Poppy seeds handed out to mark WW1 anniversary in Swansea
9 replies, posted
[quote][t]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74799000/jpg/_74799145_poppies_pa.jpg[/t]
More than 35kg of free poppy seeds have been handed out across Swansea as the city prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of World War One.
It is hoped the flowers will bloom by 4 August, the date war was declared.
Swansea council has given the seeds to residents, community groups and schools to remember the soldiers who died between 1914 and 1918.
The authority has also planted poppies near the cenotaph on the seafront and outside the Civic Centre and Guildhall.
Its Armed Forces champion June Burtonshaw, said: "The planting of these seeds will lead to many thousands of poppies flowering across Swansea later this summer.
"The scheme won't just add colour to the city - it will also encourage people to reflect and remember all the local heroes who gave their lives about a century ago so that our ancestors and current generations could enjoy the freedom that many of us nowadays take for granted.
"As a council, it's important we set an example in terms of events to mark the centenary of World War One, and the interest in the free poppy seed scheme speaks volumes for its popularity and relevance."[/quote]
[url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-27373831]BBC[/url]
Trying to find a witty way to link poppy, opium and morphine and the abundant use of it during WW1 together, but can't do it
I was just thinking if these were Papaver somniferum, I'd probably take some seeds home and cultivate them for making opium.
You know... out of uh, respect and in memory of the dead...
Oh calm your boxes. :v:
[QUOTE=Magman77;44800862]I was just thinking if these were Papaver somniferum, I'd probably take some seeds home and cultivate them for making opium.
You know... out of uh, respect and in memory of the dead...[/QUOTE]
It's red poppies, which grew in surprising abundance in the trenches, unlike most other plants.
They also look like gunshot wounds.
You could [I][url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Papaver_somniferum_flowers.jpg]almost[/url][/I] mistake the red variant of P.somniferum for a red poppy.
We have poppy seeds on some kinds of our bread and also commonly use them as pastry filling.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/RDO7l83.jpg[/IMG]
I understand the symbolism but it still feels so bizarre that something so mundane here carries so much symbolism elsewhere.
[QUOTE=PatrickT;44800832]Trying to find a witty way to link poppy, opium and morphine and the abundant use of it during WW1 together, but can't do it[/QUOTE]
Swansea allegedly has somewhat of a heroin problem, if that helps your case.
Man, 100 years.
Think about this: if you were to take every flower in that picture, even the ones far in the background, you still wouldn't be anywhere near 1 flower for every 10 dead, let alone 1 for 1. You probably wouldn't even reach 1 per 100 dead.
[QUOTE=Magman77;44800862]I was just thinking if these were Papaver somniferum, I'd probably take some seeds home and cultivate them for making opium.
You know... out of uh, respect and in memory of the dead...
Oh calm your boxes. :v:[/QUOTE]
Don't worry man, they're boxes full of poppy seeds. :v:
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;44801525]We have poppy seeds on some kinds of our bread and also commonly use them as pastry filling.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/RDO7l83.jpg[/IMG]
I understand the symbolism but it still feels so bizarre that something so mundane here carries so much symbolism elsewhere.[/QUOTE]
It's largely because of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields]a rather famous poem[/url] by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCrae]a Canadian officer[/url] that was written during the war.
mmmm, i hope it's opium poppies
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