Poppy Day

Could the Remembrance Day parade bring solace and consolation to two troubled hearts?

- Diane Wordsworth

For November, the weather had been particularly kind to them. Not a cloud in the sky meant a watery sun shone down on the crowds lining the streets.

There was, however, a chill in the air and Katy pushed her hands further into the pockets of her warm duffle coat. She felt sorry for the young entertainer, belting out wartime favourites, and Katy could see the singer’s breath turn to steam as it hit the cold air.

Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag didn’t immediately remind Katy of the war in Iraq, when she had lost her dad to a mortar attack in 2007. But the organisers needed to fill in more than one war on this day of remembrance, and perhaps Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne or the Kaiser Chiefs’ Ruby weren’t really suitable alternatives.

The lady singer finished with a popular Vera Lynn anthem, then was superseded by a military brass band as the parade formed.

Katy spent a few precious moments thinking about the conflict that had left her fatherless in a war many people thought was illegal. Then she recollected happier childhood times and memories of her dad that she clung to instead.

As the procession passed by, Chris saluted his old regiment. He didn’t have to, he wasn’t in uniform and he was without a cap, let alone a badge, but he saluted them anyway.

Despite the cold chill that penetrated his thick, woollen overcoat, Chris was instantly transported back to the hot, dry and dusty desert in Afghanistan. He and his friends were travelling on a pot-holed track on their way to a peacekeeping mission in one of the townships that had gratefully surrendered. Chris’s regiment was one of a number that were sending representatives.