Remembrance Day 2011

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

Remembrance Day has always been important to me, as a Living Historian and an Archaeologist, I love History, I love looking back to how things used to be and feeling thankful for what we are able to do today, and I feel honoured that so many people have laid their lives on the line serving their country. Today I turn my attention back to pay respect to not only the military but to the civilians who were the last to ever have to be strong enough to face war on their own backdoor steps...  The Poppy has become an emblem in England as a sign of Remembrance, poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilt in the war.

So today, I wear Poppies in the form of this gorgeous dress from Vita's Boudoir, I'll be having my own little two minutes silence today as I always do on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month, and say Thank You!