A last salute for the pride of the British Legion
Last summer’s ‘ mutiny of the Poppy Day ladies’ (Mail) has had a poignant sequel. On saturday, January 14, a funeral service at the City of London crematorium was attended by 20 Royal British Legion standard bearers.
the Legion anthem was played and two hymns, Jerusalem and Eternal Father, were sung, with a reading and an address.
But this was no ordinary ceremony: it was the funeral of 42 standards, which belonged to branches or county groups of the Legion. they were folded, blessed in church and entrusted by their bearers to the furnace: this was an exercise in ceremonial.
these standards have been proudly borne by their bearers, many of whom served in the Forces of the Crown. they had been effectively dumped.
the Board of trustees, who manage the Legion with a rod of iron, didn’t want this service to take place.
But the standard bearers of London felt a suitable service should be held. they stood firm against the powers that be, who tried to stop the ceremony. Was this right? Was this honourable?
ROGER ROUND, Heston, Middlesex.
Hockney hype
FURTHER to the David hockney exhibition at tate Britain (Mail), hockney emerged from the Royal College of art in the early sixties, alongside fellow students including Peter Blake, Peter Phillips, Patrick Caulfield, Gerald King, Derek Boshier and allen Jones, who ushered in the pop art genre.
Where hockney differed from the others was in what appeared as a determination to stand out as a ‘personality’ — with his bleached blond hair and penchant for a gold lame jacket and sneakers.
his whole degree show was bought by the dealer John Kasmin, which was unprecedented. this launched hockney on to an instant career, which has continued to this day. he’s described as a ‘genius’, but that term could be applied to several artists from an earlier generation, sir stanley spencer, Paul Nash, Rex Whistler and John Minton — often regarded as ‘the David hockney of the Fifties’ and the subject of a rather more modest exhibition at the Lightbox Gallery in Woking, surrey.
I’ve always seen hockney’s work as over-coloured, over-blown and over-exposed — so a bit like the man himself. STEVEN DAVIES, Sheffield, S. Yorks.
Shopping and changing
FOLLOWING James salmon’s article on road congestion, I can envisage a nightmare scenario where no one shops any more.
Large department stores are turned into flats where people sit in front of screens ordering goods and food. the roads will be chocka-block with delivery vans.
One false move and the country is gridlocked. Is this the future because people will not get off their backsides and go shopping?
With the demise of Woolworths and Bhs, it is beginning to happen. Will Marks & spencer, house of Fraser and John Lewis follow suit? We seem to be moving in that direction. JUNE BLAYNEY, Sutton Coldfield, W. Mids.
Diabetic breakthrough
My 18-yEaR-OLD grandson was type one diabetic, diagnosed at age four. he is now using an arm patch, which has revolutionised his life.
the constant finger pricking to monitor blood sugar level is more traumatic than insulin injections. that is the reason lots of diabetics avoid doing them regularly, especially children and young adults.
the cost of £100 per month is difficult for a family, but the results are worth it. JUDITH WORRALL, Canterbury, Kent.
What a waste!
IF THE present generation of young adults will be poorer than their parents, I think I can see why: I can’t comprehend how wasteful their generation can be.
two years ago, I sold my house, having only just replaced the bath with a shower. the buyers gutted the kitchen, throwing away a good electric cooker, installed a new bathroom and threw away the carpets.
they stayed for less than two years and then sold the house. their buyers went through the same routine. What a waste.
and if so much is wrong, why buy the house in the first place? We pensioners will be better off because we waste not. S. MACDONALD, Lymington, Hants
How to save Labour
THIS country deserves and needs a strong opposition, so I propose setting up a decoy Labour Party to keep Jeremy Corbyn occupied while someone else takes over.
Corbyn can then lead the fake party from a prefabricated hut on the outskirts of Rotherham.
all the staff could be actors paid to reassure him that things are going well, convincing him that he’s well ahead in the polls because the public has suddenly really got into Marxism.
Labour proper can then get on with electing someone at least slightly popular while Jeremy potters about writing letters of support to the Bootle Friends of Nicaragua. LORD TOBY JUG, Eccentric Party of Great Britain, St Ives, Cambs.
Speedy Tornado
THE tornado locomotive that brought back steam- hauled scheduled rail services for a few days last week (Mail) is capable of much more than 75 mph.
Engines of that class built in 1948-9 have topped 100 mph. the rebuilt engine is precluded from this by Network Rail regulations that limit it to 75 mph.
the 2009 top Gear episode that claimed ‘cars were better than trains, even in 1949’ — after a Jaguar sports car beat tornado on a London-to-Edinburgh race — was an unfair contest.
the car benefited from dual carriageways and bypasses, which didn’t exist in 1949, when it would have had to be driven through towns such as Grantham.
tornado, meanwhile, had to stop four times to take on water, costing it 25 minutes each time.
this wouldn’t have happened in 1949. the engine would have taken on water at speed, using troughs between the rails that used to exist at places such as Werrington, north of Peterborough.
PAUL CLEGHORN, Bridlington, E. Yorks.
Stereo superhero
I Was delighted to learn of a Grammy recognition for alan Blumlein, the inventor of stereo (Mail).
I worked for EMI for 17 years in the Fifties, sixties and seventies, including the time of the launch of stereo LPs in the UK. he was remembered and frequently referred to, almost to the point of reverence. and he was always referred to as a. D. Blumlein, never as alan.
COLIN HADLEY, Exeter, Devon.