Remembrance Sunday. Am I simply old fashioned or do standards matter.

Primrose

onwards&upwards wrote: »

National Service was abolished 60 years ago!

Gosh, how time flies !! :rotfl:

cbrown372

onwards&upwards wrote: »

National Service was abolished 60 years ago!

50 years ago I was wearing mini skirts and as someone said above, in danger of showing tomorrow's laundry in my work dress

117pauline

The poppy is the symbol of remembrance, chosen due to the poem In Flanders Fields written in 1915 by Lt Col John McCrae. Its main symbol of the poppy was because the poppies were resilient and were the first to bloom following a battle.

In the early 1920s an American academic campaigned, along with many others in other countries, to get the poppy as the official symbol of Remembrance.

Please do not believe the idea that the poppy was chosen to represent the blood of the fallen. What a !!!!!ish thought.

That is so far away from the Legion's purpose which is to remember together all affected by conflict.

Yes, I do feel strongly about this. This morning in Spain, I joined with over 500 people in a service of Remembrance. The address focused on peace rather than war.

Having sold poppies this year I can promise you that there is no "typical" poppy buyer. I have heard many stories of the past exploits of their families, friends or themselves in service for peace. I was happy to see so many people proud to give up a couple of hours to attend the service.

Do the clothes make it better remembrance? I think not.

Pauline

-taff

117pauline wrote: »

Please do not believe the idea that the poppy was chosen to represent the blood of the fallen. What a !!!!!ish thought.

That is so far away from the Legion's purpose which is to remember together all affected by conflict.

The british legion don't own the idea of the poppy, it's a symbol that's come to represent both world wars, all conflicts etc etc...
If someone who has seen action believes differently, that's up to them.

Savvy_Sue

jackomdj wrote: »

My 12 year old Daughter and partner went just to watch today, partner was in his suit with his medals on and daughter was in smart clothes. She came home commenting that a person laying a wreath had their trainers on, I said you do not know their circumstances they may have issues with their walking that makes trainers easier.

Indeed. Anyone remember the 'Ninja Nun' at William and Kate's wedding?

sillyvixen

elsien wrote: »

That is changing as well. My cousins wore some fairly skimpy outfits for their mother's funeral - not out of disrespect but that was their idea of smart.. Funerals also have more people requesting bright colours rather than black.

My best friend turned up at my mother's funeral dressed casually, did it bother me, no! She had taken a days holiday, got up at the crack of dawn, travelled on a 4 hour train journey each way (at considerable cost and with no seats for a lot of the way) to pay her respects and support me! She could have turned up in a used binliner for all I cared, her efforts to be there were what mattered!!

Savvy_Sue

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Indeed. Anyone remember the 'Ninja Nun' at William and Kate's wedding?

For those who don't:

The Ninja Nun

Why she was wearing trainers

I've been looking at photos of youngsters belonging to a uniformed organisation of which I was once a part, attending remembrance events in various parts of the country. I could bemoan the fact that their uniform is nowhere near as 'smart' as ours used to be. And yes, some of them are wearing trainers, and more than one of the leaders is wearing shoes with heels rather than the court shoes or black lace ups I was expecting, and some of them are clearly not marching in step. But they are there, and I am glad they are there, because if you can only be there if you have the right clothes to wear, it's a sad day.

Toomuchdebt

117pauline wrote: »

The poppy is the symbol of remembrance, chosen due to the poem In Flanders Fields written in 1915 by Lt Col John McCrae. Its main symbol of the poppy was because the poppies were resilient and were the first to bloom following a battle.

In the early 1920s an American academic campaigned, along with many others in other countries, to get the poppy as the official symbol of Remembrance.

Please do not believe the idea that the poppy was chosen to represent the blood of the fallen. What a !!!!!ish thought.

That is so far away from the Legion's purpose which is to remember together all affected by conflict.

Yes, I do feel strongly about this. This morning in Spain, I joined with over 500 people in a service of Remembrance. The address focused on peace rather than war.

Having sold poppies this year I can promise you that there is no "typical" poppy buyer. I have heard many stories of the past exploits of their families, friends or themselves in service for peace. I was happy to see so many people proud to give up a couple of hours to attend the service.

Do the clothes make it better remembrance? I think not.

Pauline

Just want to point out that in Poland they DO represent blood...the lyrics to a very well known song state

"Red poppies on Monte Cassino
Instead of dew, were drinking Polish blood
Through these poppies walked soldier and died
But stronger than death was his wrath
Years go by and centuries will pass
The traces of old days will last
And all the poppies on Monte Cassino
Will be redder because from Polish blood they'll grow"
https://lyricstranslate.com

And for anyone interested here is the song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUphn5zIshs

[Deleted User]

I had to dress me and my son for a funeral recently and being a bit short of cash, and my son being on the large side, it gave me some insight on how difficult it can be to get respectful clothes for a one off occasion. Thank goodness, I managed to find some very nice black trousers for my son in a charity shop and made do from old stuff with me. But it wasn't up to our normal standard of 'smart' formal clothing (suits with matching tops and bottoms, dark nice coat etc). Which wasn't good as it was my ex and his father's funeral, but we did our best. We both wanted to be respectful.

Shoes was another problem as we wear trainers day in day out as both of us have problems with our feet, but I managed to find some boots for myself. Son took some shoes and changed into them for the funeral.

But I can understand why people don't wear what used to be standard formal clothing when they aren't going to wear them regularly.

Unfortunately I didn't go to the local rememberance service as a bit off colour. No way they'd have wanted me wheezing and coughing all through it. Even though I wasn't born during the war, I am very aware of what it means and talk to younger people who, sadly, don't always really understand the implications.

NBLondon

Primrose wrote: »

I also recall one Remembrance Sunday filmed on TV where a minister turned up to lay his wreath wearing a duffle coat instead of a black overcoat and that incident tagged him for years as being "disrespectful"

Are you perhaps thinking of Michael Foot - Leader of the Opposition in the 1980s ? He was always known for being somewhat shabby of dress (for younger readers - the same way that J Corbyn was mocked in his early appearances). A good spin doctor would have said it was in tribute to the men of the North Atlantic convoys though...

I do accept that some people do not own a dark suit/coat/dress as they have no other reason to wear them and that buying them to be worn once in 5 years isn't always an option - even with charity shops. But I would have thought that if you were asked to lay a wreath on behalf of an organisation - it would have been discussed as to what was appropriate.

Vaguely on-topic tale. Some time in the early 00s I was on a course at a conference venue In St James' Central London on the 11th November. We agreed that we would step outside for the 2 minute silence and the wreath-laying which was right opposite. (Since this was a management course - everyone was already in suits and ties.) In the middle of the silence - a youth on a moped came belting round the corner and stopped. He spent the next ten minute being dressed-down by a police sergeant while another officer minutely went over his wheels.