Not sure

how to deal with today and all the events associated with it. This time of year is always difficult for me, but I'll deal with that issue later in the week. In the run up to today there have been a lot of programmes and articles dealing with the events of 11 September 2001. I remember vividly how we first became aware of the events, as word spread round our office. It was a first in may ways. The first co-ordinated, wide spread terrorist attacks, especially in the US. The first time events unfolded "live" via the internet. I can remember feeling incredulous watching the building burning, and then seeing the second impact, and realising this was far worse than anyone could have thought. It took me back to the time I was involved in a couple of terrorist explosions, here in Manchester in 1991. I was on my way to work when a bomb exploded outside the building I worked in. It was a surreal situation. One minute walking along the street, thinking of my upcoming day, then a blast wave rushing past me, glass and smoke everwhere. Had I been at my desy when it went off, I would have undoubtedly been cut by flying glass, there was plenty embedded in the wall behind my seat. The next few hours saw me herded from place to place by the police, as rumours of more devices came through. Unluckily for me. I was shepherded by the police straight into the second blast that happened later that day, and ended up covered in soil from that explosion. Unknown to me I was in shock. I got home somehow, to this day I can't remember my journey home. I rang my mother to let her know that I was fine, and she was totally unaware of any problems in Manchester. 5 years ago the world was made very aware, very quickly of things happening. My thoughts are with the families of people who didn't survive that day. The worrying thing for me, having watched a lot of these programmes, is that there were clearly mistakes made along the way, that enabled these fanatics to carry out their plan. It sounds as though a lot of recommendations from the inquiries have not yet been implemented. I hope there is never a repeat of such atrocities on the same scale. Hopefully my posts will be cheerier later in the week, but don't rely on it. I may hav eto resort to more dodgy album covers to lighten my mood!