Yes I remember that, I believe a Late kick off Sunday game, in October very cold and there were those three girls wearing very short tartan skirts (or was it very big tartan handkerchiefs)
I just asked a question and did not want to start an argument. My view is that if it is important to you then observe the silence. If it isn't then observe the silence out of courtesy to others. Its a minute out of your day.
I thought it was well observed but then again the chap two along from me makes Harpo Marx seem like Stephen Fry,so not much to compare with in my part of The Rookery.
It seemed to me that the shouting I could hear appeared to come from outside the stadium, presumably by people who would not have known what was going on inside.
Seeing your username - the UGT was absolutely teeming with Norwegians yesterday; you could spot them by their identical newly bought Watford scarves. Bloody vikings.
Yep. Sounded like quite a bit of it was late arrivals in the away end. Probably other areas as well. There were a couple of usual idiots as well of course.
I'm not sure the introductory 'ode to remembrance' read out at the beginning of the silence, did exclude anybody: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. It is an extract from a poem, written by Lawrence Binyon, which is several verses long and which, admittedly, does make it clear it refers to dead English (not even British) soldiers. However, the extract is entirely neutral as it stands. Binyon was English and wrote it 102 years ago about English dead, as he was free to do. Britain lost over 700,000 men in that war and this horrendous figure was considerably less than casualties for other participants, such as Germany, France, India, Canada, New Zealand and so on and so on. I understand that including the dead of other nations is considered to be a part of remembrance services these days. I also am led to believe that Germans are well aware of their country's roles in both World Wars and I would think they would not be 'embarassed' by an English ceremony on English soil, which is minimal in length and conducted with decorum. I think (and I write as a man very from being a pacifist) that we would do well to remember for eternity the damage war can do.
Yes but once the game kicked off two of them went on the touchlines with their flags and left the other one to run up and down the pitch!
Yes, but that's irrelevant. I was arguing about 3 words As regards Germany's role, there were atrocity stories about Germany's invasion of Belgium in WW1, but I've never seen evidence to verify them. I think British and German squaddies' experience of WW1 were pretty similar
Disgraceful how few men in yesterday's crowd removed their hat during yesterday's minute's remembrance. One shudders to think what kind of upbringing these people have had
The sort of upbringing that put them on the path of watching football and not Rugby or Tennis, anyone for croquet?
You have heard of the British Empire, I suppose? The colonies contributed a lot of troops in both World Wars
Of course, but Mr Lizard is rightly objecting to the point that Britain suffered "considerably less casualties" than other participants in WW1, such as "India, Canada, New Zealand" that was made in an earlier post.
I haven't checked the stats, but it's possible that they incurred higher casualties as a proportion of those on active service. (I'm not necessarily saying that I missed the point in that earlier post, even if I did!)
I don’t get your point? One of the aims of remembrance is to acknowledge the sacrifice made by soldiers in pursuit of freedom. We’ve inherited that freedom; be grateful. Rememberence covers all conflict, including recent. The Germans don’t commemorate remembrance the same way as us and don’t have war graves in the same way. They wouldn’t have been offended.
Must be a right inconvenience for you. You’ll be grateful you didn’t have to do 26 ramp ceremonies in 6 months in Afghanistan many of whom were for kids under 23.
And to add if anybody else was inconvenienced or irritated by the premature remembrance, each time you drive down or past Tom Sawyer Way, remember he was an army Captain and WFC season ticket holder who was killed in 2009.
Bit harsh - the officials did nothing wrong yesterday tbf! Not that they had a lot to do. I remember the club got some real stick a few seasons back for not having a Minutes silence because it was 2 weeks before Remembrance Day so naturally they were going to make sure we did one this time.
They're understated compared to many British and Commonwealth sites but there are plenty of cemeteries for Germany's war dead across Europe and Africa
I didn't say it was an inconvenience. I said it was a bit weird. I'm not going to hijack a football thread by debating it further though. Happy to elsewhere, though as I'm very pro-Remembrance Sunday and the traditional poppy appeal I doubt there's much to disagree on.
In WW1, unlike WW2, freedom wasn't threatened and the two shouldn't be equated. WW1 was a straightforward battle for power, prestige and colonies, in which ordinary people on both sides were caught up in the initial jingoism and paid the price later. OK, Germany started the war but the ordinary Joachim didn't. WW2 was different, and the (West) Germans were freed by the outcome as well as everybody else on this side of the Iron Curtain
"Our freedom" can apply to Germans as well, for they were released from Nazi rule and allowed to elect a democratic government in a system that still stands today. Yes I know Remembrance Sunday is on the day WW1 finished but applies to soldiers lost in all wars.
Boringly, getting back to the football match which this thread supposedly should be about, here's some post-match comments from Gracia over his contract talks. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...Javi-Gracia-just-Vicarage-Road-long-haul.html
The freedom of people was threatened in WW1 as well. France as well as other invaded countries were democratically elected and Id imagine werent too keen being ruled by a German military junta/monarchy.
Coming from the person who takes up the most forum real estate with endless, pointless, verbose and petty arguments