Where were you on 9/11?

I was due to fly out to NYC the next day, and I was on the phone to my friend in New York confirming where we would meet up in the evening. She worked about 4 blocks from the towers. She suddenly said I've got to go and put the phone down.

I was on the platform at Shrewsbury train station, I had been to a meeting and was on my way home. A young woman came up to the young man sitting next to me and told him what had happened, when I got home I switched the tv on and when my DH came home from work we watched it for ages hardly able to believe what was happening.

“Evenings” not “beings”

I was working in the beings at this time, so I was in our living room ironing and watching “neighbours”.

I will never forget the programme being interrupted and seeing the plane smash into the twin towers, I wasn’t really aware what it was, then very swiftly followed by the second plane and the news simply stayed on for the rest of the day.

Utterly shocking, utterly horrendous.

My husband working for a large American Insurance company and my cousin a USA bank, they were both based in London, but they knew colleagues killed in this horrendous attack.

I was teaching. The janitor came in and told me. He had a reputation as a joker and I didn't believe him at first.
My friend's daughter had been visiting New York and she, along with a group of friends decided to meet at the World Trade Centre. Fortunately for them all, they went the day before. A lucky escape.

I was at work in the morning, and came home to find dd1 white faced at the front door. Immediately I thought of dh, who was abroad on business, but soon saw the TV.

We were glued to the TV for hours.

And I still remember dh’s old aunt phoning at 4 pm, complaining bitterly that Countdown wasn’t on.

I said, ‘But surely you’ve seen the terrible thing that’s happend in New York?’

‘I don’t care! I want Countdown!’
Sadly it was entirely typical of her.

I was at work at the hospital when DS phoned and said find a television. I initially thought it was a light aircraft and couldn’t understand why they didn’t swerve to avoid the Twin Towers. It didn’t make sense for several minutes then the true horror began.
Incomprehensible that anyone would do such an evil act.

I was at work in supported housing - I went to sort a problem out for a resident and the TV was on (but he turned the sound off when I walked in).
We saw it "live" and we didn't believe it.
It was just confusion and muddle at first.

I had just come in from my yoga class and put the news on. I thought this must be a film at first until reality hit and shock.

We had arrived home from a holiday with friends and family around 2.00am. I had got the children off to school (they were tired) and I was sitting in the kitchen pairing up washed socks and folding clothes ready for ironing.

I turned on the TV to take my mind off of the tedious task, I still remember the fear and horror I felt when the second tower was hit. I was glued to the TV for the rest of the day.

DH and I had lunch a few years earlier at The Windows to the World restaurant at the top of the tower…

We were going to the 'Magic Kingdom' in Florida and as we approached what should have been long queues for the car park, couldn't understand why there weren't any and we were waived through before being turned around and told it was closed.

There was such a strange atmosphere we put the car radio on and that's when we learned what had happened.

I was ironing at home with the TV on and the footage of the planes suddenly came up. My parents walked in and my Dad said “watching films in the daytime” (pulling my leg). I said it was actually real and happening now just as it showed the second skyscraper being hit. They went ashen and had to sit down. We were all in shock.

I was 36 at the time and working in restaurants and cafes here in the UK.