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amphigourySo this melancholy time of year, yet a time I find myself a bit prouder - head held a bit higher, has come around again.
And for the first time, I find myself in a different land for it. And not just any land. Where some of it happened. And believe me, when you see the land and the buildings here, if you look hard enough, you can still see it. When you can look up and know that the skies were once filled with Luftwaffe, when you can walk through Cardiff Castle's air raid shelter, where many people gathered because it was safer than their houses, it feels a little surreal. I find myself touching a lot of cobblestone, heh heh.
Even my poppy is different. Here in the UK, they have a little bit of leaf, no metal pin, and it's made of paper instead of the familiar fuzzy plastic. I still brought 3 of my Canadian poppies with me, in case someone is interested in a cultural exchange. I'll be attending the ceremony at Cardiff's city hall. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm sure it can't be too much different from how it is back home.
Anyways, I'm linking back to the REC LIST again. One new addition that I could think of, and two have been purged. A bit sad.
And my post from last year is always worth a read/listen.
And one last link to some interesting images.
And for the first time, I find myself in a different land for it. And not just any land. Where some of it happened. And believe me, when you see the land and the buildings here, if you look hard enough, you can still see it. When you can look up and know that the skies were once filled with Luftwaffe, when you can walk through Cardiff Castle's air raid shelter, where many people gathered because it was safer than their houses, it feels a little surreal. I find myself touching a lot of cobblestone, heh heh.
Even my poppy is different. Here in the UK, they have a little bit of leaf, no metal pin, and it's made of paper instead of the familiar fuzzy plastic. I still brought 3 of my Canadian poppies with me, in case someone is interested in a cultural exchange. I'll be attending the ceremony at Cardiff's city hall. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm sure it can't be too much different from how it is back home.
Anyways, I'm linking back to the REC LIST again. One new addition that I could think of, and two have been purged. A bit sad.
And my post from last year is always worth a read/listen.
And one last link to some interesting images.
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Date: 2012-11-08 02:36 am (UTC)I found Remembrance Day in Europe to be a humbling experience. Actually *being* in Flanders' fields where the poppies grow. We saw and lived in so much of the history, it really was what we'd call "chicken skin" where I grew up; eerie. I jokingly called it our "Band of Brothers tour of Europe" because we shadowed their path so closely.
This last trip we visited Churchill's War Rooms in London, and it was well worth it. I am thinking of making a poppy to wear this Sunday, even though we don't hold that tradition here in the US anymore. It's a shame really; my grandparents did, every year.
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Date: 2012-11-08 12:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 12:28 pm (UTC)