9/11

As the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks arrives it is of course appropriate to look back and recall what we were doing and where we were when the attacks took place.

I was mid-way through a holiday in the remote Herault region of Southern France, in the morning of the 11^th September we had visited the Noilly Prat (vermouth) distillery in Marseillan for a tour & tasting and had returned to complex for an afternoon session about wine tasting (a rather alcohol focused day on reflection).

Midway through the tasting I noticed a small group gathered round a battered portable television in the bar; it was clear even from this crowd of around eight to ten by the way they were scrutinising this television that something significant had occurred.

I now know that we witnessed the live footage of Flight 175 (the second plane) crash in to the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Even after this we weren't completely sure of what exactly had gone on, partly due to the confusion in reporting and (probably to a larger extent) my poor linguistic ability.

Because it was out of season there were very few English speaking people staying, with a clientèle mainly from Southern & Mid Europe. I called my parents who were obviously receiving more accurate news reports (or at least reports they could understand). It was only three or four days later that we managed to obtain English language newspapers; the New York Times and Mirror if I recall correctly?

On that day the world really did change.

The 11^th September also has other associations now, as it marks my Sister-in-laws birthday, a celebration always tainted now she reports. She says that she can tell her birthday approaches as footage appears on the television and in the press.