Lest We Forget

We promised them glory. We offered them the world. We said they'd be heroes. Did we forget to mention they they might be dead heroes?

Hello internet, it's been a while I know.

A lot has happened since I last posted on here. I have moved back home with my parents, I have moved away from music college to an ordinary university, I rejoined old choirs, I've joined new choirs, I've passed my driving test, I've acquired a car, and I'm altogether a much happier person.

It is that time of the year again, that day that gets me every time. November 11th. Armistice Day. 

This morning I paraded to the cenotaph with my church choir, the local cadet force, members of the british legion, brownies, rainbows, guides, and the majority of my village. We respected the 2 minutes silence, we layed our wreaths, and then we paraded back up the church for a service. It is so moving to see a usually bare church packed with people sharing one common cause. We prayed for things that sometime seem impossible - peace across the world, something that at times seems like an impossible idea…

There will be no peace:
till attitudes change; 
till self-interest is seen as part of common interest; 
till old wrongs, old scores, old mistakes 
are deleted from the account; 
till the aim becomes co-operation and mutual benefit 
rather than revenge or seizing maximum personal or group gain; 
till justice and equality before the law 
become the basis of government; 
till basic freedoms exist; 
till leaders - political, religious, educational - and the police and media 
wholeheartedly embrace the concepts of justice, equality, freedom, tolerance, and reconciliation as a basis for renewal; 
till parents teach their children new ways to think about people.
There will be no peace: 
till enemies become fellow human beings. 

David Roberts 
22 July 1999

A teacher in the book "The History Boys" by Alan Bennett suggests that carving names on stone is a way not to remember but to forget. Perhaps to forget the grief, the heartache and pain, the loss and desolation. A guilt free way to shove terrible events to the back of your mind. I disagree. The act of carving names into stone for all to see means that now, almost 100 years on, we can still know the names of the people who died fighting for us in WW1, we can still personally pray for those people, and thank them for doing what they did so that we could have better lives today. Why would you want to forget that?

My Grandparents were all involved in World War II. My Granddad's were both soldiers, one of my Granny's was an ambulance driver, the other was a nurse. Today I remembered them, and thanked them, with all the other people who served our country,for giving their lives, for giving their tomorrows for our today, and i prayed that they rest in peace.

"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
to children ardent for some desperate glory,
the old lie; Dulce et Decorum set
Pro Patria Mori"
Wilfred Owen
translates to "It is Sweet and Glorious to die for ones country".

'Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the mornings hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there. I did not die.'

Mary Elizabeth Frye

"They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the Sun and in the morning, we will remember them." 

Robert Laurence Binyon

"When you go home, tell them of us and say,

for your tomorrow we gave our today."

Lest We Forget.

Things to be glad for

1. I don't know if I could get arrested for saying this, but I didn't go to the cinema to watch the recent release of Les Miserables, instead I watched it on the internet, and I am very glad that I did this. My reasoning is simple, having watched it in my bedroom, I became suddenly very aware that I knew all the words, pretty much to the whole film, and I have one of THE LOUDEST VOICES when I sing. If I had gone to the cinema to watch this, there would be a room full of very annoyed people by the end.

2. I've started to learn my scales THANK GOD, starting to think I might actually pass my technical woo.

3. I joined Traditional Music Ensemble, and it's a lot of fun!

4. Today I changed my bed, and my sheets are so soft, and clean, and floral smelling, and it's made me very happy.

5. I ordered chinese last night, but I've recently lost quite a substantial amount of weight (my complete accident I might add), and so there was more than half of it left by the time I finished eating yesterday, and so I reheated it today and ate some more of it - 2 meals for the price of one!

6. I finally cracked on with some of my academic work today, and there's now a chance I might finish it in time. 

7. Scented candles. They make everything seem better.

So, this list of things to be glad for should ease the negativity of the following rant.

WHAT IS WITH THIS WEATHER?

It's been snowing on and off for nearly 48 hours now. The roads are dangerous, the pavements are dangerous, everything is slippery, and it takes me twice as long to get anywhere. And sorry to state the obvious, but its also really fucking cold.

The first time I see snow every Winter, I get very over excited, like a kid at Christmas, and I really don't know why, because once I get outside I realise I actually really hate it. It disrupts life for everybody - for some people it stops them from getting to and from important places, or trains stop running, and buses stop running, and cars shouldn't be on roads, and for the rest - they use it as an excuse for a day off. Yesterday we received a text from college saying one of the buildings was shut, then five minutes later we were told it was now open, and then there were s many messages about what was going on with the canteen that no one knew what was happening. AND THEN, I had to attend a very pointless Performance Class that our accompanist couldn't make, so I had to listen to unaccompanied violin sonatas for and hour and a half. So now I am sat in bed, eating day old chinese, staring at my half finished work, watching Christmas films, and wondering what is life? And to make matters worse, I turn twenty in just under a fortnight. I think I'm having a mid life crisis.

Another slight annoyance is that my Dad's birthday was this week, and I obviously couldn't be there as I live in Wales and he doesn't, and I am very busy, so I sent him a hilarious card from Moonpig, and then asked my Mum to get him something nice from me. So my little brother rings me on Sunday night, and he tells me that they bought my Dad ear hair trimmers from me. EAR HAIR TRIMMERS. There is no chance at all that this is what I would have got my Dad for his birthday. NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER. 'Something nice'... chyeah.

There's only one thing that can cheer me up right now...

brb, hibernation.

New years resolution...

Happy New Year Everybody!
I don't know what you all did last night, but I had a very interesting night with my favourite people in the world...

A game of truth or dare that got very extreme. This morning I am very very hungover, to the point where I wouldn't mind dying for a few hours... And I'm going to the pub later...

So I returned to little Lincolnshire to spend Christmas and new Year with my family, and I'll be returning to Cardiff tomorrow. It's been a while since I've ventured this far North, and a few things have changed.

1) I inexplicably don't have a job anymore - I literally don't actually know why I'm suddenly unemployed, but it's making enjoying myself pretty difficult, and it's made everything else exceedingly mundane. I find myself trying to find a reason (any reason!) to leave the house, and that normally results in going to the pub, and that has resulted in ending up with absolutely no money whatsoever... I lose.

2) I am now very, very good, at The Sims Bustin' Out. I've had a lot of free time...

3) I got to know a few more people from my area, people I've seen around but never spoke to, and it's been really good.

4) My hamster and my dogs are really really good friends.

I've done very very little work this holiday, I've actually been abysmal, and I've spent far too much time impersonating Beyonce, alone in my bedroom. Things will have to change once I return. But for today, I think I'll just stay in bed, and mope about the fact that I've not done any work, nurse my hangover, drink coffee, and eat bacon.

I'm interested to hear what people's New Years Resolutions are? Mine include not biting my fingernails (lol), writing in here more often, buying less clothes, and putting £1 in a piggy bank everyday of the year in an attempt to save some money.

Enjoy your hangovers, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Peace Out xo