Red poppies at the Tower of London.

The ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London is a poignant reminder, as if one was necessary, to the debt we all owe to those who laid down their lives in WW1. It has managed to capture the imagination of the nation, but also of many other citizens across the world, who have come to show their respects. In a programme on Radio 4 the other day they interviewed the makers of the poppies, they are all individual, not one is the same as any other (as in life). The artist Paul Cummins the designer Tom Piper, the volunteers who have placed them in position. There are some 888,246 the number of British troops killed. All of them had a deep connection to the project and what they were engaged in on behalf of the nation. They will be all removed on 12 November and many have been already sold on E-Bay. The government has decided not to collect the VAT on sales and will give the money to six charities associated with the veterans.