Dave Cole has tagged me in the ‘what were you doing when you heard about…’ meme. Here we go…
Princess Diana’s death - 31st August 1997
Just back from Summer holidays following news that Associated Newspapers had agreed to settle my libel action against them for falsely accusing me of being 'racist and anti-semitic'. Final settlement and a fulsome apology in the Evening Standard was delayed as Diana, Princess of Wales' solicitor was Anthony Julius of Mishcon de Reya, who was defending Associated Newspapers in the case.
Margaret Thatcher’s Resignation - 22nd November 1990
On a Piccadilly line train headed for Heathrow and a flight to Berlin for a Reuters Marketing conference. As the train surfaced at Baron's Court a jubilant motorman announced the resignation over the tube intercom. I managed to restrain myself, scanned the carriage, thought better about punching the air, but failed to suppress a smile. A similar announcement was made by the pilot on the BA flight as it taxied from the terminal, passengers in this instance were less restrained - a cheer went up.
Attack on the twin towers - 11 September 2001
I was in a courtesy meeting with Peter Hunt, then general secretary of the Cooperative Party, in my capacity as the director of Job Ownership.
England’s World Cup Semi Final against Germany - 4 July 1990
No idea. It was a period of my life when I seemed to spend more time flying and in hotels abroad than with my family, let alone in front of a television watching football.
President Kennedy’s Assassination - 22 November 1963
In the Sixth Form study at the Royal Wolverhampton School where I was a Foundation Pupil when a boy called Allen burst in to tell us the news. A memorial service was held in the school chapel some days later. Kennedy was the man whom we had listened to on Voice of America well after lights-out in our dormitory during the Cuban missile crisis just over a year earlier on 22/23 (our time) October 1962 and wondered if we were about to be fried.
I'm tagging Political Futures, Dirty Leftie, Claptonian, John's Labour Blog, Bickerstaffe Record and Pamphlet Labour