Oxford Street robbery

At 10 o'clock this morning our offices were dominated by the sound of shouts, motorbike engines and a large banging noise.  We all rushed to the windows overlooking Oxford St to see four individuals gathered in formation around the window of Leslie Davis the jewellers, right opposite us.  One of them was swinging a sledgehammer at the window.  After a minute or two they grabbed what they could through the hole in the window and made off on the bikes.

I'm as fascinated as much by my own reaction as anything else.  I stood at the window and watched in paralysed inadequacy.  Two of the bikers were facing outwards, revving their engines, while the other two attacked the shop.  Only a single passer-by approached any of the men, but they were gone before he could do anything.  It was getting on for ten minutes before any police showed up.  I felt completely useless, watching a brazen attack in the middle of the day.  I think we all had a sense of violation of our environment. 

Why couldn't we all have done something to stop it?  We could have grabbed fire extinguishers and rushed out and sprayed them.  Someone could have stuck an umbrella through the spokes of one of the bikes.  All rubbish of course -the brain seems to go into freeze-frame mode when something like this happens and you just can't think. 

Very very frustrating.