Sunday, August 31, 2008

Meme thingy

It's Paulie's fault. He tagged me and I can't resist, it makes me feel self-important.

What was I doing when I heard about...

Princess Diana's death - 31st August 1997

I was in the pub drinking after hours when the news of the accident came on the radio. I came back home with friends so that they could get a taxi, then I heard the national anthem in the morning from next door's radio and thought, "she's obviously snuffed it". When I left the house one of the neighbours had a picture of her and a candle burning in the window. It was my first inkling that the country was about to go completely mad.

Margaret Thatcher's Resignation - 22nd November 1990

I was driving over the hills in the Peak District to the College I worked at in Buxton when the news came on the car radio. A huge shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds illuminating a bleak and beautiful landscape. The hills had never looked more ravishing.

Attack on the twin towers - 11 September 2001

I had a phone call from a friend whilst I was at work. A mutual friend of ours was flying from New York that morning and we were worried. In fact he left about an hour before the attack. After getting home I saw the TV pictures and with a growing sense of horror emailed a friend of mine in America as the only way to express some sort of solidarity. What then followed was a long struggle to make sense of it all. I was often wrong.

England's World Cup Semi Final against Germany - 4 July 1990

I was supposed to be going to a pub quiz but sat and watched it on a 14" screen with a friend before we eventually got to the quiz far too late. I had mixed feelings. If England won the Tories might win the next election. So I was saddened and relieved. Bloody stupid. The Tories did win the next election regardless.

President Kennedy's Assassination - 22 November 1963

The house was full of police as we had just been burgled. The news came on the TV. I was eleven years old and rushed to tell my mother. I hesitated, was 'assassinated' the right word or 'murdered'? I played safe and chose 'murdered', everyone then talked of an assassination. It was my own small wound.

Who to tag? Well Shuggy is an obvious choice now he is off the anti-biotics, Tom Freeman might want to do something though the comic potential is limited, there is always John at Counago and Spaves who should treat the tag with contempt, and then Scribbles is a sucker for this sort of thing. Would George want to respond? Apologies to any of you who weren't born in 1963. And to Mikeovswinton, hurry up and start blogging, you would have been tagged instantly.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I recall being in the sitting room of the two up two down we used to live in when Kennedy died. I was cleaning the gravel we slept in while the whippet howled a mournful dirge for the lost leader... (True, except for the gravel and whippet.)

Princess Di; It was the morning of a day that Swinton played Widnes in the forerunner of the Northern Rail cup. I was awoken with the cry "Mike, I think the French have killed Princess Di."

Thatcher; Unbelievable but true, I was on a picket line outside what was then Manchester Poly. I think we were on a one day strike. It just seems to be the perfect place to have been to have heard that news. Was it about 11.00am?

Twin Towers; I was having some painting done on the upper reaches of the house we had, and saw it on the TV. I was so gobsmacked I didn't even mention it to the guys doing the work. I think we talked about how Southampton had beaten Bolton the saturday before.

England Germany world cup semi. No idea. No Bolton players in either side so not interested.