poppies

[eddiemairswife]

Just noticed poppies have started flowering on TV. I wonder if people who have a little brooch actually donate each year.

I have several brooch type poppies but I'll always stick money in the tin.

I find the ones with clips that you can attached to your bag the best as you don't always have the same coat - or even one at all.

Those that reflect light are good for dogs , too
Looked out for some just now.
I lose lots of paper poppies every year that just fall off.
Years ago they were fabric on wire with a black centre according to an old family member

I fundraise for the RBL at London Poppy Day each year - every year the public are fantastic and every year the "professional fundraiser, never served in their lives" types at the RBL go out of their way to make the volunteers' lives more difficult...

It's a symbol of remembrance for lives lost in the world wars. It's not a badge proving you've made your charity donation.

Some people make a donation to RBL or other charities each year & some don't

WW2 Veterans are vanishingly rare now- He must be in his mid Nineties?

There used to be a lovely older lady who sold Poppies for decades in a Cathedral entrance, she too stopped in her Nineties.

Sadly there are still injured and bereaved Service Families - War is something that seems to be in the human psyche - despite all the grief and pain it causes.

Was sitting on a park bench a year or so ago, and noticed a polished plaque on it- Looked at the age, and thought ''That's young...''

I googled the name, and it was a memorial to a young Serviceman who was killed in Afghanistan.

No mention of his Service on the bench, just his Civilian name- maybe out of fear of vandalism.

But the dates tally.

Incredibly sad.

Because they use Stonewall resources in their work to support veterans who were sacked for being gay (or had to live in the closet throughout their Service careers).

The ban of homosexuality in the British armed forces wasn't lifted until 2000.

@BeachHutsAndDeckchairs
@EggnogAnd

Of course it matters.

I have checked my facts; RBL were previously members of the Stonewall scheme (that fact has now been removed from their website) and they do pay a very large salary to a head of 'diversity and inclusion', including this person previously.

These are facts, not feelings.

I wear a magnetic poppy (I never pin anything to my clothes) and over the years have also bought, from the RBL, earrings, pendants and bracelets. I will still put a fiver in the collection pot at work - just won’t take a paper poppy. DH wears the same pin every year - he too will drop a fiver or tenner in the pot at the station.

Yes as I understand it Dyer has gone, but regardless of who is in lost now I think most organisations these days employ somebody in D&I as a arse covering exercise as much as anything.

TBH I’m highly suspicious about some of the brown stuff stirring that is/has been going on over this issue, including some folks slipping back into using the present tense in discussions, despite the latest coming out of the RBL in the last day or two

There is no doubt in my mind there are some who don’t like what they think the RBL stands for or what they think the poppy symbolizes.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity is a major part of any well run business or charity. It refers to everybody, be it colour, religion, gender. The military has may people.if different faiths, colours and genders, and yes gay people have always been part of our military, it's imperative that the RBL includes everybody in their assistance. Having somebody who makes sure this is done is actually part of what the charity commission demand. Also wages and admin costs are taken from memberships and NOT from the poppy appeal. Women now have the same rights in the military, a DEI coordinater makes sure that is possible.

I'm struggling to understand why people.are believing the bt being spouted by a reform MP and the idiots at GB news and not checking what The British Legion are doing. All the info is on their social media. Please ladies, stop believing the shit stirrers.

Some people will find any justification for not suporting charities - usually guff about salaries. Of course it's up to each person but I don't need to hear why. Charities are tightly regulated now. They need to be run properly and I don't have a problem with that. I'd rather organisations like RBL exist than not.

I don't get my opinions from 'a reform MP and the idiots at GB news'. I simply refuse to support organisations that support Stonewall's policies and spend money on 'diversity and inclusion' that seeks to eradicate diversity of thought, excludes those of us who believe in reality, and supports men larping as women.

I read the evidence myself on Twitter. The RBL person was quite nasty (probably a young Troon) and they are back tracking now following the backlash.

RBL has always been "inclusive". Why do we now have to include the "T" ? My grandfather would be horrified.

Because the military is progressive. We nolonger live in the era of your grandfather. Our serving military are diverse. They now have their own DEI staff so having DEI for everybody is necessary for RBL.
I'm not surprised RBL.are more than a bit peeved, they have done amazing work for so many years yet now are being questioned about some rubbish from GBNews which quite simply isn't true.

I don't wear a poppy and I don't donate to the British Legion. (I will observe the two-minute silence if I notice the time.) The poppy madness in this country is the most absurd thing. Like when they emblazon a poppy on the front of a bus.

Well if the RBL is so 'progressive' why did they delete the page on their website showing they did donate to Stonewall when this all kicked off? Why did they remove the offensive progress flag poppy from their website for a while?
Even if they are no longer members of Stonewall why would they do that? Are they embarrassed to be connected to such a 'progressive' charity now?

(I found out about all this from following a number of lesbians and gay men on X, none of whom are Reform MPs nor work at GB News, who were all very unimpressed with the behaviour of the person running the RBL X account).

I have a lot of poppy jewellery and a crystal poppy brooch I wear each year for the Remembrance Sunday parade in the city. But I do donate to the RBL every year too, as I acknowledge that I'm no longer needing a traditional poppy, so they are missing out on my donation. My DH is an ex serviceman, he buys poppies every year, even though we have a stash of them!

There are plenty of left wing people who find the fauxgress poppy distasteful.
The poppy became a signal because of the poppies which grew over the bodies of those killed in the war.
They grew over all the fallen German, British, French. Regardless of sexuality or assumed identity.
It was and is a universal symbol. Identity politics did not need to be brought into this.
This is nothing but virtue signalling by an organisation which has been captured by poorly educated graduates who never learnt critical thinking and are too frightened of X and other SM to act like adults.

Given that the Royal British Legion do sponsorship deals with weapons manufacturers who make devices that deliberately target civilians, I think there are better charities to support while remembering and honouring the victims of war and warmongering.

The are actively advertising jobs for diversity and inclusion!

uk.indeed.com/cmp/Royal-British-Legion/salaries/Diversity-and-Inclusion-Manager

I read somewhere that making paper poppies gives employment to ex-service people so I always buy paper poppies.

Edit to say: I hate the performance wearing of poppies on TV. Pinning them on all the Strictly dance outfits seems utterly bizarre.

@Gaspode13 just to let you know your screenshot is a bit identifying.