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AIBU?

What were the main events where you know exactly where you were when you heard?

355 replies

BrizzleMint · 17/02/2019 08:36

Mine were the space shuttle explosion, Princess Diana dying and 9/11 plus the explosion at Mill Hill barracks and the Harrods bombing.

I was curious what they were for older/younger people so what events do you really remember.

OP posts:

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Comefromaway · 17/02/2019 11:28

Princess Diana - I was reading the Sunday Times and there was an article about Diana & Dodi. Dh was at work and phoned me (on the landline)

911 - I walked into the hospital waiting room as I had an antenatal appointment and thought it was unusual that someone had set a TV up at the front.

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Comefromaway · 17/02/2019 11:30

7/7 - I was at home with toddler dd on mumsnet on my laptop

Manchester Arena bombing. - in bed on mumsnet.

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LoobyLou1976 · 17/02/2019 11:36

Dunblane - I was a student at Stirling Uni at the time, just up the road from Dunblane. I was sitting in the doctors surgery when there was a huge ruckus and several doctors dashed out of the door. Some had children at Dunblane primary, others were rushing over to see if they could help. It had apparently come on the local radio that there had been a shooting. At this point we didn't know how many fatalities there were, but I will always remember it. Two of our lecturers lost children in the shooting. Two very sad stories actually, because one lecturer had died a few weeks before and it was his memorial service that day! His little girl was killed. The other lecturer had just lost his wife to breast cancer, and then lost his little girl that day. He later went on to become involved in the anti-gun campaigns that followed. Both tragic stories (they were all tragic).
The university was a strange place to be at that time, they were very dark days.

9/11 - I was living in North Carolina at the time and my husband was working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)> I was cat sitting for his boss! He called me to say 'turn on the tv'. I turned it on just in time to see the second tower being hit - I asked him why he wanted me to watch a stupid movie. He told me it was real. His work was evacuated (government buildings were put on lock down)and he came home. We sat and watched the coverage all night. America was strange place to be living in 2001. We had just married and moved out there for my husbands work. I remember for days after it that there were fighter jets going overhead (not sure if there is a base in North Carolina). Flying home for Christmas and my brothers wedding in December was horrific - staff indiscrimanantly pulling people of ethnic origin out of the queues for searches. Horrific time.

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80sMum · 17/02/2019 11:38

Winston Churchill's funeral
The Aberfan disaster
The moon landings
The Falklands war
The Berlin Wall coming down
The death of Princess Diana
9/11

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MrsKCastle · 17/02/2019 11:39

Diana
Hillsborough
9/11
London tube bombings

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YetAnotherSpartacus · 17/02/2019 11:44

Moon landing
Lennon's Death
Elvis' Death (all very young)
Skylab falling (vividly)
Diana's Death (much older, so vividly)
9/11
7/7
Freddie Mercury
David Bowie (jout got off a flight and opened the news)

LoobyLou - that's terrible :(
Manchester Arena bombing. - in bed on mumsnet Ditto

Probably others.

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WTFIsAGleepglorp · 17/02/2019 11:51

I remember all these events after about 1976, but where I was for some of them? No idea.

Heysel Stadium disaster - Napping after work with BBC Radio 2 on (before split with Radio 5 Live and it still played sports).

I woke up to hear the commentators detailing the horror and bemoaning British football hooliganism.

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Thatsnotmyotter · 17/02/2019 11:53

Princess Diana - I was only 5 but I remember watching the news in my parents bed on a tiny crappy little TV we had. Me and my little brother used to watch Sesame Street in the mornings in their bed and I suspect it was on instead of that. I remember really distinctly a bit of footage of William and Harry that was shown.

9/11 - I remember hearing it on the radio on the way home from school and then seeing it on the TV once we got home.

7/7 Bombings - In an IT lesson at school. We were allowed to go and call friends/family if we needed to.

Michael Jackson - I was at an open day at Bristol Uni (on my birthday!).

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Janus · 17/02/2019 11:57

Elvis dying, dad came in in tears and we were in the middle of tea, I was eating peas but didn’t really know who he was, it was seeing my dad so upset.

Hillsborough, being in the supermarket with my mum and the lady on checkout telling us.

Bradford fire, again seeing people run on the pitch.

Falklands War, was in the children’s room of a pub and I hid behind a curtain when it came on the news as I thought it meant they were coming here.

IRA bombings and Lord Mountbatten

Challenger

Rock Hudson dying (?!)

Dunblane, was in New Zealand but it was all over the news even that far away.

Diana, lived in Hong Kong at the time and so it was in the day for us, I rang my mum and dad at home at about 5am and told them.

Concorde crash, lived in London at the time and missed the whoosh that used to go over at about 6/7 o’clock in the evening.

9/11 I had my first baby and was breastfeeding watching the news, rang my partner to come home (lived in London and there were mad rumours they were coming to Canary Wharf).

Statue of Saddam Hussain coming down, was in my hospital bed having just given birth to my second child.

7/7 was meant to be meeting my friend in London for the day for a precious day without children! She was coming in from Essex, rang her to tell her to get off the train at the next stop, she did.

Bowie, Prince, George Michael, my youth.

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slcol · 17/02/2019 12:02

Late 30ies. I remember Princess Di's death, I was on a boat with my parents in Eastbourne marina on way back from Isle of Wight to Whitstable. Woke up to some very solemn music and lots of flags and half mast on other boats, we sat in the cockpit very confused for a few minutes until a break in the music for the news.

9/11, was at work. Friend ran into my office to tell me a plane just flew into Twin Towers, and it was still going on. So we ran back through to the lounge/bar area and watched in silence/horror/a few tears

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Loyaultemelie · 17/02/2019 12:02

The Sean Graham bookies massacre in Feb 1992, I remember DGPs were here for tea and watching it cuddled into DGF looking to see if my Dad was on the footage (police) and therefore ok.

The Good Friday agreement, again DGM was at our house

Princess Diana, I was 16 and stroppy my DPs hadn't let me stay at my best friends, came down on Sunday morning to DM watching the coverage

The Drumcree Standoff (when it first began) and my Dad explaining what to do if someone tried to hijack my car

9/11 I was working in a jewellery shop to pay through uni and finished early to pick up my best friend from his work and we sat and listened in my car

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slcol · 17/02/2019 12:03

7/7 I was working for a racing boat. A load of our crew were due to be coming down to join us and we lost touch with them for a while, scary stuff

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YetAnotherSpartacus · 17/02/2019 12:09

I forgot the Berlin Wall coming down! I was cleaning up cat sick.

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longearedbat · 17/02/2019 12:13

Kennedy assassination. Ditto Martin Luther King.
I also vividly remember my parents fear during the bay of pigs incident, although this was something that went on for a while. My father, who was a fairly meek mannered accountant, went and bought a shotgun and ammunition (this was a simple thing to do in the 60s) because the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
When my father died we found the gun and ammunition, which caused great disposal problems as none of us had a shotgun licence.

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AnneElliott · 17/02/2019 12:14

Death of princess Diana - we were on holiday in Bath and hadn't put the tv on. We went down to breakfast and all the staff were wearing full black outfits. Went back upstairs and and watched the tv - we thought it was the queen mother.

9/11 - had a day off work to visit our newborn nephew. My brother texted to tell us to turn on the tv.

7/7 - was in Parliament supporting a committee session of a Government Bill (Im a civil servant). No phones allowed in those days so we didn't know until the session finished and we went outside. Remember that no phones were working due to high volume of calls. Walked back to the office and tried to contact family to let them know we were ok.

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shoofly · 17/02/2019 12:17

Enniskillen bombing, sitting in Church waiting for the parade to come up. Princess Dianas death, walking to get the Sunday papers. Omagh bombing, in the shops in Belfast and the radio broadcast was interrupted, to ask all medical staff to go to the hospital. 9/11 at work, my sister (who'd flown into NYC earlier that morning) ringing to let me know she was ok. And me saying "why wouldn't you be?" & her explaining what was going on.

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Wishiwasincornwall · 17/02/2019 12:27

Princess Diana... I was on a family holiday in wales. The flag at Harlech castle had been put at half mast so my parents just assumed the Queen Mother had died. Got back to the camp site and the guy on the entrance gate told us. I can remember my mum just saying "those poor boys".

9/11... Got home from school and thought mum was watching a disaster movie. Slowly dawned on me it was not a movie. Sat for hours in silence watching the news.

Jill Dando heard on the school bus on the way home.

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Partridgeamongstthepigeons · 17/02/2019 12:29

Challenger-watched it on tv
Zeebrugge ferry disaster- sister had a friend and her family on it (all survived).

Hills borough- watching it on tv
Princess Diana- just come back from honeymoon

9/11 watching on tv

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leiaskye · 17/02/2019 12:58

I was on holiday in Dominican Republic when Diana died.

In Ibiza when 9/11 happened.

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NicoAndTheNiners · 17/02/2019 13:00

9/11
Princess Diana
Challenger shuttle

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Surfingtheweb · 17/02/2019 13:02

Princess Diana death. 9/11 & Michael Jackson dying.

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GlitterStick · 17/02/2019 13:07

Princess Diana dying, 9/11 and Dunblane

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ddl1 · 17/02/2019 13:10

Princess Diana's death, 9-11, assassination of Rabin, assassination of Sadat. On a more positive note, the Apollo 11 moon landing - probably the first public event that I remember clearly. Most recently, the election of Trump as president - which was a very unpleasant shock for me.

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Gilead · 17/02/2019 13:13

Old enough to remember the death of JFK.
Obviously other stuff mentioned too.

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Xenia · 17/02/2019 13:13

I remember our parents showing us the moon landing in 1969 but it may not have been live just the TV news. I was very very small. I was 1 when J F Kennedy was shot so that one passed me by.. I was 3 when Churchill died so again too young to remember that one.

I remember my son who was up early and watching TV rushing up to tell us Pincess Diana died in 1997. 9/11 I was in my office at home and my husband shouted out to lt me know to come in and watch his TV in the other room. I had so many work deadlines I could not even watch it.

There weer a lot of events I read loads about in the FT and Times but did not see on TV or hear on radio ( Falklands war etc) due to my circumstances at the time - work or no access to TV etc.