Property firm’s poppy support
Bosses at a Renfrewshire property agency are doing their bit to back the Poppy Appeal.
Adverts featuring homes for sale and let have been cleared from the windows of Penny Lane’s branches, including one in Renfrew’s High Street, for all of November.
Instead, they have been replaced with a poppy image and the‘Lest we Forget’ slogan.
Samantha Strain, of Penny Lane Homes, said:“During the month of November, we completely block out the windows. We take all of our property advertising away and put up a simple picture of a poppy.
“It’s a mark of respect.”
The company,also collects cash in the branch for Poppyscotland.
Samantha added:“Last year we did it and we had a few people come in and say,‘I like what you’ve done’.”
Staff at Penny Lane, which also has branches in Paisley and Johnstone, have also purchased wreaths for cenotaphs in Renfrew and Paisley.
Poppyscotland provides support to current and former service personnel and their families.
Services to honour those who served in times of conflict are set to make a return as coronavirus restrictions ease.
Remembrance Sunday ceremonies will make a comeback for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with parades and services scheduled to take place in towns and villages throughout the area.
They will get underway from 9.45am on Sunday, with a two-minute silence at 11am - marking the moment in 1918 when the First World War finally ended.
Services will take place in Renfrewshire on Sunday, beginning with Elderslie at 9.45am and followed by Houston at 10am.
Events get under way at 10.45am in Kilbarchan, Renfrew, Paisley, Lochwinnoch, Howwood and Johnstone, while Bridge of Weir residents can attend their local service at 3pm.
Renfrewshire Council has also commissioned an updated version of the Renfrewshire Reflects film, released after coronavirus scuppered Remembrance events in 2020, for those who cannot attend in person.
The video, featuring representatives from communities across Renfrewshire and focusing on the importance of Remembrance, will premiere on the council’s social media channels to tie in with the national two-minute silence on Sunday and will be available on the council website and Youtube channel immediately after.
Landmarks across Renfrewshire have also been bathed in red light to mark Poppyscotland’s Light Up Red campaign, as the organisation celebrates 100 years of the Poppy as the national symbol of Remembrance.
For more information, visit: /www. renfrewshire.gov.uk/Remembrance2021 In Neilston, the Neilston War Memorial Association will meet at Neilston Parish Church, Broadlie Road, at 11.45am for a parade to the war memorial and a service of Remembrance and wreath laying at 12pm.
In Barrhead, the United Services Club will lead a parade from Paisley Road at 2pm to reach Cowan Park for a service and wreath laying at the war memorial from 2.30pm.
Members of the public and community groups wishing to lay a wreath are asked to do so out with the official ceremony to help ensure the number of people within the Cenotaph area is kept within permitted limits.