A Red Poppy for the Somme
In a momentous week that has witnessed a constitutional crisis in the UK and political skulduggery to rival Machiavelli, perhaps the most important event of all was remembering that, only a hundred years ago, Britain was in a state of war with another European country.
Our grandfathers were about to face the onslaught of the Battle of the Somme, the most fatal of all battles in the “War to End All Wars”.
A simple common red poppy (papaver rhoeas) blowing in the wind serves to remind us that many, many men gave their young lives that we might have freedom. May we use it wisely.
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Bob Dylan, 1962
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
