Livorno

I remember where I was when they shot Kennedy. Rather, I remember where I was when I saw the news report. We were in our flat in Farlington Rd. Portsmouth. Liz and I had just bought our first television but could not afford a stand so it was in the corner of our living room on a suitcase. After school we switched on the news and there it was, J.F.Kennedy had been shot in Dallas.

I remember where I was when England won the World Cup in 1966. We watched it with Pete and Joy in their house in Waterlooville. England won 3-1, Geoff Hurst scored a hatrick and Liz was heavily pregnant with Rudi.

I remember where I was when Neil Armstong walked on the moon. I stayed up all night in 33, Marina Drive, West Monkseaton and watched it live on TV and the moon was visible through the conservatory roof. Sophie was born that year.

On the eleventh of September 2001 we tied up in the yacht club of Livorno after a slow nine hours at sea.The kind young man from the club helped us tie up and then asked us to come to the office and and pay before he finished at 19.00.

As Keith and I entered the office I saw TV for the first time in the seven weeks we had been away. I couldn’t understand a word of the Italian but it was clearly the news and then it switched to a newscast from Manhattan.

I recognised the skyline but the whole of Manhattan was covered in smoke. The kind young man explained in broken English that terrorists had blown up the World Trade Center towers. That was where I was when I first heard of the Manhattan massacre.

It seems that there is hardly a day goes by when either Rudi, Sophie, Dean or Hillary aren’t in New York. What of them?

Keith made Malibu cocktails and Cilla cooked tuna bake. All the talk was of the bombing and all the speculation was about who did it and America’s likely response. Nagging away inside me was the need to talk to the kids. The phone book was on an unlit wall so I had great difficulty reading it. Sophie’s phone appeared engaged. I phoned home to pick up our messages but there weren’t any. Sophie’s phone was still engaged. My mum didn’t answer when I phoned her.  I left a message on Sophie’s answer machine. Rudi’s phone was engaged. I left a message on Mary and Bill’s answer machine. Then Rudi answered and explained that someone had hijacked four planes and crashed two into the world Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and the fourth had crashed in Pennsylvania presumably on its way to the White House.

“They estimate there could have been ten thousand people in each of the towers, Dad.”

Rudi never calls me Dad.

That doesn’t include the people in the Pentagon or the aircraft.”

“Shit.” I think I said.

“The President has gone to Strategic Air Command Headquarters” went on Rudi.

“What about you lot?” I asked.

“Hillary (his American wife) is here but very upset. Dean and I are OK but Sophie was flying into New York at the time it happened. She was diverted to Boston and is in a hotel with her boss.”

By this time my phone card was running out.

“Are you sure that Sophie is OK?”

“She is OK.”

“Give Hillary a big hug from Liz and me and I’ll phone again soon..”

Click. The phone went dead. Whir, and my phone card came out and I was left standing in the dark.

That’s how I first heard of the real enormity of the Manhattan massacre.

[Home] [Our articles] [Cookbook] [Readers] [Links]