November poppies

It may be November but there are still a few poppies flowering along the edges of fields nearby. They are rather bedraggled but probably no more so than those that grew up and bloomed in the decimated and muddy battle fields of the First World War.

November is the month we remember those members of the Commonwealth's Armed Forces who have fallen as a result of war, terrorist attack and in times of turmoil and violent struggle over the last almost 100 years. My post of 12 May shows a photo of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne (http://www.shrine.org.au). It is an awesome edifice and a memorial to the men and women of the state of Victoria, who served Australia in both armed conflict and peacekeeping operations throughout their nation's history.

The entry courtyard to the visitor centre, underneath the Shrine has the words 'Lest We Forget' etched into one wall. The form of the courtyard was inspired by a bomb crater.

In one corner of the 'bomb crater' some poppies have sprung up.

As you enter the Visitor Centre there is a display of 4,000 service medals,

and inside a mass of written information as well as photographs, newsreel and artefacts to record Australia's history of service and sacrifice in times of war and peace.

In the days following the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 rescuers recovered some 300 men from the 5th Australian Division, lying wounded in no-man's-land. As one soldier carried a wounded companion from the field he heard a call for help "Don't forget me, cobber". In one night at Fromelles the Australian casualties were equivalent to those they lost in the Boer, Korean and Vietnam wars combined. This bronze, Cobbers, was sculptured by Peter Corlett. You can really feel the dead weight of the wounded soldier as he was carried to safety by his fellow soldier. The image, all it conveys and stands for, stays with you for a long time.

The Australian poppy of remembrance is delicate and more like the real thing than ours! I've got mine and I will be wearing it this year.

Comments

In a vase on Monday - colour

The intense colours in my vase this week come from nasturtiums, sweetpeas and a single glorious zinnia! Their beauty and love of life speak for themselves and need no further words from me! Enjoy!

Coastal walk from Gullane to North Berwick

By the time I have walked about four miles, my toes are screaming at me - it's the arthritis, you see. One of the joys of being that little bit older than I was. However, for a long time, I have been keen to walk along the beaches, and follow the coastal path, between Gullane and North Berwick. So, having worked out the tide times, I decided today was the day, and off we went. Below is our starting point, the bay at Gullane. It's a lovely beach, very popular with dog walkers. This is looking east, the direction Tilly and I were going to take. Looking back, up the Forth, the unmistakable bulk of Arthur's Seat, and Edinburgh's skyline, just clear enough to see. For most of the walk, there is the choice between wandering along a series of beaches, or following a path along the top of each. There's no denying it, at heart I am a shell-seeker. I have loads of shells at home. We lived on one of the out islands in the Bahamas for a just over a year, ...

Possibly the last post and a sizzlingly hot vase on Monday

The border in our tiny garden is in an in-between phase at the moment and not very colourful, but elsewhere there are pops of high summer colour and I have brought them together in my vase today. The running wave uses Blogger as it's vehicle and they are changing the way a post is created but unfortunately I cannot make the new format work. I can't progress beyond the title! I cannot navigate to the main body of the post to create text. The new template has no prompts for adding photos, weblinks, to format the text, change font etc. It may be my old MacBook that's as fault but I can't do anything about that!! Are any other IAVOM bloggers who use Blogger having the same problems? I have tried, three times, to contact Blogger through their 'Help' prompt and received no feedback or contact whatsoever. This post is using the old 'Legacy' format, which no longer permits any kind of formatting of text, and so after four attempts I have finally manage...

the running wave

Search This Blog