Remembrance Sunday

Today is Remembrance Sunday: the day that people remember Britain's war dead. The Queen laid a wreath of red poppies at the Cenotaph memorial in the middle of Whitehall Street as Princes Philip, Charles and William looked on. The prime minister and other members of the government also laid wreaths. British veterans of conflicts from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan marched past the Cenotaph.

This year's Remembrance Sunday seems all the more poignant as it's falling just two days before the 90th anniversary of the World War I armistice. The Great War is more of a living presence in Britain, France, Belgium and Germany (and other countries) than it is in the United States. There are war memorials in every town and people turn out for these remembrance events. The British media, among others, have been running special WWI commemorative pieces in print, online and on the air. For weeks now Britons have been sporting red paper poppies on their jackets and coats, showing their support of British service people past and present. It's de rigueur that all TV presenters and personalities wear the poppy while on the air. And truth be told, I've been wearing one, too.

It's been a cold, rainy weekend for the most part. The streets and sidewalks (pavements) are covered with fallen leaves from the plane trees and every time we go in or out of the front door of our building leaves seem to blow into the hallway. Autumn is definitely here. The plane tree outside the flat is practically denuded.

We played host this weekend to an old friend from the Netherlands. M and John first worked together nearly twenty years ago and have been friends ever since. She was in England for a job interview and crashed on our settee last night. We had a good time strolling around Primrose Hill and Camden Town showing M the sights. It was great fun to talk about old times and future hopes.

Later in the day John and I went to the movies to see Oliver Stone's W. Josh Brolin gives an impressive performance as George W. Bush, and the supporting cast are all equally strong. Stone puts Bush on the analyst's couch, so to speak, and we find that he's been trying to live up to his father's expectations all his life. How many people are dead because W has been working out his demons in the White House? The movie's subject matter was maddening, but would have been worse if the outcome of last week's election had been different. To George Bush I say: good riddance to bad rubbish!