That said, due to work, I was able to attend silence in the square. This is a two minute silence in Trafalgar Square to mark the two minute silence on the 11th November. It was done absolutely perfectly; sombre without being mawkish, respectful, dignified and avoiding cloying sentimentality. During the silence, all the traffic lights round the square were turned to red bringing traffic to a halt. We had volunteers with placards explaining why. I noticed many drivers getting out of their cars and observing the silence too. Even the busses turned off their engines. Being in Trafalgar Square when it was completely still was an odd feeling but there was a real sense of community too. It's one of the few times I have seen people in central London smile and greet complete strangers and I have to say I enjoyed it.
The silence itself was surrounded by musical acts and readings, most of which were excellent too. Included in their number were two orange people from Strictly Come Dancing, the young chap from Downtown Abbey (much to my mother and girlfriend's jealousy), a young soprano who was excellent given she was only 15 and the singing soldiers. Overall I think the whole event captured the British spirit by being dignified and respectful without being over the top and hand-wringing.
Sadly the whole event was marred slightly by me getting a little too close to the disturbances on Whitehall. I later found out this was caused by the EDL staging a counter protest to the planned Muslims Against Crusades protest which, eventually, didn't happen. Unfortunately this didn't stop the EDL spoiling for a fight. They were overwhelmingly outnumbered by police officers yet they still kicked off. To their credit, the police did an excellent job of containing them and not responding to the deliberate and determined attempts by the EDL to rile them. The saddest part of it all was that the protesters decided to invade and protest in a pub that the veterans go to for a pint after the silence. To me this was totally unnecessary. If they really felt the need to protest then why there? I have heard stories of old comrades seeing each other only once a year at the silence then having a drink and catching up. Why would anyone choose to disrupt that? Thuggery disguising itself as political protest is worrying. Not only does it devalue the political system but it means these morons are all the more pervasive. Let's return to the good old days where the thugs concentrated on football leaving the rest of us to it!
Something similarly distressing although not as dramatic happened on Saturday night. Was out with a drink with the girlfriend and some of her mates. Was talking about work a bit when the friends revealed they didn't have a clue what remembrance day was all about. I can understand not knowing the details but not having a rough idea is shocking not least because they were both British, educated in a good (and expensive) British school and now living here. Something has gone wrong somewhere.
On Sunday, my faith in people was restored. I was at the dog show in Earl's Court and at 11, we were discreetly and politely asked to observe the silence. Everybody did without hesitation or complaint. This went a long way to bolstering my faith not only in the decency of our population but also that we are not, individually and nationally, so self-involved that we forget those that have gone before us and their sacrifices to give us the country we have today.
JR
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