Poppy Planting

I may have mentioned before (a few times!) that I love poppies. Last Friday I volunteered to plant some poppies at the Tower of London. This is part of Britain's commemoration of the centenary of the start of WW1. Each ceramic poppy is handmade, brought to the Tower in boxes, mounted onto stakes of differing lengths and planted in the moat. By Remembrance Day this year (11th November) there will be 888,246 poppies - each representing a fatality in the war. The art installation is entitled 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' which is a line from a poem by an unknown author.

  

The poppies tumble out of a window and flow around the moat in swathes. The sight is tragic and beautiful at the same time.

 

 

I was lucky that the weather was dry, bright and not too breezy and was able to see the artist Paul Cummins who thought up the idea. I enjoyed the assembling and planting so much that before I knew it my 4 hours were over.

 

 

If you are in London and haven't visited the installation yet , I urge you to do so. It is truly awesome and you don't even need to buy a ticket to see it.

 

 

From 12th November onwards the poppies will be removed, washed and sold with proceeds going to 6 service charities. I have already placed my order...