Jam-Packed
Thu, February 10, 2005 at 8:05 I've had no reason to pause at Edmonton, North London, since I saw Hawkwind at the Edmonton Sundown thirty years ago. Oh yes, and various traffic jams on the North Circular Road - the famed A406.
This morning in Edmonton, Ikea opened a new shop - their biggest in England - just after midnight and although only about 4,000 people turned up, chaos ensued: fights as rabid marketing victims jumped queues and congestion as bargain-hungry shopping zombies parked cars back along the NCR instead of in the car park. All this for a three-seater leather sofa for £45 until 3am and a double bed frame for £30 between 3am and 8am?
Channel 4 News: "There were 22 persons suffering from heat exhaustion and crush injuries ... and approximately 3,000 members of the public were discharged from the site by the police."
Ikea's new flagship superstore remains closed this morning while they repair the front doors.
BBC: Crush chaos at Ikea store opening: "Police said the stabbing of a man, in his 20s, near the store at about 0130 GMT was unrelated."
Reuters: Man stabbed in IKEA store chaos
ITV: Chaos outside furniture store
Tut tut, modern Britain, how people behave in a crisis expresses their character.
Apple didn't have this problem when 3,000 people queued patiently to get in their new Regent Street shop. Different kind of people.
