Armistice Day

[julesjones]

I didn't make it to the Sunday service at the village cenotaph this year, for a variety of reasons. My place of work does observe the two minutes silence on the eleventh, as far as it is able. Unfortunately this year the phone started ringing in my particular office just as the signal mortar was fired on the roof of the town hall to mark the start of the silence, and kept on ringing almost until the second signal mortar. I rather wish the nearest person had just picked it up and told whoever it was to phone back at 11:02, but we didn't actually expect someone to persist for two minutes before hanging up.

It was surprisingly disturbing to not be able to observe the silence properly in contemplation. I think I would have been less perturbed if I'd made it to the cenotaph service, but even if I had, it would have felt odd. I've become used to being able to observe the silence on the right day in company.