Ilminster

We are staying with old, and more recent friends, in a place near Ilminster for a few days. It's near where I was last week for the funeral of my cousin's husband. My wife didn't go to the funeral so we will call in on my cousin whilst we're here. The drive down was uneventful other than the lack of The Guardian  newspaper in any of the service stations we looked in at. Either The Guardian is in great demand in this part of the world or there's not much call for it. As I pre-pay and didn't want to waste my Tuesday voucher, I drove into Ilminster after we'd unpacked. It was dark, I hadn't been there before and I thought it was going to be a fruitless quest, when I chanced upon a Co-op and they had one Guardian left. Not that I've had a chance to read it yet! I came across what I guess must once have been a leading shop in Ilminster. It was difficult to work out what it's function was now as one window appeared to be displaying costumes and the other a poppy themed remembrance tableau (see extra). Interestingly there's an article in today's Guardian about how wearing a poppy, that used to be confined just to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day itself, is now expected, certainly of public figures, for a week or more beforehand.