Challenge #338 - week of 11th November 2019

Another calendar inspired prompt for this November Monday morning - I'm hoping to get off the calendar in the next weeks!

As many countries around the world stop to take a moment to remember those fallen in conflict as part of Remembrance Day commemorations, my thoughts turned to the famously sad and evocative poem that is often read aloud after the two minutes of silence.

Be inspired by "In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders Fields

By John McCrea

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.

Which ways could we interpret this today?

• The words of the poem
• A visit to Flanders or the Allied beaches northern Europe
• Recording details of a family member who served in times of conflict or perhaps a current member of the military
• Finding a moment or two of silence in our busy days and what that means for you
• How you mark this day in your own way, country, culture
• Your love of poetry or a school memory related to poems of some sort
• Products that feature poppies or pops of bright red or photo realistic fields

I hope this gives you some ideas of ways to take this prompt - we don't need to make a sad page but a little nostalgia from time to time gives us time to reflect and this may be the week to bring that to our projects.

Our previous prompts based around Remembrance Day can be found here

• WM#109 - be inspired by Remembrance Day
• WM#236 - be inspired by the Remembrance Day poppy
• WM#311 - be inspired by Lest We Forget

Whichever way you decide to go, I really hope you'll share. It would be great to see what you make.  You can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXXX (with the number of the prompt instead of the XXX) so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Have a great day everyone!

Challenge #311 - week of 12th November 2018

Yesterday, across parts of western Europe and the English speaking world, we remembered those fallen in times of war as part of Remembrance Day. This is commemorated every year on 11th November and at 11am, a two-minute silence is often signalled by The Last Post and a reading of a verse or two of poems written during WWI.

In 1918, "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" the guns fell silent as part of the armistice which had been agreed and signed some 5 hours before, marking the end of World War I (1914-1918).

It's a big thing in Great Britain and this year was especially poignant as it marked the 100 years since that time. I wore my poppy with pride and had my own two-minute silence.

So, this week I'd like you to be inspired by "lest we forget".

This doesn't have to be a sad story or even anything to do with loss or remembrance as such. It could be a story that you've been meaning to tell, or something you want to make sure is recorded or something you just don't want to forget yourself. Of course, it can also be a more serious project if you have something you want to put down on paper. I'd just like you to be inspired by the idea of looking back and remembering. To be honest, the phrase "lest we forget" definitely sums up one of the reasons I scrapbook. I often say, "If I don't tell my story, who will?" And that's what it's all about for me. Stories that would otherwise get forgotten.

Take this prompt in any way you'd like today but I'd love to see some recorded stories.


I always hope you share your creations and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Challenge #236 - week of 7th November 2016

A change of pace this week.

Tomorrow is my granddad's birthday. He died 26 years ago and we all still miss him every single day. He was a wonderful man, a great role model, and my favourite man in the world while he was still alive.

And Friday 11th November marks Remembrance Day which commemorates Armistice Day 1918, when the guns fell silent on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" marking the end of World War I. 

Coming so close together, these two events are always linked in my mind and my heart. Happy memories of my grandfather tinged with sadness with him no longer being here and the memories of fallen soldiers as part of Remembrance Day. 

I thought of making this week's prompt to be inspired by sadness but that seems a little melancholy for sure. Not that I don't think there is space in one's albums for a little sadness but let's try to lift it a notch and make it a little brighter.

Therefore, this week I'd like you to be inspired by the remembrance poppy.

A beautiful hand-crocheted poppy made by the über-creative Lesley over at Oh! Blog it! 

The poppy is a symbol of Remembrance Day, bringing to mind the poppy fields of Flanders where so many young men fell during WWI. But at the same time as representing something sad, it's something more for me. It's almost as if the poppy of Remembrance Day is also there for me to remember my granddad and the bright red flower which I wear with pride adds a splash of colour on an otherwise sad, dull November day.

I've scrapped about Remembrance Day before and also featured my hand-made crocheted poppy which reminds me of home. 

You might also have a poppy story and for those in the UK, you might have been lucky enough to see the Tower of London poppy art installation in 2014. There might be a symbol that you chose to wear to remember something specific or you might wish to create a project about remembrance or a relative who served in WWI or another conflict. What about your own Remembrance Day (different countries call it different names but the meaning is always the same)? What about someone special to you who also has a birthday this week? Or you could tie it in to bittersweet feelings like I described. Several ways to take this prompt this week and they are certainly not all sad.

We'd love you to use this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#236 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#236 in the write up text so that we can find it.

Challenge #109 week of 11th November 2013

Today, across many parts of the world, people took a moment (2 minutes in fact) at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to reflect and remember those lost through conflict. Remembrance Day has become more important to many of us over the years and today I wore my red poppy with pride and carried out my own little act of remembrance even amongst the hustle and bustle of my regular work day.

Of course, the poppy reminds us of one of the most famous poems from the time of WW1 by John McRea:

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.

This week, I'd like you to be inspired in some way by Remembrance Day. If that's a little deep for you, take inspiration from the beautiful poppy, its delicate design or its intense deep red colour.

A somewhat more serious prompt for us this week but yours to take in whichever direction you'd like.

If you'd like to share, be sure to link up at the Flickr Gallery (here) with the tag WM#109.