Poppy Mania is back. And the Remembrance 2021 entries are no less eye-catching (or deranged) than in previous years. We’ve got poppy ghost weddings, nationalist knitting and commemorative caravans.
So come this way to the Armistice House of Horrors!
First up, sharp-eyed Twitter user Mic Wright caught sight of a whole Daily Mail spread on the eerie knitted effigies of military things which now haunt Normal Island:
Every year, War Christmas gets more unhinged.
“Could there be a more loving way of saying: We wool [sic] remember them?”
Yes. Many. pic.twitter.com/mP2FiiWdBe
— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) November 3, 2021
Poppy patrol
Elsewhere, one member of the public spotted what she thought was the actual poppy police van:
Remembrance enforcement van spotted on the streets of Essex
@giantpoppywatch pic.twitter.com/xRHpvj93bt
— Louise
(@louise_rodwell) November 4, 2021
Lest we forget
Not to be outdone, someone in Brighton ‘poppified’ the tower of the local zipwire. Okay, mate. Yeah. Nice that. Because this is how the over 57,000 casualties at the first day of the Somme saw this going:
Brighton zip wire looking very respectful today
pic.twitter.com/9RSJFAWd2Q
— Stokiejim (@stokiejimmy) November 2, 2021
Get the mileage in
And in between debates about getting their mates off corruption charges… cough, I mean… rounds of normal parliamentary business, some MPs topped up their patriotism by riding poppy cycles. So here is Esther McVey getting some miles in:
Next on the #IPTPoppyRide is @EstherMcVey1 MP with a total distance of 1.9km in 5 minutes pic.twitter.com/oY6A4N1J6Q
— Industry and Parliament Trust (@indparltrust) November 3, 2021
Sainsbury’s death nuptials
An early contender for bonkers Remembrance display of the year must go to the poppy ghost wedding spotted at a Sainsbury’s somewhere.
Because nothing says ‘respect the troops’ like seeing a mannequin in an American uniform marrying his weird headless spectral bride. And who wouldn’t want to see this as you pop into Sainsbury’s for a packet of Hobnobs and some Rizla?:
Popped in for a pint of milk and ended up at a ghost wedding for are troops x pic.twitter.com/he1gZQTeau
— ellie slee (@sleeful) November 2, 2021
Mutant poppy head bloke
Not to be beaten, supermarket rival Tesco appeared to have created a human/poppy hybrid as part of their bid to recruit drivers. Because nothing says I love the troops like a nostalgist triffid-looking thing:
Tesco in Portsmouth is recruiting drivers. Must have responsible attitude, clean driving license, and giant Poppy instead of a head. pic.twitter.com/aloOhSKfoV
— Poppy® Watch (@giantpoppywatch) November 4, 2021
Combat Caravans
And a special mention must go to whoever spent this much time and money covering their camper vans in stickers of poppies, ghostly soldiers and Halifax bombers. Points for effort, if not exactly style:
We're all going on a Somme-r holiday
— Poppy® Watch (@giantpoppywatch) November 4, 2021
It will reassure everyone to know that Remembrance continues to be the incredibly serious and sombre occasion it was meant to be. And that has not been remotely derailed by poppy-signalling nationalism. Because that would be weird. Yeah. See you all next year.
Featured image – Wikimedia Commons/HH58.
By Joe Glenton
This post was originally published on The Canary.