Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by Paul Cummins

Welcome to 100 Days of Culture!

Here I'll be writing posts of everything and anything that has to do with culture. I'm based in London at the moment, but that being said I'll keep you updated on things going on all over.

Since this is the centennial of WWI, I thought it would be poignant to start with the poppy appeal. For those of you in and around London, get yourselves to the Tower of London pronto! The "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red," exhibition by Paul Cummins is absolutely magnificent. It is an evolving display involving over 888,000 ceramic poppies to represent the fallen of WWI. Despite pleas for its continuation, the last poppy was placed today, and dismantling will begin tomorrow. It brings a real poignance to the fragility and transient nature of life during war.

Cascading Red Looking North

Photo: By Amanda Chain

Once upon a time not too long ago I taught history, and one of the more difficult aspects of covering the WWI was the ability to relate to the changing feeling of war throughout the period. You have bright-eyed youths looking for a chance to represent God and Country for a jolly good fight that will probably end in a few months time, to a never ending saga of death and destruction of lives and more importantly livelihoods. 

Seas of Red

Photo: By Amanda Chain

The service at Goodenough College involved the reading of the famous poem by Lt. Colonel John McCae. I'm reproducing it below because there is something in the beauty and fragility of the poppy that has become a poignant metaphor for those who fight and die in wars. He composed it on the battlefront on the Third of May 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Lt. Colonel John McCae

The Onlookers

Photo: By Amanda Chain

As we remember those who died a century ago it is also important to honor those that are currently serving overseas for the same ideals these men died for. Even after 100 years we are still coming to grips with the principle of respecting the humanity in others, a principle that thankfully we are still willing to fight for.