Corbyn at the Cenotaph and lays a wreath.

I think that calling it a 'festival' seems a bit insulting, too, with its celebratory connotations. I can't 'celebrate' the fact that millions of men, women and children have been needlessly killed in the service of man's most ignoble institution, War. Many, many of them may have been heroic and worthy of praise, but they were victims of the ambitions of their 'rulers' and I mourn them as such.

However, 'concert', 'festival', it's just semantics.

And a Priest

Is calling it a “festival” An insult then?

Nothing wrong with calling a “festival” which involves music and poems etc a concert. Would an orchestral production of Faurés Requiem be deemed a concert? Answer: yes even though it mourns a death. A concert is not necessarily frivolous.

concert definition: 1. a performance of music by one or more musicians or singers

It was not a concert , to call it so is, in my opinion , insulting to
those attending and the dead being remembered

I think anything which involves Leona Lewis and Lee Mead has to be regarded as a concert.

Yes it was a concert, albeit one with a solemn message. Were the parents of the lad outraged by anyone’s attendance or not? We should be told. I’m sure they attended to show their solidarity with others and to remember their son not to parade their grief in front of anyone in particular.

Pantglas there was a mother and father attending whose 21 year old son had been killed.

Very elderly and young members of the Armed Forces remembering dead comrades .

I very much doubt they thought they were at a concert.

Opal and Firecracker, this thread was started in response to Opal’sabout Corbyn’s non attendance at the Festival of Remembrance, so its timing is linked to the timing of yours, Opal and if it is propaganda, Firecracker, then so was Opal’s. They cancel each other out.

GGMK3 "A day when the guns fell silent. That could be a hint."
And yet you start a political thread on the same day. "Do as I say, not as I do" springs to mind.

I agree Anniebach- why would people trivialise it. If it’s important enough for the Queen to show her respect for the event at her age then it sums it up surely?

The Festival of Remembrance is not a concert

Surely the thread title is propaganda.

lemongrove that's one of the quirks, and joys of Gransnet - anyone could be anything in RL and we might never know.

I did find that rather strange, though, would never have suspected that! .

Ginny42 I agree with you, it doesn't matter who wore what
( they all looked fine) or if a Wreath was laid the wrong way round.

Grandad43.....that’s amazing, I didn’t realise that you held that high position ( Chief Whip for the Conservative Party outside the HOC) it is great stuff....really!?

Opal, you really cannot justify your continued idea that the concert the night before was the event we all consider to be the time that mattered for paying respect. Did Johnson attend Strictly Come Dancing? They paid their respects beautifully - why didn't he attend. And what about each each and every service up and down the country? Surely he has learned to be in more than one place at a time by now - never mind the distance he would have to travel.

Your attempts to propagandise our feelings have failed. We remember the service and sacrifice of those who fought to protect us in the same as we always have and neither you or anyone else can weaponised those feelings in the service of your political view. It is quite disgusting.

Today is Armistice day. A day when the guns fell silent. That could be a hint.

Sad times for the country that we have come to this.

Honestly - Corbyn’s knowledge of U.K. geography is so poor such ridiculous sneering for the sake of it. The guy can’t sneeze properly without causing “outrage”. Talk of being up up yourself.

trisher "Opal don't know where you live but even a rudimentary knowledge of UK geography will tell you that the journey from London to Yorkshire takes much longer than London to Derbyshire"

Why is it that some of the posters on here are so far up their own a* that they have to resort to sarcastic insinuations about other posters' intelligence? I'm well aware of UK geography thank you, in fact I'm very confident that my geography is probably better than yours. I'm also very confident that one can visit Yorkshire during the day and be in London by the evening, as I've done it myself. Shame Corbyn's knowledge of UK geography is so poor ....... or maybe he just couldn't be bothered......

Depressingly familiar stuff as Callistemon says. I saw Corbyn bow his head and he was respectful. People are seeking to make cheap jibes to denigrate him.

That said, I was more impressed by the march-past at the Cenotaph with the row after row of smart service men and women. They never forget how to march do they? When those old soldiers rose from their wheelchairs to walk past the Cenotaph in homage to their fallen comrades, it didn't matter one jot to me what else happened, who wore what, or whether a wreath was laid upside down.

Not a fan of Jo Swinson, but she looked very smart.

It’s on uTube

I couldn't agree with you more Callistemon.

Didn't Jo Swinson do anything wrong? Maybe her heels were too high or something?