I'd
wrapped up well though, with numerous layers as I'm usually frozen standing at
outdoor services.
I
have memories of being a Brownie and then a Guide on parade, wearing as many
jumpers as would fit underneath my uniform so I probably resembled the Michelin
man, as it was always bitterly cold on Remembrance Sunday. But walking down the road at the back of the
parade this year I actually felt warm.
I
was pleased to see that the Parish Church was packed again. The Silver Band played the hymns - including
'I Vow To Thee My Country' which is a personal favourite and I sang along with
gusto.
Last
year there was a lone butterfly which floated above the heads of the
congregation while the Vicar gave her sermon.
To me this seemed highly symbolic, and represented the fragility of
life. There was no butterfly this year,
just the late-Autumn sunshine bathing us in its welcoming glow.
The
service after at the War Memorial was quite rightly sombre; there was the laying of the wreaths, followed
by the two minutes' silence which was only briefly punctuated by a distant
ice-cream van playing its tune - further testament to the mildness of the
temperature.
Thank
goodness no mobile phones went off here - I watched the service from Cenotaph
earlier that morning and I'm sure I heard a phone ringing while the wreaths
were being laid.
It's
a shame people can't unplug themselves from their phones for just a few
minutes. If for some reason they can't
switch it off completely, surely they could at least make sure it's on silent?
It's
one of my pet hates that people don't switch their phones off during Church
services. There's nothing worse than
when during a quiet moment of reflection somebody's mobile goes off (I'm now
picturing Dom Joly yelling 'I'm in a Church!').
Please
remember to silence your phones - nobody wants to hear a ringtone at a funeral,
especially something like Disco Inferno at the Crematorium!
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