Yes, belittles. Dilutes why remembrance day is the 11th November, not about the job of the forces.

i wear one for about a week beforehand - "to spread the message", its not only about my remembrance but encouraging others too

Oh so it's the DATE we remember?   Not the cause and organisations to which all donations from poppy sales are gratefully received.  Glad you cleared that up.  

Are you deliberately twisting what I am saying, or are you trully not understanding?
Do you know why remembrance day is 11th November?
If you are wearing your poppy for weeks on end it is like saying 'I'm not sure when the day is, but if I wear my poppy for several weeks then I'll probably not miss it.

Thus a diluting of the focus on what the forces have done and are doing for us.

I'm sorry if you still don't grasp my point, all I am saying is it belittles  the meaning of remembrance day(IMO) not belittling of the work of the forces.

This was posted on Youtube on 11 November last year. Its creator posted this comment:
"For Mr Harry Patch, and every one of the millions of others I owe my life to for their sacrifice.

I could say so much more, but it would not be enough.

Includes photographs and footage from every year of WWI, from beginning, & the Christmas truce, to the Armistice signing, with images of celebration"

My Great Uncle was shot and killed during the Christmas Truce and another was shot down and was brain damaged and spent the rest of his life in Erskine Hospital.

Erskine Hospital is on the south bank of the river Clyde, west of Glasgow and looks after injured and permanently disabled forces personnel.

Jon Snow has been involved in controversy about poppies.
This is the Daily Telegraph's version:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cul...ppy-fascism-row.html


and this is the Daily Mail:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...render.html?ITO=1490


and this is the BBC:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6134906.stm

I read all that last week on the Ian Collins page on FB.

I agree with Jon Snow....he's not said he doesn't wear one, only that he'll wear his on Remembrance Sunday and not before...it is after all a Remembrance Day poppy not a Remembrance month....If people are going to get pissy about how people not wearing them for ages beforehand then they amy as well wear them all year round, though this would dilute the point of them completely....a bit like Christmas decorations being put up in November.

Incidentally at our local Morrisons today the collectors were all dressed up in wartime regalia, there were soldiers, sailors, air raid wardens, ladies in full 40's dresses...it was great and they seemed to be taking loads of money!

Personal choice: I will wear one on 11/11 and on Remembrance Sunday. And I have bought this friendship bracelet to give to one of my closest friends who works with injured soldiers

I wear my poppy with pride, usually about a week before the 11tH, I have gone to the cenotaph every year for as long as I can remember,for the day I buy two poppy's pull them to bits, put them back together as one spread the leaves, hey presto designer poppy.hope it gets noticed and encourages others to buy.

When I was a ward sister, I always made sure that we observed the two minute silence on Remembrance day. The whole ward would come to a standstill as nurses and patients stood ( or lay) in respectful silence.

Not much but I think the older patients in particular appreciated it.

We have a small war memorial in the centre of my village and on 11/11 at 11a.m. locals, including several elderly ex servicemen, gather around for a few words and then the silence...it bloody infuriates me that the traffic, (which is not considerable,) can't just stop for those few minutes 

Last year my sister-in-law was in Asda and she told me the hole shop froze for the two minute silence.apart from one or two small children.

Who wrote this cos I can't find it only in quotes?......FWIW Graham Norton is from English stock, yes he was born here but his family are English so most probably fought in the wars....a lot of Irish men went off to war in the name of the Irish guards but secretly they were putting their lives on the line to be trained to use guns and ammunitiins to come back to Ireland and fight the British who were destroying a great country....

When I was a child I remember that the traffic DID stop for the silence on Remembrance Day. I found that quite emotional.

I think buses still stop...i know i've seen them pull over to the side of the road round here

an excellent post 
I'm not British, but there are many reasons why I buy bucket loads of poppies each year, whenever I see them being sold.

stonks, I posted the original Graham Norton posting, the part now remaining in quotes is the first half. I then deleted it as I was wrong to post it as although I tried to make it a neutral comment, I clearly failed. I have apologised and explained to various people. I don't want the Graham Norton topic to continue as it will merely detract from the purpose of this thread.

I made the mistake of using articles on Wikipedia which are in part wrong. Your comment on Graham Norton being of English stock is not mentioned in the Wiki article on him. This is a link to that article. You may wish to contact Wiki to get them to amend their article.

The comment on Ireland being a neutral country also came from Wiki. This is a link to their list of neutral countries

The second part of the deleted posting referred to the Irish National Day of Commemoration held to commemorate all Irish men and women who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations. This is a link to that Wiki article

Awww sorry El, I was'nt having a rant just thought why people think Irish people would'nt wear them..we still have lads that go and join the english army, the only thing is we have to go to the British Legion website to buy poppies or donate, I'd rather gove to a charity close to home....

stonks, no need to apologise. By the way I re-edited my posting to which you were responding before I saw your reply 2 minutes ago. I was doing my re-edit at the same time as your reply so you wouldn't have seen my re-edit.

The perils of this being a forum rather than live chat

Well stop re're're editing....

But I probably hold the record for the most re-edited post on this forum. I reckon I re-edited my opening post on the Elections Manifesto thread back in April at least 14 times, so I just can't stop re-editing. I may need therapy

I always wear a poppy - both on the 11th and on the Sunday when the Rememberance services are held.  The importance of this date was instilled in to me by both my grandfathers when I was a small child, and I couldn't imagine not paying my respects.

I'd recommend anyone who can't be bothered to observe the silence to visit this place. Read some of the inscriptions on the graves for a little dose of reality, a lesson in counting your blessings, and perhaps to refocus on the word 'respect'.  Cannon fodder as far as the eye can see, a very large proportion of which was under twenty years of age  Boys were men in those days, who unquestioningly did their duty in order to allow people like us complete freedom to discuss semantics in a place like this.