London station art Hatch End and London

 

Seasonal poppies.

Along London stations are some photos of peaceful scenes.

Photo of artwork and information on fence at Hatch End station. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Hatch End has pictures of scenes of fields of cows, roads through trees.

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Seeds as a Go-ing Away Gift for Guests At A Wedding or Forget me Not At A Funeral

Wildflowers montage from Western Australia. 

By raygday in Wikipedia Commons.

At this week's reception after a funeral, I sat next to former neighbours who, like us, had travelled from a distance. After we had reminisced about our times together, twenty years ago, and discussed the doves released at our mutual neighbour's funeral (described in my previous post) they told us about another funeral novelty, flower seeds.

Poppy Seeds

My former nearby neighbour said: 

'"We went to a funeral where everybody was given a packet of seeds at a funeral, 'so that when the flowers grow you will remember me'. It wasn't planned by the surviving relatives but by the deceased person themselves. They must have put it in their funeral plan which they had arranged in advance some time before they died. 

"We had a packet of seeds which just said, flower seeds. We didn't know what they were. We just threw them out in the garden over some soil which I had dug up. That was lucky. We were amazed when the flowers came up next spring in brilliant colours, They were poppies. We didn't bury them, just threw them out, scattered them. Poppies like newly dug earth. That's why they grew so well, everywhere, after WWI, over the dug up soil, for trenches and burials and so on."

The speakers' wife added:

"We also went to a wedding where we were given seeds. They were meadow flowers. Nowadays you would call them weeds. Wild flowers. Nowadays they are rare and in demand. The bride wanted something that would last and grow, like the marriage, she hoped."

Useful Websites

UK

https://www.wildflower.co.uk/products/wildflower-seed-mixtures/100-wildflower-seed-mixtures/

About the Author

Angela Lansbury was born and bred in Britain, and has lived in the USA and Singapore. Her family has worked in or lived in Spain and Switzerland. 

She is the author of several book on public speaking and quotations.

She is a member of Toastmasters Clubs meeting on Zoom with visitors from the UK and USA, India, Sri Lanka, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Through the Toastmasters mentoring program Angela has connected with individuals in Vietnam and Romania, and Belize, a different connection each month. Please come to the next BHA Toastmasters meeting on the 3rd Saturday afternoon every month.

Angela is a member of Harrovian Speakers, London (two Monday evenings each month (BST or GMT) currently part in person and part on Zoom, and VP PR for BHA (1st Monday evening and 3rd Saturday afternoon Singapore Time; and TCA, one Tuesday evening a month, both currently on Zoom, as well as secretary for Singapore Online Dynamic which is online only and always, Friday evening 9.30 pm Singapore time.   

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Remembrance Sunday, UK , USA, Australia and worldwide

Events took place on Friday, which was the 11th hour of the eleventh day of eleventh month. Two friends of mine were in Aldi supermarket in Pinner. (German - reconciliation with Germany, how appropriate.) Just before eleven they finished shopping and went onto the rooftop carpark to collect their car, which is where they always park. They heard a cannon and church bells ringing. Then the silence. Then another cannon and the church bells ringing again.

Two minutes of silence today, Sunday at 11 am mark Remembrance Sunday. H M The Queen was always is at the Cenotaph in London.

Sunday (this year the 13th November) is a day when people are off work and can attend and watch in person or on TV.

Back in the Nineteen Forties and Fifties people would have been listening to the radio. (Remember how people bought TV in 1953 to watch the coronation.) Nowadays, you can watch the internet on portable devices such as laptops and iPads and smart phones. Some people can set alerts on phones and watch on their watches. How the world has changed.

If you missed it, you can watch it again on TV. Expect to see members of the Royal Family, all the armed forces, the British Legion, elderly people in wheelchairs, parents and children.

In London at dusk poppies and poems are projected on the Elizabeth Tower housing Big Ben.

In Scotland commemorations take place at St Giles.
In Wales, events are in Cardiff and other cities and towns.

Is the rest of the world doing the same at the same time? That would be difficult to co-ordinate. South Africa and some of Western Europe is either on the same time zone or only an hour or two different. But the rest of the world, such as Australia, is on different time zones. (Australia and New Zealand are also in different seasons.) But we all have the media to keep us in touch.

In America November 11th is a national holiday. The word holiday sounds irreverent. But I remember that holiday originally meant holy day.

If you want to read about the relationship of Veterans Day and Remembrance Day you have many sources to consult. Memorial Day in the USA in May is for those who died. Remembrance Day place of honour is given to survivors who march to remember their fallen comrades, those who serviced injured physically or mentally, and all who served, whether as volunteers or conscripted. Nowadays the commemoration is not just for WWI or WWII but all wars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/remembrance-day-canada-ottawa-national-war-memorial-1.3846939
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-37952921
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-37962381
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3930522/Kate-joins-Queen-senior-royals-Royal-Albert-Hall-annual-Festival-Remembrance.html
https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/remembrance/ (Australia)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.