"And in the morning...

...we will remember them".

We should never forget those who gave their lives so that we can live ours......................................

I thought I'd...

...have a play.

I've seen lots of lovely knitted & crochet poppies this year so I thought I'd have a go.

The large poppy was my attempt...

...no pattern, just adding rows 'by eye' and the little ones were made by Kristian at our last "Knit & Natter".
The red yarn has a sparkle to it but it doesn't really show well in the photos...

 ...the large poppy has been attached to a pin fastener so that it can be worn.
Kristian's cute little poppies will be stitched to a hair-slide...

...so that they too can be worn.

It was fun having a play to see what we could come up with. Not surprisingly, after this I found some free knitting & crochet patterns on 'the web' so I might give some of those a go.

There are so many little things that can be made using very little yarn and they make up really quickly. So if you don't have the time to knit or crochet large garments or the like, why not have a play at making some little bits & pieces................................................................

The local schools and W.I. ....

...have been working hard again.

Last year St Margaret's at the end of my road had a wonderful poppy display and they have another fabulous "Poppy Cascade" this year...

 ...poppies of all sizes...

 ...cascading down the walls of the church...

...creating a beautiful splash of red.

In addition to the 'cascade' there are crochet poppies surrounding each of the hanging basket posts throughout the town centre.

I look forward to seeing the completed display on Friday..............................................

At the eleventh hour...

...on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month...

...we will remember them..............................................................

I would have liked...

...a brighter day but at least it was dry.

On Friday, instead of walking down Church Hill to the station I cut through the church yard so I could get some more photos - and thinking about it, perhaps the more sombre sky was more fitting to the scene.

The splash of red that dominates this corner of the church yard is wonderful and can be clearly seen from the memorial where todays service will gather. There was another lady taking photos and it turned out she was from the local primary school. She wanted photos of the display as the standing poppies had been made by children at the local schools...

 ...they have been arranged as if they are marching to the grave of a fallen warrior...

 ...which has been covered with a blanket of poppies...

 ...and then they scatter...

 ...and spread out amongst the gravestones.

I tried to get photos from a variety of angles...

 ...and I think the following photo is my favourite...

 ...as it captures the feel that was created at the Tower of London in the wonderful display "Blood Swept Lands & Seas of Red".

The standing poppies are made from the bottom of plastic bottles...

 ...and they look amazing standing there in the grass...

 ...leading the eye to the fabulous cascade. The local school children should be very proud...

...their contribution to this display is wonderful.

I sat and watched the British Legion Remembrance programme last night and I have to say it brought a fair few tears to my eyes..................................................

As we approach...

...Remembrance.

This Sunday will be Remembrance Sunday and the Poppy cascade at St Margaret's Church continues to grow...

...this was the view earlier this week but there were several ladies working there yesterday morning...

...adding even more to this wonderful splash of colour. I do hope the weather eases so that I can get some more photos.

We have had lots of Poppy sellers about in Stratford.

At the station there has been a gentleman with a table of items to purchase for the last couple of weeks and he has been so friendly and cheerful to all the people passing by on their journey to work.
The armed forces were out to support the Underground's day of support for the British Legion so we had sailors and squaddies dotted about the place.

Sainsbury's normally have a British Legion table just inside their entrance but this hasn't been there very often this year. However, Sainsbury's have had some lovely merchandise for the occasion and I treated myself to a pretty fold-up shopper and a travel mug covered in a cascade of delicate poppies. Very apt considering our own cascade in Stanford-le-Hope............................................................

Monday 12 October...

...was a lovely sunny day.

I was also lucky enough to be off for the day so I was able to take advantage of what seems to have been one of the last lovely days for a while.

At the end of the road where I live is St Margaret's Church - the previous week I had noticed a splash of red down the side of the church so on the Monday I went to have a closer look.

This was the view through the trees...

...from the memorial at the top of Church Hill on The Green.
As I got closer it was clear that the red was a cascade of poppies...

 ...for those of you who saw the poppies at the Tower of London, this is our local community's interpretation of the cascades that could be seen on the Tower walls.
Chicken wire has been attached and draped...

 ...from the roof of the church, down the side of the bell tower...

 ...the chicken wire is covered with poppies that have been made by members of the parish...

 ...they come in all sorts of styles and materials...

 ...paper, ribbons, yarn (there are a lot of knitted & crochet ones). As you can see, it is a work in progress and the chicken wire is gradually being filled as more poppies are produced. This will be an amazing focal point on Remembrance Sunday as it is clearly visible from the memorial where the service is usually held.
It was a lovely morning and I took advantage of taking a few more snaps of the church grounds...

 ...some of the graves are very old and there are names of some of the landed families that gave their names to many of the properties/farms/roads in the area.
Walking away from the church, this is the pathway taken by newly weds...

 ...as they head towards the church gates where they will be covered in confetti by friends & family.
There has been a place of worship on this site for well over 1000 years...

 ...the tower was originally very plain but decorative stonework at the top was added by the Victorians.
This is the church gate...

 ...opening out onto what was the 'village' green (Stanford-le-Hope is actually a small country town) and on the other side of the road is the "Inn on the Green" public house...

...which sits on the corner of the start of my road.

Monday was such a lovely day...things have certainly gone down hill since..........................................

"Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red"...

...was a line taken from the will of Derbyshire man who fought at Flanders.

This line is now the name of the Remembrance art installation at the Tower of London - created to commemorate the Centenary of the start of WWI.

Multiply one beautiful ceramic poppy by...

...888,246 (the lives lost during that conflict)...

 ...and you have...

 ...a sea of red.
This has been an amazing display and has evoked a level of emotion from the Public that was not expected...

...the daily playing of "The Last Post" amongst this sea of poppies is so very moving.

So with the arrival of the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month let us remember all those who have given their lives to protect this Nation.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.....................