I hope everyone wears something tomorrow to remember the people who died a horrific, pointless death a year ago. Unless you watch CNN I doubt there will be anything in the US media about this sad anniversary.
I'll be tearing up an old black t-shirt to make either an armband or a ribbon.
Just bought a new Union Flag so it will be outside my house tomorrow.
'sall over the news here. Where the hell are you living that they don't know?
And no, I won't be wearing an armband, nor flying a flag at half mast.
i will however take a moment to remember, quietly and in private. It's not a good week for folk my age, if anyone else pops their clogs i shall put it on my list to talk to god about. smile
My sister will remember especially seeing as it is her birthday and I remember she was especially upset.
My brother was in London on the tube when it happened, I was in london near the bandstand in Hyde Park when all those horses were killed by the IRA, I just heard a muffled noise and wondered what it was, I was 16 at the time.
I think most of us have seen more of terrorism than anyone in the US can possible imagine..
My brother was in London on the tube when it happened, I was in london near the bandstand in Hyde Park when all those horses were killed by the IRA, I just heard a muffled noise and wondered what it was, I was 16 at the time.
I think most of us have seen more of terrorism than anyone in the US can possible imagine..
I'm with Annie. I will remember quietly on my own.
It is all over the news here, although I've not paid any real attention to it - what I've heard seems to be trying to use the event to justify some American policy or point of view.
Personally I'm just grateful that of all the many people I know in London, none were injured.
I'm also acutely aware that the Number 30 was the bus my wife used to commute to work on.
As I said, I'm contented to quietly, privately remeber and appreciate how lucky I am.
Just curious - but what makes event this any different, or more special, than all those poor folk blown up by the IRA, and not to be too cynical but I feel Rob makes a valid point.
I lost a couple of good friends to the Bologna train station bombing many years ago but for me, I'd rather forget the date and remember the people.
Of course, just my POV.
(and EEB, I too was near the Chelsea Barracks when the IRA hit....)
Andrew )
Bloody hell, that's EEB, McZ and me all within earshot of the barracks when the horses were bombed. I was lucky, I was with people who refused to go see, which many tried to.
And I agree with EEB, most Brits seem to have been closer to terrorist acts than many Americans. Maybe this is why they go to war so easily. They've rarely experienced retaliation.
Bloody hell, that's EEB, McZ and me all within earshot of the barracks when the horses were bombed. I was lucky, I was with people who refused to go see, which many tried to.
And I agree with EEB, most Brits seem to have been closer to terrorist acts than many Americans. Maybe this is why they go to war so easily. They've rarely experienced retaliation.
I think this has a lot to do with it. Their mainland has never really been threatened. There is no strategic point in trying to invade the United states, more because of its geography than anything else. I know the US has lost thousand of soldiers in various conflicts over the years but I feel that when you have come close to losing your whole country as we did, the seriousness and horror of war really hits home more.
I try and explain to my stepdaugter about how my grandparents were in the middle of the blitz and I just don't think she can comprehend it. How can she understand what its like to have the house next you get bombed and yours escapes without a scratch.
I really think this is why the portrayal of violence in this country is so ridiculously out of hand.
No display, I don't wear my heart on my sleeve.
During WW2, incendiaries were dropped on a service garage, right next to the united dairies mews. I still remember the horses screaming, as it happened, they got them all out safely.
That's one of my strongest memories.
EEB, get your stepdaughter to watch "Hope and Glory", that gives a fair idea of London in WW2. My only complaint about the film is that the parents allow the kids onto the bombed buildings, I never knew any parents that allowed that, we had to do it when they weren't looking.
Hope I don't upset anyone if I get off thread a little bit, but just to say that I think those who have commented about American naiveté when it comes to war and terrorism have hit the nail on the head. I say this as a born-and-raised American, one who has at least one forefather who fought in George Washington's army, both grandfathers who served in WWII, a brother who served in Desert Storm, one brother who has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and one brother still in Iraq.
I think our ancestors surely knew what it was like to fight for life, if not always against a flesh-and-blood adversary, then at least what it was to wrestle a living out of the land through toil, sweat, and tears. I think my generation has it so cushy that we have lost touch with reality. It seems like people confuse "survival" with "acquisition". We take survival so much for granted that health and prosperity start to seem like a human right.
Although I have always felt something personal about WWII - one of my grandfathers went down in the South Pacific with the U.S.S. Hornet - it was so much more powerful to live in Britain and start to realize that every little podunk town has a huge war memorial. When I asked my husband about it, he explained that it used to be that all the men from the same village went to war together. If things went badly for them - goodbye to all the fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, and men of that village. It is so much more raw, especially the cultural memories of WWI.
Other things that made an impression were my father-in-law recounting his memory of sitting in the attic as a small boy watching the glow of Swansea burning during WWII, and then when we were living in Manchester when the city center was bombed by the IRA. I had hardly ever heard of the IRA growing up, but that bombing made me realize that it was something my husband's generation of British couldn't help but hear about and live with growing up. And to think they were being backed by Americans. Imagine their shame and discomfort after Sept. 11, when they finally figured out what a terrorist is.
So, I agree, we Americans as a whole tend to be quite insulated from life as the rest of the world knows it. You know, like having neighbours to get along with. But ignorance, naiveté, and wily politicians are not the only reasons we go to war. There actually is something else - our ideals. We really do believe that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are inalienable rights. Even if we can hardly spell those words, or don't know why we believe it. We're one of the few countries in the world that has the manpower and economic might to act on our beliefs on a large scale. So there you have it. Half of us are idealistic fools, while the other half are just blind fools. wink Whenever I see one of those bumper stickers that say "God Bless America", I think to myself "God Save America". Mostly save us from ourselves.
Btw, I'm not suggesting that nobody else has ideals. I'm just saying that I believe that they are one of the main things that motivate us to action, even dramatic action in some cases.As you can tell, I'm not a brilliant political analyst or social commentator. More of a storyteller who gets carried away sometimes. Hope I haven't irked anybody.
God Bless London
As a child in london during ww2 i saw many acts of distruction by bombs and one of the memories in my mind is of a buzz bomb (u2 ) in the air and then the noise stopped ..it would came down ....... horrible feeling i had that icould.nt run could,nt hide .
John, that was the V1 that flew until it ran out of fuel, then it would glide down like a paper plane, a slight gust of wind would turn it or lift it. A friend of my mother's was an air raid warden, she saw one coming along the street towards her so she ran into a hotel and it veered over to the hotel. That one killed a bunch of people.
The V2 was a rocket that went up to about 50,000 feet and then turned down to it's target.
John, that was the V1 that flew until it ran out of fuel, then it would glide down like a paper plane, a slight gust of wind would turn it or lift it. A friend of my mother's was an air raid warden, she saw one coming along the street towards her so she ran into a hotel and it veered over to the hotel. That one killed a bunch of people.
The V2 was a rocket that went up to about 50,000 feet and then turned down to it's target.
yeah i got them mixed up .:-)
knew they were v something or other , experianced them both i think . that part of my life and up to age 16 is a bit blury on purpose