Where Were You When.....?

I have been away from blogging for personal reasons, however to get me kickstarted again I thought I would have a go at one of these fun looking 'memes' that Phil at AVPS and others are so fond of. I saw this one over at The Daily (Maybe) and as I remember precisely where I was when most of these events happened, thought this would be a good one to do

So, this is where I was when.......

1) Princess Diana's death - August 31st 1997

I remember this well. I was living in Hove (actually) at the time in a shared house with fellow nursing students. We had been out for a few drinks and came back home and drank more, listening to music and chatting. One of the people we lived with had fallen asleep with his radio on and woke to the news that Diana and Dodi had been in a bad car crash. We turned on the TV and watched for a while before going to bed and waking up to the news that Diana had died.

I also remember the wave of mass hysteria that engulfed the country. The funeral that happened the following week seemed a voyeuristic affair and I remember the events around it for the way the royals showed how far out of touch they are with the public and Blairs sycophantic 'Peoples Princess' routine.

A friend and myself were in London around the time and were interviewed by Canadian TV - they asked us if we were upset or something similar and when they realised that we weren't, stopped the interview to try and find people who were.

2) Margaret Thatchers resignation - 22nd November 1990

Studying A-level politics at college, I remember watching her resignation sitting upstairs in my parents room. There must have been something else more exciting on at the time. Quite what I don't know. I do remember being very happy!

3) Attack on the Twin Towers - 11th September 2001

I was living in Perth, Australia at the time and when I found out I was in a local nightclub a little worse for wear! It was about 10.30pm when I was told, although it was pretty unclear at the time what had happened. As the night wore on, rumours were going around the club that the USA had been attacked and nuclear war was imminent! The DJ's announced that as we could all be dead pretty soon, we'd better get our cheap jugs of beer while we can.....

When I got back to my flat with friends we turned on the TV. It was about 4am and the second tower had collapsed. We all sobered up pretty quickly. It soon became pretty apparent that this was a world changing event and that the USA would respond with a violence of their own. The left response was marked by the SWP refusing to use the 'C' word when mentioning the attacks.

4) England's World Cup semi final - 4th July 1990

I remember the summer of 1990 with fond memories. It was a long, hot summer and one of many firsts for me. I smoked my first joint, drank my first pint in a pub, went on my first independent holiday, went to my first 'proper' rave and left school.

Most of my friends and myself were waiting for our exam results before deciding whether we were going to get a job, go to 6th form, retake exams or sign on the dole. In the midst of all this, there was a World Cup on. This was the World Cup that was famous for Nessun Dorma, Gazza's tears, Toto Schillaci and England actually doing reasonably well!

England had not been convincing in their previous matches, scraping through against Belgium and needing 2 Gary Lineker penalties to beat Cameroon. The semi final v Germany was arguably their best performance of the tournament, and although falling behind to a deflected free kick, equalised through Lineker in the 2nd half.

I was working at the local superstore at the time and finished minutes before kick off. I ran to the local pub and got a beer - despite being 16! - just in time. I remember Linekers goal as the pub erupted and the table that I was sitting at was turned over emptying glasses and the ashtray on to my nice white jeans.....they were fashionable in 1990!

After that came a scene that is incredibly familiar now. Despite playing well, England were to tumble out of a tournament on penalties. And this is the last World Cup that I remember enjoying.

5) President Kennedy's Assassination - 22 November 1963

Mmmmm, I'm not quite that old!!!