The show goes on

London was its normal bustling self on Saturday, a day after the discovery of two unexploded bombs in the heart of the West End.

In Piccadilly Circus, Londoners and tourists cluster under umbrellas in the summer rain.

Many have climbed the statue of Eros to get a better look at the Gay Pride marchers snaking around the city to Trafalgar Square and the Embankment.

The sound of drums, whistles and cheesy pop fills the washed out streets.

Nothing would seem to give away the fact that on Friday police found two cars packed with a mix of petrol, gas cylinders and nails primed to blow up revellers.

Londoners, tourists and shop workers seem to share the same feeling - "you have to get through it".

"We didn't even think about staying at home today"
Fran Setterfield, Bedford

"You can't let them get to you," says Geoff Cutting, sheltering just around the corner from the Tiger Tiger club where one of the car bombs was found.

"Of course I've heard the news and feel sad about it, but I won't let it change my life," says Geoff, 51.

There is a sense that these alerts have just become part of the background set of annoyances that interfere with life in London on a daily basis. Like the four tube line closures on Saturday.

"We didn't even think about staying at home today," says Fran Setterfield, 31, who is on her way to the theatre with husband and son.

"The only difference is that we've had more of the news on.

"We can't let them win."

Fran's son, Oliver, 4, just seems excited to be in town.

"The show must go on"
Fabio Abbate, London

Chris Jones, 18, is standing outside the Tiger Tiger club. Apart from the fact that the bar is closed, everything appears normal.

"If feels that I've lived with terrorism all my life, I'm used to it," says Chris.

"On Thursday night I was working not far from where one of the cars was parked. I saw the police cordons but everybody just seemed to be getting on with things.

"Only the tourists seem to get excited now when they see police with guns."

Munuer Balollthin, 24, thinks his shop - selling memorabilia - may have suffered a little. But it could just be the rain, he muses.

Down near Trafalgar Square the usual tourist honeypots seem to be just as packed as on any other Saturday.

The Gay Pride marchers are starting to make their way down.

One marcher, Fabio Abbate, says he did think twice about coming into the city.

"The show must go on," says Fabio, 28, who works in catering.

But maybe not everybody is feeling so comfortable.

Maurice Patrick Hoadley, 66, was going to go to the Gay Pride march but the news stopped him.

"It's not a sense of fear as such. I just feel that central London has become a 'no go' area at this time.

"The Gay Pride march just seems like such an obvious target for a terrorist 'spectacular'."