There are not many instances in my life where I can say that I have participated in a historically significant event. When Diana died, I was not one of the thousands who lined the streets. When England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, I watched the celebrations on the television from the comfort of my living room. When the suicide bombers attacked London on the 7th July 2005, I was not on my way to work or school; I heard about it at home on the radio. So over the summer it was strange to be inadvertently caught up in the first bank run since the collapse of Overend and Gurney in 1866. While queuing outside my local branch of the Northern Rock I was uniquely placed to witness the operation of the freedom of speech and the freedom to act irrationally and it has enhanced my understanding of the way our society works.

It was 6:45 am. The air was cool on this early autumn morning. I was arriving at the Golders Green branch of the Northern Rock Building Society to withdraw some money. The previous evening I had learned that there were still long queues outside and that to be served it was necessary to arrive as early as possible. I was not withdrawing the money out of panic. In fact, I believed it to be totally safe. My plan, as a new student, looking to increase his finances, was to withdraw a modest sum and invest it directly into Northern Rock shares. I had been watching the share price and noticed a very sudden fall. I instinctively thought there would be a ‘dead cat bounce’ effect – where shares drop very suddenly and then very quickly jump back to a higher level. My plan was to buy on the next share price dip and sell on a sudden bounce or wait to see if a takeover by a larger bank might materialise.

I am ashamed to admit to an initial feeling of intellectual superiority to the eighty or so people who had arrived before me. Some of them had been waiting since 2 am. I had assumed that many would be foolishly withdrawing funds that were perfectly safe, risking penalties and lost interest in the process and worsening the problem for no better reason than a compulsion to follow the herd. However, during the five and a half hours I spent in the queue I was surprised to be engaged in some of the most intellectually stimulating conversations of my entire summer.

I spent most of my time with Ralph and Mertyl, a couple in their eighties who had been university lecturers. They were both bright and articulate and explained that they had no faith in government guarantees and that it was important to follow gut instincts when it came to certain decisions. Our conversation explored various issues while we waited and I soon had no doubt that these people were thinkers and were acting from a position of wisdom rather than responding to hype. In fact most of the people in the queue seemed to be rational and calm about the whole episode. Doubtless some were less sophisticated in their thinking and were simply following others, but there was no panic. The atmosphere was similar to the one at Wimbledon when people queue up for their tickets. It was a typically British way to react.

Things were about to get a lot more exciting though. At about 10 am the world’s press and television turned its focus onto us. I found myself thrust into the spotlight. I was suddenly giving my opinion to television reporters from GMTV, ITN, the BBC and other media outlets from all parts of the world. It dawned on me that these interviews would potentially be seen by millions of people and as I spoke I felt a sense of responsibility. I hoped that my explanation as to why I was there might calm nerves. A couple of reporters from an Iranian television station gave me an uneasy feeling. They kept trying to imply that I thought the UK economy was about to go into recession. I felt unqualified to make such a prediction. However, it did feel good to be given such freedom and confidence to speak my mind – a truly excellent experience just prior to starting a law degree.

The Northern Rock staff were very encouraging towards us. They were happy for us to be there. They handed out sweets, water and sandwiches and gave information about the length of queues at other branches. They even said that once people had taken their money out, any penalties would be redeemed if the money was returned to the account at some point in the next month. At one point, a lady came back to the queue to say that she had been to another branch and had been served very quickly without queuing at all. Many, me included, now began to disperse. There was no point in being there anymore. However, some stayed: some said they liked the staff at their branch and did not want to be served elsewhere, others that they had waited so long a few extra hours wouldn’t matter.

As I left for the tube station to get to the other branch of Northern Rock, I puzzled over what had been achieved and what might be learned. I concluded that confidence would be restored quickly in banking. With over two billion pounds withdrawn, the system still seemed to be working. Whether these people had been acting out of fear or reason, was not important. What mattered was that they had tested out the banking mechanism. They had operated the emergency procedure and discovered that it worked. What greater way could there be to demonstrate that the bank can still be considered as relatively safe place to leave your money. What is more, we also witnessed the genuine exercise of freedom of speech and freedom of movement and as a result disaster was avoided. Refusing people the opportunity to withdraw their funds or speak their minds would have certainly resulted in rioting. Perhaps it could be argued that economic strength must have its foundations in these freedoms for it to be sustained.