Major events - where were you?

[Raffles1981]

After watching The Crown and seeing Aberfan and now The Irishman and the shooting of Kennedy. Just curious as to which major event you remember that stopped you in your tracks. Made you take stock. For me, it was Diana. I was 16 and it was quite a shock and I remember the day being still and her funeral - no one seemed to be getting on with life. What was a major day for you?

Lord Mountbatten- came on a special news broadcast and my nan started crying.
John Lennon- someone told me in school.
Berlin Wall-watched it coming down in my awful rented flat in uni.
Princess Di- the day my DD was christened.

Silver jubilee
Charles and Diana wedding
IRA Manchester
IRA Eniskillen
IRA Hyde Park. Fucking IRA.
Aids adverts
Zeebrugge ferry
Kings X fire
Fall of the Wall
Freedom of Mandela
Launch of the Shuttle
Challenger and Colombia
9/11
7/7
The week after 7/7 when Londoners stood in the streets
The Japanese Earthquake
The Boxing Day Tsunami
Mrs Thatcher, election x 3 and last day
Diana’s death
Williams wedding
The Diamond Jubilee
The London Olympics

Elvis dying.

My parents and I had moved to South America to live for at least a year. When we arrived at the hotel we were to stay in before moving into our house, they had no record of our reservation. Obviously, this was slightly concerning and I could tell my parents were wondering if we'd done the right thing.

During the time my father was sorting things out, he saw a newspaper and came over saying, "Well, at least we're better off than Elvis - he's dead".

First Gulf War. I was 11 and really into WW1 based books at the time so was quite scared of conscription and what if my Dad was conscripted! He was at the time a 48 year old civil servant but it kept me awake a few nights.

When Diana died I was 18 and utterly unmoved by it. Couldn't get over how weird it was that most of the country seemed to have gone bonkers. None of my friends or family thought it was a big deal at all so there were a lot of us quite bemused.

Diana.At home age 17,came downstairs in the morning and my dad told me she'd died,thought he was joking .
9/11 at work.We switched the portable tv on in the staffroom after someone's dh told her what had happened.

Michael Jackson dying.Switched the radio on before bed which was something I never did and heard the news.

Diana. DH worked nights and we had a young baby. I was watching tv alone in bed when the first news flash came on but said she had suffered a broken leg. Then within about another hour they reported she had died.
9/11 will stay with me forever. My brother died a month later aged just 19. My world changed that year.

The invasion of Kuwait is the first thing I really remember understanding. Chernobyl and Challenger I kind of remember but I don't think I understood the significance at the time.

I tell a lie, I remember the night the Berlin Wall came down, and I understood the significance of it. I think that was before Kuwait. Also remember the horror of Tianamen Square. Also before Kuwait I think. I remember watching all three of those on the news at home with my parents. Nelson Mandela being released is another but I don't remember when that was.

I remember the Anglo Irish agreement being signed but I didn't understand the significance of that either.

9/11 I was visiting a site for work and somebody else had just heard a plane had crashed into a building on the radio, and we didn't realise it was a terrorist attack till later. We had a national day of mourning in Ireland.

Kennedy assassination - was a very small child living in America and remember being very unsettled by the adults around me; they kept crying.

First moon landing - watched it live with my scientist dad; very very exciting, despite the grainy black and white footage!

James Bulger abduction - my eldest DC was the same age, which added terror to my horror and huge sadness; ditto Dunblane, 2 eldest DC were at primary school; so many parents crying at pick up time.

Death of Diana - on holiday in France, and a neighbour came to say Princess Anne had died; then listened to the news and was astonished.

Hillsborough, later 911 - saw both these disasters live on TV. I felt they looked like films; took me a while to even begin to comprehend the reality and horror of what I was watching.

The earliest I remember is John Lennon being shot. I remember my parents stood in shock talking about it in the kitchen at breakfast. I remember kids talking about it in the playground as we arrived at school. It was raining (December) I was 6.
Then, yes, all the others mentioned here.

Diana. Worked late and used to wind down with a bit of TV. It was breaking news as I got in. Didn’t sleep much that night.
9/11 - at work setting up restaurant/bar for the day and transfixed to the rolling news
Michael Jackson - had just arrived in Paris on business - that was everywhere on the tv and radio

Diana - dad woke me up, said "Diana is dead" and switched the TV on. I was

9/11. Mum was watching the news and I went into the living room. Not sure why I was at home that day. I remember her gasping as the second plane hit

9/11 I was doing work experience at a newspaper.

Everyone went silent and started at the TV for around 20 minutes when the first news report came on. Then the office went mental.

I just remember lots of shouting and people running about and phones going.

Oh yes, Diana. We were on our way back from a 21st party, driving across the Dartford Crossing bridge when the first newsflash about the crash came on the radio. Next morning, DM phoned, and asked if we had heard....shocked to hear she hadn't survived.

9/11 I was driving back from a toddler group with DS and DD1, and heard about the first plane hitting the tower on the radio, but thought nothing of it. When I got home DH phoned and told me to put the TV on.

Oh yes, Diana. We were on our way back from a 21st party, driving across the Dartford Crossing bridge when the first newsflash about the crash came on the radio. She was reported as injured. Next morning, DM phoned, and asked if we had heard....shocked to hear she hadn't survived.

9/11 I was driving back from a toddler group with DS and DD1, and heard about the first plane hitting the tower on the radio, but thought nothing of it. When I got home DH phoned and told me to put the TV on.

Twice!

Also the arena bombings in Manchester.

I'd only been at the arena the week before. Stayed up all night with the news on.

911
Diana
Hillsborough
Lockerbie
2004 Tsunami

I remember Hillsborough but not where I was when I heard.

I remember Diana, I had gone round to see a friend who was moving abroad. We were in her flat with everything packed up when her husband came in and said he'd heard from a neighbour that Diana had died. We ended up unpacking the TV. in order to watch it. Then I went home and told dh who was shocked.

I remember 9/11 very clearly. I was at home with ds2, phoned one of his friends mums to arrange a play date and she just said "you've got to watch the tv" and put the phone down on me. I switched the TV on and was gripped. Then I had to leave to get ds1 from school, I got to the school and some people had heard, others hadn't.

I remember my Mum coming in to my room to tell me Diana had died - think I was about 16 and turned over and went back to sleep. We had a power cut for several hours the next day which was good because all the tv channels were showing the same footage over & over again.
Can remember 9/11, heard them talking about it on the radio in the car back from college, but didn't realise what the World Trade Centre was at that point until I got home later and saw the tv stuff.
I can vaguely remember Lockerbie, Hillsborough but was only young so can't remember too much.

When Diana died my XH came and woke me up and said Diana is dead. I was like who's Diana! I remember watching days and days of news. That day I went out and literally everyone I came across was in shock. Shops were empty and it was a really strange time.

911 - my mum rang me and asked if I was watching the news I switched it on just as the second plane was hitting the towers. It was like watching a movie really surreal. My nanna called me and said it's the Germans again and she was really scared!!

Lockerbie - I was at university and heard a report on the radio late at night about a petrol station exploding in Scotland. Turned on the radio the next day for an update and learnt about the plane.

Diana - got up in the morning and my flat-mate said “Diana’s dead” on the landing. I replied “Who did it?”

9-11 Back at university. People were getting news over the radio. Went back to my halls of residence and watched it on TV on a loop till the evening when I went out to see Moulin Rouge.

Diana's funeral - I was 17 and working (my employer stayed open), very errie walking through town on my lunch hour, streets were empty! 9/11 I was sat in the house watching TV when the news broke live and watched the plane hit the 2nd tower. I honestly thought it was a wind up because nothing could really be happening like that! I was also volunteering as a Samartian at the time and did that night shift and the next. They were really hard speaking to people who'd rang up because they couldn't make contact with family/friends, and literally didn't know what else to do but ring and voice it to someone, awful.

Michael Jackson dying. I was at Glastonbury and there was his music and tributes played all over the site.