9/11 - 20 years ago. Where were you?
- Thread starter Beebo
- Start date
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steverob
Guru
- Location
- Buckinghamshire
Like most, was at work and probably would have had no inkling that anything was going on, but one of my colleagues was on the phone to his GF who was watching Sky News at home and she happened to mention that there had been some sort of incident at the World Trade Centre, so I was getting half the story relayed to me. First reports had it as a small explosion, then that maybe that a light aircraft had hit the building (presenters presuming it was a terrible accident), then just as they started to confirm that it was actually a jumbo jet, the second one hit and all of a sudden you realised this was no longer an accident.
Only about three months before had we rolled out internet access to every PC in the office (previously only a limited number of machines had it) and it was still considered a bit of a novelty at that point and most people couldn't see the point, but for the rest of the afternoon pretty much everyone was glued to it to find out what the latest news was and obviously it completely ground to a halt. Though I'm not sure whether that was just the connection in our office, or whether everyone in the world was trying to access the more popular sites and they couldn't cope with the traffic. I did notice that by using sites that were in parts of the world that would have been asleep (e.g. the Australian mirror of the CNN website), you were able to connect a lot quicker than to sources from Europe or America, so it is quite possible that was the case.
Literally no work got done for the rest of the day - people were just too shellshocked.
Only about three months before had we rolled out internet access to every PC in the office (previously only a limited number of machines had it) and it was still considered a bit of a novelty at that point and most people couldn't see the point, but for the rest of the afternoon pretty much everyone was glued to it to find out what the latest news was and obviously it completely ground to a halt. Though I'm not sure whether that was just the connection in our office, or whether everyone in the world was trying to access the more popular sites and they couldn't cope with the traffic. I did notice that by using sites that were in parts of the world that would have been asleep (e.g. the Australian mirror of the CNN website), you were able to connect a lot quicker than to sources from Europe or America, so it is quite possible that was the case.
Literally no work got done for the rest of the day - people were just too shellshocked.
mistyoptic
Vintage
- Location
- A parallel reality
In/on Kefalonia, on a quiet beach holiday. Didn't know about the tragedy for two days. Overheard folk talking about it in a restaurant and bought a paper to find out what was going on.
Flight home was "interesting". One guy had a proper meltdown at check-in because we were allowed NO hand luggage
Flight home was "interesting". One guy had a proper meltdown at check-in because we were allowed NO hand luggage
Hover Fly
Lazy so and so
- Location
- Besides the lake, beneath the trees
Last few days of an exercise with some USA soldiers. Their signaller took a message, turned white, passed it on to his officer, he turned white, then gathered us all together and told us about the Pentagon, nobody mentioned the twin towers at this stage. It was only at night when we could get near a TV that the reality hit us.
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
I was in a work awayday.
Those days you were far more insulated from world events.
So I walked to my car, bang on 5pm, turned on the radio (4).
Descriptions of the events of the day were being read - I assumed it was a trailer for "play for the day" or somesuch.
"Blimey, this is going on a bit" thinks I.
Then the penny dropped.
Those days you were far more insulated from world events.
So I walked to my car, bang on 5pm, turned on the radio (4).
Descriptions of the events of the day were being read - I assumed it was a trailer for "play for the day" or somesuch.
"Blimey, this is going on a bit" thinks I.
Then the penny dropped.
As others, in the office. I had just installed the BBC News Ticker so got alerted very quickly to the first strike. The whole office gathered around various PCs and watched live streams from around the world as events unfolded. The proof as the second plane hit that this was no accident silenced everyone as we scrabbled around to find our where our New York office was located.
To me, probably the most shocking and instantly numbing experience of my life, even though I was not directly affected. It turned out later that a lad from the year above me died in the Twin Towers.
To me, probably the most shocking and instantly numbing experience of my life, even though I was not directly affected. It turned out later that a lad from the year above me died in the Twin Towers.
DaveReading
Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
- Location
- Reading, obvs
I was working from home and, for reasons I'll never understand, I decided for once to watch TV while having my lunch. Horrifying.
Kingfisher101
Über Member
I was working for a council and just came back from visits. I went to the admin section and they were all saying what had happened, I phoned home and my partner confirmed it and was watching it on the T.V. When I went home that evening everyone on the train was talking about it and it was really quiet at the train station as people were rushing to get home.
A friend was doing chores in the kitchen and had the T.V on with no sound and it kept showing the attack. He thought what is this they keep showing?, he thought it was a disaster movie at first before he turned it up.
I found out at about 11am.
Its still shocking even now.
A friend was doing chores in the kitchen and had the T.V on with no sound and it kept showing the attack. He thought what is this they keep showing?, he thought it was a disaster movie at first before he turned it up.
I found out at about 11am.
Its still shocking even now.
Grant Fondo
Guru
- Location
- Cheshire
Will never forget that day .... my two KLM tickets from Manchester to JFK popped through the letterbox earlier that morning. I was taking the wife for her 30th birthday at the end of September ... really spooked me out.
Brandane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Costa Clyde
The ITV documentary shown on Tuesday night had a lot of footage I had never seen before, including the second aircraft flying into the twin towers. There was also close up footage of the first tower collapsing. Some really grim stuff, but interesting in a sobering way.
Link to ITV Player.
Back on topic - I was in a car park in Linwood in the car with my ex, listening to radio 2 news. As others have said, assumed the first hit was an accident involving a light aircraft, but then a short time later came the news of the second strike, and we suddenly realised this was not an accident....
numbnuts
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
I was on the nudist beach at Calshot
, didn't know anything until I got home at 5pm
, didn't know anything until I got home at 5pm
OP
OP
Beebo
Firm and Fruity
- Location
- Hexleybeef
Winner so far.I was on the nudist beach at Calshot
Can anyone beat that?
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
At home. Day off. The ex hubs yelled through to the kitchen “There has been a plane crash in America”.
It wasn’t until I heard more on the radio that I realised that a ’plane had crashed into the tower. I put the tv on and watched the live news and saw the second one hit. Very shocking.
I remember being really shocked when people were interviewed after saying that their managers had said that if they evacuated that they would be sacked, but they left anyway.
I really don’t know what to think about the towers collapsing. I have seen a lot of buildings demolished. They collapsed very neatly. Not a conspiracy theorist at all. It was a very tidy drop.
Those poor people. The jumpers, who decided to leap to their deaths instead of being burned alive though. What a choice to have to make.
I remember it clearly. It has stayed with me.
It wasn’t until I heard more on the radio that I realised that a ’plane had crashed into the tower. I put the tv on and watched the live news and saw the second one hit. Very shocking.
I remember being really shocked when people were interviewed after saying that their managers had said that if they evacuated that they would be sacked, but they left anyway.
I really don’t know what to think about the towers collapsing. I have seen a lot of buildings demolished. They collapsed very neatly. Not a conspiracy theorist at all. It was a very tidy drop.
Those poor people. The jumpers, who decided to leap to their deaths instead of being burned alive though. What a choice to have to make.
I remember it clearly. It has stayed with me.
