Watching the Royal British Legion Festival of remembrance last evening ,attended by Her Majesty the Queen and members of her family ,evokes a whole gamut of emotions ,proud, sad,patriotic ,and as a woman angry ,would there be wars if it was up to the women I dont know ?we struggle to give life ,it is so precious ,and yet war can deprive us of those we love , And the service at the cenotaph this morning .................and songs of praise tonight ,all serves to remind us ,our Lord asked us to love one another .My other Lord well he was my Dad ,used to say "If you cant do somebody a good turn,theres no need to do em a bad un either " I have watched and enjoyed the services ,from young Catherine Jenkins singing ,Well meet again ,watched by Dame Vera Lynn,and then the young airman singing Ill be seeing you (reminds me I courted my own Brylcream boy once for a short while !)the storys told by those who served !!The hymn singing ,Guide me oh thou great redeemer,The day thou gavest Lord has ended ,Am I getting old! tears flowed ,The soldiers the sailors and the airmen ,and all of the others who played/play their part ,that me and mine could/can be free ,May God bless each and everyone ,and those that have gone before ,may they find eternal peace .I once went to see the war graves at Arnem,how humbleing is that ?and will always carry the memory of twin soldiers lying side by side ,nineteen years old .
When you go home tell them of us ,for your tomorrow we gave our today .
With love Jan xx
14 comments:
Jan, I watched last night as well; one more thing that made me sad was noticing how the numbers had depleted, over the years, of the sevicemen and women (plus civvies) that used to take part in the actual arena and the subsequent mass in said area at the end....it used to be so tightly packed, now there is plenty room for many more! Would you say that is because our armies, etc are depleting, or there is not so much interest in participating any more? Whichever it is, it is very sad and oh how I wept as those poppies fell, not only for our lost relatives at the time of war but for all the others and for my parents.
Yes, it's very sad when I think of those who've lost their lives over thousands of years of warring. The thousands of mothers who've mourned lost husbands,brothers,sons and now daughters and sisters . And it's sad to think of the thousands who have been wounded both physically and emotionally. It's so hard to understand...yet the Bible states "there shall be wars and rumors of wars." I think wars are the result of evil and greed in the heart of man...if everyone in the world practiced the Golden Rule...treat others as you would have them treat you...it would be different. Even the tribes in the deepest jungles are at war with each other.
Jan I think if it was left to Women there would be no wars...There outcome always end in deaths on both sides...What sense is there in that..It is all so sad....Young lives taken away before they have hardly started living.....Ally
No, I do not think it is because you are getting old Jan. I watched as well and the tears flowed, especially when the poppies fell. Mike was a Brylcreem boy lol. Seriously it does give a mixture of emotions, great pride in our country, patriotism, sadness at all those wasted lives. Likewise the service at the cenotaph, seeing all the old soldiers still struggling to walk by and realizing that our troops are still dying in Iraq. I wish the younger generation felt as we do, I wish they could understand that their lives today are what they are because of these men and women who made the great sacrifice and gave their all.
Are you watching The Last Tommy, it is a two parter, it started last week and finishes this week. I believe it is on Tuesday. Youngsters should be made to see it.
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Aww Jan (((( )))) In that minutes silence you could cry for a thousand it's so heart wrenching to think what war takes away. Rache xx
War is a terrible thing, all those young men and women who had their lives cut short, never to see their loved ones again. It's so sad to watch the remembrance parades, I used to watch when I had a TV but now haven't got one but I still remember the people who gave their lives up for us, bless them all. Jeannette.
Lovely entry Jan did not see the service at the Cenotaph this morning it must be the first time I have missed it but we were out. Love Joan.
Missed the services due to me working, a few clients had it on when i went in, but not that many considering they are the people who served and survived the wars.
Jo xxx
Awwwwwwwww what a lovely entry!! I did not watch any of it but I feel the way you do - that so many gave up their lives so that we could live and the 2 minute silence should be acknowledged by everyone :-)
I am always humbled to think these soldiers died so we could have freedom.I sob my way through the Royal British Legion Festival,dont you just feel a great sense of pride for England and its heroes.I know lots of people say there should not be wars but it was a very different England then and soldiers volunteered and lied about their age so they could fight for Queen and Country. I get puzzled Jan,you see. .the terror attacks in America,just what are we supposed to do?Just forget all those who died there too and not do anything about it? Im not saying war is the answer but what would happen if we just let anyone do what they like and we didnt have a superb army? And you know the anti war protesters? Well they would not be able to protest like that if it had not been for the services who fought for just that. .the right to free speech.I wish I knew the answers to all of this.
I don`t usually watch the evening service but I do watch the morning service in Whitehall. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Each year when the proud old servicemen in the parade march past the Cenotaph I always look out for the Burma Star Association, because my Dad served with the Forgotten Fourteenth army and some of his old comrades might stll be there. Last year was their last year before disbanding due to the age and frailty of it`s members. But I will still be watching and remembering what so may men and women have sacrificed for our freedom. Thanks Jan for this entry.
Sandra xxxx
I so agree with everything you've written here m'dear. I watched the service at the cenotaph, and found it very moving, I always do. It breaks your heart doesn't it, to think of all those young boys, whether they lost their lives or just had them changed forever, for us.
Sara x
I didn't watch it, so thanks for setting the scene. It's good that we should remember.
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Hi Jan I didnt see the rememberance service,but your entry was excellent,and like everyone has said we should never forget those who died for us......Love Jeanxx
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