Events of the "Noughties"

Or what I would prefer to call the "post-90's", a decade which encompassed the all-pervading media and the hectic pace of life in the Western world so much, that the entire ten years seemed to go in the blink of an eye. It began with the portentous celebrations for the Millennium, but began in all honesty from 2001 - September 11th, 2001 to be exact - from which the rest of the decade has been in the shadow of that black day for America and the free world.

Here are some events that I remember from diaries of the last 10 years:

2000

Millennium Dome finally opens after technical hitches.
Dr. Harold Shipman gets 15 life sentences for malpractice.
Concorde crashes in Paris.
HM the Queen Mother's 100th birthday.
Oil price rises lead to lengthy queues at petrol stations.
Slobodan Milosevic is finally ousted in democratic Serbian elections.
Stalemate in US Presidential election: Al Gore is forced to concede to George W. Bush.

Deaths in 2000: Colin Cowdrey, John Gielgud (96), Alec Guinness, Stanley Matthews, Damilola Taylor.

2001

Foot & Mouth disease across Britain.
Westminster statue of Winston Churchill is defaced by demonstrators.
Labour wins second term under Tony Blair.
Planes hijacked and flown into World Trade Centre & Pentagon by terrorist suicide bombers. World Trade Centre collapses.

Other deaths in 2001: Don Bradman (92), George Harrison, Mary Whitehouse.

2002

Headgate Theatre opens in Colchester.
Bethlehem Church of the Nativity besieged.
Train crash at Potters Bar.
World Cup in Japan & Korea. England beaten 2-1 by Brazil, who go on to win the tournament.
Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Flash floods in Britain & Europe.
Terrorist bomb in Bali kills British tourists.
Russian theatre held hostage by Chechen rebels - hundreds are killed in the attempted rescue.
Firemen's strikes in UK.
Baby elephant born in Colchester Zoo.

Deaths in 2002: Myra Hindley, Princess Margaret, Spike Milligan, Dudley Moore, H.M. the Queen Mother (101), Rod Steiger, Kenneth Wolstenholme.

2003

Chancery Lane tube crash.
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
Anti-Iraq war demonstration in Hyde Park.
My birthday - US invades Iraq. Second Gulf War begins.
Controversial Titanic exhibition (of salvaged artefacts) at the Science Museum, London.
President Bush's state visit to UK.
England win Rugby World Cup v. Australia.
Saddam Hussain found in hiding by US forces.
Ian Huntley given life sentence for murders of Holly Wells & Jessica Chapman.


Deaths in 2003: Charles Bronson, Adam Faith, Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope (100), Alan Keith, Thora Hird (91), Bob Monkhouse, Gregory Peck, Barry Sheene, Denis Thatcher.

2004

Harold Shipman hangs himself in prison.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wins 11 Oscars.
Terrorist bomb in Madrid, just days before General Elections in Spain.
Release of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in cinemas.
World Cup in Portugal: England knocked out on penalties by the hosts, who lose 1-0 to Greece in the Final.
Democratic government installed in Iraq.
National Savings axed to make way for new "Easy Access Savings" account.
England win all four Test Matches at home to West Indies.
Hundreds of children killed in a Russian school by Chechen terrorists.
George W. Bush wins a second term in The White House.
H.M. The Queen visits Colchester.
Sikh riots and demonstrations cancel a new play at a Birmingham theatre.
Earthquake and tsunami in South East Asia, killing thousands.

Other deaths in 2004: Yasser Arafat, Marlon Brando, Brian Clough, Alistair Cooke (95), Caron Keating (of breast cancer), Keith Miller, John Peel, Christopher Reeve, Peter Ustinov.

2005

Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker-Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall.
Cardinal Josef Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI.
London wins Olympic bid for 2012.
Terrorist bombs attack London Transport the day after successful Olympic bid.
An innocent terrorist suspect is shot at Stockwell Tube station.
A tornado hits Birmingham.
Release of Revenge of the Sith, the last of the Star Wars series.
New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
England win The Ashes in exciting Test Series against Australia.
Fire on Southend Pier.
200th anniversary of The Battle of Trafalgar.
Oil refinery explosion at Hemel Hempstead.

Deaths in 2005: Dave Allen, Ronnie Barker, George Best, Johnny Cash, Arthur Miller, John Mills (on St. George's Day), Pope John Paul II, Prince Rainier, Richard Whiteley.

2006

Charles Kennedy resigns as Liberal Democrat leader.
A whale swims through London along the River Thames.
Egyptian ferry disaster kills over 1,000.
Chelsea overcome Colchester United 3-1 in the FA Cup Fourth Round.
H.M. The Queen's 80th birthday.
Italy win World Cup, beating France on penalties.
Ball tampering row cancels the Fifth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval.
The Christmas lights fall down in Colchester High Street.
The Suffolk Murders.
Australia regain The Ashes - just 15 months after losing them.

Deaths in 2006: James Brown, Alan Freeman, Saddam Hussain (executed), John Lyall, General Pinochet, Fred Truman.

2007

Australia beat England 5-0 in Ashes Test Series.
Ireland beat Pakistan in Cricket World Cup, on St. Patrick's Day#.
Gerry Adams and Rev. Iain Paisley agree to share power in Northern Ireland.
30 killed at a technical college in Virginia.
First FA Cup Final at new Wembley: Chelsea beat Man United 1-0 in a dull match.
30th anniversary of Star Wars.
Tony Blair steps down as PM, to be replaced by Gordon Brown.
Postal strike.
Terrorist alerts in London, also attempted car bomb at Glasgow Airport.
Last Harry Potter book published.
Minneapolis river bridge collapses during Rush Hour.
Actor Chris Langham convicted of child pornography.
Muttiah Muralitharan becomes leading wicket taker in Test cricket.

Deaths in 2007: Alan Ball, Alan Coren, Ingmar Bergman, Benazir Bhutto (assassinated during General Election in Pakistan), Deborah Kerr, Magnus Magnusson, Bernard Manning, Marcel Marceau, George Melly, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Tibbetts (pilot of Enola Gay, 92) Bob Woolmer (the day after Pakistan's defeat#), Boris Yeltsin.

2008

Steven Wright convicted of Suffolk Murders.
New Terminal 5 at Heathrow at a standstill.
Boris Johnson(!) elected Mayor of London.
Cyclone in Burma during May Bank Holiday - Burmese authorities refuse outside aid.
China Olympic Torch controversially transported through London.
Michael Vaughan resigns as England captain, replaced by Kevin Pietersen.
Colchester United move to new stadium.

Deaths in 2008: Arthur C. Clarke, Charlton Heston, Edmund Hilary, Heath Ledger (29), Humphrey Lyttelton, Anthony Minghella, Paul Scofield.

2009

Barack Obama becomes first black President of the United States.
Fierce bush fires in Australia.
Sri Lankan cricket team bus attacked by terrorists in Pakistan.
A 100-1 shot (Mon Mome) wins the Grand National.
Outbreak of worldwide swine 'flu reaches UK.
British MP's expenses scandal.
England regain The Ashes from Australia.

Deaths in 2009: Clement Freud, Jade Goody, Tony Hart, Michael Jackson, Maurice Jarre, Edward Kennedy, Danny La Rue, Karl Malden, Wendy Richard, Natasha Richardson, Bobby Robson, Mollie Sugden, Richard Todd.