MetaChat - Is anybody here in London?

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23 December 2005

Is anybody here in London? The sister-in-law of a good friend is currently having some severe issues and is in London. We need to get help, either to an airport to the United States, or possibly to a hospital. She may or may not be able to walk.

Details are sketchy, but the fact that I've been contacted means the situation is reasonably desperate.

Can anybody here point me towards an appropriate place to call for assistance, in London?

post by: mosch at: 13:56 | 19 comments

Cost is not an issue. We simply have no clue who to call for this sort of assistance in the UK.

posted by mosch 23 December | 13:57

email dodgygeezer, he's in London.

posted by mygothlaundry 23 December | 14:08

It looks like appropriate emergency services have now been summoned. We just hadn't a clue how to dial 999 from the United States.

posted by mosch 23 December | 14:17

Mosch, give me a shout if you need anything. I'm here until lunch tomorrow (it's now 1920), but i can delay for a couple of hours if there's anything you need.

posted by urbanwhaleshark 23 December | 14:19

mosch - I hope your friend is OK. I can't imagine how helpless I'd feel if someone I cared about was a continent away, hurt, and I couldn't help them. I'm glad emergency services was contacted.

posted by LeeJay 23 December | 14:21

Oh dear. Well I hope everything is OK now.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 December | 14:26

Good luck, mosch!

posted by Frisbee Girl 23 December | 14:31

Thank you all. She's been verified alive and healthy.

The only remaining hurdle is that she's in Kensington Close, and her passport is in Canterbury. Assuming this can be handled, she's on the first flight out of London in the AM.

posted by mosch 23 December | 14:36

Hmm... Apparently we need a courier service now. The embassy reports the passport is required and can't be sufficiently expedited.

posted by mosch 23 December | 14:44

Good luck to your relative, mosch. What a crappy thing to happen during the holidays (or anytime, really).

posted by matildaben 23 December | 14:46

Anybody know of a reliable courier who can take a passsport from Canterbury to Kensington Close, and get it there before the morning?

Cost is not a factor.

posted by mosch 23 December | 14:49

actually, apparently they'd need to take keys from Kensington Close to Canterbury, get the passport, then take that from Canterbury back to Kensington Close.

First few phone calls haven't panned out.

posted by mosch 23 December | 14:53

can a motorcycle courier do it in time?

posted by amberglow 23 December | 14:57

like this Hi-Speed one or another like it?

posted by amberglow 23 December | 14:59

Are you asking the courier to go into a house and retrieve the passport from a drawer? I don't think any courier will pick that up. If its a hotel (ie hotel key), they might be able to suggest a local courier service if you give them a ring.

posted by urbanwhaleshark 23 December | 14:59

Canterbury's about 1.5 - 2 hours drive from central london. About the same on the train.

posted by urbanwhaleshark 23 December | 15:00

Well, it seems that at this point we have this mostly worked out.

We got somebody to go open the apartment and find the Passport, and I believe we've found a courier to then take that passport back.

Hopefully this portion will go as planned, and this will be an end to the unwanted excitement.

posted by mosch 23 December | 15:07

Brilliant news.

posted by urbanwhaleshark 23 December | 15:10

wow mosch - thanks for the updates. I can't imagine being helpless and alone in a foreign country.

posted by muddgirl 23 December | 18:57

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