Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

What were you doing 17 years ago today?

662 replies

PepperSteaks · 11/09/2018 09:03

I think September 11th is definitely one of those moments when you remember exactly where you were. As MN is such a cross section of society I thought it would be interesting to know where people were when it happened.

OP posts:
Time40 · 11/09/2018 10:17

I was having one of my first driving lessons, in the City of London, and my driving instructor told me. I went back home afterwards and spent much of the day watching it all on TV.

Giggorata · 11/09/2018 10:17

I ran a centre for care leavers at the time, and was called in to the lounge just after the first plane. Staff and young people watched it together, horrified as the second plane hit and it became apparent what was going on.
It led to a lot of discussion about terrorism, fundamentalism and religion.

Justgivemesomepeace · 11/09/2018 10:18

I was at work. Someone saw it on sky news and we all sat and watched it horrified. Dd's dad was in the army at the time on exercise in Canada. I was so scared of what the implications would be. He was oblivious, had no idea. I had to send him newspaper articles as they had no tv or internet or anything.

NewSparkle · 11/09/2018 10:18

At school, came home for lunch), my mum was out left me food. I put on tv unusually as had no one to talk to. Seen it on news knew something bad, hit record on VCR. went back to school but no one was doing any work. Knew the world had changed that afternoon. Incredibly eerie feeling.

Derekmorganwasinmybed · 11/09/2018 10:20

I was watching the news while feeding my 4 month old

roundturnandtwohalfhitches · 11/09/2018 10:20

I was off work and switched on the TV to watch the end of the news and saw the 2nd plane crash. Tried to email DH but couldn't get him- turns out the servers for their company were in one of the Towers as one of their big offices were there. I remember it was beautiful September day where I was as well- not a cloud in the sky.

BiddyPop · 11/09/2018 10:21

At a conference in a UK University (my first international trip for work). I happened to listen to it live on BBC Radio as it was the one session in a 3 day conference I could skip, and I only saw pictures the following lunchtime as we were waiting to go to the airport to get home (very north England, and going back to Ireland, so that flight was allowed. London was still closed, and no USA or Israel flights were going, and a few other international attendees were going to be stuck quite a few days so were all getting a train to London initially).

Happypuppy · 11/09/2018 10:21

Was skiving “on the sick”from a job I hated. Was on the Internet and an American friend messaged me over AOL instant messenger to tell me a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I couldn’t think what the WTC was so switched the TV on and saw the second plane crash.

Spent all day then watching it all unfold and was terrified about what was going to happen as consequences.

Catsandbootsandbootsandcats · 11/09/2018 10:22

I was at home. DS1 was 18 months, and I was pg with DS2. DS1 was having a nap and I had the radio on. When the news came on I turned the TV on instead and watched it all unfold in horror.

stargirl1701 · 11/09/2018 10:23

Teaching at school.

Bbbbb27 · 11/09/2018 10:23

At work in London, in a meeting sorting out the final points of the large grad induction.

Meeting was with senior partners and was interrupted as we had staff in the towers.

Tasha32 · 11/09/2018 10:24

I was 15 and in last year at high school

GrumpyInsomniac · 11/09/2018 10:24

I was off sick from work, bedded down under a duvet on the sofa and had switched the news on to catch up.

Had to go to NYC on business a couple of months later, and remember seeing so many of the fire and police stations with home-made banners saying their squad name, how many men they had lost on 9/11, with the words 'Never Forget'. As if anyone could forget.

vampirethriller · 11/09/2018 10:24

At work, I was a waitress and we put the radio on when a customer told us.

TheBigFatMermaid · 11/09/2018 10:25

I was in bed. I worked nights at the time and would sleep with my TV on. I woke to the most horrific news.

FairfaxAikman · 11/09/2018 10:25

Fourth year at high school. Some kids had had teachers turn on the tv after hearing.
As we gathered for the buses home they were telling those of us who hadn't seen the TVs and were were dismissing it as a joke.
When I got home 45 minutes later I realised it wasn't.

LurkingQuietly · 11/09/2018 10:26

18 years old working in a very prominent London building. Sent home as non essential staff. Remember being utterly petrified on the journey home. Sat with my parents all afternoon/evening watching it all and still can remember exactly how I felt.

sashh · 11/09/2018 10:29

I was taking some fairly strong medication so I'd had an afternoon nap. I woke up, put the TV on and watched from then on.

I didn't phone anyone, not sure why but spoke to my parents a few days later.

My dad had been outside and a neighbour told him about the WTC and the Pentagon, he told my mum who said, "Don't be stupid, they are miles away from each other".

I'm surprised that those of you in secondary school had not heard of 'terrorists', I suppose it must show what a difference the Good Friday Agreement made to all our lives. Thank you people of NI and Ireland.

LatinForTelly · 11/09/2018 10:30

At work. Big open-plan head office of a national retailer. Only the PR department, whom we sat next to, had TVs and internet can't have been as sophisticated then as I don't remember switching to BBC news - we just all crowded into PR dept's meeting room to watch.

I remember thinking London was going to be part of it too. Those poor people. Completely shocking.

Loyaultemelie · 11/09/2018 10:31

I was at uni, working full time and left work to pick up by best mate from his work when we heard it on the news and went back to my house to watch it on tv.

SecretWitch · 11/09/2018 10:31

I was living in Massachusetts on 9/11. You would not have believed the beauty of that early autumn morning. Sky so very blue and air very crisp. Playing with my toddlers when my friend called and told me to turn on television. I was heartbroken.

Both our husbands worked for a very sensitive defense company. One short phone call from husband to say he was fine but would not be home for a few days. I packed up the children and drove to MILS’s. It seemed the need to be with family was a priority for many people.

MarklesMerkin · 11/09/2018 10:31

I was at work in a supermarket. Customer came in and said a plane had hit one of the twin towers, I thought it was some kind of accident. Then more customers kept coming in saying other snippets and I started thinking 'this sounds serious' ... ! A few of us put the TV on in the staff room but it was hard to just make any sense of it all, it was just chaos. I just couldn't comprehend what had happened until I got home and sat down to watch the news in full. I remember being terrified that it was somehow the beginning of the end.

reluctantbrit · 11/09/2018 10:32

Being miffed as DH's US trip was cancelled. He was supposed to be in NY the week before and then in Washington the week after with 4 days no work inbetween. So we thought I fly in and we do NY together.

Well, I think it was a blessing in disguise.

When our postal guy in the office told us we were kind of "yeah, you are joking". We have a branch in NY and know quite a lot of people so were obviously anxious about them and their families.

ColinsVeryJolly · 11/09/2018 10:32

On maternity leave with DS1 who was 7 weeks old.

I walked to town to meet SIL for a coffee, then had DS’s photo taken at one of those pop up photographer places.

It was such a lovely day I walked to my mum’s to meet her when she finished work at 3. As I walked in I shouted ‘hello!’ she shouted back ‘you need to get here and see this!’ She’d only just got home and put the telly on.

We both stood in her living room just staring at the telly wondering what on earth was going on.

BiddyPop · 11/09/2018 10:33

We also had a holiday to NYC booked for late October that year, the final money was due the following Monday to the travel agent who swore blind that the airline had sorted out its response and would still be flying (a few had already pulled flights) and that our trip was secure. We'd had talks about whether to go or not, but though it would be soooo secure after this event, that we would still go. So we paid over the remainder due.

Airline pulled the flights 3 weeks later, but was allowed up to 10 weeks to refund all monies. So we had to find a new holiday (this was our big "summer holiday" for that year) within 2 weeks, and only having what was our hostel costs, food and spending money for the NYC trip to cover the entire holiday instead (flights, hotel, and spending money) on a last minute booking (in the days when prices went UP closer to the time) - we got 3 days in Paris instead of a week in NYC.

But we were lucky, all the people we knew in the area got out safe.