Poppies

Those sentiments I agree with absolutely, my DD & SIL went on Friday and the queues were so horrendous they gave up.

For goodness sake there is going to be tremendous interest , why not extend the period , who is going to be hurt ?

I mean to say , we saw William, Harry & Kate having a good old look , why can"t we do the same ?

Maybe they're worried about winter weather especially frosts. They're ceramic aren't they?

Does frost particulary affect ceramics ? just asking ?

Damage can occur when ceramics are exposed to freezing temperatures and frost. The problem occurs when ice crystals form inside of the pores of the ceramic piece. The frost inside of the pores will exert pressure onto the fabric of the pottery and cause the material to crack and break.

Got this from Wiki whatsit.

Oh right, get you !!

Impressed! I would ask DN who is a ceramics expert but the explanation might leave me floundering and glazed (or crazed)

You are supposed to put your glazed flower pots inside for the winter.

Although ceramic house name plaques stay out.

In addition to being a very imaginative art installation every commemorative poppy produced has been sold, all 888,246 of them, raising more than £10million for forces charities. My daughter bought one on the day they went on sale and this morning she visited the Tower to see it - she said she was very moved as were many of the people around her.

They must have their reasons, not for us to question !!

Why not?

They will all be on eBay a week later. Well - not all. MiL will be insisting on all of her thousands of bits of memorabilia being buried with her, I suspect. Her FB page is flooded with photos of 'her' poppy. Singly, I don't think they are all that spectacular.

I've bought one. I'll donate it to my church for the alter on Remembrance Sunday.
I always used to do the Remembrance Day churh flowers.

Many of them have genuinely been bought in commemoration, but I'm sure you're right janerowena and some will find their way onto ebay and similar sites. I think my daughter plans to take hers to the cemetery, but I'm not sure and she's a bit fragile this week, so I'll wait and find out in due course.

I bought a poppy in the nearby Irish Pub last week, I was at a Ceilidh on Saturday night and was delighted by the number of people who asked me where they could get one. I usually get one at the Church but got in early this year.
Of course it is a very important year here in Belguim.

I think it is the most memorable commemorative art installation I have seen, or could imagine. To begin with, I wished it were going to be kept for longer, but the point is that each poppy represents someone who died, and the fact that the installation is ephemeral mirrors that. Also that the War came, and went, and life moves on, leaving just memories.
Presumably too, the duration was agreed long before they fully how it would catch the public imagination and the numbers who would want to see it. Practically, when the wind blows, and the grass grows, all kinds of litter will be caught amongst the poppies, dead grass will just look messy, and the impact will be lost.
I've bought 3 poppies, for Service members of my family. They categorically won't end up on eBay.

Oh and I plan to mount each in a frame with a photo of the Tower with them in situ, and a copy of the original poem.

felice I think you've missed the point here.

Well I won't be putting mine on e.bay.

I am at a loss as to the direction some media outlets have chosen to take, each to their own I suppose.

I will only have the opportunity to see it through media pictures, it must be quite powerful to see and it is surely no surprise that the timing will mean more visitors of late.

My niece was a volunteer planter. She got the call to go at very short notice but found it a very moving experience with like minded people. Definitely a day to remember.

Icyalittle I was not missing the point, previously the Earl Haig poppy fund has been purely a British and Commonwealth event
The display of ceramic poppies has been widely shown on television here and of course France and Belguim were very affected by both WW1 and 2.
In past years i have had just had strange looks walking around wearing a poppy now people understand the significance and are asking were they can get one too.
The 11th of november is a National holiday here every year, with many commemorative events held, some towns in Flanders all traffic lights turn red at 11.00am and whole towns respect the silence.
I was just pointing out that poppies have never been part of the scene before and there is now more understanding of the wearing of them by British people.

GA, was your daughter able to tell which was hers? I've seen comments like that before and didn't really take them seriously.

I am going tomorrow fingers crossed we get to see them

Chloe get there early, the crowds are unbelievable. It's an extraordinary sight, not least the number of visitors from every nation on earth. There are marshals and CSOs but not really enough. Added to that Tower Hill station is undergoing work. The best way to arrive is by river.