AUTUMN GLOOM

It was Remembrance Day on Sunday and as usual a large crowd gathered in the town centre for a minute's silence, a service and wreath laying.  I am always impressed at how people turn out for this, especially the young.  Actually I often wonder what young people make of this ceremony.  It must be the only time they see so many men in suits AND ties.  And hats!

But I am pleased too that the World Wars are now appearing in school history curricula; so much more relevant to who we are (and what we want to be) than studying the Elizabethans.

I am always emotional when the bugler sounds the Last Post.   Must be the plaintive notes, because it means nothing else to me.  I always though think how lucky I am.  I was born at the end of the War, which means that, unlike so many others, both my mother and father survived.  Without them, I wouldn't exist.  A bit obvious, but it's pure Fate that they both were engaged in potentially dangerous jobs during the War, yet both lived to tell the tale.  

Or not, actually - very few survivors speak of the War at all.  We are still finding out details now - Churchill's 'secret army' took part in the march-past yesterday for the first time, because we didn't know they existed until recently.   But I often wonder who I would have been if only one of my parents had survived.  I'd be quite different of course.  Maybe not so nice.  Or maybe I still wouldn't have existed.  Who would know?  I suppose I wouldn't.  What miserable thoughts this had all aroused.

To cheer myself up, on my way home, I popped into Tescos for some essentials - sausages, shortbread biscuits, Snickers bars, etc.  But they had their new seasonal bargains display up - snow shovels, anti-freeze, grit for the drive . . .  How depressing everything is!

Luckily the sun was shining and I was able to spend the rest of the day in the garden.  That shouls cheer me up.  Argh!  What's this in the middle of my lawn?