"For this flower tells a simple story
It speaks of lives forever changed
In a thousand nameless faces
And a thousand faceless names
A gift from generations lost
To those who still survive
For this flower tells a story
For the ones who gave without demand
For the years they served in a distant land
Their finest hour they gave
The sacrifice they made for us..."

I had the opportunity and privilege of attending the joint universities remembrance service. Taking part in the academic procession, it felt very odd to walk through an aisle of service men and women-it seemed as though they should have been the ones we were standing for. The silence was held outside in the old college quad and, with numerous similar events & services happening throughout Edinburgh, it was remarkable to hear that silence rightly settle across the city.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."