Remembrance Sunday..

[Donald Twain]

You drink a lot of tea, don't you ? How's the waterworks ?

The 'bag' was emptied by the diligent Mrs Twain about half an hour ago, so I'm fine sir.

 

[summerisle]

The 'bag' was emptied by the diligent Mrs Twain about half an hour ago, so I'm fine sir.

We'll leave it there I think.

 

[steken1]

The 'great' was put into Britain with the act of union. You may as well call it ace Britain or sound Britain for the purposes you're using it as.

No Dave

 

[chicoazul]

I heard someone arguing the other day that poppies were glorification of violence and that wearing them was borderline racist.

I didn't say anything to him like.

 

[davek]

Bit rich calling England imperialist when the act of union was in large part down to Scotland's failed attempt at imperialism.

It was more of a trading colony the Scots were trying to set up IIRC. They were unprepared for the aggression dominant imperial powers like Spain would visit on them. I tend to associate imperialism as trade plus gunboat. I'm not sure the Scots Darien adventure fits into that category.

 

[davek]

No Dave

I call it Grate Britain.

 

[dholliday]

The members with more years under their belts will recall it as a stand alone Remembrance Sunday,then over time it spread to poppy wearing the week before.Now it's become more like a remembrance season,which in some ways has diluted the meaning behind it.

aye...and Poppies weren't compulsory at the events either. Remember going to a couple in Hull in the early-90's. Since around the beginning of the New Labour government have we had the identity politics being more important than the act of remembrance.

 

[steken1]

I call it Grate Britain.

I'm sure Churchill is spinning in his grave...

 

[Charlie Sweet]

I will happily pay respect to the poor foot soldiers who gave their lives for the greater good in the world wars.

But the problem with Remembrance Sunday and the whole poppy brigade in general is that the above heroes that were conscripted in are lumped in with all the other campaigns that now look very shameful (days of Empire and Ireland in the 70s, 80s and 90s).

 

[dandydan]

I believe around half of the Welsh Foot came from Birmingham - but don't quote me on that.

The 24th foot was recruited from Warwickshire and Welshmen were a very small minority at the time. it became a Welsh regiment after the reforms of 1881.

 

[Azzurri]

I will happily pay respect to the poor foot soldiers who gave their lives for the greater good in the world wars.

But the problem with Remembrance Sunday and the whole poppy brigade in general is that the above heroes that were conscripted in are lumped in with all the other campaigns that now look very shameful (days of Empire and Ireland in the 70s, 80s and 90s).

James is that you?

 

[Sapie88]

Yeah they sang 'Men of Huyton' , shame this was glossed over with that Welsh dirge!

Men of Huyton stop your dreaming,
Can't you see your maroon bins gleaming.

 

[The Esk]

Will be taking my son down to the Cenotaph on Sunday morning. Provided you get down there around 9 am you can get within yards of the Cenotaph itself.

I love the music of the various bands, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards and the Irish Guards will be present this year.

For me it's a wonderful act of remembrance, and I hope teaches my 15 year old son that many boys just a few years older than him gave their lives for our country. I'm not interested in the politics of how, why and whether it was right, at least not on Sunday - it's purely about ordinary men and women who lost their lives and they deserve our respect.

 

[Donald Twain]

Men of Huyton stop your dreaming,
Can't you see your maroon bins gleaming.

I can.

 

[moyeslovechild]

The first World War was truly horrific, and a lot less black and white than the following one. It was a different age. The conditions were horrific, truly hell on earth, yet in the extremities, those trenches and slaughter fields were still filled with individual acts of astounding bravery and humanity, on all sides.

Truly a war that shaped a century. They all deserve sincere remembrance for what they lived through. Civillians, survivors and the dead alike.

I don't mean to take away anything from the immense sacrifices of WW2, just been reading and listening a lot about the first one, so Armistice Day has a greater significance to me than previous years (that sounds weird but its very easy to just get caught in the flow of poppies and general feelings without particularly getting it in a way that older generations have).

A lot of death and suffering has to happen while wars do. It is right to remember the lives of all those who lived and live through the human travesty and tragedy of wars. We have shaped the world we live in and it is one made by conflict and lends itself to more conflict, there is no getting away from it, your average soldier is and always has been just another victim to the human way.