Many moons ago, over a leisurely curry at the Taj, we rashly decided that our next holiday should be in the good ol' US of A (goes without saying that this was in the days before children). Large landmass, the States: which part did we want to aim for? Then it came to us. It had to be New York.

So in five busy days we did the Big Apple. And, on one long hot day, having already admired the views from the Empire State Building in the morning, we wound our way due south, walking block after block to the financial heart of the city. And, being the tallest structure in the city, we had very little trouble finding the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

From what I remember, a turbo-lift took us up over 100 floors at considerable speed. We were then free to wander around the viewing area. Inside, the major NY landmarks had been picked out on the glass, in case you didn't know which was the Chrysler building, for example. Luckily, since the weather was so good, there were fantastic panoramas of the city from the large outer platform. There was the Brooklyn Bridge; there was Central Park; and down in the water beyond Battery Park was the Statue of Liberty, looking tiny in the distance.

Unimaginable, then, the terrible events of Tuesday this week.

Ed