No official bowls today, so a chance to reflect on times past and what our family generation’s went through so that we are here today.

For some countries the horror and trauma of war continues today. How frightening to be caught up in it because of time and place.
The Festival of Remembrance is televised from the The Royal Albert Hall tonight and the parade to the Cenotaph tomorrow.
My Dad used to take me up to London on the Sunday to view the crosses set out in the various Army, Navy and RAF battalions. He’d look for the naval friends and colleagues he lost in World War II. In the final 4-5 years of his life, he used to go to local schools and recount the experience of the Normandy landings. I went with him sometimes   The groups he spoke to were usually heading out to France to view the beaches.  It gave the children some insight from a person who had been through it and not just learning from a book or film.  They asked questions ranging from “ Did you kill anyone?” to “Were you ever seasick?” to “What did you eat?”

He never glorified it. He was a matter-of-fact person and he knew he had been one of the lucky ones. Mum had been evacuated to Aylesbury and hated it. Her uncle was a Japanese Prisoner of War. He came home but he never spoke about it.

This weekend specifically, we will remember everyone who has fought and continues to fight for peace and the safety of their families now and for generations to come. We are thankful.

The photo is part of the Fields of Mud Project worked on by Dan Metcalfe.