Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day


The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice. On Monday, 11th November 1918, to end World War One.






In Flanders Fields

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

John McCrae


At 11am on 11th November 1918 the guns at the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of fighting.
Remembrance Day Is a day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during two World Wars and other conflicts. Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War.
Remembrance Day is held on the second Sunday in November which is the closet Sunday to 11th November and services are held at churches and war memorials all over Britain.
The first Poppy Day was held In Britain on November 11th 1921 and was a national success.
2nd raised £106.000.
Since then every November we wear a poppy to keep the memory alive of all those who sacrificed their lives for us during wars.


For The Fallen

“They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
And In the morning
We will remember them”

Taken from ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon

The Firework Code

Firework Code

Keep fireworks in a closed box and use them one at a time.

Read and follow the instructions on each firework using a torch if necessary.

Light the firework at arm's length with a taper and stand well back.

Keep naked flames, including cigarettes, away from fireworks.

Never return to a firework once it has been lit.

Don't put fireworks in pockets.

Never throw them.

Direct any rocket fireworks well away from spectators.

Never use paraffin or petrol on a bonfire.

Make sure that the fire is out and surroundings are made safe before leaving.

Make sure that children with fireworks are supervised at all times.

Children should wear gloves when handling sparklers.
Dispose of sparklers in a bucket of water as soon as they are finished.
Keep all pets and animals indoors.
Remember this year 'Stay Safe'

Guy Fawkes

The Gunpowder Plot

In 1603 the great Queen Elizabeth died without any children and the Tudor dynasty came to an end. Her successor was James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Stuart.

Now, he was also James I the first Stuart king of England.

For the first time, Scotland, England, the same monarch ruled all Ireland and Wales.

The English were excited about their new king, but James soon made himself unpopular by surrounding himself with Scottish courtiers, and tactlessly ignoring English customs.

To make matters worse, James was a fierce defender of the Divine Right of Kings. This was the idea of a king’s power came from God, and nobody could question his decisions.

His ideas offended members of Parliament, who wanted more power in government.

James loved to lecture his subJects. He called himself the “great schoolmaster of the whole land” – and he hoped to convert everyone to his Protestant beliefs.

This upset some Catholics, who were disappointed that the son of Mary Stuart would not let them worship in peace.

It wasn’t long before a number of Catholics began plotting against the king.

One group came up with a particularly daring plan: to use gunpowder to blow up the Houses of Parliament, with James I

inside.

But one of the conspirators warned a fellow Catholic, Lord Monteagle to stay away from Parliament.

Monteagle told the authorities at once.

At midnight on the 5^th November 1605, soldiers searched the cellars beneath the Houses of Parliament, and found Guido, or Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, with barrels of gunpowder.

The plotters were rounded and hanged.

The date went down In British history and is now celebrated every year with fireworks.

Meanwhile, Parliament was getting more and more frustrated with the King, who loved to show off his royal power and fritter away money on his friends.

This was especially offensive to a group of extreme Protestants known as Puritans, who thought that people should work hard and live a simple life. James’s quarrels with Parliament grew more and more serious, and when his son, Charles became King in 1625, the situation reached crisis point.

King Arthur’s Labyrinth at Corris

Wales is a very beautiful country with mountains, valleys and gorgeous scenery.

There are lots of places to go and visit.

One of the places to visit is King Arthur’s labyrinth, which is at Corris.

You have to go into the shop to pay and then you get your hard hat/helmet before walking down to the entrance.

The first thing you have to do is get into the flat bottom boat and that takes you into the mountain.

As you go along you come to the great waterfall, which switches off Just as front of the boat reaches it.

Everybody thinks they’re going to get soaking wet.

The boat travels through the waterfall and into the cavern and then everybody has to get out of the boat and follow the guide through the caverns.

There are model people and dragons for you to see/look at and all the time you are heading towards the red and the white dragons, which fought.

The red dragon won which is why there is a red dragon on the Welsh flag.

While you are at Corris there’s a pottery where you can buy pottery dragons, fairies and there’s a candle making shop, leather shop to buy hand bags, purses, belts etc and there’s a toy shop which sells wooden toys and various other shops.

There’s a café where you can go and buy a drink plus there’s an Information tourists board shop, which sells gifts, maps, books etc

Corris is about 5 miles from Machynlleth and it’s worth visiting if you are in the area.

Dolgoch Falls

The Dolgoch falls are about 4 miles from Tywyn on the A493 road, in the Snowdonian National park.

There is a car park with a pay and display at the front of the Dolgoch Falls hotel and a tearoom for refreshments.

There is a pathway through the woods to the lower falls. Halfway along there is a bridge crossing the river.

If you take the left hand path up the steps it will lead you to the middle and upper falls.

To the left of the lower fall there is an old miner’s cave that goes into the rock face.

The Talyllyn Railway steam trains pass over the viaduct and you can hear the engine whistle as the trains go up from Tywyn to Abergynolwyn.

At the top of the falls there is a picnic site and pools that you can paddle in.

There’s lots of wild life in the woods such as squirrels and mosses, ferns and all sorts of wild birds singing from the trees.

There is no charge to enter the falls but there is a donation box which helps towards the maintenance of the paths etc

The Kings and Queens of England

The Monarchy

        William I (1066-1087)

 

William II (1087-1100)

Henry I (1100-1135)

Stephen (1135-1154)

Empress Matilda (Queen Maud) (1141)

Henry II (1154-1189)

Richard I/Richard The Lionheart (1189-1199)

John (1199-1216)

Henry III (1216-1272)

Edward I (1272-1307)

Edward II (1307-1327)

Edward III (1327-1377)

Richard II (1377-1399)

Henry IV (1399-1413)

Henry V (1413-1422)

Henry VI (1422-1461)

Edward IV (1461-1483)

Edward V (1483)

Richard III (1483-1485)

 

Henry VII (1485-1509)

  Henry VIII (1509-1547)

Edward VI (1547-1553)

Lady Jane Grey (1553)

Mary I (1553-1558)

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

James I (1603-1625)

Charles I (1625-1649)

Oliver Cromwell (1649-1658)

Richard Cromwell (1658-1659)

Charles II (1660-1685)

James II (1685-1688)

William III (1689-1702)

Mary II (1689-1694)

Queen Anne (1702-1714)

George I (1714-1727)

George II (1727-1760)

George III (1760-1820)

George IV (1820-1830)

William IV (1830-1837)

Victoria (1837-1901)

Edward VII (1901-1910)

George V (1910-1936)

Edward VIII (1936)

George VI (1936-1952)

Elizabeth II (1952 Onwards)