Remembering

An early outing to the churchyard to see the knitted poppies adorning the lych gate and the memorial ‘pebbles’ lined up along the path to the church door. These are hand painted and have the name and service number of people lost in the conflicts, first and second. They are due to be moved to the war memorial in the village for the act of remembrance there on Sunday. The main shot is of just a few of the pebbles in the morning sun, the extra is of a few of the poppies.

The annual Armistice Day ceremonies always mean a good deal to me. My middle name was given to me in memory of my father’s brother who was lost during the return flight from a bombing raid. His body was never recovered - something which haunted my grandmother for ever.