Remember...the blood swept lands and sea of red

Last Thursday I enjoyed a wonderful and memorable day in London with my dear Mum. We met at Harrods (more on that another post) and after lunch we took the tube to Tower Hill as we wanted to see the poppies which are multiplying by the thousands in the moat of the Tower of London. For those of you who may not be aware of this incredible venture, it is to remember the 888,246 British lives lost in the First World War, as this year is the centenary of the start of the Great War. The idea was devised by the British Legion and 888,246 ceramic poppies are being made and will have been planted in the moat of The Tower by this Remembrance Day, 11th November. If you follow the link here you can read the details. I have bought one of the ceramic poppies myself and it will be delivered to my home when the display is taken down in the middle of November. If you would also like to buy a piece of history you can purchase them here. The aim is the raise millions of pounds for charity. It is such a worthy cause.

I have not been up to the Tower of London since I was a little girl and I was delighted to see how much the area has been tidied up. There has obviously been a lot of money spent and the visitor area and surrounds are really vibrant. There were a lot of people around that afternoon as the Queen chose to visit that morning.
This was the sight as we approached from the exit of the tube.

We were blown away by the sight of  poppies. It really is a sea of red and quite extraordinary. It is not yet finished, there are still thousands more to plant. I love that  the Tower which dates from 1080 sits amongst some of our most modern London buildings, including The Shard, which you can see above.

 What a sobering though that every single poppy represents one British soldier who was killed during this terrible war. 

 Below is my Mum contemplating the scene.

We walked all around the Tower and also along the river.

We also spotted this character wandering among the poppies

 How cool to see one of the Tower ravens out for a stroll

and here are the hand made ceramic poppies in close up.

Mum and I  then sat down at  Costa to chat over coffee before we headed home and we had a very interesting conversation.

My Mum's Mum, my Nan (sadly I did not know her as I was only 5 months old when she died) was married at 18 to her sweetheart. He went off to war and was killed just 6 months later. Yes she was a widow at just 18. Both young victims of the horror of war.

Years later my Nan met my Grandad, married and had 3 children, 2 daughters and a son. My Mum is the eldest. Mum recently showed me this lovely photo of my Granddad. He also served in the First World War but thank goodness came home alive.

This is my Grandad in the uniform of the Woolwich Military Hospital where he was sent to recover from a badly injured leg after being kicked by a gun-carriage horse. He joined the Royal Horse Artillery as he worked with horses all his teenage life. After his recovery he was sent back and fought in the battle of the Somme as a leading gunner.

As we both sipped our coffee I pondered one very sobering thought. Had my Nan's first husband returned alive from the war my Nan would never had met and married my Grandad and none of us would ever have been born. No Mum, no Me, no daughter, no son or Daisy.......what a sobering thought. Life really does move in so many different directions, the only thing that is certain is change.

So although one of those poppies sadly represents someone from our family, there is always hope too as my Grandad did return...and the rest of course is history.

I was so inspired by our visit and the stories of my family that I  knew I had to make a Moment for Jane's Journal and that it should feature my darling granddad.

I wanted the background to show the colours of the moat at the Tower of London. I used my Dylusions sprays first. The red for the poppies

and the green for the grass.

I added some stamping, using some floral stamps. I really liked the slightly ghostly effect they gave.

I also added some script with my Visible Image Bronte script stamp and red archival ink

and some partial stamping with green archival ink

I wanted to use my Grandad's photo so I altered a Tim Holtz card frame. First I stamped it with my Bronte script and coloured it with DIs. I added some crackle paint and left it to dry.

I loved this vintage effect.

I scanned the photo of my grandad and played with sizes.

I also wanted a raven or 2 to feature so I added clear embossing to a die cut to make it shine like the coat of the raven we saw.

I also made a few other embellishments and then it was time to put my Moment together............................
......................................................................................................
and here it is.

 and a few close ups

I think this Tim Holtz stamp is so appropriate

How history changed my own life.

If you get a chance to visit the Poppies at the Tower please do, It is a very humbling experience but I also found it also gives hope. I remembered my dear Granddad and how he not only lived through but survived the war. He was such a major part of my childhood and I spent many happy days with him as we lived in his house.  He really was my friend as well as a dear grandparent. He passed away when I was 13 and my memories of this very special man are of love and laughter. I hope he is smiling down at my Moment and that the little raven I added made him chuckle.

I would like to enter my Moment into the following challenges;

Cheery Lynn vintage
Pile it on Cheerful/uplifting message
Allsorts embossing my large raven has been embossed with clear embossing powder
Divas by Design texture
The Artistic Stamper memories
Simon Says Stamp Monday anything goes
Whimsy Stamps anything goes
Country View  sparkle and shine
Loves Rubberstamps warm colours
Party Time Tuesdays anything goes
Craft Hoarders anonymous  Layers


We must remember all those who died in that dreadful First World War, 100 years ago. Such a waste of precious lives. Over the years thousands of our British soldiers have fought and sadly too often sacrificed their lives to give us the freedom we have in this world.

Here's to the memories of all those fallen men including my Nan's first husband, Frank. My Mum's middle name is Francis, yes spelt the male way, in memory of him. What a lovely gesture from my Nan and Grandad to keep his name alive.

 However I also so grateful to have such fond memories of one of the survivors of the horrors of war, my darling Grandad: Ernest John Carpenter. And most ironically his great-great-granddaughter Daisy Jane was actually born on Remembrance day last year, 11.11.13. Now that really does bring joy and hope to life doesn't it.

 This is his legacy..................my darling granddaughter Daisy Jane who is 1 very soon, magical isn't it.

 I'm sure my Grandad must be smiling somewhere.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x