Remember the Day

Last year we had a very low key Remembrance Sunday, due to lockdown, and I was hoping we might be back to normal for this year. Sadly not. The service around the memorial was again very short and simple with only a few Army/RBL personnel in attendance. Thanks to the sunny morning though, there was a good crowd of onlookers all respectfully observing the two minutes silence at 11am.
My picture is of Mrs C looking at the various wreaths that had been laid during the morning. We were on our way back home at that point, but noticed as we passed the Town Hall that various dignitaries were milling around and Highgate had been closed to traffic. It looked like we were going to get a parade after all, and thus it proved to be as the sound of drums heralded the arrival of a mixed column of Cadets, Scouts, veterans and assorted other organisations. I’m assuming that, for social distancing reasons, they didn’t want to march them up to the Memorial for the service (it would definitely have been very crowded in Market Place) but, equally, didn’t want to deny them the opportunity to pay their respects by parading. Whatever, it seemed a reasonable compromise and rounded off a fine morning of Remembrance. Let’s hope that next year we can return to normal with a full muster around the Memorial.
The afternoon was Panto rehearsal, though it was a little bitty due to absences - Cinderella was working and one of the Ugly Sisters has Covid - meaning several scenes had to be skipped. We are definitely up against it this year in terms of limited rehearsal time and I suspect we might have to squeeze in some extra ones in December if we are to knock this production into shape. But I’m sure it will come good in the end - I’ve been doing pantomime for 27 years and we’ve always had something to present to our audiences on opening night. Though it must be said that some shows were quite different by the end of the run!