Remembrance
A single herring gull weaves under an October sky, crying plaintively for the seaside. It is the only sound that registers in the minute that follows the bugler's final note. He has played "The Last Post" as perfectly as you will ever hear it. And now there's only silence and a single gull. The air is still. Below the seabird, 24,459 people stand in respectful silence. We are thinking of the brave men and a few women who never came home from war. They were members of our families. Now just names, blurry black and white photographs and tarnished war medals. But we still honour them, giving thanks in remembrance. It is the least that we can do. And maybe we are also half-thinking of the world today, the conflicts in progress, the uncertainty of the future. Having just finished that Beatles book, I realise that John Lennon's simple request, "Give Peace A Chance" has never been given a chance. At exactly two minutes to three, the referee blows his whistle ...
