I think it's a lovely gesture

I always buy and wear a poppy, in memory of those who have given their lives in past and current conflicts.

I donate - but I don't wear a poppy.

Speaking of poppies, I haven't seen anyone selling them yet. I need to buy one

I don't go out of my way to buy one,just in passing I usually do.I don't usually wear it.

I always buy one, for the same reason as Yogi But I have to admit I don't always wear it.

I'd never thought of that Brisket

I usually get one for the car and one for me. I know a lot of people are getting a tad hungup about the atrocities carried out by a small percentage of our servicemen but in general I think the British Legion is a good cause. Most of the men and women are doing a job and we should support them whether we agree with the conflict or not.

I buy about 10 million cos I keep losing the flipping things

I always buy a poppy but generally only wear it on Remembrance Sunday, in case I lose it. I accept that people wear them for days either side, but I think that the policy of all broadcasters wearing them for weeks beforehand makes the wearing of them seem less significant.

Back in 2003 when Jonathan Ross was making Film 2003, as he was making several episodes, he intended to wear one for the episode around Remembrance Sunday and take it off for other episodes. It was discovered after he finished work on the Remembrance Sunday one that he had forgotton to put the poppoy back on. So the BBC digitally placed a poppy on his jacket.

I was brought up by my dad to spend a little of my spending money on a poppy when it was that time of year when I was child.I have always bought poppies. Now, we always buy a wooden cross with a poppy on as well. This is for our grandson who is 8, and he writes a message on it. We then take it to his great grandfathers grave,  who was a Royal Marine, and was at Dunkirk, and he saw the most appalling things that we can't even imagine. We have taken him on rememberance Sunday since he was 4. Apart from keeping his great grandads memory alive, we have also told him bits about the war and what rememberance Sunday and the Haigh appeal is all about, and how important it is for todays soldiers.

El Loro - fascinating about the Jonathan Ross Poppy. How very ...er.... finicky.


sezit - a lovely post. A touching thing to do, - and true meaningful remembrance.

*Agrees*

I know what you mean, though, in the past if the Newsreaders etc DON'T wear them beforehand they have been criticised..damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Personally, I buy a few each year as I lose them...my Dad taught us the significance and respect  of wearing a Poppy from a very young age, we always went to the Remembrance Day Parades, so, I wouldn't feel right if I didn't wear one...

good post brisket.

Thanks lainy.
I love the changing poppy pictures.

I think, what frustrates me, is when guests on tv programmes wear them. This week, on Strictly It takes Two all the guests are wearing them, and you can't help feeling that they are handed them just as they are going to go on air, and not with any thought of remembrance, more as an enforced duty, which doesn't seem right.

Apart from the fact you seem to be prejudging a situation (rather like Harry and Paul in the self righteous brothers!!) .......... The idea of Ireland being neutral is a bit of a grey area, at least for it's subjects. My father-in-law came here purely to fight facism and saw action all over Europe. He received his medals with the king's head on 'em, and we still remember him and his mates by wearing poppies.

I wear my poppy with pride for about a week before and not after the 11th, its a small act and yet carries such significance, we need to remember all services from the "distant" past to more recent conflicts

That's what I feel too Jenny.

I have often thought it is a BBC thing rather than a personal thing.

The BBC are walking on eggshells. Just imagine the brouhaha within the press if someone on the Beeb wasn't wearing a poppy. Murdoch is desperate to get his hands on the Beeb and up the price. Almost anything will do nowadays.

GJ, my apolgies to you and anyone else for my post on Graham Norton - I tried to make it a neutral comment as I did not want to upset anybody. But I have now deleted it.

Ya daft buggah!!!111  I wasn't offended by your post

Actually you'll find that a lot of Irish men served in the British armies during both ww and still serve to this day.

I try and get a white poppy.

Margaret Thatcher expressed a loathing for them which is good enough for me.

It's a personal choice because not everyone supports the same causes. We all have distant family who were probably involved in WW1 but how we remember that is a personal thing. My great grandad died in WW1 and his daughter, my nana refused to wear a poppy. She died in the 80s and NEVER wore one. She had her reasons and it's a bit like me now with these wrist bands. My mate whos husband is in Afghanistan tried to make me wear a Help for Heroes band. I don't need to wear a band to show I support the cause. I did buy one because I know they rely on donations (don't get me started on that either with the benefit scroungers in this country) but I have it in my jewellery box. 

My dad died just over 5 months ago and we donated all the donations from his funeral and wake to the Legion. He was in the army in Germany in the 70s and the Legion were so thankful they sent us flowers and a card. That cost them money they don't have so we made another donation. I think Help for Heroes is great but it caters for recent soldiers not the old ones. My money will always go to the Legion because I think we forget what those men who originally fought and died for sometimes.

Have I gone on enough?

I always wear a poppy, paper or not, its what it symbolises. I am very proud to wear one and the money is very much appreciated by the young and old who fought and fight for us now.

I always buy several poppy's and wear one, as I was bought up that way, also at time of wearing it
I think how life would have been if my dad hadn't died in world war 2, I don 't remember him, as I was only 4, but I know that poppy day, helped my mum,

Me too, its this health and safety nonsense now...they dont have pins anymore , just incase we stab ourselves  I always have two at home, one on my mums photo and one on my dads

Pinched your pic Brisket, was trying to get the single poppy, but not worked , hope you dont mind

I notice that amongst all the awkwardness of the show, Pamela explaining certain things, Lee Mack making fun of all, and Lord Sugar looking like a spare thing at a wedding, that his Norton-ness wore one anyway.

Of course not Skylark.   My pleasure. 
Here's the single poppy (if you're still interested.)

It's nothing to do with Ireland being a Neutral Country and all to do with the Founders of our State denying the fact that Irish men fought with the same army that colonsied us.  Nationalist see the Poppy as the emblem of the enemy but deny the fact that thousands of Irish men perished wearing British Army uniforms.  Wages were sent home but the families could never tell that their son/husband had signed up for fear of reprisals.   
Graham Norton will do what he has to to keep his job and some here would say he'd do it anyway because he kicks with the other foot and I don't mean his sexuality.

What skylark said

That's been my argument for years. I even went so far as E-mailing the BBC about it one year. The answer I received was some trite nonsense about how 'they (The BBC) make poppies available to their staff, but that the wearing of them was up to each individual as to when they started wearing them.'
I then asked did they trully expect me to believe that ALL presenters and ALL guests independently decided to start wearing poppies at EXACTLY the same time?

I don't remember getting a reply to that one,

Sorry to bring tone of this thread down but had to confess i read the title as popples  and thougt of these guys lol

anyone who served in the forces for at least seven days can access help from the RBL (and their dependents) not necessarily in "action" , i always donate to the RBL and to the more recent help for heroes - it is not fair to distinguish between the two

For the record:- I always make a donation each year, but I use the same poppy for several years running....and only wear it on November 11th - remembrance day. I would also wear it if I went to a remembrance Sunday service.
Wearing a poppy for weeks on end, to me, belittles it's meaning.

Belittles it's meaning?  Watch the news footage from RAF Lyneham/Wootten Bassett. That's not weeks on end. It's every week - lest we forget.