Have you been to see the wonderful Anzac Day Poppies at Te Takere? Many local crafters kept their flying fingers busy with red wool knitting and crocheting all those red poppies – I’m sure some of our T&CQ ladies helped out too. And no doubt there were busy people hard at work in the background making it all come together. Many were stitched onto a large panel, while still more found homes in other designs. The large panel took centre stage as I walked into the library. (Please excuse the colour of the photo – the poppies really were a lovely dark red). Green felt leaves were dotted here and there, and while most of the poppies had black centres, some had green or even white. It didn’t matter in the least, as each one was hand crafted with love, and each and every one were individual.
Some poppies were stitched into a cross, while others were fashioned into a wreath.
But this is the one I found particularly moving. During the First World War, red poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium. In soldiers' folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. The sight of poppies on the battlefield at Ypres in 1915 moved Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the poem ”In Flanders Fields”. Poppies have such a special meaning at Anzac Day, and this one in particular, being the 100th Centenary of Anzac Day.
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