Basically this is similar to our Veteran’s Day, a remembrance of those that gave their lives during wartime conflicts. Poppies are worn and displayed every year as an act of this remembrance.
On Saturday we went to Westminster Abbey to view the Field of Remembrance which is a display of thousands of small crosses adorned with a poppy and carrying a name of a loved one lost in war. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (signifying the day World War I ended) there is a two-minute period of silence. After this Amy and I walked over to Trafalgar Square where another ceremony had just ended, but the poppies that were laid in the fountains still remained.
Remembrance Sunday is the nation’s official ceremony held at the Cenotaph near Parliament. After the Queen lays the first poppy wreath, there is another two-minute silence followed by a parade of veterans that present a wreath at the Cenotaph as they march past.
I tried to attend the ceremony but the crowds prohibited me from getting near the Cenotaph. It was still quite a feeling being in the shadow of Big Ben as it struck eleven followed by the traditional silence. Standing next to me were two sisters between 55-60 years old who were there to watch their FATHER walk in the parade afterwards. A very moving experience.
1 comment:
Cool,
Your blog has been officially spammed. See the post by anonymous with your Saturday/Sunday 4-5 November 2006 blog entry.
Here's a cool link for you, Ray, to help with you need to be re-americanized. This guy is a junior at Cy Fair high school. He is the only running back to gain over 2000 yards in the greater Houston area this year. I believe he also had 31 touchdowns, 8 in one game. This was touchdown #7 in that game. Pretty cool.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eygKqRMd94U
Post a Comment