Greed Before Remembrance

PoppyThe Poppy is synonymous with remembrance day

Some of the larger garden centres need to show a little more respect.

The diary entry is a bit unusual this week; it’s time for me to get on my soapbox!

On Armistice Day I made what I thought would be a quick visit to one of my local garden centres. I planned to buy some spring bulbs, aware that I was running out of time to plant them.

Approaching the garden centre I came across a long queue of traffic on the approach road controlled by Police Officers. My initial reaction was ‘maybe there has been an accident’ or ‘perhaps there is some kind of event to commemorate Armistice Day’.

Anyway, I joined the queue and eventually made my way into the garden centre car park, I wish I hadn’t bothered.

What greeted me made my stomach churn. Remembrance weekend, Armistice Day, approaching the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and everyone had flocked to the garden centre to greet Father Christmas!

I will never use that garden centre again and will write to the management. What is the world coming to? Is this a sign of the times?

Maybe I am as bad as all the rest by visiting a commercial retail outlet on a weekend that should be for reflection and remembering all those that have been and continue to be the statistics of war.

It was the timing of it that really got to me, I know that Christmas seems to arrive earlier and earlier every year in this country. Thank heavens for Guy Faukes Night and Halloween, at least most people hold back on the build up to Christmas until those two events are over.

It’s not important anymore for some of our larger garden centres to offer good quality plants and expert advice on all aspects of horticulture. Far more important, to pack the car park, make as much money as possible and show no respect at all for our war dead.

Greed is taking over.

 
 

Filed under General.

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