If you were pressure-washing your car...

[somelemons]

...on Remembrance Sunday, and you looked up and saw all your neighbours in the entire street standing outside their houses observing the two-minute silence at 11am, would you:

A - stop what you are doing and join in?

B - stop what you are doing, out of respect for your neighbours, and go indoors for a few minutes, and carry on washing your car later?

C - carry on blasting away at your alloy wheels and ruining the silence for everyone?

Guess what my neighbour did this morning?

I’ve been on Mumsnet, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and had the TV on today and didn’t realise it was Remembrance Sunday until I opened this post. Been self-isolating since 9th March so my perception of time is really, really off. To be fair, I probably would have stopped using a pressure washer if my entire street was stood outside but now I’ve realised I was playing music and dancing around vacuuming at 11am. Absolutely harm or disrespect meant but my neighbours could be thinking the same about me.

I saw no point in going to my doorstep. I can only see one neighbour there anyway.
Normally I'd be in my scouting uniform at parade at my local church. But since I haven't been able to wear scouting uniform since March and church services are banned, standing to mark the sacrifices made to keep us a free country feels like a hollow gesture at present. A free country where children are banned from social contact beyond their household and class. A free country where children are banned from playing soort outside of a PE lesson or lunchtime.

I'm more likely to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day later in the week as it is more normal for me to pause in my daily actions and have the radio on in the background.

The wonderful thing about being a free country is the freedom not to conform. The freedom to disagree. The freedom to brazen out to continue to clean your car at an awkward moment. I've travelled around military states where people fear to hold an opinion. We really, really do not want that kind of attitude in the UK.

I hear a pressure washer 3 houses away. It’s not that he didn’t participate, it’s that he actively made very loud noise when there was absolutely no rush. The car wouldn’t have melted if he didn’t continue to squeeze the handle for two minutes. You don’t even need to turn the machine off. You literally just don’t squeeze the handle and the machine only hums softly.

Is blasting music ok? Actively revving a motorcycle? How about chainsaw and cutting your trees?

I think people on here just love to argue.

I think people on here just love to argue

I think people on here just like to out-do each other with how virtuous they are.

@user1493494961

Ignore the twatty responses Op.

I am

@MintyMabel

Ironically, a couple of walkers came round the corner and into the street, saw us all, and they stood and joined in, so thank you to them.

Strange definition of irony there. Also strange to have walkers come in to a quiet cul-de-sac.

Not strange when a public footpath joins into it at the far end.

@LightDrizzle

Surely these things only have meaning if they are truly voluntary? Otherwise it’s like the hours of applause for Stalin’s speeches; sustained by the knowledge that if you were identified as stopping before the others you and your family would suffer the consequences. It’s Little Britain at its worst. Your community remembrance is nice, until it becomes a stick to beat others with.

I’ve had to have a word with myself a few time this year about Remembrance Sunday and poppies. I’m aware that a minority of muppets are affecting my feelings about something unjustly; people posting pictures of soldiers kneeling with assault weapons across one knee and the legend “this is how real men give the knee” - (I assume they don’t have Isis fighters or Republican paramilitaries in mind when they share this) - in response to Black Lives Matter for example. I’m starting to get the same reaction to ardent poppy posters that I have to the George Cross in windows. It’s awful. I do feel there is a risk of the poppy and Remembrance Sunday being appropriated by dim bigots. We need the official Poppy appeal and British Legion to really take a lead in this. Doubtless it was inadvertent and decided a long time ago but I found the “Every poppy counts” choice for the tagline to this year’s appeal unfortunately evocative of “All lives matter.”

I was wondering if anybody would say this, I feel the same way. It's straying into the realms of virtue signalling.

“ I think people on here just like to out-do each other with how virtuous they are.”

Yup, there you are.

We did the standing outside our front door this morning at 11am. I hope people weren't thinking we were virtue signalling. For the last 10 years we have been involved with the local parade as DS is in Scouts. This year, obviously, this did not happen so we stood outside

Disrespectful.
Even if he did not want to take part he should have been decent enough to stop making a noise. Some people are very self absorbed. Can't believe some on here think it is okay to not mark the occasion. Also, it was all over the news/airwaves etc. Why do they think the OP has suddenly invented a new reason for 2 minute silence?

I never understand threads like this. Why didn't someone, maybe you OP as you are clearly annoyed about it, have done the adult thing and walked up and asked him if he minded pausing whilst you all did the 2 min silence.

And not everyone knows about this so it probably didn't occur to him what you were all doing.

Also MintyMabel what is wrong with OP's use of term 'ironic'? It is ironic that someone outside the community is more respectful than a neighbour. Also sad.

I'm pretty sure all those soldiers didn't die so we could stand on our doorsteps judging everyone

I really dislike all this "doorstep" nonsense. Doorstep clapping. Sauce-pan banging. Dancing. Singing. Now a doorstep "silence" and at Christmas, doorstep "sleigh bells".

All it seems to do is bring out the neighbourhood busy-bodies who seem to have nothing better to do than comment on everyone else's choices. Our local Facebook has been full of "certain people on X road didn't bother" or "it's really nice to see that certain roads have made an effort". It's just a way of passing judgment and making yourself feel better.

The two minutes silence isn't obligatory. It's not law. If you want to observe it, great, but don't look down your noses at people who choose differently to you.

@willloman

Disrespectful. Even if he did not want to take part he should have been decent enough to stop making a noise. Some people are very self absorbed. Can't believe some on here think it is okay to not mark the occasion. Also, it was all over the news/airwaves etc. Why do they think the OP has suddenly invented a new reason for 2 minute silence?

Why is it up to you to dictate how other people behave? If you want to commemorate it, great. But it's not your business what others choose to do.

I don’t think we live in the same road, but my neighbour was doing the same thing.

He’s a selfish, self-centred arsehole who doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

Of course he should have stopped. Ignorant git.

And of course there shouldn't be a law that says he has to. But it's a bit like not making a din outside a religious service, or not bellowing into your phone on public transport or a myriad of other things. It's just having some respect and consideration for other people.

Not being a selfish twat, if you will.

Not strange when a public footpath joins into it at the far end.

Of course it does.

But it's a bit like not making a din outside a religious service

But entirely ok for that religious service to make a din with all the bells and that. Oh and for the participants to block local roads with crap parking. All fine, as long as people tiptoe past.

It's just having some respect and consideration for other people

You mean consideration for people who are doing the things that you believe are correct, following your rules, right?

Well there was nothing on my Road whatsapp group about this silence.

I read that people would be stood outside for this, this year. I went out but I was the only one

Vanillaandhoney
Expressing my disgust at someone's behaviour is not quite the same as dictating is it? Unless there are some soldiers lurking around waiting to do my bidding somewhere I haven't noticed...
And Minty you are surely old enough to grasp that manners and consideration come most into use when one is in disagreement - they are what make society civil, surely?

We had a "not a service" around the war memorial.

Quite well attended considering it wasn't advertised at all.

@MintyMabel

Not strange when a public footpath joins into it at the far end.

Of course it does.

Yes it does, as it happens. Our road is a dead end - the houses at the end of the road back on to open countryside, and a footpath leads between two of them and down to the river, where you can walk along the path into the next village.

Would you like me to PM you my postcode so you can check on Google Earth for yourself?

@Hmmph

I don’t think we live in the same road, but my neighbour was doing the same thing.

He’s a selfish, self-centred arsehole who doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

There's a lot of it about.

The wonderful thing about being a free country is the freedom not to conform. The freedom to disagree. The freedom to brazen out to continue to clean your car at an awkward moment. I've travelled around military states where people fear to hold an opinion. We really, really do not want that kind of attitude in the UK.

Quite. The way to honour those who died is not blind obedience, tattling on your neighbour for non-conformity and totalitarianism.