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I am a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher. But whatever happens in my life, I keep sewing. I have worked as a political communicator and now as a teacher in my formal life. I have also written extensively on sewing. I have been a frequent contributor and contributing editor of Threads magazine and the Australian magazine Dressmaking with Stitches. My book Sew.. the garment-making book of knowledge was published in May 2018 and is available for pre-order from Amazon
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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Remembrance day

I have mixed feelings about this day of memories of war. In Canada we call it Remembrance day which is about those who fell rather than veterans in general like in the U.S.

I have so much trouble with all the young men who have died for causes now forgotten, but they need remembering.

They were someone's child, that's what I keep thinking.

Here is a picture of my maternal grandfather and three of his brothers who went off to WWI. Another brother, the one who didn't want to join up, was killed and not in this picture, my grandfather is second from the left looking at the picture.




My strongest memory of war occurred in a fabric store.

It was a long time ago and I was standing at the table waiting for something to be cut. They had a radio running in the background and interrupted the music to say that Bagdad had been bombed.

I remember an older woman, a quilter by the looks of her fabrics, picking up her bolts and slamming them onto the cutting table:

"Stupid men," she said. "It's going to be the women and children who suffer most."

Last week at my granddaughter's school they showed this music video by the Ennis sisters from St. John's Newfoundland.

This says it all.




6 comments:

Marie-Noƫlle said...

I live in the North of France. I visited several military cemeteries on the former battle fields of La Somme. And each time it was a very moving moment.

Marianne said...

Beautiful video. Thank you for posting. I hope we will all learn one day that war is not an answer to anything. Some will say it is sometimes necessary, maybe that is true, I don't know.

I was raised by a parent damaged by the 2nd World War. The consequences of war are felt for decades after the war is over.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Barb.
November is a difficult month for me too.
Still reading and laughing with you but today it's crying.

Donna E

Vicki said...

We observe the 11/11 as remembrance day here in Australia too. Perhaps a Commonwealth thing?

Leslie said...

Thank you for posting the link to that video. I've now had my Remembrance Day cry.

BarbaraShowell said...

I am a cold-war veteran, the daughter and sister of two career veterans and the sister of another shorter term vet in the US. I don't remember all the hoop-di-la in the past on this holiday, I'm pretty sure as I was growing up it was for our battle-fallen as well. I am not anti-military by any means and would not consider myself unpatriotic, but the pro-militant environment here makes me more and more uncomfortable. I enjoyed seeing everyone's military pictures on facebook today, but wish it were still a somber holiday here too.