiting for things to happen, following today's dawn raid and arrest. It didn't help that it's a miserable, grey day, with drizzle in the air, and not flaming July. The controlled explosion that has been expected since this morning still hasn't happened yet, although the army bomb disposal team had raced up from Gloucestershire this morning. You can see their van on the right of the first photo (above). There's a rucksack which was thrown out of a window this morning, which I think the authorities are approaching with caution, as it's rumoured that Omar was wearing it when the police arrived at 04:30.

There were six TV cameras set up at the tape blocking off the road. As I arrived, an ABC News presenter was filming his report. Listening to him address breakfast-time America from a road in Small Heath made me realise just how big a deal this is, and it's all happening 2.4 miles from my house.

There seemed to be a pecking order in where you were allowed to park your OB van, as Central News and Midlands Today had bagged the prime parking places - inside the cordon, no less. Others were outside the exhaust centre round the corner and outside the chippy (which is the one I thought it was - see below) which was closed. Swedish TV and BBC local radio vehicles had to make do with the Asda car park, although that is conveniently situated right across the road (see below again).

Rajesh Mirchandani was there for BBC News, although it was still over two hours until he reported into the teatime shows. There were Scottish, American and French accents amongst the journalists, and a mix of Asian, black and white kids hanging around, some of them trying to get in view of the TV cameras and finding it all quite amusing.

"What ya takin' pictures for? Will they be in the papers?" shouted some child as I tried to look as if I was there for some professional reason, not just curiosity and a blog.

Some enterprising youngsters were taking journalists on guided tours around the field and the streets behind. I asked one thirteen-ish goth/skate kid of unfathomable gender (I kid you not) where they were going. "You can see the soldiers from round the back - you can see 'is garden," said the local, who turned out to be a boy. We chatted for a bit while his mates took a journo for a walk around the block. As I left, I said, "Well, you're doing a good job," and he replied, "I ain't bein' paid for it though - I'm doin' it for the love o' me city", and he punched his chest proudly, like a boxer. Don't it make you proud? I was tempted to point out that it might be considered a bit callous to profit from the arrest of a potential bomber, but I let it lie.

It's funny how quickly you can get used to being in a media environment. After being surrounded by TV crews, I popped across to Asda to get something for tea. At the checkout, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a furry boom mic further down and thought a crew must be interviewing the checkout staff about their exciting day. When I looked properly, I saw that it was a man buying a mop. There was no TV crew.










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