Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I'll be done with public ceremonies after the centenary one today at the local war memorial. It's not that I don't care. I care a great deal.
The whole thing has been hi-jacked and turned into a dog and pony show. Everyone trying to "faux out-grieve" everyone else in contrived public outpourings - especially on TV. Commentators at sporting events (especially football) hoping some louts will kick-off during the 2 minutes silence so they can pontificate. The zeal of the poppy fascists knowing no bounds. The white poppy brigade. All these things I don't need. It doesn't convey respect. It does just the opposite.
I will pay my own respects every year, in private and with family, in my own way.
Is there anything on in the town ?
I'll be done with public ceremonies after the centenary one today at the local war memorial. It's not that I don't care. I care a great deal.
The whole thing has been hi-jacked and turned into a dog and pony show. Everyone trying to "faux out-grieve" everyone else in contrived public outpourings - especially on TV. Commentators at sporting events (especially football) hoping some louts will kick-off during the 2 minutes silence so they can pontificate. The zeal of the poppy fascists knowing no bounds. The white poppy brigade. All these things I don't need. It doesn't convey respect. It does just the opposite.
I will pay my own respects every year, in private and with family, in my own way.
Although I understand your point, it's wrong to say everyone is trying too hard and without any real thought. I've seen many examples of genuine feeling being expressed. Mind, I think the poppy displays are at times verging on the ridiculous even if they usually do look great.I'll be done with public ceremonies after the centenary one today at the local war memorial. It's not that I don't care. I care a great deal.
The whole thing has been hi-jacked and turned into a dog and pony show. Everyone trying to "faux out-grieve" everyone else in contrived public outpourings - especially on TV. Commentators at sporting events (especially football) hoping some louts will kick-off during the 2 minutes silence so they can pontificate. The zeal of the poppy fascists knowing no bounds. The white poppy brigade. All these things I don't need. It doesn't convey respect. It does just the opposite.
I will pay my own respects every year, in private and with family, in my own way.
Watching the BBC coverage
What a turn out... very movingOne of the best mate.
What a ridiculous waste of life, as was a lot in that war, poor souls were literally cannon fodder a lot of the timeThere was a captain in either the 8th or 9th Devons who was a maths teacher in peace time. In the hours before zero hour he observed that the preliminary British bombardment of the German lines had failed to knock out a particular enemy machine gun post near the Devons’ objective that morning.
He used trigonometry to calculate that the angle of the machine gun and the arc it would be firing could only lead to the death of him and all of his men.
He took his calculations back to the command post but was told “sorry, you still have to attack”.
At 07:30 despite knowing what they were walking into they went over the top. They were all killed.
At the end of the day their bodies were brought back to the trench they had attacked from that morning and they were buried in it. A sign was placed nearby: “The Devonshires held this trench, they hold it still”.
Stories like that are what get me.
These are the stories that should be told more. The realities of war.What a ridiculous waste of life, as was a lot in that war, poor souls were literally cannon fodder a lot of the time
These are the stories that should be told more. The realities of war.
What a turn out... very moving
Nearly 900,000 dead British in ww1. Horrific to even think about it.Deeply saddening, when you stop and think about all the loss of life. What a tragic waste.
It gets harder each year as well as people move closer and with greater enthusiasm towards the political spectrums and ideologies that bring war about. It's a Hallmark holiday. People used to respect the sacrifice of people who died by trying to build a world that values peace, not by demanding authoritarian obedience to symbols and rituals on one day of the year. I've had 4 pals who died in the ME over the last decade and a half, not one of them ever told me what they were willing to die for, I'm not sure they even knew. Most people didn't die for this or any country out of choice, they were made to by virtue of when they lived and because of a small minority of people who would gladly gamble lives not their own for causes that were entirely for their own gain. It's an utter tragedy.I'll be done with public ceremonies after the centenary one today at the local war memorial. It's not that I don't care. I care a great deal.
The whole thing has been hi-jacked and turned into a dog and pony show. Everyone trying to "faux out-grieve" everyone else in contrived public outpourings - especially on TV. Commentators at sporting events (especially football) hoping some louts will kick-off during the 2 minutes silence so they can pontificate. The zeal of the poppy fascists knowing no bounds. The white poppy brigade. All these things I don't need. It doesn't convey respect. It does just the opposite.
I will pay my own respects every year, in private and with family, in my own way.