Here They Fell

Today will be hard.

I agree it is a long day for reflection.

I read the article you link and I like the simple idea. Plain can be good, too. Good luck with that.

I'm glad you read the other article, Lannie. I think plainspoken is sometimes more effective than big and loud.

I am afraid this is also a *me too* post. Your previous article makes a lot of sense and I applaud the sentiment behind it.

Yes honour the dead but concentrate on the living.

(Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. )

Hi Nicola!

Is there any kind of national, shared, tragedy in the UK that is "memorialized" like 9/11 every year?

If so, is there a monument or some kind of other iconic representation of the dead or the living?

We have an Annual Remembrance Day for those who have fallen in war /active service. The focus of this is the Annual Remembrance Service held at the Cenotaph in Whitehall London.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/remembrance/history/cenotaph.shtml

There is also a celebration (usually televised) from the Royal Albert Hall) held by the
Royal British Legion.

"The Royal British Legion is the UK's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served and are currently serving in the Armed Forces, and their dependants. Currently, nearly 10.5 million people are eligible for our support and we receive thousands of calls for help every year.

The Legion was founded in 1921 as a voice for the ex-Service community and over 450,000 members continue to ensure that this voice does not go unheard. Although the needs of ex-Service people have changed over the years, we are still there to safeguard their welfare, interests and memory. British service people are in action around the world every day of the year. They know that if they need our support - now or in the future - the Legion is always on active duty for them. "

Legion Values

* Reflection - Through Remembrance of past sacrifice in the cause of freedom
* Hope - By remembering the past, a younger generation has the chance of a better future
* Comradeship - Through shared experience and mutual support
* Selflessness - By putting others first
* Service - To those in need and in support of the whole community

FROM http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/

We have nothing that equates to 9/11 - although the London Bombings have the potential to develop in a similar vein.

One recent possible exception is the death of one person - Princess Diana. Her death continues to be commemorated publically every year. There are countless statues, gardens and of course the ill fated water feature. Infamous for its bland design and its teething problems and the fact it had to shut down for a year a couple of months after opening!

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,767005,00.html

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,767259,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3866863.stm

(Tongue in cheek here). The Brits are a wonderful nation - we also like to celebrate NEAR misses.

One of our annual celebrations is November 5th - Guy Fawkes Night - Bonfire Night , where we celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot.

http://www.bbc.net.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/gunpowder_robinson_01.shtml

What a great message, Nicola, thanks! I love the Gunpowder Plot!

Those links are great! I learned many cool things.

I think you're right about Diana. She seems to ring the same kind of deep mourning that is resonated in the 9/11 losses. It's a pain larger than a community and grander than an individual.

I agree with one of your links concerning the "stone moat" memorial to Princess Diana being "mediocre" -- and, I might add, ABSOLUTELY UGLY! It dishonors her instead of celebrating the beauty she brought to life.

The "stone moat" is grey, it is bland, it is dull - it is almost artificial/un-natrual to soem extent.

It should have been a statue /fountain and pool. Her in the centre with children around.

Fountains reach up to the skies - they energize - they pull your emotion into the water and draw it up and release. They are charged, they envigorate - they are cathartic.

I, too, love fountains. They celebrate the hopes of humanity!

A moat? Of stone? Water dead in the ground? Jinkers, what were they thinking?!

It is on a slight rise and it is pumped around ......... the idea was so that people could cool their feet and children could paddle .......... then of course they forgot H&S implications - cut feet, athletes feet and other infections - which breed in slow flowing water ! ( TWITS ! ) - and that is without considering the "energy" or lack of it - or the fact that leaves fall in autumn !

Oh, why don't they just rip it all out of the ground and start all over again? What a mess!

Because they would have to admit they were wrong - very publically ?

And of course they would need funding after having used it all up ?

Very similar to the Millenium Dome ........ doesen't bode well for the Olympics.

I guess there's no cure for bad taste, eh, Nicola? Especially where there's pride and national momentum at stake.

RIP. A moment of silence for all the fallen.

Well said, trench, thanks.