Remembering 9th February 1996

I don't really know what prompted me to recall this day. My mind often wanders and I remember past events in my life that have particular significance. On this day, 9th February 1996, the IRA broke its cease fire and detonated a huge bomb at Canary Wharf in London. On the same day, I had travelled to London to meet my pen-friend at the time and spend the evening. She lived not far from Canary Wharf and her flat overlooked the location with stunning views of the office buildings and the River Thames. I had spent hours driving the ten miles from my own home in South London desperately trying to locate her address. I recall her trying to direct me via my mobile phone as I drove round and round. At one point, I drove through Canary Wharf as I became more and more frustrated at my inability to locate her home.
Eventually I did locate the block of flats she lived in and we met properly for the first time. We had arranged that I spend the night, so we ate and settled down to an evening on the sofa in front of the TV. Since arriving, I had admired with envy the view from her flat. It was stunning and all the major London landmarks could be picked out from her towering vantage point.
It was at about 7pm when we both heard a huge thunderous roar. This was followed by the curtains blowing in to the lounge where we were sat and a distinct feeling of movement as the tower we were in swayed with the pressure. Unaware of what had happened, we looked in the direction of the noise and saw immediately a huge plume of smoke rising from the site of Canary Wharf. This was very soon accompanied by the sound of sirens and we were able to make out the blue lights as the emergency services begain to rush to the scene. Something big had happened and we both knew it was bad, very bad. As we watched, the TV news reported a large explosion at Canary Wharf. It wasn't immediately attributed to a bomb, but it wasn't long before this was confirmed. To think that just a couple of hours before, I had driven through the site of what was becoming one of the worst attrocities to hit the UK. It made me tremble just thinking about it.
All evening we were able to watch the frantic response to the tragedy from our vantage point. It was a very strange feeling to be so close to something so big unfolding just a mile away.
Thankfully we have been free from such acts of terror for some time and I hope it stays this way, but this is my memory of witnessing such an event a little too close to home.