Remembrance

sheepsteeth

Did anyone observe the 2 minutes silence today?

we do it at work, its kind of a big deal (in much the same way as ron burgundy is). we did it today out in the middle of a field whilst in the middle of training and just after we heard the chimes over the radio from london on radio 1, i heard the sound of a horn being blown at grain power station and the fog horn of a ship being sounded to mark the start of the 2 minute silence.

it made me wonder how many people manage to take the time to pause for 2 minutes during their day.

welshkev

i was at the millenium stadium. security made an announcement over the tannoy and everyone stopped for 2 mins. was very well observed aswell

Chunkers1980

I did and always try to. This year's is soo much moving being 100 years on from the start.

Here's to another 100 years, these people need remembering, as they are err.. a dieing breed.

Focus for our heros should now be on more recent wars, but never forgetting those of the past. We need to put more emphasis on living heros. Like the amputees who've taken up car rally of some sort, we must not forget their sacrifice and do all we can to enable them to live as normal lives as possible.

Chrissz

Unfortunately there are more and more injured (physically and mentally) service personnel returning from theatre. At present there is a reasonable (and quickly improving) infrastructure to assist them, however, will it last? Will people still be interested/bothered 20-30 years down the line? I certainly hope so.

Stevo_666

Yep I did - always do. I was in the swimming pool at the time but they blew a whistle to let people know.

sheepsteeth

i think its nice that in these modern days folk can make the time when everything is so busy. i think its a nice tribute when people stop in the middle of whatever they are doing.

id imagine the people at the powerstation were busy providing power and those folk on the ship were busy driving their boat so to make the effort is a nice thing.

Pudseyp

I did in cheshire oaks whilst crimbo shopping....thought it was a nice gesture

I also observe a two minute silence everyday with some porcelain underneath me....

nicklouse

I did not mention It.

Pudseyp

nicklouse wrote:

I did not mention It.

You've been watching too much Fawlty Towers....

Northwind

Was good in my office... In the last place they made a really big corporate deal out of it so everyone pretty much did the silence, but you could see most people were thinking about their shopping lists, some folks were being silent but texting, s**t like that. Just thought, do it right or don't do it, don't diminish what it means by paying it lip service. But the new place just let people get on with it, which is right IMO... It's not respect if you're only doing it because everyone else does.

OTOH after listening to Hearts fans banging on about their war memorial and Macrae's Batallion all week I was pretty surprised to see they didn't stop their training session. Fannies.

TheNorthernTrain

We observed it in our office but one guy, poor lad, had been so busy and so engrossed in his work, completely lost track of time, and when it was really quiet, didn't think about it and blurted out "Can you hear that? This silence is amazing"

It saddens me that there are people around who couldn't give a s**t about those who had sacrificed their lives for the safety of our country, and, more recently, those who have been killed in conflict, perhaps not defending our country but who have been prepared to die regardless. I also see it as a sign of respect for those who are willing to go out there and fight, whether it's to defend "queen and country" or in some far flung land...

I have the utmost respect for those guys, cos I sure as hell couldn't do it.

Pudseyp

paul.skibum

It's a big deal in Canada but not on Sunday - they have a bank holiday on the 11th and big services everywhere. I went to one at the local ice hockey rink - they covered the floor and had vets and local cadets and so on parade, band playing and service - I am not into the church service bit and the rest of it too much but it was nice to see so many people observing the silence and attending the event esp with their kids.

bails87

We stopped at work, got a communal area in the office, someone read the 'we will remember them' thing and then there was a gun fired (somewhere else in town, not in the office!) to mark the start and end of it.
I was surprised at some older people waltzing through a room with everyone standing silently with their heads down shouting "ay, what's going on here then". :roll:

Likewise on Sunday, I was at home, but just took 2 minutes to stop what I was doing.

sheepsteeth

i didnt go to a parade on sunday but i did watch the parade at the cenotaph, i have to confess i got a bit of a lump in my throat when i saw the young kids sporting their dead parents medals.

dabbleonabike

Went to the local war memorial on sunday in our local park, had a nice ride then bobbed up to pay my repects. They had some of those little wooden crosses with hand written messages on them, some touching words from friends and family.
+1 on the lump in throat.

Stood in the workshop last thursday n had a silence, not really owt to tell. Its a thoughtful thing to do but you cant, or i personally cant, really comprehend the horror of losing a loved one in such brutal circumstances. All we can do is remember them.

projectsome

Yes,

The fire alarm sounds to signal the start and end of it. Although some cheesewand decided to start talking after 20 seconds. Boss was well angry... As was the rest of us.

RevellRider

We observed the 2 minute silence in work, left the phones off the hook and had a sign on the door informing customers of the fact.

What annoyed me happened a couple of days before. We had a teenage girl in the shop, she asked when Poppy Day was, to which I replied with "The 11th." she came back with a classic. "Oh yeah, that's the day when all them people died!" One of my colleagues who is a former Rock Ape looked like he was going to slap her,

ddraver

Rememberence is the 5th of May here so i'm ashamed to admit it sailed by me completely. Apart from a few people asking what the poppies on BBC were all about there was nt anything.