I was up very early and in London before sunrise today.  I went to London Bridge and walked over the famous bridge which I have walked over so many times.

Destination was the Tower of London which is just out of view of this picture, on the left hand side before Tower Bridge. I arrived at the tower just before 7am and it was peaceful and quiet. First view of the poppies!  Wow! For blog readers who may not be in the UK or have heard about the poppies at the Tower of London, this is an art installation called ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’.  The poppies have been “planted” over the last 2 – 3 months and the last will be placed tomorrow on 11/11/14 to coincide with the beginning of the First World War, 100 years ago.  Each poppy represents a British soldier who died during that war.  888,246 British lives lost. The ceramic poppies have all been sold and millions of pounds raised for various armed forces charities. En masse they were incredibly effective. The very recently added memorials to individuals made me feel very emotional.   It helped make it real and served as a reminder of all those people who died then and who have died since.
It was quiet and peaceful enough at this early hour to be able to think privately about what it all means.  I personally dislike any loss of life through war, whatever side you fight on and wish disputes could be resolved peacefully before anyone dies.  I felt sad for everyone who lost their life and their families.  As someone who has enjoyed so many holidays in Europe, I find it incomprehensible that 100 years ago today we were on the eve of fighting each other.  But we were, we did and now we remember them. I think this bit is very effective. It is where the river of blood begins.

I don’t know of anyone in my family who has died in battle or anyone in photos such as these.  But seeing their young faces and thinking about what they possibly experienced with the numbers of their deaths so visually expressed by this wave of poppies was very powerful.  To think each poppy represented a person like this young man who died at Ypres and for each person who died, there was the devastation for the friends and families they left behind. I was relieved I was able to walk away and experience another sunrise, unlike those who are represented by the poppies.  Alongside the sadness I felt for those who died, I was also in awe at the genius of the artists who created this incredible installation.  Powerful stuff. After all that I had a day of work to get through!

A small pot of mixed fruits with a latte for breakfast. A mixed salad from Wholefoods for lunch which was really tasty.1 slice of bread and butter
with home made ribollita soup for supper.  I made it yesterday and was pleased I did because it was nutritious and delicious. Slimming World Totals for 10/11/2014 – not bad

Today’s diary 10th November 2014