Apathy is not good - Wear your poppy with pride

Today is Remembrance Sunday, when the nation commemorates the sacrifices made by Britain's war dead.

Over the last few days I have carried out a very simple straw poll of people's attitude towards Remembrance Sunday and also towards The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal:

• Number of people I have spoken to who watched Panorama last Monday- a topical programme about what our troops are currently doing in Afghanistan: None
• Number of my work colleagues observed to have been wearing a poppy last week: Less than one in seven
• Number of people that I know personally (outside of my family), who have today participated in any formal act of remembrance: Three

One observation I have would be that the likelihood of participation in any act of remembrance appears, among the general population, to increase with the distance you live from a major city centre.

Remembrance Sunday is not about glorifying war. It is about commemorating those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of our country. You may not agree with war, you may not agree with some of the things our armed services are currently being asked to do, but please do remember all of those who have not come back and who may yet not come back.

Many of those who do come back have (and will) bear terrible scars. Some of those scars are all too obvious to see, while many are not.

All of these people and their families need active support to help them through their difficulties.

Please wear your poppy with pride and do as much as you can to support those who suffer in the name of your country.

Later:

I was pleased to see a one minute silence at Vicarage Road (Saracens -v- Glasgow Warriors). You could have heard a pin drop as the seven thousand strong crowd stood and paid their respects.