A homemade poster in a window near my house reads, 'London, Hyde Park is with You, Stop the Violence'. The first time I saw it I smiled and nodded my agreement but today that poster has taken on a whole new dimension. I've been able to hear a helicopter for most of the day but it wasn't until just a few hours ago that I realised that the pictures I was watching on my TV were coming from that very helicopter.

To be honest it wasn't until I actually walked down to the end of my street and looked round the corner that I actually believed what I was seeing. After Thursday's terrible events I reflected that London suddenly felt like my backyard, but today the so called 'war on terrorism' is on my doorstep.

Houses just round the corner are standing empty having being evacuated, there was a controlled explosion a few hours ago and, until a little while ago, there were armed police on these very streets. Now this area of Leeds, which I love, has seen some occasional nasty shit thanks to gangsters with guns, but this just seems petty compared to what's going on today.

Trying to adjust to this new view of my home, as a possible homebase for mass murderers, I am reminded of a strange afternoon from a few weeks ago. I could hear a helicopter that day too and that's why I'd gone to the window. I saw the police helicopter, then I saw the little boy.

A tiny Asian lad was wandering up my street, on his own. Scanning the street I saw my girlfriend returning from work. She approached the lad and spoke to him, confirming that he was indeed lost. He didn't speak much but told us he lived near the Mosque.

Rounding the corner at the bottom of the my street, the minaret of the Mosque is plainly and attractively visible. Rounding the corner that afternoon what was also plainly visible, though perhaps less attractive, were the numerous police and police vehicles. For a moment I was reminded of Jamie Bulger and Holly & Jessica, thinking that this young lads disappearance could have sparked a mass scare and search.

Having approached the officers, however, we found that they were not looking for the boy. Looking around I suddenly became aware that something else was going on here. All the police were wearing body armour, though I didn't see and firearms. They had closed roads and were redirecting traffic. When asked all they would say was that they were investigating 'an incident'.

As it turned out, the boy lived near 'the other' Mosque, which is just at the other end of the street and round the corner, and is in fact the Mosque that has been closed down today, just a few steps away from the house searched. Nobody I spoke to knew what the police were doing that day and we just forgot all about it.

It wasn't until I was watching this story unfold before, and quite literally around, me that I thought about it again. Were the police looking for terrorists in Hyde Park weeks before London was attacked? Of course it's possible, even likely, that the two events are entirely unconnected but it's a perfect example of how events can change the way we see things.

We can retain perspective though. I'll admit I was rattled as I realised just how close this global story was to me. I'll also admit that the thought of someone from Yorkshire being responsible for last Thursday turned my stomach too. This said, however, I also know, as does everyone else when they think about it, that these people are the tiniest of minorities.

I love living where I do and I refuse to start being scared of my neighbours.