Glad you're OK Sylvie. As Applespider said it will probably affect you for quite a while. The important thing is not to blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong - it was the scum who attacked you who are to blame. Take comfort from the fact you fought back and they didn't get anything. Friends and acquatainces may tell you something along the lines of: "I always cross the road when I see some dodgy people..." or "My mate was attacked and he hit them back..." etc... Basically saying to themselves (and unintentionally to you) "it would never happen to me". The unfortunate truth is you can't prepare yourself. People like to think they can but plenty of off duty police officers, trained army people, people who should "know better" - have been a victim. Of course you can be careful, but sometimes it's not enough. Being able to walk safely to and from the station on your way to and from work is, in my opinion, the very minimum level of safety we should expect and receive. I hope the Peckham police inspector who posted on this forum recently puts stopping incidents this at the top of his agenda.