10 most compelling news stories during your life?

[mulhuzz]

I must be misremembering Diana because I never thought it would make even 5% of people's top tens...

Stuff like Berlin Wall is obv big for me, but I was too young to really remember it. Having spent a lot of time in East Germany and now a former Communist country, it's even bigger than I thought it was. Such a huge moment, even if David Hasselhoff caused it(ish).

I wonder how many of these incidents will still be considered 'important' if we were to zoom forward 100years. Can't see a vote in 2115 on 'most important events of the latter half of the 20th century' having Diana in the top 100.

[The Camel]

The ongoing paedophile revelations about the powerful in the 60s, 70s and 80s are grimly fascinating because the blind eyes which were turn at the time are astounding.

But even more appaling is the cover up which has happened since,

Do that many people in power have that little morals?

[tikay]

I must be misremembering Diana because I never thought it would make even 5% of people's top tens...

Stuff like Berlin Wall is obv big for me, but I was too young to really remember it. Having spent a lot of time in East Germany and now a former Communist country, it's even bigger than I thought it was. Such a huge moment, even if David Hasselhoff caused it(ish).

I wonder how many of these incidents will still be considered 'important' if we were to zoom forward 100years. Can't see a vote in 2115 on 'most important events of the latter half of the 20th century' having Diana in the top 100.

I would have bet good money that EVERY list would include Diana, & 9/11. In fact, one list excluded Diana, everyone else included it, & everyone included 9/11.

It may be different for you if you were living overseas. Here, Diana was on the front pages almost every single day, and then, instantly, we awoke one Sunday morning to find she was dead. Just like that. It was the sheer finality, the shock.

If we separate emotion from any these stories, the Diana death was a stunning story by any yardstick. Her marriage to a Prince, the very obvious clues that the marriage was failing, her TV interview when she virtually admitted it, then, enter, none other than Mohammed Al Fayad's son, & a whirlwind romance. So it was all going to end happily. Until that momentous day, & that fearful crash in that Paris subway. And, just like that, it was over.

I held no great fascination for her, but I watched every moment of that funeral, especially the cortege, as it went through towns & villages. Unforgettable.      

I can't imagine any funeral in the UK - in my lifetime - attracted more flowers, wreaths, mourners & watchers. The Great British Silent Majority spoke.

Click to see full-size image.

  

[nirvana]

I must be misremembering Diana because I never thought it would make even 5% of people's top tens...

Stuff like Berlin Wall is obv big for me, but I was too young to really remember it. Having spent a lot of time in East Germany and now a former Communist country, it's even bigger than I thought it was. Such a huge moment, even if David Hasselhoff caused it(ish).

I wonder how many of these incidents will still be considered 'important' if we were to zoom forward 100years. Can't see a vote in 2115 on 'most important events of the latter half of the 20th century' having Diana in the top 100.

I would have bet good money that EVERY list would include Diana, & 9/11. In fact, one list excluded Diana, everyone else included it, & everyone included 9/11.

It may be different for you if you were living overseas. Here, Diana was on the front pages almost every single day, and then, instantly, we awoke one Sunday morning to find she was dead. Just like that. It was the sheer finality, the shock.

If we separate emotion from any these stories, the Diana death was a stunning story by any yardstick. Her marriage to a Prince, the very obvious clues that the marriage was failing, her TV interview when she virtually admitted it, then, enter, none other than Mohammed Al Fayad's son, & a whirlwind romance. So it was all going to end happily. Until that momentous day, & that fearful crash in that Paris subway. And, just like that, it was over.

I held no great fascination for her, but I watched every moment of that funeral, especially the cortege, as it went through towns & villages. Unforgettable.      

I can't imagine any funeral in the UK - in my lifetime - attracted more flowers, wreaths, mourners & watchers. The Great British Silent Majority spoke.

Click to see full-size image.

 

Think it also marked a turning point in Britain when, almost overnight, the country forgot about stiff upper lips and became somewhat maudlin about death. I'd like the stiff upper lip back please

[mulhuzz]

Facebook being founded.

Fwiw Tikay I was only 11 (and in UK!) at time of Diana death and remember it being on TV all the time and it all seemed a bit much.

Like, I'm not saying it wasn't tragic or even important, but I don't see any lasting effect even today, whereas not case with 9/11, Berlin Wall, etc etc.

I'm not trying to be contrarian, but I think that Diana's death is the most over romanticised thing ever.

[nirvana]

Facebook being founded.

Fwiw Tikay I was only 11 (and in UK!) at time of Diana death and remember it being on TV all the time and it all seemed a bit much.

Like, I'm not saying it wasn't tragic or even important, but I don't see any lasting effect even today, whereas not case with 9/11, Berlin Wall, etc etc.

I'm not trying to be contrarian, but I think that Diana's death is the most over romanticised thing ever.

Obviously I take a similar view but it was momentous and somehow had an incredible shock value even if it's lasting impact is minimal

[mulhuzz]

Facebook being founded.

Fwiw Tikay I was only 11 (and in UK!) at time of Diana death and remember it being on TV all the time and it all seemed a bit much.

Like, I'm not saying it wasn't tragic or even important, but I don't see any lasting effect even today, whereas not case with 9/11, Berlin Wall, etc etc.

I'm not trying to be contrarian, but I think that Diana's death is the most over romanticised thing ever.

Obviously I take a similar view but it was momentous and somehow had an incredible shock value even if it's lasting impact is minimal

I take that point, I definitely concede that it was first time I'd seen wall to wall coverage of anything.

I remember, rather churlishly, I suppose, suggesting that perhaps other things were happening in the world and that wall to wall coverage wasn't exactly required...

I guess that's the moment I learned the power of the media, that and Blair sweeping to power (sun wot won it).

[david3103]

This is a list of events during my lifetime where I can recall where I was at the time I heard about them. Some, although not all, were events that changed the world.

JFK being assassinated. I was nine at the time and didn't understand the significance. 52 years on I wonder if the truth is that being shot gave JFK a better type of immortality that he would have received had he lived.

England won the World Cup. It was a good time to be alive and to be an English Football Fan.

First Moon landing. I sat and listened to it on the radio at Boys' Brigade camp in Devon. Did the landing change the world? In the sense that it suggested that so much was possible, yes I think it did.

Aberfan, the tragedy affected so many people and the longer term impact was the efforts to ensure it couldn't happen again.

Munich Olympics, the day that terrorism crossed a line.

Black Power salutes at Mexico City. I was 16 and not particularly political or aware but it led me to learn more about the situation in other countries.

The Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four being released. Turned out our British Coppers weren't that wonderful after all

The Brighton Grand Hotel bombing.

9/11, ldo

7/7 and the subsequent shooting of Jean Charles de Menenez and the confirmation that the position hadn't changed that much since the Birmingham and Guildford issues.


PS I know exactly what I was doing on that Sunday morning when the world began to lose it's sanity. I was sitting on my sofa cursing the fact that the repeat of MotD wasn't on.
I am still at a loss to understand the mass hysteria that erupted in the weeks after her death.

[DaveShoelace]

Diana was a perfect storm. It was the end of the stiff upper lip version of the royal family, she was in many ways the antithesis of that, it was a shocking accident, it was a time when the papparazi finally got taken to task and probably most significantly it was the start of 24 hour news coverage, so it was really really in your face.

Was also probably the start of false public outrage which is now part and parcel of life as we know it.

I was genuinely gutted when it happened, but after a week or two of this, I became very cynical about the whole thing:

[buzzharvey22]

This is a list of events during my lifetime where I can recall where I was at the time I heard about them. Some, although not all, were events that changed the world.

JFK being assassinated. I was nine at the time and didn't understand the significance. 52 years on I wonder if the truth is that being shot gave JFK a better type of immortality that he would have received had he lived.

England won the World Cup. It was a good time to be alive and to be an English Football Fan.

First Moon landing. I sat and listened to it on the radio at Boys' Brigade camp in Devon. Did the landing change the world? In the sense that it suggested that so much was possible, yes I think it did.

Aberfan, the tragedy affected so many people and the longer term impact was the efforts to ensure it couldn't happen again.

Munich Olympics, the day that terrorism crossed a line.

Black Power salutes at Mexico City. I was 16 and not particularly political or aware but it led me to learn more about the situation in other countries.

The Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four being released. Turned out our British Coppers weren't that wonderful after all

The Brighton Grand Hotel bombing.

9/11, ldo

7/7 and the subsequent shooting of Jean Charles de Menenez and the confirmation that the position hadn't changed that much since the Birmingham and Guildford issues.


PS I know exactly what I was doing on that Sunday morning when the world began to lose it's sanity. I was sitting on my sofa cursing the fact that the repeat of MotD wasn't on.
I am still at a loss to understand the mass hysteria that erupted in the weeks after her death.

Didn't mind their stuff to be honest, thought they did wonders for The Eurovision Song Contest

[mulhuzz]

Jesus Barry i watched 45s of that video and wanted to simultaneously throw up and throw my phone out the window screaming.

[OverTheBorder]

London riots - surreal atmosphere and glued to TV
Dunblane Massacre - sat in CDT class and teacher tore us a new one for acting up sighting how our gripes pailed in comparison to what he had just heard.
9/11 - just staggering destruction
Saddam's capture and death - he was like the road runner, never getting caught throughout my life, could not believe they got him
Scottish Referendum - never been so actively involved in anything political
Diana's death - very odd Sunday morning, difficult national atmosphere
Saville - such a huge unravelling of all we knew and trusted
7/7 - I was in London working and again locally it was hugely troubling
Desert Storm - first brush with war in my memory, watched reports all morning every day
Forth Rail Bridge Centenary - strange moment, I remember being very young and crying at the realisation that I likely wouldn't live to see the next one. Was a very striking moment from my youth.

[HutchGF]

Here's mine, perhaps a little different to others. I've taken it from a personal perspective and the things that gripped/entertained me the most, not necessarily the biggest stories. In no particular order..........

1. 9/11 - no explanation necessary.
2. Cantona Kung Fu kicks a Crystal Palace fan - I always wondered what the gentlemen in question had said to Eric. I doubt it was the 'Unlucky Mr Cantona, looks like an early bath for you' that he claimed.
3. Dolly the Sheep - absolutely mind-blowing to me and one of the most significant Scientific stories of mine or anyone else's generation.
4. The 'God' particle/Hadron collider malarkey - must have been asked about this more than anything else in my teaching career. Where Science meets Science fiction and thus intoxicating to me.
5. Michael Jackson's death. Always found him a tragic human being touched with genius.
6. The Chilean miners: purely for the drama!
7. Mandela and the end of Apartheid.
8. Terry Waite - as a young boy who very much loved his Mum, Dad and brother, I couldn't comprehend the idea of not being allowed to go home and see your family. This was probably the first news story that really gripped me and I would sneak looks at the newspapers when my parents weren't looking and flick the morning cartoons over to BBC news.
9. The Columbine School massacre. I'm not too proud to admit it moved me to tears.

And finally, a bit out there but hey.
10. The 2005 Ashes series. Probably the sporting event that most captivated me during my life. I read everything and anything I could get my hands on and enjoyed every single second of that series.

[Waz1892]

Not in order;

Hillesborough
Heysel
Bradford Fire
Diana's death
Jamie Bulger
Holly Chapman and Jessica Wells
9/11
Zebrugge
Katrina
7/7

[MPOWER]

Yorkshire Ripper
Piper Alpha
Diana
Boxing Day
Bradford FC fire. My Sister got married that day.  
Falklands
OJ. watched the trial every day.
Miners Strike.
Tikay 11/7/5 Cashes WSOP
Hillsborough. Wish it was not on my list but it just won't go away.
Jeremy Bamber. I used to phone the Scrubs asking for him. Just to make his girlfriend who I worked with happier. Mad I know. But true!

Regards

M