Anyone Marking VE Day On Friday?

[BrandyandBabycham]

Apologies if there is an existing thread for this. We haven’t planned anything but DH saw a programme somewhere that you can follow, including afternoon tea in the garden & a singalong of “ We’ll Meet Again”. Is anyone celebrating?

@bellinisurge there were still death camps in the Far East until VJ Day. I'll mark that.

Good! I have no problem with that at all. If you look at my previous posts you will see that I think that VJ day should be given equal or greater recognition than VE day.

No, we marked ANZAC Day last month. We don't do anything for VE Day.

"MrsAvocet* your dad sounds like a wonderful principled man. That's the sort of chap this country needs more of!

My DH is currently very grumpy with me as I don't want to join in with today's jollifications. He comes from a gung ho forces-joining family ( although none have been involved in any wars) and doesn't understand my position at all. I'm just being a spoilsport! Anyway, I have messaged my German friend and might make some scones. But that's because I like scones!

For those who've talked about how VE Day wasn't the end of the war, The Reunion on Radio 4 at 9 o'clock this morning, is a repeat of a 2015 episode where Sue MacGregor talked to former Far East POWs. Should be interesting.

Lots of people in the UK seem to still be really hung up on the war. It makes me feel really uncomfortable if I’m honest, it’s fading from living memory now, time to let it go.

I will be.

We will be, but just because DH & DS are involved in scouting and their troops are doing an online "thing" and doing the VE Day badge

Katie Hopkins
@KTHopkins
·
1h
The best day in Britain is 75 years behind us.

Oh, to have lived in those times, amongst those great men & women who fought for their country and won.

I fear we have failed those who fought for what we fritter away.

Everyday.

We have never been less free

I think she'd have been on the other side though.

Our street will be doing a socially distanced VE Day street party in our own front gardens. We live in a cul-de-sac so quite easy to do.

Oh yes I hate this whipping up of nasty frothing ugly nationalism and pointless flag waving and point scoring with divisions against our closest neighbours. It's really distasteful and helps no-one.

Thankfully, I'm in Scotland where the SNP wouldn't stand for this... oh wait.

We've made some bunting, stuck a flag in the window and we'll have pork pies crisps and Prosecco after seeing the spitfire first over that's it !!

If anyone wants to stay indoors and still get in the VE Day mood, can I recommend a look at some VE Day (fictionalised) monologues which have been put together by friends of mine who run Greenham Common Control Tower near Newbury, Berkshire? (Site of the old American Airbase, where US airforce planes departed from to take part in D-Day in 1944. Also site of the famous women’s peace camp in the 1980s, but that’s a different story!)

It’s really quite moving, a tribute to the ordinary people who kept the home fires burning during the war. It talks about their experiences and hopes and fears for the future. Was supposed to be performed as part of a play and exhibition at Greenham Common Control Tower this week, but had to go online because of lockdown.

www.greenhamtower.org.uk/eight-on-the-8th-2/

*The best day in Britain’ god that woman is flipping inarticulate isn’t she? Thick as shit.

Haha, I thought you were referring to someone posting on here for a minute Minty then I realised you were talking about the delightful Katie Hopkins!

Katie Hopkins would have been agreeing with the pre-war Daily Mail when it was urging us to turn away Jewish refugees and would have been a big fan of Oswald Mosley, as would many of the current crop of flag waving jingoists.

Katie Hopkins said on Twitter:
Oh, to have lived in those times, amongst those great men & women who fought for their country and won.

I think quite a few of us would be happy if Katie Hopkins had lived in the past where she would have got zero publicity. She wouldn't have numbered amongst the great and the good though.

Lots of people in the UK seem to still be really hung up on the war. It makes me feel really uncomfortable if I’m honest, it’s fading from living memory now, time to let it go.
Its not time to let it go because that is how mistakes get repeated.
It's not just Britain, there is a special holiday for VE Day in Berlin but they've had to cancel their celebrations, there was a ceremony in Paris this morning and, again, celebrations got cancelled. No doubt there was plenty more planned across Europe.

The holidays in Berlin and Paris were different.
Not this fake flag waving nostalgia.

This sums it up for me. www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/war/world-war-2-is-our-star-wars-say-boomers-20200508196224

@FlamingoAndJohn Love the link

As I said upthread, we are regularly told, especially on MN, that we must never forget Britain's colonial past, our part in the slave trade, various atrocities going back 100s of years and we must be reminded as often as possible. But when it's something positive, meaningful and important we must shut up.

But when it's something positive, meaningful and important we must shut up

I think it depends how it's done.

It's kind of ironic that some of the people who will be having street parties to celebrate freedom will be the same people who will criticise and demonise people in today's society fleeing vicious regimes.

I think it's sad that's how you characterise everyone who sees this as an important time in our history that should be marked in order to remember and avoid any repeat

I do agree GhostlyGlow. It was poorly implemented and done too late so people who had made plans for the bank holiday had to change them

WTF are you talking about? it was announced well over a year (if not 2 years) ago.

I don't know if it is because I work in a European role with many German contacts. I was quite embarrassed explaining to a German contact why we don't have a bank holiday until later this week.

Well it's a holiday in Germany today too so not sure why you had to explain!

I think it's sad that's how you characterise everyone who sees this as an important time in our history that should be marked in order to remember and avoid any repeat

Did you see the word 'some' in that statement?

I think it's really depressing that we have learnt fuck all from what happened and we see the very same papers who are talking about VE day doing exactly the same thing about our freedoms now.

Especially the freedom of the courts. And the independence of the courts.

And the demonisation of minority groups and villification of anyone who dares disagree with them. Promoting divisiveness.