WW1

Just thought I'd mention a couple of things coming up in November.

To celebrate me hitting the big 60 Kay has planned a short trip into London for us both to see Warhorse and the WW1 poppies at the Tower of London. To show my appreciation, I may have to fork out on a romantic meal somewhere along the line; British Rail does a good bacon butty I'm told.

Then at the end of November, still on the WW1 theme, I'm popping over to Ypres (Leper) to visit the war grave of one of my mother's uncles who died on 28 November 1914, exactly 100 years ago. He was 28 when he died in the trenches near Kemmel and lies in a small cemetery just north of the town. As I'm not a great fan of formal ceremonies with long speeches about self-sacrifice and the glorious dead, I'm thinking about how I can mark this special anniversary with something more personal.

I'm meeting my son and his wife the previous evening and we will attend the nightly sounding of the Last Post under the Menin Gate. We did this a few years ago and it was a very moving experience. I recommend this to everyone who values their freedom and wishes to say a quiet and tearful 'thank you' to all those men and women who died.