Remembrance Sunday

It's a very cold day here today. I had already decided to have a quiet day, so I did not venture to Hexham for the Remembrance Day parade.

The new study is shaping up but the internet is still very slow and keeps dropping out. The extenders are not doing the trick. The new monitor makes everything look garish and, so far, I have not managed to make the software for calibration work.

These are minor irritations against the backdrop of world news, with wars being fought in so many places.

The old soldier I spoke to earlier in the week talked about the way that war devastates the lives of innocent civilians. Today we remember those who fought for our freedom and wonder quietly if there could be a better way to resolve conflicts.

Our Humshaugh War Memorial is near our house and I went to look at the newly laid wreath there this afternoon. I've combined a number of images to make this memorial to those who died in WWI. The names of those who died in WWII are also on the memorial.

Then I think of my own father who was in the Royal Artillery and who rarely spoke about his experiences. "You don't want to know", he said. He returned after being kept on the Continent to guard dispossessed people who were scattered all over Europe and who were placed in camps until they could be sent to their homes. There is so much we don't know.

The eagle eyed member of the household spotted the date 1919 on the blip. We did not know why. Here is the explanation: The 1919 date refers to the year when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The armistice was on 11 Novemeber 1918 but the peace between the Allies and Germany was finally signed as part of the Paris Peace Conference on 28th June 1919. So now we know!