Friday, April 25, 2008

Dawn for Anzacs



Once again I was faced with the decision of whether to forgo a bit of sleep to go along to something worthwhile. This time it was the dawn service for Anzac Day starting at 5.45am at the Shrine of Remembrance. As my Pop had fought in WWII and passed away about 4 years ago I wanted to go along and pay tribute to him. Like so many others he had joined up underage because he thought it would be an adventure. I am very lucky that before he died he left us a manuscript he had written about his war history. It is something I treasure reading to this day.

Naturally, I got to the service early and was able to get a good spot pretty close to the front. As I had never been on this occasion before I forgot that a lot of people think that the front is where the flame is. It wasnt. I didnt mind though. I liked my view of the shrine.

The announcer sounded like the guy who does the "cut the cost of banking" ad and also the guy who MC'd the syd-a-ney Olympic Games. Apparently they are different people.. with the same voice. Anyway, it was moving. The last post got me - as it always does. And the speeches were great! Except for the eloquent young girl Enya, who spoke with such knowledge and depth and used so many big words that she annoyed me slightly. But no, she was good. I think she might become an actress.

There were so many people openly crying and when the national anthem came on we sang with might. It made me think about the last time I had sung it and I honestly couldnt remember. After all the officiality was over we got to walk into the Shrine and place a poppy near the special stone. I took the following photo just before walking inside and I was blown away by all the orbs in the sky. Then I decided it was only natural on a day like today.


Lest we forget.

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