Where were you when 9/11 happened

[Floopyfloop]

I know this topic has been done many times before but this 9/11 seems to have really made me think about it more.

I was in an interview for an internal job change and the interviews were being held at a Marriott hotel. It would have been an amazing job to get. I got through the first round in the morning and rang my now husband to tell him I was through to the afternoon interviews on a payphone. He sounded really unnerved and told me that something awful had happened in NY and to see if I could watch the news somewhere. I asked them in reception if they had a telly. A crowd gathered and watched in stunned silence. Everyone thought it was an accident but as the second plane hit, everyone was horrified when we realised it was deliberate.

I was called into the interview about 5 minutes after the second tower was hit and I sat there white as a sheet, trying to keep it together. The interviewer asked if I was ok and I explained what had happened. She said that her brother worked in lower Manhattan and said she needed to leave. I really hope her brother was ok. After that all the interviews were cancelled for the day and we sat in the hotel bar watching it unfold.
There was a Marriott in the WTC complex so the staff were worried about their colleagues.

I had visited the WTC myself in the April of 2001 and I went to the Top of the World Observatories In the South tower.

I was at school trying to sort a a level module resit. The teacher was really rude said there been a plane crash in the US and as her husband was there she needed to leave. I remember being really annoyed until I understood what had actually happened.

The thing that stands out to me most from the radio broadcast I was listening to that day was the second plane hitting, and the realisation dawning that this was deliberate, not an accident.

Oh I had that moment with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The nuns at our school told us to pray as WWIII might be starting that afternoon. We were sent home early and when I got there my gran was sitting with my mum, they wanted to be together if the bomb dropped. The bomb dropping and the 3 minute warning were a big topic back then.

I do think it horrible to say it to a child.

Pot washing in a pub kitchen on my own listening on the radio. I figured it must be a microlight aircraft, and carried on, till I realised mark and Lard on radio 1 wasn't continuing and it had switched to BBC somber music.

Caught up with the rest of the restaurant staff and watched it on the big pull down screen in the pub and realised just how bad it was!

On holiday in spain

didnt know anything about it til we got back to gatwick and the queues and security checks were immense

taxi driver told us all about it in the end

Walking around Boston (US) wondering why there were loads of national guard with guns everywhere. It was only when I tried to find a bus that I spoke to a woman who explained what had happened. Was stuck in Boston for another week as the airport was shut but was with a friend so stayed on with her. It was an insane experience.

I arrived at the school gate to pick up DD & while we were waiting the 2nd plane hit (I think, would have to look up what time it hit). Weird day, & I remember feeling that the world would never be the same again.
A friend had her baby that day.

I was 19 definitely felt a shift in my understanding of the world.

I was at an after school maths group in year 11. A former pupil came in to ask our teacher to sign his passport forms and was saying the Twin Towers and White House had been bombed and WWIII was about to start. I don't think any of us truly believed him and our teacher joked about oil prices. I walked home to find my parents in front of the telly and when I saw the screen I just thought, "Shit, he was right!" Obviously he wasn't, but the reality wasn't any better.

Similar to you on maternity leave, except washing up, standing at the sink, tv on for company but not really focussing.

A couple of times I glanced over. As a teen, I'd found the film ‘Towering Inferno’ quite scary and can remember thinking

‘why have the BBC chosen this awful film for weekday lunchtime viewing?’

then the horror dawned.

I remember it clear as if it was yesterday. I was 20 and working on a stud farm. My boss had asked me to come back early from lunch to meet the farrier and as we were driving in his van down to the field of horses he’d come to see the hourly news bulletin was on the radio saying there were reports a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. Naturally we assumed it meant a light aircraft.

Didn’t hear any more for a while as I was sent off on fence painting duty until my housemate wondered over to me and said one of the towers had collapsed - she’d been listening to Radio 1 on her Walkman while painting in another field.

We got home from work about 4.30 and sat on the floor of our living room (we were waiting for a sofa delivery and had no furniture in there other than the tv!) glued to the tv in shock for the rest of the evening, I don’t think we even ate dinner that night.

One of our colleagues was out in the US visiting family and was stranded for about a week unable to get back. He ended up having to catch a flight to Amsterdam and then another flight on to Italy to then get a connecting flight back to the UK or something convoluted like that.

I was at the flat I shared with my boyfriend at the time as was on a late shift at work. He called me from work to tell me to turn the TV as something had happened with the twin towers. I didn’t even know what they were! I was only 19. Can’t forget them now.

I'm in Australia so heard about it on the radio when I woke up on the morning of the 12th. People who'd stayed up the watch the late news the night before had seen it all live, though.

I had to call my late dad to wish him happy birthday. (It's the morning of the 12th now, happy birthday Dad.) He hadn't heard so that was a sombre call.

I had to fly the following day for work. That was terrifying.

I still remember talking to a much younger colleague at work about it and he hadn’t been born when it happened and so it wasn’t part of ‘history’ that he really was aware of. Bonkers.

I was on a call (WFH - early adopter) and had a VHS on pause then it cut out and showed the first tower hit.
I said to the person I was calling that something was going on, couldn't get online (the days of dial up). We spent about 10 minutes on the call trying to make sense of it.. and failed.
Called DH who was working on Tottenham Court Road at the time and he watched it through shop windows.
Parents and Grandparents coming back from a holiday in Cornwall. Left an answerphone message to say "do not turn the television on: call me".
I remember just watching it on a loop not quite understanding what was going on. Sadly had several colleagues and a couple of neighbours killed.
It was the day of change for the world (and - not my finest moment - given that I had one person killed and two people severely injured by the IRA - I did feel 'perhaps you now know what its feels like' to the Noraid supporters)
Apologies for possibly derailing

On holiday, on a trip to Gibraltar. Walking round and the streets were empty & everyone else crowding round TVs in the bars. I glimpsed Tony Blair looking somber on TV as we walked past the bar & commented to my bf that the queen mum must have died.saw it on the TV when we got back to the hotel lobby but thought it was a disaster movie. Went up to room, flicked thru channels and a school friend was on TV so started watching her, before BF came up from lobby saying it wasn't a film & to turn over the tv NOW!

It was the day of change for the world (and - not my finest moment - given that I had one person killed and two people severely injured by the IRA - I did feel 'perhaps you now know what its feels like' to the Noraid supporters)

wow

I was on a gap year from sixth form before uni and working in the ministry of defence.... remember everyone talking about the planes going into the WTC but didn't have a clue what they really were......I remember getting home and putting the TV on and just feeling sick and grateful at the same time....poor beggars on the roof jumping on live TV.. ..I didn't realise the enormity of the event until then.....also really remember seeing what I thought was lots of paper falling and wondered why it wasn't burning......well obviously now I realise it was probably glass.....RIP all involved.... its not a day that Will leave me....

I was in first year of secondary school (12years old) and I remember going home from school and watching the tv for the evening! Our last class was French and the teacher didn't tell us about it as she wanted us to do our lesson 😕

I don't particularly remember specifically but was only just turned 6 so would have been at school!

I went out for a driving lesson in central London, and my driving instructor told me. I didn't really know what he was talking about until I got home after the lesson and put the TV on.

I was in the 2nd ir 3rd year of high school so maybe 13? I remember it was really warm and I was in Welsh class, last class of the day. Another teacher came in and told us what was happening. The teacher then went to get the telly and wheeled it in to the classroom. We all sat and watched in disbelief until it was time to go home

At school. Got home to talks of ww3!

I was at work in London but my dad was in New York. He was actually in a meeting on Long Island but I think had to get a train into the centre to get out anywhere else. He never used to give us details of where he was etc but I knew the company he was visiting, so rang them up and asked if Bob the boss (literally!) was meeting with MrNeighneigh'sdad and eventually got through. Took him a few days to get news about a flight home but at least he was safe.

I was an NQT in a primary school in the North East. No TV in school so the first we knew of it was Muslim parents turning up to pick up their children because they were scared there would be riots

I was 21 - absolutely clueless and couldn't understand their fear.