The Iroquois tribes founded the Confederation of Haudenosaunee in 1142. A group of men led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from Pittsburgh on the Voyage of Discovery in 1803. The body of Mary Ann Nichols, the first known victim of Jack the Ripper, was found in 1888. The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov collided with the cargo vessel Pyotr Vasev, killing 423 people, in 1986. Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi Al Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul were killed in Paris in 1997 and Edvard Munch's The Scream was found by Oslo police in 2006, more than two years after it was stolen.Celebrating birthdays today: Martin Bell, Van Morrison, Itzhak Perlman, Glenn Tilbrook, Pàdraig Harrington and José Reina. It is the Day of Our Language in Moldova.
Much as I didn't get the mass grieving that went after it, I'll always remember where I was when I found out that Diana had died: my parents had come up to visit and we did are usual thing of driving round in circles trying to stretch out the time between lunch and coffee, and in this case wondering why a big building had a flag at half mast, and then turning the radio on.
ReplyDeleteThe only other ones I really remember are 9/11, 7/7 and Kurt Cobain.
Anyone else?
Not 'are usual thing', but 'our usual thing'.
ReplyDeleteIts ok, I'll come quietly.
'Anyone else?'
ReplyDeleteC S Lewis and Aldous Huxley of course, same day as JFK.
I was in Cork the day that Jackie Kennedy became Jackie O and there were people crying in the street - strangers hugging each other in sorrow.
The Scream - there was a brilliant Private Eye cartoon showing The Scream with a smiley face stuck on it, and a critic saying to another 'I think it's a forgery'.
I remember we'd watched 'Top of the Pops' and then the Harry Worth show came on but it froze on the credits and then the BBC announcer said Kennedy had been shot and wounded. Half an hour later they said he was dead.
ReplyDeleteWe were living in dampest Wales when Lennon was shot. For me, that was the worst. Definitely don't want to live in Wales again...
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ReplyDeleteVan Morrison’s birthday.
ReplyDeleteThat’ll be Astral Weeks on repeat play for the foreseeable future then.
I can’t find a decent vid on youtube, but I’m sure anyone with any interest in music has a copy already. And if you haven’t...
The scream - I will love you forever baby.
ReplyDeleteThe wedding - i have no voice left, my dancing means my feet are between my ears.
The opinion - it's a red setteer for that partic boy. Correspondence a matter for you.
d.
Sealion
ReplyDeleteI was off work for some reason and sitting with a my 6 month old son in my arms when the news of Dunblane came on. I remember the cameras catching the haunted look on parents' faces on the way in to see if they had been 'lucky'. Only time my eyes have ever welled up at the television.
James Brown was a big one for me..Xmas Day..had a little "tribute dance" to sex machine..fuckin loved the guy to bits.
I reckon Mohammed Ali will get to me when he goes but I'm not sure It'll even register when Maggie shuffles off. Dunno whether it's too long ago or I've grown up a bit or what. There was a time I thought I'd be out in the street dancing at the news.
This is off course assuming, I don't get my marching orders first.
Sealion - I was there or thereabouts when JFK found his destiny.
ReplyDeleteMy life enters it's shadows but I scream with delight at my fine fortune.
And the scream's sooo over rated. His Madonna is so much better...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.spanisharts.com/history/del_impres_s.XX/arte_sXX/imagenes/munch_madonna.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.spanisharts.com/history/del_impres_s.XX/arte_sXX/imagenes/munch_maddonna.html&h=750&w=549&sz=77&tbnid=kjtQeZybpiz59M:&tbnh=141&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmunch%2Bmadonna&hl=en&usg=__SeVUT_W19FTajnbP5gpAlxfZNFo=&ei=VJObSvjnEZ2NjAev2JDEBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image
Fuck me that's some link. I think the Madonna got nicked too
Dan - it wasn't our fault! (Lennon's death)
ReplyDeletechwarae teg! (fair play!)
I was sitting in the back of a taxi with my then 2 year old son when the news came over the radio about what was happening in Dunblane. My three girls were all at primary school, and all I wanted to do was go and get them out of there and take them home.
ReplyDeleteI didn't of course, but I can still remember how strong the urge was to hold all 4 of them and make sure they were safe.
Hi Cath,
ReplyDeletePlease check your e-mail.
Cheers, Andy
Thanks Cath :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Andy
ReplyDeleteSorted
John Lennon - I was woken up by Mike Smith on the Radio playing "I believe in Father Christmas" - in those days Christmas didn't start til at least the 15th Dec - and thinking "WTF", followed by the announcement. I cried and cried, and bunked off work that day.
ReplyDeleteDunblane - I didn't get to hear about it til the 9 O'Clock news somehow. I ran upstairs and grabbed my son out of his cot and hugged him and hugged him.
Diana - had a friend staying who popped over the road to the garage to pick up some papers and came back with a look of absolute shock on his face. We spent the rest of the day glued to the telly.
9/11 - was sat at home at lunchtime eating a sarnie when the newsflash came on. I am ashamed to say that my first thought was not for the victims, but "Oh fuck. This is WW3 starting". I wasn't far wrong as it turned out.
I can't look at The Scream since my mum's death without it raking over stuff. A story for another day.
Blimey. I need a cup of tea now after that outpouring!
I remember 9/11 because we were told about it in school. Then I got home and the video of the plane crashing into the building was on the telly.
ReplyDeleteI only vaguely recall Diana.
Showing my age, aren't I...
Bizarrely, the first one to upset me was Dustin Gee, but I wasn't very old at the time and I may well have been going through a dramatic phase.
ReplyDeleteDiana, was actually at the A&E with a friend who had been beaten up - we'd also lost a friend a few days earlier in a car accident, so I'm afraid we were all rather caught up in our own grief for it to register.
9/11 - I was at work, we had a TV in an anteroom and we were all just shellshocked, still seems surreal to remember it.
Dunblane was the one that did it for me, I was at Uni at the time and I cried for days, there isn't anything more tragic than the senseless loss of a child's life.
Montana Wildhack,
ReplyDeleteI wonder where you got that information about the Iroquois Confederation in 1142. That was long before the discovery of America allegedly by Columbus. 350 years before.
Jose:
ReplyDelete*I wonder where you got that information*
Like you, I am sometimes intrigued at many of the nuggets of info Montana comes up with, and curious as to their source.
But I’ve learned to simply appreciate them for what they are without asking too many questions.
And to be thankful that, like Hylda Baker, She knows, you know...
The first event like that for me was Diana's death - although I was more freaked out by the over reaction of the nation. It shocked me a bit how deranged people went. I remember seeing people crying in the street when I went to get the paper. Don't get me wrong I am not cold hearted or anything but I thought it was all a bit OTT.
ReplyDeleteThen I remember 9/11. I was watching Neighbours and on Diazepan for muscle pain in my neck when the news report came on. I only took them for one day because I felt so out of it so I had a kind of Diazepan hangover - I remember being totally shocked as I watched the footage and the second plane hit. That is probably the most shocking moment of my life - well re news anyway. And my thought too was 'Oh my God world war 3.'
But I watched the footage live all day and remember seeing the people jump - I cried so much at that and still cant watch that footage now. Truly horrific.
Kennedy - I was in college, it was the first night of the dramsoc production.
ReplyDeleteDiana - I was woken up by my radio alarm and the announce,emt came on the news - didn't sink in at first.
It was the funeral that got to me! I sobbed all day - the only reason I can think of is that I had lost my mum that January and hadn't really had a good cry for her. Don't usually get fussed about royals (not as an adult anyway. I do remember crying for George VIth though! I was only 10 and I think my teacher was a bit of a royalist!
9/11 - I was at work - when I got down to reception one of the receptionists told me to go and look at what was on the caretaker's tele, thought it was a disaster movie at first!
I don't know why but I don't remember hearing about Dunblane. Can understand why people with small children reacted like that though.
This seems appropriate today, some how
ReplyDeleteBank Holiday
Sorry if anyone finds it cheesy...
And just in case anyone thinks I’m taking sides in the Britpop wars, here’s
ReplyDeleteBonehead’s Bank Holiday
Did Pulp ever do any Bank Holiday songs?
You just know it’s going to end in the
ReplyDeleteBar Italia
Trust Jarvis to be on a downer...
I see kiz is back on Cif...
ReplyDeleteandy
ReplyDeletei think everyone must be saving themselves for the next article writen by a f f f f female.
She is indeed, Andy. Bit late with the tea, though.
ReplyDeleteProbably, Anonymous. After all, it's such a very rare occurrence in these times of oppression.
Glenn T a few birthdays ago
ReplyDeleteOr this
ReplyDeleteright on martine, showing some solidarity with the sisters. i like it
ReplyDeleteAnnetan - You make a good point as to why some people might have been so upset. After the loss of my dad a couple of years back I cried at the drop of a hat. Every bloody thing made me cry - even nice things like beautiful sunsets etc. So I can totally understand why a funeral of someone well known would affect you if you were already grieving - I suppose I had not thought of it that way.
ReplyDeleteAh bank holidays - we need more of them!
Princesscc.
scherfig
ReplyDeleteLove the green satin trousers (as worn in the vid clip)!
Oh god, annetan, I didn't mean... sorry, it was a joke that went wrong. You're not actually WELSH, are you?
ReplyDeleteDon’t worry dan, anne knows a joke when she sees one, and she can give as good as she gets (I think she probably did in her response to you).
ReplyDeleteI know of a few Welsh lads who weren’t exactly broken hearted at the news though:
”I laughed when Lennon got shot...”
who is Dustin Gee? Is he a Bee Gee?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to say I was left fairly cold over Di and the absurd displays of grief and as for Tony Fucking Blair's speech...
But I hate all that gang anyway. Apart from that Princess Ann who's all right. Met her once at some art show to do with London canals. She was nice. I gave her a swift knee-trembler round the back afterwards...
Indeed, mschin - those were the days! And now? 'Heaven knows, anything goes.' (Cole Porter 1930's.)
ReplyDeleteLOL - I made myself a pair of green satin trousers when I were a teenager. I used to wear them with a long black muslin top. My mum told me I looked like a runner bean that had gone off (she could be quite mean my mum.)
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Dan giving Annie a knee-trembler had me choking on me beer though...
By a strange coincidence I was in exactly the same place when I heard of Diana's death and 9/11 attack. I was at the Esso petrol station near the Antwerp Crowne Plaza hotel in the district where I live and had gone to buy British newspapers. All I saw were pictures of Diana in a red evening gown with the headline in Dutch "Farewell Diana". I didn't cotton on at first and thought she'd decided to immigrate to the Middle East with Dodi.
ReplyDeleteThen with 9/11, I was in there again buying papers when the news came on over the musak.
I have since changed my newsagents.
BB - in one student term I embroidered a pair of black gaucho pants and wore them with a fringed red and black poncho. The state of me and I thought I looked great. My cousin went one better and got married in a medieval-style style green and white dress with a skullcap. She looked like a refugee from Robin Hood Prince of thieves but we still have a good laugh each time we look at the photographs.
Got to go and sort things out for the morning. Love that picture The Scream. It looks just like I feel going back to work.
Nick Cohen returns to form...war condoning aside, the guy still has his moments.
ReplyDeletehttp://standpointmag.co.uk/print/2041
Well worth a read...what he fails to mention is that the panel attacking Ophelia Benson included one Madeleine Bunting who accused her of being too simplistic in her attitude to religion...said she lacked sophistication...apparently Bunting's on 6 figures for her 'sophisticated' musings for the Graun.
Go on... have a read and see if you can ever look at her patronising little mugshot on cif again without posting "Shut it you fuckin stupid cow". Go on I dare ya..
'Martine'. I like it, Anonymous. I might use it for a new Gender I'm working on.
ReplyDeleteSounds well cool, BB. I once got my sister to sew purple velvet darts into my black velvet trousers to make them more flared. Fortunately I haven't got any photos...
Andy,
ReplyDeleteI don't really know how this thing works but I may have posted a blog on Boot fairs. Can someone tell me if I have?
Superb article, MF. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteCant see any boot fair blogs on here, stoaty.
ReplyDeleteExcellent news about Mexico, Argentina etc beginning to relax drug laws- they realise that recent US administrations have been profiting from the international coke/smack trade...
ReplyDeleteChoking on your BEER, BB?
That's not what the princess was choking on, the dirty girl...
Thanks for the Cohen piece, monkeyfish, I now have slightly more respect for the man (and less for GG)
ReplyDeleteNice one MF.
ReplyDeleteWhat a load of savage and unwarranted misrepresntation OB and JS got from the London kommentariat. Cohen still has his uses then !
Up the wooden hill to Bedforshire for me. Work tomorrow. Waaaaaaaaah!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBW
ReplyDeleteThought you'd appreciate that. I'm a bit of a fan of OB...not 'quite' so keen on Bunting. I never actually heard the broadcast but apparently OB made mincemeat of her.
"Cohen still has his uses then !"
Seems he does..although, he's his own worst enemy..even here he quotes from an Israeli paper which means the North London set can read this shrug and sigh "Zionist propaganda". The article was strong enough without the quote...personally, I'm glad he left it in, but...
Yeah, me too Buterflies and Wheels would appeal to about 95% of people that have been here I'd say.
ReplyDeleteNice one.
I think old NC like, C Hitchens, likes his electric soup a wee bit too much, and sometimes may even write hungover; not that I would ever do that. Nor pissed. (ROTFLMFAO as they say ...)
Thku, Andy. Good to know.
ReplyDelete