I'm gagged!

Well the Greek phone company (OTE) has silenced me!  Still no phones or internet after the big storms hit.......and the Guv says they told him they have no idea of when we will get back on line. bet they have not paid the parts supplier!

What's more in the internet cafe the Guv went to they seemed to think it odd I wanted to write my blog !   

Lightening strike.....

Not too pleased at the moment, no phone, no internet, some power cuts and this morning no water!
The Guv said its all because lightening struck our driveway gate, so no electric gate or portable telephone intercom in the house either!

That means I can't blog cos' the man in this here cafe thinks dogs should not have computers!!!!

Oh yes I forgot, there is water.....coming in the basement !!!!!

Spare a few seconds for us...

From my previous blogs on Remembrance Day you will know  just how helpful us canines could be to you humans on the battlefields, however did you know that  3/4 million dogs and cats were "put to sleep" because of war breaking out. The government said that animals would not be able to cope with the bombing and the gases and NO house pet was allowed into a shelter. Besides the threat of bombs and gases the public were told there would not be enough food for people, never mind animals.

The Guv had the radio on the other day and I heard some humans talking....

There was one lady who said her parents beloved labrador "Jimmy" was under the same threat but they refused point blank to have him put to sleep. They even sneaked him into the shelter and Jimmy lived through the war right through to this caller's 5th birthday. 

The next caller said she would never forget their dog, they did not have him put to sleep but he was not allowed in the shelter. When the first bombing began they had to leave him in the garden .... they never saw the dog again. 

The final calls I heard were from humans who said their dogs had a 6th sense.  Their dogs would run from the street or garden and take cover under a table or the stairs, these families knew planes were nearing, hence bombs were going to be dropped and that she believed if more dogs were allowed to live less people would have been killed. 

So during your minutes silence this morning, just take one or two seconds to remember my ancestors as well

I wear mine with pride also......

click on photo to enlarge

Just minutes away from my home in Greece we have a wild, deserted beach which I am allowed to run on. The fields that adjoin the beach are often covered in wild red poppies, just as the fields of the Somme were all those years ago.......This weekend the Guv has asked me to be specially good and spend some quiet time whilst he thinks of just what these red poppies represent and mean to so many people.

1921: French Poppies Sold in America

In 1921 Madame Guérin made arrangements for the first nationwide distribution across America of poppies made in France by the American and French Childrens' League. The funds raised from this venture went directly to the League to help with rehabilitation and resettlement of the areas of France devastated by the First World War. Millions of these French-made artificial poppies were sold in America between 1920 and 1924.

5^th July 1921: Canada adopts the Flower of Remembrance

Madame Anna Guérin travelled to Canada, where she met with representatives of the Great War Veterans Association of Canada. This organization later became the Royal Canadian Legion. The Great War Veterans Association adopted the poppy as its national flower of Remembrance on 5^th July 1921.

11^th November 1921: The First British Legion Poppy Day Appeal

In 1921 Anna Guérin sent some French women to London to sell their artificial red poppies. This was the first introduction to the British people of Moina Michael's idea of the Memorial Poppy. Madame Guérin went in person to visit Field Marshal Earl Douglas Haig, founder and President of The British Legion. She persuaded him to adopt the Flanders Poppy as an emblem for The Legion. This was formalized in the autumn of 1921.

The first British Poppy Day Appeal was launched that year, in the run up to 11^th November 1921. It was the third anniversary of the Armistice to end the Great War. Proceeds from the sale of artificial French-made poppies were given to ex-servicemen in need of welfare and financial support.

Since that time the red poppy has been sold each year by The British Legion⁽⁶⁾ from mid October to to raise funds in support of the organization's charitable work.

11^th November 1921: Armistice Day Remembrance in Australia

A resolution was passed in Australia that from 11^th November 1921 the red Memorial Poppy was to be worn on Armistice Day in Australia.

The American and French Childrens' League sent a million artificial poppies to Australia for the 1921 Armistice Day commemoration. The Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League sold poppies before 11^th November. A poppy was sold for one shilling each. Of this, five pennies were donated to a French childrens' charity, six pennies were donated to the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League and one penny was received by the government.

Since that time red poppies have been worn on the anniversary of Armistice in Australia, officially named Remembrance Day since 1977. Poppy wreaths are also laid in Australia on the day of national commemoration called ANZAC DAY on 25^th April. This is the day when the ANZAC Force landed on the beaches of the Gallipoli penninsular at the start of that campaign on 25^th April 1915.

24^th April 1922: The First Poppy Day in New Zealand

In September 1921 a representative from Madame Guérin visited the New Zealand veterans' association, called the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association (NZRSA) at that time. This organization had been established in 1916 by returning wounded veterans.

With the aim of distributing poppies in advance of the anniversary of Armistice Day on 11^th November that year, the NZRSA placed an order for 350,000 small and 16,000 large French-made poppies from the French and American Childrens' League. Unfortunately the delivery of the poppies did not arrive in time to organize and publicize the first nationwide poppy campaign, the Association decided to hold the first Poppy Day on 24^th April, the day before ANZAC Day, in the following year.

The first Poppy Day in New Zealand in 1922 raised funds of over £13,000. A proportion of this was sent to the French and American Childrens' League and the remainder was used by the Association for support and welfare of returned soldiers in New Zealand.

May 1922: French-made Poppies Sold in the United States

In 1922 the organization of the American and French Childrens' League was disbanded. Madam Guérin was still keen to raise funds for the French people who had suffered the destruction of their communities. She asked the American organization called Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to help her with the distribution of her French-made poppies throughout the United States.

That year the VFW assisted with the sale of the poppies in America to help keep up the much needed funds for the battle-scarred areas of France. The poppies were sold before Memorial Day which was observed at that time on 30^th May. This was the first time that a United States war veterans' organization took on the task of selling the red poppy as a symbol of Remembrance and as a means of fund raising. The VFW decided to adopt the poppy as its own official memorial flower.

1923: The American Legion Sells Poppies in the United States

In 1923 the American Legion sold poppies in the United States which were made by a French company.

Boom-bang-a-bang

One of my real hates in life are fireworks, so much so here at Easter my people normally take me away for a few days as the locals tend to celebrate Easter not with what you would call fireworks, but with dynamite!

So I was pretty pleased not to be in the U.K. for the 5th November when the people there seem to have some strange human idea that fireworks are fun. Or so I thought.

No one told me GOD celebrates 5th November also !!!

Most of the night sky was lit up with God's fireworks, he did try to blow them out with his massive gusts of wind, and then decided to try and put them out with lashings of water but it took a long time......

I just hid for safety!

Rain, rain, rain

click to enlarge

Well it has come at last "real rain". Through the night it rained,rained and rained so this morning things were pretty wet!

Now this means no walks in the olive groves for the Guv and me, mainly I think because he gets so muddy and told off by the Misses. Me....well after a "muddy walk" I keep out of the way because they will get me into the rain room again!