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Richard: Around this time of year, at the beginning of November, many listeners may have seen British people wearing poppies. So for this week's podcastsinenglish.com, we're going to talk about Poppy Day.
Jackie: Well, people are wearing poppies for two reasons really, Richard, aren't they? One reason is it's to raise money for the Poppy Appeal, a charity that raises money for soldiers who have served or are currently serving in the British Armed Forces.
Richard: And the other reason is symbolic; to remember all those who have died in war since World War 1.
Jackie: Yes, and the end of the war er… the end of the First World War, Richard, was…
Richard: Well, the Armistice was signed at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.
Jackie: So Poppy Day is the 11th of November but usually there's a ceremony on the… on the nearest Sunday, I think.
Richard: Yes, and it's called Remembrance Sunday. So, um… why a poppy?
Jackie: Well, um… during… during the First World War many of the soldiers were buried um… where they had been killed and of course the… the land at that time had been completely devastated.
Richard: This is in Northern France, isn't it?
Jackie: Yes, in Flanders which is an area of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. And the only flower that could survive was the poppy. So there'd be lots of fields where the crosses were and lots and lots of poppies…
Richard: Right
Jackie: …and a Canadian doctor, who was serving in the Canadian Air Force, he saw this image of these crosses and the poppies and he was so moved by this that he wrote a poem.
Richard: Oh right, Okay.
Jackie: And the poem is called 'In Flanders Fields. And the first two lines are: In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses row on row.
Richard: Right
Jackie: But the most interesting thing is not that he wrote the poem but that in America er… an American war secretary named Moina Michael, she read the poem, she was so taken by the poem, that she decided that she would wear a poppy to remember all those soldiers who had died during er… during the First World War and it was her who started selling the poppies. And… and it's because of her that the whole poppy appeal started.
Richard: Oh, right… I think we mentioned at the beginning, British people wearing poppies but obviously it's not just British people, is it? It's um… a lot of the Commonwealth countries that fought in the First World War: the Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders. Okay, so she was the first to wear a poppy, so who makes them now?
Jackie: The first Poppy Day in the UK was 11th November 1921 and a year later a factory was set up for disabled er… war veterans to start making poppies.
Richard: Okay
Jackie: So the poppies are made by ex-servicemen and women.
Richard: Right. And um… how much do they cost?
Jackie: There isn't a set fee, is there? Um…
Richard: You just have to make a contribution…
Jackie: Yes
Richard: …to the fund.
Jackie: Yes, so if you feel very generous you give five pounds and if you’re not so generous you give 50p or something. It's up to you.
Richard: So I'm sure the… the veterans that make the poppies will be extremely busy up until er… the beginning of November but then, presumably, they can have a rest.
Jackie: Well, actually, they can't, Richard. They spend all year making the poppies for Poppy Day.
Richard: Wow!
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